By AppHub Editorial Team · Updated August 3, 2026
NPR: National & Local News
Overview
News & Magazines
NPR
Free
No
Features
Welcome to the public radio universe.
The NPR app is the best way to get the latest news of the day, deep-dives on important topics that broaden your world, and the quirky, fun stories you'll want to share with your friends – all in one place.
Make it personal. Play NPR One on the Home screen to get a personalized, continuous stream of shows, news, headlines, and music from every corner of public radio. Listen to what you want to, skip what you don’t. Or add a story you find interesting to y...
Welcome to the public radio universe. The NPR app is the best way to get the latest news of the day, deep-dives on important topics that broaden your world, and the quirky, fun stories you'll want to share with your friends – all in one place. Make it personal. Play NPR One on the Home screen to get a personalized, continuous stream of shows, news, headlines, and music from every corner of public radio. Listen to what you want to, skip what you don’t. Or add a story you find interesting to your playlist. Your mix will be personalized to deliver the NPR you want, while still serving you stories you didn’t know you’d love. Broaden your podcast palate. Head to the ‘Podcasts’ tab to listen to shows from across public radio, recommended for you by our team of expert editors. (Don't forget to enable notifications to stay on top of your new favorites.) Make us your music concierge. Watch Tiny Desk Concerts in full right on the app. Just tap the tab labeled ‘Music,’ and hit play to soak in live performances from music’s favorite office space. You can also stream music from around the country, browse the latest music headlines, dig into reviews, and more. Make everywhere more interesting. Connect NPR to your speakers wherever you are, via Chromecast, AirPlay, Apple CarPlay, or Bluetooth. Login or register for a free NPR account, then just say "Alexa, play the news from NPR," to have your app listening experience amplified. Support your listening, and NPR. The NPR app is free and will always be. If you want to get even more out of your listening experience while supporting public media, consider joining NPR+. You’ll get perks like sponsor-free podcast listening, bonus content, archive episodes, and early access to select shows. Learn more at plus. npr. org. Data Protection Choices: At NPR, we understand how important privacy is to you, and we are committed to transparency about how we collect, use and share your information. Please take a moment to read our privacy policy: https://n. pr/privacypolicy. By downloading this app: You agree to NPR’s terms of use, available at https://n. pr/termsofuse. You acknowledge that NPR may process your personal data as described in NPR’s privacy policy, available at https://n. pr/privacypolicy. You agree that NPR uses devices, identifiers, tracking technologies, and information about the device you use to access NPR’s apps to enhance your viewing, listening, and user experience, personalize content, personalize messages from NPR’s sponsors, provide social media features, and analyze NPR’s traffic. This information is shared with social media services, sponsorship, analytics, and other third-party service providers. See details in NPR’s privacy policy.
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Ratings breakdown
36,700 reviewsDeveloper contact
Name
National Public Radio, Inc.
Address
1111 N Capitol St NE Washington, DC 20002 United States
Website
http://www.npr.orgPhone
+1 202-513-3970
Support
nprmobile_form@npr.org
Privacy
View policyFrequently Asked Questions
Is NPR: National & Local News free to download? high
Yes. The app metadata lists NPR: National & Local News as free.
Source: app_metadata
What do sampled users complain about in NPR: National & Local News? low
NPR: National & Local News has sampled complaints about ads, promoted content, or unwanted suggestions interrupting the experience. Only 1 sampled review supports this theme, so confidence is low.
Source: user_reviews
How to Use
Welcome to the public radio universe. The NPR app is the best way to get the latest news of the day, deep-dives on important topics that broaden your world, and the quirky, fun sto (app_description)
Getting Started
Source: app_description_and_user_feedback_noted
- Install NPR: National & Local News from the appropriate app store.
- Open the app and start with the free experience.
- Review the main features described in the app listing.
- Check settings or support resources if you run into sampled issue patterns such as npr: national & local news has sampled complaints about ads, promoted content, or unwanted suggestions interrupting the experience.
Key Features (from app listing)
Source: app_description
- News & Magazines app experience
- Free download
- From NPR
- 5,000,000+ downloads listed
How this content was created
Content type: pattern_analysis_of_user_reviews_and_metadata
AI generated: Yes
- Google Play user reviews (12-20 preferred; may be smaller if source data is limited per app), February 16, 2023 to July 03, 2023
- Google Play ratings distribution
- App Store listing metadata
- Review samples are not statistically representative of all user sentiment
- High-engagement negative reviews can overrepresent complaints
- Claims labeled 'low confidence' are based on single-review observations only
- No real-world app testing was conducted
- Feature availability may vary by region, device, and app version
Pros & Cons
Based on analysis of Google Play user reviews
Pros
- Available on Google Play with broad device compatibility low
Based on app availability data
Cons
- Some users report issues: "For multiple articles, an ad that's more than halfway down the page blocks the text and gets stuck there, and there's no way around it. NPR also start" low
Identified from 3 low-rated user review(s)
Evidence (3)
“For multiple articles, an ad that's more than halfway down the page blocks the text and gets stuck there, and there's no way around it. NPR also started linking out articles to some of their subsidiar”Rating: 2★ July 03, 2023 166 likes“The way the app used to be formatted was geared towards reading news stories. That was perfect. Pivoting to podcasts is not something I care for. If I want to listen to NPR, it's in the name: radio. I”Rating: 1★ May 09, 2023 116 likes“STOP TELLING ME WHAT I WANT TO LISTEN TO! If I select a podcast, I want to hear the ENTIRE podcast, not just one segment, then the app does whatever it wants. One star until the app gives me what I wa”Rating: 1★ January 15, 2024 199 likes
Recent Reviews
esther hwang
2★For multiple articles, an ad that's more than halfway down the page blocks the text and gets stuck there, and there's no way around it. NPR also started linking out articles to some of their subsidiaries, and clicking on an article and having it open in a web browser (without warning) is just poor UX — and defeats the point of an app. The search function barely works, even if you use quotation marks around the phrase. The app worked well enough before, but I'm getting ready to delete it.
A Google user
3★This app seems to provide the bare minimum that is needed, which is both a pro and a con. Pro because the app is light-weight and takes up very little room on my Samsung. And a con because there are a few key functions that are missing. For example, there is no way to set up notifications within the app (not sure how others are able to do this since it is non-existent in my app) and the ability to save articles for future reading. Luckily and surprisingly however, there is the option to search,
Philip Christiansen
1★The way the app used to be formatted was geared towards reading news stories. That was perfect. Pivoting to podcasts is not something I care for. If I want to listen to NPR, it's in the name: radio. If I want the podcast form, there are many other ways to do that. The only way to read news on NPR on my phone was through the app. Additionally, despite disabling the NPR app's ability to use device audio, it will play via Bluetooth, even with the app closed.
Michael Elliott
1★STOP TELLING ME WHAT I WANT TO LISTEN TO! If I select a podcast, I want to hear the ENTIRE podcast, not just one segment, then the app does whatever it wants. One star until the app gives me what I want, not what NPR THINKS I want. I should also be able to favorite the podcasts I listen to frequently, like Morning Edition or All Things Considered, but the app doesn't allow this. Access to my playlist should be a top level choice, not require multiple selections. This is dangerous while driving.
Ron Eastman
2★Liked the old app interface just fine. Never cared for the NPR One app. Now the NPR app looks just like NPR One. No longer able to easily store and find favorite NPR affiliates. I travel a lot, and enjoy being able to listen to my hometown station (KQED) as well as to the stations where I am staying. Now must click through several menus, and search. Very tedious.