The news cycle doesn’t sleep. And with stories constantly developing, one of the best ways to keep up is with your smartphone. Here’s how to follow the latest happenings with the apps already installed on your device, plus some third-party extras. By tweaking the settings, you can make sure you never miss breaking news. Depending on the make and model, Android phones may come with the Google app pre-installed, or even built-in. If your handset doesn’t, you can download it for free (it’s also available for free on iOS). The app takes what the search engine knows about you—from past searches to your location—and uses that information to serve up story snippets and breaking news that may interest you. On Pixel handsets, you can swipe right from the home screen to get to the Google feed of stories. Otherwise, just run the Google app to see your feed. As you scroll, you can customize your experience by noting the stories you don’t care about: tap the three-dot menu in the bottom right of each story and tell Google if you’re not interested in the story (“I’m not interested in this”), the main subject, or the media outlet. You can also tap the heart button to ask the platform to continue to show you similar news. You can also take control over what you see, from celebrities to sports teams, in the app’s settings: Tap your avatar and go to Settings, then Channels & interests. There, tap on Following to see all the topics you’ve shown interest in. On the same list, scroll down to add more of Google’s suggestions based on your activity. To control notifications, open the menu again, and this time, select Settings. Next, tap Notifications. From here, tap Notifications you opted into to see the topics that will generate an alert. When you search for a topic you’re interested in and that you’d like to receive alerts about, you can tap the bell icon to the right of the results page. First things first: Launch the app from your home screen to see stories of interest. To create a more personalized news feed, tap the Following link at the bottom. The app will suggest a number of channels and topics for you, but you can tap Discover Channels to see more. Tap the plus icon next to any entry to add it to your curated list. You can also tap Search in the bottom right to look up whatever you like. Like the Google version, Apple News lets you customize your alerts. Head to the Following tab, scroll down to the Manage heading, and hit Notifications & Email. Here, you can flip some toggle switches and give (or deny) notification permission to specific news channels, allowing them to ping you with breaking news updates. Apple News also offers a widget, which you can add to the Today View screen. To configure it, swipe right from your home screen and scroll to the bottom. Tap Edit, then the plus icon in the top left corner of the screen. Tap the News widget, then select Add Widget. Once it’s in place, you can press and hold to move it and other widgets around—tap Done in the top right to save your changes. Now, you’ll be able to find it any time you swipe right from your home or lock screen. Adjust these settings by going to the Notifications tab and then tapping the cog icon on the top right of your screen. To see alerts when a major story is breaking, turn on Push notifications by toggling the switch next to it, scroll down, and—under the From Twitter subhead—check the box next to News. Twitter is free for Android and iOS. Flipboard is free for Android and iOS.
