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5 Apple News App Tips You Need To Know (2023 Guide)
Apple’s News app is AWESOME – if you know how to use it! Here are some essential tips you need to know.
If you’re a news junky, one of the best apps included on an iPhone is Apple’s News app. The app has been around since iOS 10, but in recent years Apple has given it big updates – including rolling out the Apple News+ subscription service.
Yet because the News app is one of iOS’s many “stock” apps, many people delete it without ever trying it or simply relegate it to a wayward folder on the home screen. But as someone who loves the News app, I’m going to say those people are making a mistake.
News is a terrific app–once you know how to tailor it to your interests and use all of the hidden features within it. In this article, we’ll cover those hidden features and customizations. And keep in mind, these tips are for the Apple News app in iOS 16 and later, which is the current version of iOs as of the time of this writing.
#1 Apple News App: Personalize Your News Feed
When you first launch the news app you’ll be presented with fairly generic news categories and current affairs. While this beginner’s collection of stories is great, News becomes much more interesting (and addictive) once you tell the app what kind of things and publications you are interested in. Thankfully, Apple makes personalizing your News feed pretty easy.
- In the News app tap on the Following button (it’s got a magnifying glass icon because it’s combined with the search function).
- On the “Following” screen you’ll see suggestions for channels and topics to follow. Topics show you things Apple News thinks you may be interested in. This is based on your Siri and Safari history. And Channels are stories from multiple sources about a single thing. For example, the Super Bowl.
- On the Following screen, type the channel or topic you want to follow into the search bar and then tap the plus icon next to its search result to follow it. That topic or channel will now appear in your News feed.
#2 Apple News App: Hide Channels And Topics
If you change your mind about a channel or topic and no longer want to see news from it or about it, you can easily remove it from your News feed. To do this:
- On the “Today” tab in the News app scroll down to find the topic or channel you want to remove.
- Now simply tap the three dots icon.
- In the pop-up menu, tap Unfollow Topic.
Apple News will remember to no longer show you stories related to that topic or channel
#3 Apple News App: See Similar Stories You Love
Sometimes News will show you recommended topics based on your Safari web browsing history. You may not have known you were so interested in the topic–or may have just forgotten to manually follow it in News–so Apple built a way into the News app that allows you to quickly tell the app that you want to see more stories like the one it suggests you read. It puts these stories under a “For You” topic header on the Today screen.
- When you find the suggested story you like in the “For You” topic header on the Today screen, simply swipe it to the right so it moves partially offscreen.
- Behind it, you’ll see two buttons: Thumbs up or thumbs down. Tap the thumbs up icon and News will now remember to show you similar stories.
#4 Apple News App: Save Stories For Offline Reading
This is one of my favorite features in the News app. The app allows you to save stories for offline reading. This is immensely useful when you have a long plane flight. Apple News’ ability to save stories for offline reading means you can read them anywhere–even without an Internet connection. To save a story for offline reading:
- On the Today screen, simply swipe the story to the left so it moves partially offscreen. Behind it, you’ll see two buttons: Share and Save (bookmark icon).
- Tap the Save button and News will now save the story directly to your phone for offline reading.
- You can find the saved story at any time by tapping the Following tab at the bottom of the News app and then tapping “Saved Stories”.
#5 Apple News App: Clear Your Reading History
The News app will keep track of all the articles you have read in it. These read articles can be found by going to the Following tab and then scrolling down and tapping the History button. But there may be a time when you want to clear your reading history. Apple has made that easy to do in News:
- Tap the Following tab.
- Tap “History”.
- On the History screen, tap “Clear”.
- From the pop-up menu, tap “Clear History” to clear Apple News’ history.
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