Bad news is always at our fingertips, and it often feels like there’s never enough good news.
If you’re like me, you’ve probably had the experience of getting a push notification from your news app that made your heart sink — or you’ve stayed up way too late doomscrolling through heartbreaking news on the dim light of your phone.
While it’s important to be informed and to consume the news with intentionality, it’s also important that we fill our lives with much more goodness.
The world is filled with people creating beautiful, creative, and hope-filled solutions to the world’s biggest problems: Climate Change, War & Conflict, Racial Injustice, Mental Health, and more.
What if those positive stories were given as much (or more!) digital real estate on our home screens as the bad news stories that plague our apps.
That’s the problem these app creators set out to solve.
Running a positive news media company isn’t easy (we know firsthand) — and a lot of well-intentioned ideas end up falling by the wayside. A quick search of your app store for “good news” will bring up dozens of once-amazing apps that haven’t been updated in years and unfortunately no longer function.
We downloaded every single app that claims to help users find positive news — and we vetted them, figured out which ones were still running, and created this guide to the best positive news apps on the market.
Fortunately, there are some incredible options. Whether you're looking for headlines from around the world or uplifting stories about people who have made a difference, these apps have got you covered.
By the way, if there's a new app you think we should check out, just send us an email.
9 Best Positive News Apps
Squirrel News
While many good news apps get bogged down with bloated features, unlimited stories, or creative design choices, Squirrel News keeps it simple.
The team of journalists behind the constructive news app collects the most important solution-oriented news articles from trusted sources and curates them into daily collections.
For every new collection of stories released, you can count on getting to read 10-12 positive news articles. No need to spend the whole day scrolling — you can trust they’ve curated everything you need to know so you can feel more hopeful, then put down your phone.
The app is free and primarily supported by voluntary donations.
(PS: You should also check out their podcast — which we named one of our favorite good news podcasts.)
Available: App Store | Google Play | Web
Goodable
Goodable’s load screen colorfully welcomes you into the app by asking “What’s good?” It then shows you a personalized “daily dose of good news” with the app’s top-rated stories at the top of the screen.
Their quest is to help you stop doomscrolling
Goodable breaks down their categories into Health, Climate, Heroes, Tech, Neighbors, Sports, Culture, Animals, Science, and Business — so you can jump quickly into relevant news about what you care most about. And their search tool makes it really easy to find stories about a particular country, topic, or person.
All of the articles inside Goodable are curated from the best sources of positivity, wholesome content, and inspiring stories on the internet — so it’s kind of a one-stop-shop for all of your happy news needs.
The news portion of the app is free — but they offer paid access to Goodable Spark, which includes psychologist-created “guided journeys and easy goals… designed to help you treat anxiety, depression, and stress.”
Available: App Store | Google Play
Good News Network
In the world of positive news, Good News Network is ubiquitous. They’ve been filling the internet with positivity for more than 25 years — and the work of their founder, Geri Weis-Corbley absolutely paved the way for many other positive news websites and resources — including Good Good Good.
Their app isn’t anything fancy — but it gets the job done! It’s simply an app version of their site, featuring their whole collection of news articles, ‘This Day in History’ features, quotes of the day, and ‘Good Talks.’
You can turn on push notifications for topics you care about — so you can quit feeling anxious every time your phone buzzes.
The app is ad-supported and allows you to remove all ads from the app for $2.99 per month.
Available: App Store | Google Play
Lapis News
Lapis News is another wonderfully simple uplifting news app. The free app features a simple feed of the day’s top positive stories, curated from around the internet.
Next to the news tab is a tab devoted to videos of cute animals. Think of it as a mini-TikTok feed with just wholesome pets and wildlife.
Lastly, the app includes a whole tab dedicated to jokes, so you can scroll through one-liners to entertain your friends and family after you’ve told them the day’s uplifting news.
Available: App Store
allGOOD NEWS
While this app has zero bells and whistles, it does exactly what you need it to do and will leave you feeling more optimistic about the world in no time.
Flick your finger upward to preview a new good news story. Swipe side to side to read it. Repeat. It’s kind of like Tinder for good news, except you swipe for smiles instead of subpar dates.
The free app adds 4-8 new articles per day, and you can infinitely swipe through previous days’ positive news stories, as well.
Available: App Store | Google Play
Uplifting News
This simple app makes it easy to preview the day's curated uplifting news stories. Updated, daily this app pulls from a variety of trustworthy publishers.
Uniquely this app allows you to upgrade to a premium version for $4.99/month to unlock unlimited article — plus sharing and posting features. Even if you don't pay, the app will let you read the top 10 articles of the day.
Available: App Store
Brighten Your Day
Brighten Your Day (or BYD) is a positive social network that allows you to share uplifting news articles that inspire you — and connect with others who share similar interests.
While the app seems to be inactive (when we joined, it had been 9 months since someone last posted a story) it’s still fully functional. In fact, we just added one of our favorite recent good news stories, and it posted to the BYD news feeds just fine.
We’re including this app in the hopes that it takes off again — because the world would be a better place if social media was filled with hope instead of cynicism.
Available: App Store | Google Play
Add Good News To Your Apple News or Google News
While most of us feel anxious just thinking about our phones’ news apps, it’s possible to harness them for good.
Google News and Apple News are simply algorithms that show you more of what you regularly consume.
If you spend a lot of time doomscrolling, they’re going to assume you want more bad news and will be glad to deliver.
But if you choose to prioritize solution-oriented positive media, the apps will help surface more for you.
Take a minute to go into Google News and Apple News and hit the follow button on Good Good Good’s profile. You’ll be telling the app to prioritize good news in the algorithm.
→ Follow Good News on Google News
→ Follow Good News on Apple News
Add any site as an "app" on your phone
If your goal is simply to have easy access to positive news on your phone, there’s a great hack on how to do this for Android or iPhone.
You can turn any mobile website into an “app” by adding a bookmark to your phone’s home screen.
→ This tutorial can walk you through this simple process for Android and iPhone.
We recommend giving it a try with our good news website: goodgoodgood.co!
Lastly, apps are great — but sometimes it's helpful to go analog. → Consider a subscription to the Goodnewspaper: a positive news newspaper.
That’s not all! If you love celebrating good on your phone, you’ll also love doing good on your phone. Check out our collection of the best apps for making a difference.
Plus, a few good news stories recommended for you:
- Innovative Apps & Tech Tools Are Supporting Farmers Across Africa
- Peru’s Indigenous Tribes Are Using Tech Tools to Track Amazon Deforestation
- Smartphone Apps Are Among the Biggest Advances and Breakthroughs In Mental Health Worth Celebrating
- This App is Fighting Food Insecurity in the U.S.
- Meet The App That Helps People Find Public Benefits
- Meet the Doctor Who Created an App To Bring Healthcare To Refugee Women
- Ground News On How To Combat Your Media Echo Chamber
And some apps and resources you might like:
