The Post and Courier 12+

I thought this might be better than the horrific experience of their mobile website, with ads loading and jumping around, making it essentially unusable. I couldn’t even sign into the app without disabling all ad blockers, because the site used for authentication is so bogged down with trackers and the like. Fine, I did it and got signed in. But wait! Clicking any links in an article inexplicably takes me to an in-app web view instead of bumping me out to Safari or just directing me to the article elsewhere in the app. Suddenly, I’m not signed in there and am ‘over my article limit.’ Ok fine, I’ll sign in again here… oh wait, I can’t, because the ‘Post and Courier’s request does not comply with Google’s “Use secure browsers” policy.’ I want to support local journalism, but it’s such a difficult and user-hostile experience to view the content I’ve already paid for that I’m considering canceling.

When I wrote this review a few weeks ago, every word was true. But a week or so ago they released a new version that is so much better that I feel obligated to revise my review. There are still a few glitches, but the new app is now nearly completely functional. I’m changing my rating from 1 star to 4. Thanks to the P&C for fixing most of what made the previous edition so awful.

The P&C used to have a pretty good app, but the latest versions, for many months, have been absolutely awful. I want to read the replica version on my iPad, but it’s so hard to get to! Even though I ask to be kept logged in, usually about once a week I get kicked out and have to sign in and go through a little portal that not only eliminates all privacy, but states clearly that my information will be sold. Plus, the app is just hard to use! I’ll swipe and swipe but a page won’t expand. Or I barely touch some part of the screen and I’m pushed back to the front page. Those are just a few of the difficulties of using this app. I am seriously considering going back to a paper newspaper, even though that is such a waste of resources. To be clear, we support the paper, have been subscribers for more than 40 years, and contribute regularly to the investigative fund.

We subscribe to the P&C, but the newspaper doesn’t really seem interested in letting its paying customers actually read what they pay for. Anytime you get a link to any article, you get slammed in the face with a paywall and have to login with your email on one screen and an awkward password you have to type in on a different screen. It is flatly annoying and the newspaper has known about the problem for a long time, but doesn’t want to seem bothered enough to fix it. At a minimum they should change the app to allow sign in by facial recognition and have both the email and required password on the same screen.