News Apps That Let You Choose Your Sources

The biggest frustration with most news apps is the lack of control. Google News decides what you see based on your browsing history. Apple News mixes algorithmic picks with editorial choices you can't influence. Even apps that claim to be "personalised" usually mean "personalised by our algorithm," not "personalised by you."

If you want to choose exactly which publications and journalists you read, your options are more limited than you'd expect. Here's what's available in 2026.

Apps With Full Source Control

BriefMyNews

BriefMyNews gives you complete control over your sources. You browse a catalogue of news outlets, each labelled with its political lean, and select exactly which ones you want to hear from. Combined with specific topic selection and scheduled email delivery, it's the most granular source control available in a news service today.

Source control: Full. You pick individual outlets. Delivery: Email digest on your schedule. Free tier: 5 sources, 3 topics.

Feedly

Feedly is an RSS reader, which means you subscribe to individual publication feeds. It's powerful and flexible, but it requires more setup than most people want. You need to find and add RSS feeds manually, organise them into folders, and manage your own reading workflow. There's no bias labelling or topic-based filtering built in.

Source control: Full (via RSS). Delivery: In-app feed. Free tier: Up to 100 feeds.

Inoreader

Similar to Feedly but with more advanced features like rules, filters, and automation. Inoreader appeals to power users who want granular control and don't mind a steeper learning curve. It's excellent for people who are comfortable with RSS and want deep customisation.

Source control: Full (via RSS). Delivery: In-app feed, email digest available. Free tier: Up to 150 feeds.

Apps With Partial Source Control

Ground News

Ground News lets you see how stories are covered across different outlets and highlights political lean. However, you don't directly control which sources appear for each story. The app decides which sources to show and lets you filter by lean (left, centre, right) rather than by specific publication.

Source control: Filter by lean, not by individual source. Delivery: In-app only. Free tier: Limited features.

Flipboard

Flipboard lets you follow topics and curators, and you have some ability to favourite or hide specific sources. But the algorithm still plays a large role in what appears in your feed, and the source control isn't as direct as RSS-based tools or BriefMyNews.

Source control: Partial. Delivery: In-app feed. Free tier: Yes.

Apps With Minimal Source Control

Google News

Google News lets you follow topics and occasionally hide sources you don't want, but the algorithm overwhelmingly controls what you see. Your browsing history, location, and Google's own editorial decisions shape your feed far more than any settings you adjust.

Source control: Minimal. Delivery: In-app feed. Free tier: Yes.

Apple News

Apple News offers some topic following and channel subscriptions, but the "For You" feed is heavily curated by Apple's editorial team and algorithm. You can't build a feed from specific sources the way you can with RSS or BriefMyNews.

Source control: Minimal. Delivery: In-app feed. Free tier: Partial (Apple News+ for premium content).

Comparison Table

Which Should You Choose?

If you want full source control with bias awareness and email delivery, BriefMyNews is the most complete option. If you're comfortable with RSS and want a reading app, Feedly or Inoreader are excellent. If bias analysis matters most, Ground News is strong. And if you just want to browse headlines casually, Google News and Apple News are fine, but know that you're handing control to an algorithm.