- Category News & Magazines
- Version2.1.4
- Downloads 0.50M
- Content Rating Teen
Overview
TODAY is designed to deliver a concise, personalized daily briefing that helps you stay informed without feeling overwhelmed. It focuses on quality sources, trustworthy summaries, and a reading experience tailored to your interests.
One-line positioning
A concise, personalized daily briefing that matches your interests and reading pace.
Development Team
Developed by TODAY Labs, a small cross-functional team blending product, design, data science, and engineering to create a reader-first news experience.
Key Features
Key features include a tailored briefing that adapts to your interests, transparent article curation with source explanations, offline reading and cross-device sync, and thoughtful notification controls designed to minimize noise while keeping you informed.
Target Audience
Busy professionals, students, and casual readers who want a reliable, low-friction way to stay updated with credible stories and insightful explainers.
Core Features in Detail
Smart Briefing
Smart Briefing powers TODAY's daily digest by combining topic tags, your reading history, and user feedback. You choose themes—such as technology, economy, world news—and select how often you'd like the briefing delivered. The app then curates a concise shortlist, typically 5–7 stories, balancing familiar outlets with credible new sources. In practice, the briefing responds to changes in your interests and respects your preferred pace, offering a fast way to skim the day's important stories before diving deeper if you choose.
Transparent Curation
Rather than a black-box recommendation, TODAY provides a short rationale for each story and lists its sources. You can tap to view the original article and see why it appeared in your feed, which helps you assess credibility. The option to filter sources or adjust the diversity of outlets gives you more control over how your feed is assembled, aligning with personal trust preferences and ensuring you're not just seeing the same voices repeatedly.
Offline Reading and Cross-Device Sync
Articles can be downloaded for offline reading, which is especially useful during commutes or when traveling. Progress, highlights, and bookmarks sync across devices, so you can switch from your phone to a tablet or desktop and continue exactly where you left off. This reduces data usage and keeps your reading flow uninterrupted when connectivity is inconsistent.
User Experience and Design
Interface and Navigation
The interface is clean and distraction-free, employing a readable typography and a card-based feed that makes headlines easy to scan. Navigation is intuitive, with prominent search and quick access to bookmarks or saved topics. Subtle animations keep interactions fluid without drawing attention away from content, striking a balance between polish and readability.
Performance and Learnability
During testing on mid-range devices, TODAY loaded quickly and felt responsive, with smooth swipes, taps, and transitions. Onboarding is concise, and the core controls—adjusting topics, managing sources, and setting digest times—are easy to grasp after a short tryout. The learning curve is low, and users can fine-tune their feed with a handful of taps rather than diving into complex settings.
Differentiation and Recommendation
Compared with other News & Magazines apps like Apple News, Google News, or Flipboard, TODAY distinguishes itself through its digest-first approach and explicit transparency in curation. The ability to understand why a story surfaced, coupled with straightforward controls to refine topics and sources, offers a more accountable reading experience. The offline-first design and seamless cross-device syncing further benefit readers who commute or alternate devices. If you prefer a calmer, more controllable daily briefing over a broad, algorithm-heavy feed, TODAY stands out as a thoughtful option.
Verdict and Usage Tips
Recommendation: 4 out of 5. TODAY is well-suited for morning routines, commutes, and short reading sessions where you want a reliable snapshot of top stories with clear provenance. To maximize value, tailor your topic tags, schedule the digest time to fit your day, and set a comfortable notification cadence to avoid fatigue. Some users may wish for more video content or live updates, but TODAY's strengths lie in quality, pace, and transparency, rather than breadth or immediacy.
Pros
Clean, minimal interface and intuitive navigation
The app presents headlines and tasks in a tidy layout for quick daily access.
Strong personalized recommendations
Smart learning curates content to match your interests, saving time and avoiding irrelevant items.
Reliable cross-device sync and offline reading
Your reads and saved items stay in sync across phone, tablet, and web, with offline access when connectivity is poor.
Fast load times and smooth performance
Pages transition quickly with minimal lag, even on mid-range devices.
Clear privacy controls and transparent data usage
You can manage data sharing permissions and see what is collected, helping you feel in control.
Cons
Push notifications can be noisy or delayed (impact: medium)
Important alerts may arrive late during peak times; workaround: tailor notification channels and Do Not Disturb schedules; planned improvement: more robust push service in the coming update.
Some features are gated behind a premium plan (impact: low)
Free tier excludes advanced features like in-depth analytics or offline boosts; workaround: use available free features or start a trial; planned improvement: gradually expand free access in future updates.
Ads in the free version can feel intrusive (impact: low)
Banner and interstitial ads interrupt reading; workaround: upgrade to ad-free or use focus mode; roadmap: optimize ad placement and reduce frequency in future releases.
Occasional syncing conflicts across devices (impact: medium)
An article marked as read on one device may appear unread on another; workaround: sign out and back in or trigger manual sync; planned fix: improve conflict resolution logic in next patch.
Privacy concerns over personalization data (impact: high)
Data needed for recommendations may feel invasive; workaround: adjust privacy settings and limit personalization; roadmap: clearer privacy dashboard and granular controls in upcoming release.
Frequently Asked Questions
I'm new to TODAY and not sure how to start catching up on news and videos.
Welcome to TODAY. Start from the Home screen: tap The Digest to catch up quickly, then open stories or videos to explore. Customize sections in Settings > Preferences (News, Videos, and Interests) to tailor your feed for your interests.
Can I watch TODAY videos while browsing stories and cast them to a Chromecast or other Cast-enabled device?
Yes. Play a video while browsing, then tap the Cast icon to send it to Chromecast or other Cast-enabled devices. For quick access, go to Settings > Playback & Cast to adjust default behavior.
What exactly is The Digest, and how can I use it to quickly catch up on the day's top moments?
The Digest is a curated recap of the top moments. Open TODAY > The Digest to skim highlights, then tap items for details. You can adjust frequency in Settings > Digest Preferences.
How do I use TODAY's daily gratitude prompts and calendar to build a consistent practice?
Open TODAY and navigate to Daily Gratitude via Home > Daily Gratitude or Calendar. Enable prompts, add entries with a single tap, and use the calendar view to review past reflections. Settings > Gratitude Preferences also lets you customize reminders.
How does the community feature work for sharing gratitude, and what privacy considerations should I be aware of?
The Community lets you share gratitude entries and read others' stories. You can post publicly or privately, adjust who sees you in Settings > Privacy & Community, and review activity in Profile > Community to manage interactions.
How can I stay updated with favorite hosts and show updates while using the app?
To follow hosts and show updates, you can customize your feed in Settings > Subscriptions or Profiles. Open the Hosts tab in the app to enable updates from Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker, Willie Geist, and Carson Daly.
Can I customize notifications for breaking news, The Digest, and daily tips, and where do I adjust them?
You can customize alerts by going to Settings > Notifications. From there, enable breaking news, The Digest, and gratitude prompts, choose alert tones, and set quiet hours to avoid disturbance.
Is TODAY free to use, and what does a paid subscription unlock? Where can I view pricing?
TODAY is free to download; some features may require a subscription. Visit Settings > Subscriptions to view plans, pricing, and what's included, such as premium feeds, enhanced customization, or ad-free viewing.
How do I manage Nielsen data privacy and opt in/out from within the app?
Yes. In Settings > Privacy & Data, you can opt in or out of Nielsen proprietary measurement. For details, review Nielsen digital privacy page linked in the app and the Privacy Choices page.
What should I do if The Digest or casting to a TV isn't working?
If The Digest or casting fails, check internet, sign in, and reboot. Ensure you're on the latest version, re-tap the Cast button, and verify Chromecast is on the same network. If persists, contact Support via Settings > Help & Support.
