Listening Across Devices: How Cross-Device Sync Works on 72FM

Updated 11 September 2026

Cross-device sync on 72FM — which comes with a free account — means your favourite stations and listening history follow you from one device to another automatically. Save a station on your laptop at work; open 72FM on your phone on the way home and it's there, without any manual transfer or re-searching. The sync is account-based — log in on any browser, on any device, and you get the same listening environment. This guide explains what syncs, what doesn't, and when sync matters enough to be worth upgrading for.

What syncs with 72FM Premium

The key distinction: an account alone (free) already syncs your favourites and history across devices. Premium raises what that sync holds — unlimited favourites, your own playlists and a longer history — and lifts the one-hour daily limit.

How the sync works in practice

Setting it up

1. Create a free account at 72fm.com — an email address and password is all that's needed. No credit card at this stage.
2. Sign in on your first device. Any browser on any device.
3. Save favourites and listen. Your activity is stored against your account, not just the browser.
4. Sign in on your second device — phone, tablet, work laptop, anything with a browser.
5. Your favourites and history are already there. No import, no export, no setup. Open the player and they appear.

That's the full process. There's no "sync now" button or manual step. The account is the sync.

Which devices work

Any device that can run a modern browser supports the sync:

• iPhone and iPad (Safari or Chrome)
• Android phone and tablet (Chrome, Firefox, Samsung Internet)
• Mac (Safari, Chrome, Firefox)
• Windows PC (Chrome, Edge, Firefox)
• Linux (Chrome, Firefox)

72FM is web-based, so device-specific apps or operating system compatibility aren't factors. If a browser can open the site, the sync works. See the guide to listening without an app for more on how browser-based radio works across platforms.

Why cross-device sync matters more than it might seem

Most listening services assume you own one device, or that your listening preferences are siloed by device. In practice, many people listen very differently across the day:

• Morning at home: phone in the kitchen, or tablet by the coffee maker.
• Work hours: laptop, often with a specific focus station.
• Evening: back to a phone or a laptop with better speakers.
• Commute: phone, likely a different type of station (news, upbeat, something familiar).

Without sync, maintaining consistent favourites across these contexts means either rediscovering stations from scratch on each device, or accepting that your phone has different favourites from your laptop. Neither is how a habit should work.

With sync, each device has the same stations saved. You pick where to listen based on the room you're in, not on which device you last used to find something.

Unlimited favourites: why it matters for cross-device use

On the free tier, you have 10 favourites — which, for a single device and a consistent listening routine, is usually enough. Across multiple devices and listening contexts, the constraint becomes more visible.

Consider a listener with:

• 2 morning stations (one weekday, one weekend)
• 1 focus/work station
• 2 evening stations (one energetic, one slow)
• 1 cooking station
• 1 commute station
• 2 discovery-mode stations they want to revisit

That's 9 — possible on the free tier, but leaving one slot. Add a few experimental discoveries and the cap creates a choice: keep what you have, or drop something to add the new one.

Premium's unlimited favourites remove that calculation. You save what you want and organise later, without the overhead of managing a fixed-size list.

Premium: the complete package

Cross-device sync itself is a free-account feature. What Premium adds on top:

• Unlimited favourites — no cap, across all your devices
• No daily limit — listen past the free hour, on every device you sign in to
• Your own playlists — built once, there wherever you sign in
• A longer listening history — your last 100 plays instead of 20
• Every sleep-timer length — the free tier stops at 30 minutes; useful for evening listening when you don't want the radio running all night
• Priority support

The player itself has no ads or trackers on either tier, and similar-stations discovery is free. Premium is £4.99 for 30 days or £29 for a year (as listed on 72fm.com) — approximately £2.42 a month on the annual plan. There's a 7-day money-back guarantee and no lock-in: each is a single payment that simply expires. PayPal is accepted.

The full comparison of what free and Premium include is in our free vs Premium streaming guide.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a Premium account for cross-device sync? No. A free account already syncs your favourites and listening history across devices. Premium raises what that sync holds — unlimited favourites, your own playlists and a longer history — but the sync itself works on a free account.

What happens to my favourites when Premium ends? Your account and favourites are retained. If you saved more than 10 while on Premium, all of them stay and all of them keep working — the free limit stops you adding an eleventh, it does not hide the ones you have.

Can I be signed in on multiple devices at the same time? Yes. Your account works simultaneously on as many browsers as you like. Listening history and favourites update across them as you use each device.

Is my listening history private? Your history is tied to your account and not shared publicly. Standard data privacy and account settings apply; check 72FM's privacy policy for specifics.

Do my Premium features work on every device I sign into? Yes. Premium is account-level, not device-level. The lifted daily limit, every sleep-timer length, your playlists and unlimited favourites are available wherever you're signed in.

In short

Cross-device sync means 72FM travels with you. A free account is enough to keep your favourites and history consistent across phone, laptop, and tablet. Premium removes the 10-favourite cap, lifts the one-hour daily limit and adds every sleep-timer length and your own playlists — the things that make daily, multi-device listening easier.

The practical habit: sign in on every device you listen on, save stations as you find them, and let the account do the remembering.

If you're already using 72FM regularly across more than one device, upgrading to Premium is the single change that makes the whole experience more coherent — and more yours.

Ready to set it up? Start with a free account on 72FM — or go straight to Premium if you know the listening habit is already there.