“Great source of news, but more often then not I have to Google the headline because it's behind a paywall while the website of free and accessible. And the clickbait ads are unreal. "Your memory is insane if you can name these 10 tools!"…”
Independent automated assessment · 6 signal sources · 1,046 reviews scanned · analyzed 2026-10-05.
3.4 ★529,358 ratings
10M+Downloads
12+Age rating
119 MBApp size
Free · In-app purchasesIn-app purchases
About this app
THE BBC APP: News, stories, audio, videos, documentaries and live coverage from our trusted global network of journalists.
BBC STORIES: The latest breaking news headlines, articles, podcasts and videos, including coverage of world News, UK News, elections, BBC Verify, BBC In-Depth and more. Stories and videos covering business, technology, health, culture, arts, travel, Earth, and more.
LIVE COVERAGE: Get live news and live global sport updates.
WATCH BBC NEWS: Live stream the BBC News channel for 24/7 world news coverage right from the app.
BBC RADIO: Listen live to BBC World Service and Radio 4 while using the BBC app or background audio when switching to another app. Catch up on demand with some previously aired radio shows via the radio schedule page.
BBC PODCASTS: Listen to, save and follow on-demand podcasts such as The Global Story and World of Secrets.…
Preview
Real screenshots from the store listing.
Independent evidence report
The evidence behind this assessment
This is where the page changes from an app-store listing into an evidence report: findings, important reviews, pricing and a dated history.
Which version this describes
When we ran this analysis, and what the store lists now.
App Store
This analysis describes version 2026.9.0 of the app, analyzed 2026-10-05 . The app may have changed since.
The store currently lists version 2026.9.0, updated 2026-09-28.
Google Play
This analysis describes version 2026.8.0 of the app (the version number recorded inside the package we inspected), analyzed 2026-10-04 . The app may have changed since.
The store currently lists version 2026.8.0, updated 2026-09-25.
What we measured
Each line is a measurement published as a measurement, never a verdict.
Each line is a measurement, published as a measurement. Where we have not looked, the line says so rather than reading as a zero.
Developer replies to reviews
Replies to at least 1 review in 20
Price in the store description
States no price and billing period
Cancelling, in the store description
Says how to cancel
Themes reported by reviewers
2 themes reported
Counted from the reviews we have read for this app. "No theme reported" means no theme reached our reporting threshold — it is not a finding that nothing is wrong with this app, and we do not say it is.
Five-star share of ratings
Under 65% five-star
Arithmetic on the stores' own published rating counts. It says nothing about why the ratings fall where they do.
In the package we scanned
From the package we downloaded and read — version 2026.8.0, scanned 2026-09-27.
Permissions Android classifies as dangerous
1–2 requested
Counted against the eighteen permissions listed in collect-package.ts. A dangerous permission is one Android asks the user to grant; requesting one is not itself a finding.
Analytics or tracking SDKs in the scanned package
1–2 found
Advertising SDKs in the scanned package
3–9 found
Counted as distinct SDKs in the package we scanned. One mediation bundle can contribute several, so this is not a count of advertisers.
Graded bands · predicate set 1.4 · how these are measured
What the analysis found
App-specific findings, grouped by what each one rests on. How they are graded lives on its own page.
The catch list 2
Charges we publish at a strength we stand behind: measured from an artefact, agreed by independent sources, or reported by enough users to clear that charge's own published bar.
Multiple ad networks bundled
The package embeds several distinct advertising or mediation SDKs — a stack built for ad volume, not for a single house ad.
What we saw: Bundles 4 distinct ad networks / mediation SDKs: AppLovin MAX, Google Mobile Ads (AdMob / Ad Manager), ironSource / Unity LevelPlay, Unity Ads
Reported by users: Paywall blocks the basics
The core of the app — not extras — sits behind payment, or previously-free function moved behind a paywall.
What we saw: Raised by 31 distinct reviewers — 5.4% of the 578 reviews scanned on this store leg (App Store).
Positive evidence 1
Things this app does right, published at the same strengths as the catch list.
Developer says data deletion can be requested
The developer's data-safety disclosure on the store states that users can request deletion of their data, or the app's own text offers a way to delete the account. This restates what the developer declares; it is not a test of whether deletion works. Apple publishes no equivalent disclosure, so on an Apple-only listing only the app's own text can support it.
What we saw: The developer's store data-safety disclosure states that data deletion can be requested; we have not seen a deletion control in the app's own text
One source only — shown, not confirmed 2
A single kind of evidence. We publish these because withholding them would be the bigger distortion, and we do not treat any of them as a finding we stand behind.
Reported by users: Aggressive ad load
Advertising volume or placement that interrupts normal use: ads between every action, unskippable or forced full-screen ads.
What we saw: Aggressive ad load: raised by 17 distinct reviewers (2.9% of 578 reviews scanned)
In the app's own text: Hard to cancel
Cancelling the subscription is blocked, hidden, multi-step, or simply does not take effect.
What we saw: Sells a subscription in-app but ships no cancel or manage-subscription text of its own, leaving the store's settings as the only exit
Highlighted reviews
Representative public review excerpts shown as user reports, not Appworthy audit evidence.
“First it was intrusive ads and now everything is locked behind a paywall, uninstalling and hoping they change their minds (they won't)”
“For years this has been my primary news app. Now so much is behind a subscription paywall, a price too high for my volume of use. I will look to alternatives”
Assessment & version history
App changes and Appworthy events in one timeline.
Store listing updated to version 2026.9.0.
What this app sells
Useful store-disclosed pricing, kept below the app listing.
Items shown2
Lowest$8.99
Highest$89.99
The Monthly Plan$8.99
The Annual Plan$89.99
Google Play does not publish per-purchase prices.