SmartNews: Local Breaking News 17+

Stop the Popups!

UPDATE: (I am late posting this, but) within hours of me writing about my issue with pop-ups, the developers actually responded, and within a day or two, the problem was 100% rectified! I love developers who actually take the time to read and respond to the concerns of their customers, so because of that, SmartNews will forever have a supporter in me!

I have been using Smart news several times a day, every day for years now, and I have enjoyed it for the most-part. However, as of January 1, 2021, I am now being greeted by a pop-up urging me to enable location services, which I have no desire to do. It is understandable that the app would request permission for such a feature, but it is requesting permission after EVERY•SINGLE•STORY read! It is beyond annoying and feels like harassment! If this problem isn’t rectified within a week, I will be uninstalling this app. Your readers should be given a choice of which features to enable, and not be harassed when they don’t choose in accordance with YOUR preferences. Update: I am updating my review to reflect a 4-star rating, because I am no longer being bombarded with popups. For everyone who’s whining about the app being too “left-leaning”, perhaps you should search for a Breitbart app, or some other tabloidesque news affiliate...and this is coming from an Independent.

Developer Response ,

Thanks for your feedback. We are currently working to address this issue and appreciate your patience.

-SmartNews

Biden bashing

Im increasingly alarmed by this app and its obvious anti Biden rhetoric, So many stories are bashing Biden claiming he’s getting senile and calling for his removal I thought this publication was fair and balanced but it’s becoming obvious that the editors have a definite hatred of our president by the way they publish one story after another about Biden’s failing memory and slurred words and on an on, I’m personally sick of it and can’t understand why they never mention the good things hes done for the country instead of constantly bashing him personally, Biden has had to deal with a country and government left in shambles by trump and his complete lack of understanding of government and his only concern was enriching himself and his family from his position in office, Listen to speech president Biden gave in ukraine and Poland and then tell me about how his mind is not up to the job, he gave two of the best speeches given by any president in history after hours of traveling and meetings with world leaders and never lost his train of thought or slurred a single word, If you’re going to be fair and balanced try listening to a few trump insane rambling speechs where he talks endlessly and seldom makes any sense has a 5 th grade vocabulary and constantly destroys the word he’s trying to say, Im done with this app and its obvious prejudice and hate of our great president

Helps me stay in formed

Love smart news and have recommended it to many of my friends. I would like to see a few very minor changes though.
1. Something to show “not interested” in a certain article/topic. For instance, I may read two articles on the same topic, be done with it, and then the app assumes anything related to that person or topic I want to know about and I relentlessly get articles about that (ex. Aaron Carter’s passing - I now get every article written about the tragic event, “his managers last text with him”, “his fiancé spotted at…”, “what happens to Aaron’s fortune now?” etc - all of which I, respectfully, don’t want to receive anymore or read about just because I read the article about his passing.
2. Because the algorithm does push so much that it thinks I will like, I tend to miss actual breaking news stories. Would be cool to differentiate breaking news notifications even more, maybe with a different color logo or something (not sound).

All in all, I love this app and have used it for years. It has so many great features like the smart view and features that have evolved like being able to see the articles you were notified about all in one place. It’s very helpful for staying aware of things in a timely manner.

Developer Response ,

Thank you for your review and great suggestion! We are working with our internal team to make the 'see less' feature better, so please stay tuned for the nearest future app updates. Also will pass along your feedback to the design and product team for future development. Happy reading!