SmartNews: Breaking News

Contains adsIn-app purchases
3.7
693K reviews
50M+
Downloads
Content rating
Teen
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About this app

We combine the best of quality journalism with expert curation to help you stay informed—and feel good while doing it. With quality articles from trustworthy publishers, you can easily curate your feed based on your passions and topics that interest you most.

Discover top news from premium publishers: Bloomberg, The Atlantic, USA Today, TIME, The Huffington Post, Bleacher Report, Quartz, The Verge, LAT, VOX, AP, Reuters, Buzzfeed, Fast Company.

Local
-Get informative stories from premium publishers based on your location.
-See the latest local news on government, traffic, weather, politics, school boards, and more.
-Read news about local cultural events, hidden gems, restaurants, family-friendly activities, and your summer farmer’s market.

Travel
-Discover the best spots wherever you go with location-based news and updates.
-Learn about top travel tips from your favorite publishers.
-Plan your next vacation with trending news on the best destinations, travel hacks, and flight deals before you depart.

Politics
- Get prepared for the elections, polls, and debates with stories across the political spectrum from Democrat to Republican.
- Understand candidates, ballot measures, debates, results, and city council elections near you.
-Find voter information, campaign finance stories, verified election reports, and expert election analysis you can trust.

Quality
-We partner with thousands of trusted publishers for premium, balanced news.
-Our award-winning journalists validate content to ensure it meets our high-quality standards.
- Read trustworthy breaking coverage for your area for free.

Entertainment
-Get an inside look at entertainment.
-Discover top movies or TV shows with your favorite actors.
-Follow entertainment topics so you never miss a story.

Sports
-Get daily articles highlighting the latest games, teams, players, and sporting events.
-Set notifications for your favorite teams.
-See breaking news about football, basketball, golf, tennis, soccer, and more.

Health
-Discover the healthcare news that impacts you all in one free app.
-See what experts say about wellness, aging, and mental health from top publishers.
-Follow stories about pain relief updates, exercise trends, and home remedies.



***
SMARTNEWS IN THE PRESS

“Browse headlines quickly, customize your channels, and read the news offline. SmartNews is an excellent free alternative to other popular news apps.”
- CNET

***
AWARDS

Winner of the 2025 May Award Contest - Best Mobile App
Best Mobile App Awards

Best Local News App, 2024 (US)
Bestapp

Best News Aggregator, 2023 (US)
Lifewire

Best News App, 2023 (US)
AndroidCentral


***
REVIEWS

“Better than Feedly or Flipboard. Love it!” Joe C.

“Much better than the new version of Apple News.” - Donald B.

“Been using Google News, but this is better. Much easier to share.” Nikki H.

***

Terms of Service
The SmartNews Terms of Service are linked below. Please read and confirm these terms before using our services.
https://www.smartnews.com/terms/
Updated on
Dec 8, 2025

Data safety

Safety starts with understanding how developers collect and share your data. Data privacy and security practices may vary based on your use, region, and age. The developer provided this information and may update it over time.
This app may share these data types with third parties
Location, App activity and 2 others
This app may collect these data types
Location, Personal info and 4 others
Data is encrypted in transit
You can request that data be deleted

Ratings and reviews

3.7
639K reviews
Safarhi Brooks
November 26, 2025
I used to really enjoy this app til I got an upgraded phone. Now the ads load up great (sarcasm)!! Ads are super fast! The article I'm trying to read keeps either taking literally 5 minutes to load because of all the d@** ads or keeps closing abruptly (I'm sure due to the ads). It's really ridiculous. Just because I buy an item once or Google search a product doesn't mean I want to be inundated by the proprietors advertising every time I turn on my phone or open your app.
47 people found this review helpful
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SmartNews, Inc.
December 2, 2025
Sorry about the slow loading and sudden closes—that’s really frustrating. Ads come from third-party networks, but they shouldn’t get in the way of reading. Please try updating the app, clearing the cache, or reinstalling. If it still happens, reach out through the in-app Help Center so we can look into it.
Matt Berman
December 6, 2025
Pros - Aggregates a lot of sources. - Frequent updates that seem to improve performance and squash bugs. Cons - Random ads that pop up and make you wait. This is on top of ads displayed as if they were news articles, and of course, ads in the articles themselves. - Gamifying features you can't turn off. I don't need or want to have the app tell me that I opened it every day this week, I want to see the news when I want.
15 people found this review helpful
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SmartNews, Inc.
December 10, 2025
Thanks for the thoughtful feedback. Ads mostly come from third parties, but we know pop-ups can be frustrating and we’ll share this with the team. We’ll also pass along your comments about the streak features.
Anthony Gado
December 4, 2025
I like your app but I'm really annoyed that your pop up ads have sound. I usually am listening to a pod cast while scrolling through your stories and articles and then this loud ,ubiquitous sound blows my ears out and Interrupts everything. Your article, my pod cast, my train of thought. I try to scroll down quickly and there it is again. I understand you want add dollars but it's so annoying that I'm about to delete your app. Keep ads, fine. Automatically come on with sound, sucks!
14 people found this review helpful
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SmartNews, Inc.
December 9, 2025
Sorry about this—ads shouldn’t autoplay loud audio. Please try updating or reinstalling the app. If it keeps happening, reach out through the Help section so we can look into the specific ads. We’ll also share your feedback with the team.

What’s new

- Performance improvements and bug fixes to enhance your reading experience.