How to manage channels, history, and more in Apple News for iPhone and iPad
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How do you customize your Apple News experience? It's easy!
You can customize your Apple News experience in a variety of ways. That includes muting channels, clearing articles and history, reporting concerns to Apple, opening articles in Safari, handling notifications, background updates, cellular data, and more!
- How to mute a channel in the News app for iPhone and iPad
- How to view items in your reading history in the News app for iPhone and iPad
- How to clear individual articles from your reading history in the News app for iPhone and iPad
- How to clear your reading history in the News app for iPhone and iPad
- How to open a News app article in Safari
- How to report a concern to Apple's News staff
- How to disable notifications for the News app for iPhone and iPad
- How to disable Background App Refresh for the News app for iPhone and iPad
- How to disable Cellular Data for the News app for iPhone and iPad
- How to disable Story Previews in the News app for iPhone and iPad
How to mute a channel in the News app for iPhone and iPad
If you don't want to see any stories from a particular publication, you can simply mute the channel from right within the article.
- Launch the News app from your Home screen.
- Tap an article to read it.
Tap the Share button. It's the box with the upwards arrow on the bottom left of your screen.
- Tap Mute Channel.
Tap Mute in the pop-up.
Note: In iOS 10, you can access the Share button of an article from any page. You don't have to open an article to share it.
Keep in mind that this won't remove the stories that are already in your feed, but it will prevent new ones from that publication from showing up.
You can also mute a channel using 3D touch in the News app for iPhone and iPad
- Launch the News app from your Home screen.
- Press firmly on an article in your feed to peek at it.
Swipe up to reveal the options.
- Tap Mute Channel.
Tap Mute in the pop-up.
How to view items in your reading history in the News app for iPhone and iPad
You can return to any story you've ever opened in Apple News by going to your history screen. This contains all articles you've read within the News app. To do so:
- Launch the News app from your Home screen.
- Tap the Saved tab at the bottom of your screen.
- Tap the History button at the top of the screen.
Tap an article to read it.
How to clear individual articles from your reading history in the News app for iPhone and iPad
- Launch the News app from your Home screen.
- Tap the Saved tab at the bottom of your screen.
Tap the History button at the top of the screen.
- Swipe left on an article.
Tap Delete.
You can also just swipe all the way left delete the article instantly.
How to clear your reading history in the News app for iPhone and iPad
- Launch the News app from your Home screen.
- Tap the Saved tab at the bottom of your screen.
Tap the History button at the top of the screen.
- Tap Clear.
Tap Clear History, Clear Recommendations, or Clear All.
How to open a News app article in Safari
If News isn't rendering an article correctly—for example, if a video doesn't appear—or you'd just rather read it in a web browser, you can send it off to Safari.
- Launch the News app from your Home screen.
- Tap the article you'd like to open in Safari or tap the Share Sheet button on the bottom right of the article and skip to step 4.
- Tap the Share button in the bottom lefthand corner of your screen. It's the box with the upward arrow.
Tap the Open in Safari button. The page then opens in the browser.
How to report a concern to Apple's News staff
If something about an article looks off—perhaps a video doesn't play, it's offensive, or mis-categorized—you can easily report a concern to Apple's News department.
- Launch the News app from your Home screen.
- Tap an article to open it. Alternatively, you can tap the Share Sheet button on the bottom right of the article preview and skip to step 4.
- Tap the Share Sheet button in the bottom lefthand corner of your screen. It's the box with the upward arrow.
Swipe left on the bottom row of options.
- Tap Report a Concern.
- Tap a reason you don't want to see the article.
- Tap the Tell us a little more field and type your explanation for reporting the article.
Tap Send in the upper right corner of your screen.
How to disable notifications for the News app for iPhone and iPad
From time to time, you may receive push notifications from the News app, which might relate to topics in your Favorites or new stories in your feed. If these get annoying, you can turn them right off.
- Launch the Settings app from your Home screen.
- Scroll down and tap News.
- Tap Notifications.
Tap the switch next to Allow Notifications to disable them.
If you want to leave your notifications on but want to receive them a certain way, you can customize them to be banners or alerts on your lock screen, or just app icon notifications, which appear as little numbers on the app on your Home screen.
How to disable Background App Refresh for the News app for iPhone and iPad
Your News app is constantly refreshing content in the background. This can use up battery and cellular data if you're not careful. Turn it off if you don't mind loading your stories when you open the app.
- Launch the Settings app from your Home screen.
- Scroll down and tap News.
Tap the switch next to Background App Refresh to disable it.
How to disable Cellular Data for the News app for iPhone and iPad
If your News app is refreshing in the background or if you're using it while not connected to Wi-Fi, it could be using up your cellular data, which could end up costing you a ton. If you're worried about your monthly data cap, it may be best to just disable data usage for the News app.
- Launch the Settings app from your Home screen.
- Scroll down and tap News.
Tap the switch next to Cellular Data to disable data usage for the News app.
How to disable Story Previews in the News app for iPhone and iPad
- Launch the Settings app from your Home screen.
- Scroll down a bit and tap News.
Tap the switch next to Show Story Previews.
Questions?
Have more questions about how to manage your News app? Let me know in the comments below!
