5 Best Free News Apps For iPhone And Android Users
Reading the news can be a tricky thing to do online. On top of having to sort through endless headlines from a torrential downpour of online sources, you also have to figure out whether what you're reading is from a valid source or misinformation from a faux news destination. You no doubt also want to read the news without too many pop-ups and incessant ads.
That's where news apps come in. Not only are they great for catching up on current events, but they're also usually designed to intuitively learn about your interests and tailor future recommendations based on your reading activity. The best ones should be easy to use and navigate, allowing you to simply read the news without much distraction. As well, some developers offer premium versions of their news apps that unlock additional features, though you'll need to pay either a one-time fee or a monthly subscription to access them.
Google News
At this point, Google is synonymous with "look it up on the internet." Google News is merely the search engine's dedicated platform for must-know bulletins pulled from various sources and types of publications. Upon launching its mobile app — available on both Android and iOS – you are immediately brought to a feed of top stories, including local news and recommended headlines based on your interests and prior search activity on Google.
Under the Headlines tab, you can check out the latest stories from reputable news sources arranged according to coverage as well as categories. Every highlighted topic has a nifty Full Coverage button you can tap to bring up several news articles written by different publications on the subject, ensuring that you receive a well-rounded perspective.
The app itself is very intuitive and easy to use, and news recommendations improve the more you use the service. You can pick topics you're interested in as well as follow specific sources with content you enjoy and trust. You can also search for and save stories to read at a later time. Google News is free to use in general — signing into your Google account will better tailor recommended stories — but you may have to go through a paywall to view some links published by subscription news websites.
If you want a news app that has a beautiful magazine-like interface, Flipboard may be the way to go. The first time you launch the mobile app on either your Android phone or iPhone, you'll be asked to pick at least three from a list of topics of interest so that your feed can be filled up with subjects that matter to you, and you can update your preferences at any time to fine-tune your reading experience. It will then generate curated news content, aesthetically arranged into graphic tiles. Simply swipe up to scroll through headlines and tap on the page you'd like to expand to read. Alternatively, you can also navigate to the Explore page and look through stories sectioned by topic.
For the most part, news articles can be viewed for free right within the Flipboard app, in either web or reader view if the news site itself offers the feature. Otherwise, a nifty "Subscription may be required" tag can be seen on certain stories that may be behind a paywall. You also don't need a Flipboard account to use the app as a news aggregator, but if you do sign up for free, you can create "magazines" comprised of stories you curate — plus you can share your compilations with others, thereby gifting them with distraction-free reading, as well.
NewsBreak
Those who want more local news can install the NewsBreak app on either an Android or iOS device, which should automatically detect your city and feed you news from it. You can also add more U.S. locations in case you want to follow news in areas where you used to live, where your loved ones live, and even places you are generally interested in. Unfortunately, based on testing, you can't seem to add cities outside of the United States.
Apart from local news, there are many category tabs to explore. When you tap on a story, you get to easily read it within the app. And while you can certainly use the app for free and scroll through countless stories, signing up for a free NewsBreak account allows you to react and comment on news articles, social media platform-style. If you don't feel like reading, you can check out the Videos tab and scroll through TikTok-style media content shared by users within your area.
Memes and gossip aren't the only things you can find on Reddit. The Android and iOS app has a convenient News dropdown right on the homepage, where you can scroll through breaking news, tagged according to general topic. You can downvote or upvote certain news stories to improve future headlines that show up in your recommendations.
Once you're done perusing the more serious news pieces, you can explore the rest of the app for all sorts of entertainment content Reddit is largely known for. Casual browsing can be done on Reddit sans an actual account, but signing up for one for free affords you the ability to join specific topic communities — use the search bar to look up "news" and go to the Communities tab to check out your options — and post comments on entries. If you want to get rid of ads, you can subscribe to Reddit Premium for $5.99 a month.
Ground News
It's very easy to form a bias as a news reader. If you are making a conscientious effort to be more open-minded to content produced by sources that are known to showcase perspectives different from your own, you can try out Ground News. Upon launching the Android or iOS app, you can select your news edition preferences according to country or territory. Every news story includes a Ground Summary section that gives you a nifty too-long-didn't-read explanation of the article so you can decide to either read on — by clicking on one of the sources filed under "Full Coverage," each one tagged with a helpful Left, Right, or Center political lean indicator — or skip the piece of news.
Another beneficial feature is the Bias Distribution section, which gives readers a visual representation of where news sources covering the topic in question tend to lean in the political spectrum, allowing you to make more of an attempt to see what the other side is saying.
Ground News content can mostly be browsed for free, but there are certain perks that can be unlocked by purchasing a paid subscription, ranging between $0.83 to $8.33 per month. For instance, you can view the full Bias Distribution report, view locked articles that have been verified to contain minimal editorializing and a higher level of factual and credible sources, and read news recommendations designed to hit your blindspot by offering you a different political viewpoint.