@Pleasetypethis Nice to see you around the community.
To clarify, are you referring to Auto-Start?
If so, the ability to have control over initiating playback when opening the Pandora app is only an option when upgrading to Pandora Plus or Premium.
If you'd like to see that option available with the free service as well, I recommend creating a new thread in the Ideas space. This will give others around the community a chance to upvote your idea if it is something they are interested in as well.
I hope this helps explain.
AdamPandora
Pleasetypethis