Previous customers got “Pocket Casts Plus, Lifetime membership” and a “thanks for your support”.

If they wouldn’t have I would have dropped it when they changed monetisation models.

You might want to log in to your account again since you have the premium for free.

Similar, I got a lifetime subscription. Then again, I think I also purchased all 4 options (Android, the never very good Windows Phone, the web version of the was a separate charge for that and finally the iOS version). I still find it very handy to be able to jump between Android and iOS pretty seamlessly.

I don't remember ever making an account, I just bought it on Google Play.

I‘m using Pocket Casts and never have paid anything edit: as far as I remember

Not true. I got grandfathered in, as other people have said.

I didn't get grandfathered in, and I had purchased the premium version back when it was a single purchase. Some of us definitely got fucked by that.