Volv - Curated 9-Second News 17+

Finally news that are fun and informative

I stopped reading the news 2 years ago because I couldn’t bring myself to read so much. Since downloading Volv, I use it every day. I prefer using this app even over Instagram and I’m learning about the most important things happening. It’s easy to dive deeper into a story, and they recently added timelines for major events in stories such as the Ukraine Russian war. Couldn’t recommend more.

Does way too much tracking

Apple privacy report shows 83+ tracking sites connected to this app. Does not ask if you will allow them to track before forcing you to create an account after downloading and installing. Does not follow Apple privacy policy.

Articles contain links to and are sourced from suspicious websites and clicking on a link in an article will give you a pop-up that says “Your iPhone has been HACKED”. Use at your own risk. I for one, do not trust this app after getting a message telling me my phone is hacked while using the app and clicking to read one of the feature stories. Also many stories have links which when clicked give pop-up advertising offers to enter contests “Win A free Rolex” (better known as give us your email and we will give you some malware). Article summaries use poor grammar and am guessing they must be written by an AI. All around interesting concept but shady execution. Nothing but a waste of time. Update: Developer response is disingenuous and not accurate. Articles, not all, but definitely some of them are linked to scammy/suspicious web sites as I stated in original review. I stand by my original review. And to the developers: I have zero interest in helping you “fix” a problem you deny exits. I have less than zero interest in helping you fix your business model.

Developer Response ,

Hey! Thanks for the feedback. We’re sorry to hear this. We only link to credible, verifiable sources and we’re not sure how these suspicious websites are showing up. Nevertheless, we are looking into this issue! Please email us on connect@volvmedia.com so we can get in touch with you and fix this ASAP!

They removed the feature that made Volv what it was

This is my first time ever writing an app review because I’m so confused and upset. The point of the app was to give short, 9 second summaries of news so you can remain informed. I really liked it as it allowed me to scroll on it like a social media app, but instead of brainrot it allowed me know what’s going on in the world. It was awesome because it encouraged remaining informed and curiosity. If you wanted to know more about the topic whose news you just read, you could simply tap and it would take you to the source. I loved it because it would encourage me to learn more.

But now, the feature to go to the source is gone…? Like, what’s the point anymore? How do I know if what I’m reading is legit? What’s the source? It’s frustrating if I want to read more and now I can’t. I don’t understand why they took that feature away :(

Developer Response ,

Hey! Thanks a ton for taking your time and letting us know that you love the app.

We’d love to tell you that this feature hasn’t gone anywhere. Simply press and hold the article and you’ll see a menu saying ‘Check out the source’. You get the rest! Let us know what you think.