Ads Too Intrusive
This is a great app but unfortunately the advertisements have become more intrusive and deceptively difficult to close. Recently some ads have become almost impossible to navigate away from and this has made me think twice about the value of this app.
Used to be a great app…
I’ve used Bible gateway for years, but with the updates recently, the app is terrible and not at all user friendly. Constantly freezes and crashes. I’ve always liked it for the audio feature, but now when I try to go from one book to another, the audio will freeze up and stop working. I have to close out of the app completely and go back in, select the book and chapter I was in, select the audio settings, etc… super frustrating. Furthermore, a user should be able to start playing the audio from the book they are viewing, but that is not the case. you have to instead go to the menu, go down to the audio option then find the book and chapter you are in, choose the reader, then go back up into the book that you were in and hit play from there. Like I said, not user friendly.
I went into the app store this morning to find a different Bible app, but wanted to provide feedback before leaving this one behind. I’ve seen so many reviews stating the recent problems; I’m surprised they haven’t done anything to fix these bugs.
I went into the app store this morning to find a different Bible app, but wanted to provide feedback before leaving this one behind. I’ve seen so many reviews stating the recent problems; I’m surprised they haven’t done anything to fix these bugs.
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No longer acceptable
I once used the YouVersion Bible, but I decided I should not support an app that supported devotionals of false teachers (as they had many) and it was a distraction from reading God’s word.
So I searched until I landed on Bible Gateway. I liked the interface. Then they updated it and each time for the worse. Today I resolve to find something else. The app is going down hill. As other users have commented, the ads are terribly distracting. It’s not some bar at the bottom, it takes over the screen. You try to read the Bible, which should be a time of quiet prayer, personal reflection, and Bible study to spend time with the Lord, and instead you get to contend with the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and pride of life. This was a deal breaker for me.
The feature that allowed you to send verses of scripture no longer works accurately. It removes spaces, capitalizes letters that should not be, no longer includes the verse being sent, and night mode is glitchy with the verse numbers still having a white background. I’m not paying a monthly fee to drop ads. I would pay one time, but there are too many free versions to deal with the distracting ads.
So I searched until I landed on Bible Gateway. I liked the interface. Then they updated it and each time for the worse. Today I resolve to find something else. The app is going down hill. As other users have commented, the ads are terribly distracting. It’s not some bar at the bottom, it takes over the screen. You try to read the Bible, which should be a time of quiet prayer, personal reflection, and Bible study to spend time with the Lord, and instead you get to contend with the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and pride of life. This was a deal breaker for me.
The feature that allowed you to send verses of scripture no longer works accurately. It removes spaces, capitalizes letters that should not be, no longer includes the verse being sent, and night mode is glitchy with the verse numbers still having a white background. I’m not paying a monthly fee to drop ads. I would pay one time, but there are too many free versions to deal with the distracting ads.
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Add removal
Can’t get rid of adds om daily devotion.
Very annoying
Very annoying
Latest Update Ruined This App
I have used this app quite enthusiastically for years. Not only was it my favorite Bible app, I rarely used another Bible app, because this one had such great features, and did everything I needed. With the latest update occurring a couple of months ago, this app is now totally useless to me. It now has several bugs it never had before (iPhone 12). The most frustrating bug is that it crashes every single time I open it. Not five, or six, or eight out of 10 times, but 10 out of 10 times. And most of the time, it crashes within 30 seconds of opening it. When it does stay on longer than that, other things happened, that never did before. It deleted several scriptures in my “Favorites” list, although they are still highlighted in the body of text itself. Often it will not go to a scripture that I select. It crashes almost every time I try to select something new from any menu. The “Search” feature is now horribly broken; when I type in anything in the search field, there is no way to close the keyboard and push a button to actually activate the search. The app has become literally useless!
I never write reviews. At least this one is the first in several years. The only reason I’m doing so, is because I used to love this app. I hate having to give it up, but I have no choice! Please fix it!
I never write reviews. At least this one is the first in several years. The only reason I’m doing so, is because I used to love this app. I hate having to give it up, but I have no choice! Please fix it!
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Updated version of app is glitchy!
I used to love this app, but since the update, adds pop up in the middle of readings which is very frustrating.
Listening to audio of George W Sarris is one of my favourite ways to absorb the Bible, but the audio Bible option shuts itself down now or has errors when trying to change from one book of the Bible to the next, and sometimes just won’t work at all. The app no longer remembers where you were last reading/listening from and the reader settings keep resetting on their own.
I end up closing the whole app down, only for it to repeat the same issues later on reopening.
Please fix the bugs and give us a new update. In its current state, I wouldn’t recommend this app anymore.
Listening to audio of George W Sarris is one of my favourite ways to absorb the Bible, but the audio Bible option shuts itself down now or has errors when trying to change from one book of the Bible to the next, and sometimes just won’t work at all. The app no longer remembers where you were last reading/listening from and the reader settings keep resetting on their own.
I end up closing the whole app down, only for it to repeat the same issues later on reopening.
Please fix the bugs and give us a new update. In its current state, I wouldn’t recommend this app anymore.
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Please fix bugs
We truly appreciate this app. Please fix the bugs that have the app shut down for certain books when they are opened.
Going down hill
I have used the website for years. So getting the app was a natural choice. However, it’s always been buggy and not very user friendly. There are many redundancies in navigation. You have to hit 2-3 buttons to do what a better app could do in one. The cut and paste feature is hard to figure out, and for awhile it was omitting words and spaces from the paste. So you may accidentally misquote scripture. They told me they were working on the bug, and may have fixed it by now. I don’t know for sure, I’ve just avoided using the feature lately for obvious reasons. The key word search doesn’t seem to be all inclusive either. When looking for the location of specific verses, and you are using the right words, it doesn’t always give me what I’m specifically looking for. Forcing me to use other apps that work first time with the same words and translation. Also, they have resorted to using ads, while I don’t have a problem with that in general, they could be a bit more choosy about them. Many seem out of place on a so-called sacred site. While I will continue to use the website on my desktop, I am done using the app for now.
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Even paid version isn't worth it
This is disappointing to have to write but perhaps more reviews like this will make the developers take notice that they need a major overhaul of the app. I have been very loyal to Bible gateway since I became a believer in Christ in 2010. It was the first app I used on a regular basis. Back then, apps were in their infant stage so it made sense that it would be have a lot of glitches. But it's 2023, and even free apps don't function on this level. I realized that perhaps I needed to just upgrade to the the plus version. For one, perhaps it would at least take the pop up ad out. It still isn't functioning on a level that I know you all can be at. Someone at the top needs to have a hard conversation or two. There's just no reason why there are still fundamental errors and mistakes with the app. It hardly refreshes on an automatic basis. The search engine always acts as if I made an error. It's just hard to navigate and the $5/month version is just not cutting it for what you pay for. Please look at the company keeping you at this level and look at other Bible apps that have far surpassed you all in quality. You guys are the standard in info. But the app to access is a major hindrance. Please find someone else to handle it. I say this truth in love.
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Bible App Not Working
I have used this Bible app since 2020. I loved using it as I could highlight verses and save notes to those specific verses. Now when I open the app, I can’t open the Bible without the app shutting down. If I try to open one of my saved verses in the notes with the thoughts that I wrote down, it shuts down. Sadly, I am going to have to delete this app because it is not working at all. This makes me very sad because I made several notes since 2020 verses and so I am completely losing any thoughts and notes that I had.
I also just want to add that it was very disheartening to me when you removed the passion version of the Bible. Buying into all of the hype that people were saying about the passion Bible. I personally have read the passion Bible side-by-side to the AMP, the NKJV, the NIV, and other Bibles, and did not have an issue with it. It was a beautifully written Bible. The Bible I do have a problem with is the Message Bible as I fill it lightly covers the subjects and doesn’t give the depth of God’s word. Maybe you could reconsider the Passion.
I hope you fix whatever is wrong, and are paying attention to the many are complaining about the problems of this app.
I also just want to add that it was very disheartening to me when you removed the passion version of the Bible. Buying into all of the hype that people were saying about the passion Bible. I personally have read the passion Bible side-by-side to the AMP, the NKJV, the NIV, and other Bibles, and did not have an issue with it. It was a beautifully written Bible. The Bible I do have a problem with is the Message Bible as I fill it lightly covers the subjects and doesn’t give the depth of God’s word. Maybe you could reconsider the Passion.
I hope you fix whatever is wrong, and are paying attention to the many are complaining about the problems of this app.
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