# AL.com — user reviews > 115 indexed App Store user reviews of AL.com by al.com, rated 4.50/5 from 15,258 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/alcom/id419876008/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/alcom/id419876008.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 11,034 · 4★ 2,340 · 3★ 831 · 2★ 324 · 1★ 729 ## What do users think of AL.com? Overall sentiment: negative **Pros** - 💡 Great overall news source - 🚀 Timely and informative news coverage - 👍 Diverse content and topics **Cons** - 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezes - 🔋 Performance issues, slow loading - 💬 Biased and one-sided reporting - 📢 Intrusive and disruptive ads **Commonly reported bugs** - App title displaying incorrectly as 'OSU Basketball' - Inability to access recent search history - Difficulty closing ads or navigating back from articles **Most requested features** - Improve app stability and performance - Provide more balanced and objective news coverage - Optimize ad placement to minimize disruption ## Newest reviews (17 of 115) ### 3/5 — What have you done now? *2026-07-24, version 4.5.11* Here we go again. Today is July 24, 2026. The app last updated about a month ago, and was working amazingly well at that time, as it has for the last couple of years. But, a few days ago, new issues—some of them similar to issues we had some years ago—popped up. Now, when I bring up an article, the material jumps around, making it difficult if not impossible to read the content straight through. Not only this, but totally unwanted ads intrude themselves into the material. Most annoying of all is the appeal to subscribe to a rather pricey subscription. I subscribed years ago to what was then the free account; and, if the app began misbehaving, all I needed to do was to sign in again to that account. Now, when I attempt to sign in, it doesn’t even recognize me, and keeps throwing the subscription message at me. If we are now at a point that one can no longer use the app without a paid subscription, I will be forced to delete one of my favorite apps for state and local news. As if to add insult to injury, when I open the app now (as of the last two or three days), there is no longer a menu, and no “Contact Us” feature. Shame on you for messing up, without an update, what was a perfectly good and useful app which, at least for the past few years, worked well with screen readers. I wish I could offer a screenshot of how it looked before this latest mess-up, as opposed to how it looks now. My previous reviews will probably still appear below, after I submit this one. Old issue resurfaced. Today is June 5, 2022. With the most recent update—about two weeks ago—ads are again intruding into articles, making reading them difficult. Rarely, one can get through an article uninterrupted , which is wonderful. With the latest update, there is a Close button—which, at least now, usually works— next to the popup ad, but that button evades VoiceOver. Therefore, when an ad pops up, VoiceOver users must go through a rather clunky process to find the Close button and close the ad. Vut, as soon as _that ad is closed, _another one pops up, and one must repeat the process. This can happen numerous times during a given article. And, don’t even get me started on when that sort of thing happens if one is in Around The Web, assuming that one was able to read the entire article. Please fix this issue. There have been brief periods when the app worked like a charm, and received 5 stars from me. I do not want to have to delete the app, as I get much out of the material presented therein. There are still issues with the Search feature (see my previous reviews, which follow. Reinstalling the app, of course, didn’t alleviate these issues. New update; bug fixed quickly; back to 5 stars for now. Previous reviews below. There have always been ups and downs with this app; but, for the last little while, it was working quite well. However, with the most recent update, as of around April 8, 2022, the app is again almost unusable. The most frustrating issue is that, when a notification arrives and one clicks it, the _article that initiated the notification generally doesn’t come up, but you are taken to the most recent top stories. If that notification is from several days ago—and you are just now getting to it—you will not find that article in the latest news. So, you bring up Search; but, if you don’t enter the exact wording of the article’s title, or the exact keyword, you won’t find it anywhere. Finally, if one is scrolling through “Around the Web” after reading an article, and choose to read something, the Back button no longer takes you back into Around the Web, but takes you back to the original article—and Around the Web disappears. Again, as of three days ago, ads again pop up, sometimes with no way to close them (because the Close button doesn’t work), thus preventing reading the rest of the article or making reading it difficult. I don’t want to have to delete the ad again—as I was forced to do at one point several years ago when it wasn’t working well—but it may come to that again. This would be a shame, because I like the app overall. An earlier review may still appear below. I have always liked the diversity of content which this app offers, and have used it for a long time; however, there have always been a few issues with it. For some time, adds have tended to pop up in the midst of articles, with no foolproof way to close them, thus making it difficult to finish reading the articles. Also, an article will occasionally disappear before I can finish reading it. I had hoped that the latest app update would alleviate these issues, but it did not; and, a new—and annoying bug has crept in. Now, when reading an article that was recommended as a notification, when there is a “Done” button for backing out of an article, that button no longer works, and the only recourse is to close down the app. A similar thing happens when I look up a word directly from an article, and must hit “Done” in order to get back to the article (which doesn’t happen now, because “Done” doesn’t work)! When an article takes me directly to the website, and a “Back” tab is used to back out of an article, that tab _does work. Please fix the “Done” button, even if this is an issue for VoiceOver users only. ### 1/5 — Al.com app terrible *2025-12-13, version 4.5.5* Used to work ok on my iPad, now unusable. ### 1/5 — This app will crash your phone *2025-10-17, version 4.5.1* If you want an app that will lock up your phone this is the ideal one. Loading and navigation is painfully slow. A horrible effort. ### 1/5 — Used to be a good app *2025-06-22, version 4.4.39* They want $5 bucks a month now for old news. No thank you ### 1/5 — Wow... Not a good wow... *2025-05-27, version 4.4.38* Why take something that was working great (finally!) and ruin it. I thought the idea of progress was to make things easier and more user friendly? Seems like the developers have it backwards with this app. The reporting is much more left leaning than before…. Why is it difficult to be unbiased? ### 1/5 — 5 start to 1 star *2025-05-19, version 4.4.38* As others have stated the older versions were nice, but now most of the articles on the app are behind a pay wall. I understand it costs money to create the app but I can just go to a web browser and read the articles. ### 1/5 — My go to app at one time *2025-05-10, version 4.4.38* This was the app I always went to until recently. Now just about every article I tap on to read tells me I have to subscribe to read it. Have become very disappointed with it. ### 2/5 — Starting to charge *2025-04-28, version 4.4.38* I’m not gonna pay to use this service ### 1/5 — Update is terrible *2025-04-23, version 4.4.37* The new app is not very user friendly. There are features that don’t work properly or at all. For instance, you can’t share the articles from the app anymore ### 1/5 — Pay to read biased editorials/ and fake news ? *2025-04-14, version 4.4.37* I ll just watch it on TV 😂 ### 1/5 — Bleh! *2025-04-14, version 4.4.37* I used to read articles every day. Now it won’t load any articles unless I sign up for a subscription. The articles aren’t written well enough to justify paying for them. Boo! ### 1/5 — Don’t bother! *2025-04-14, version 4.4.37* Unless you want to pay $99.99/year which is more than I pay for “The Athletic” then don’t bother. Every single story seems like you’re required to pay for it now, guess the ads and popups don’t generate enough. Just deleted the app after about 15 years!!! ### 1/5 — Goodbye, Deleted al.com *2025-04-13, version 4.4.37* I’d rather think for myself ### 1/5 — Have to pay *2025-03-29, version 4.4.36* Have to pay view articles ### 1/5 — Gone downhill *2025-03-23, version 4.4.35* Most articles are only able to be read if you pay now. Used to be my first place to look for news articles. Probably will be deleting the app if articles can not be read. ### 1/5 — Paywalls end news *2025-03-22, version 4.4.35* Used to be great. Paywalls for every possible source (instead of just the main) keep the public uninformed, even about critical info. 4th estate and 1st amendment are dead and al.com aided and abetted. ### 1/5 — Terrible paywall *2025-03-10, version 4.4.34* Most articles now paywalled ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Subscription Etc *2026-08-20, version 5.0.0* I have no interest in paying for a subscription. I don’t know why you can’t just use ads like most everyone else. Also I really don’t like now having all the sports related articles all grouped under “Sports”. This needs to be broken out into smaller groups. I continue to look for other ways to get sports information. ### 1/5 — The absolute worst website! *2026-08-14, version 5.0.0* The absolute worst website! ### 1/5 — Useless website *2026-08-13, version 5.0.0* You are a useless website. You only allow about 1% of the articles submitted to be read by people who don’t see any value in an overpriced subscription. ### 1/5 — Horrific *2026-08-08, version 5.0.0* Not reader friendly. The rapid decline in the journalist on this is disturbing. Biased and racially divisive journalism . What has happened to journalism? ### 1/5 — Garbage. Everything is behind a paywall now *2026-08-06, version 5.0.0* Unable to view any articles or stories. They either have a bug that needs to be fixed or they are putting everything behind a paywall for an outrageous amount of money. ### 1/5 — Buggy and paywalled *2026-07-26, version 4.5.11* This app has been buggy for a very long time. It crashes a lot. It needs to be redesigned from the ground up. Most of the articles are behind an outrageously overpriced paywall. ### 1/5 — Buggy and paywalled *2026-07-04, version 4.5.11* This app has been buggy for a very long time. It crashes a lot. Most of the articles are behind an outrageously overpriced paywall. ### 1/5 — Not worth it! *2026-05-18, version 4.5.11* AL.com tries to bait you into subscribing by giving just a little bit of an article without giving up your personal information and agreeing to pay. This is not an honest way of doing business. ### 1/5 — Buggy and paywalled *2026-05-12, version 4.5.11* This app has been buggy for a very long time. Most of the articles are behind an outrageously overpriced paywall. ### 1/5 — Every other story locked *2026-02-23, version 4.5.8* I deleted the app because every other story you click it’s locked and says sign up to Al.com to read story. I have enough of my information sold to spammers without you having my email address to send more. I have 3 other news apps where you can read every story they show. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Boo! *2026-08-21, version 5.0.0* I used to enjoy reading everything but now that you are charging to read most articles I’ve almost decided to delete my app. Plus football season is here and it will be nothing but football from start to finish. Block those articles! ### 5/5 — Great local news *2026-08-12, version 5.0.0* Great writers and articles with AL.com and good local news on our community. I suggest everyone with any interest in our community subscribe ### 5/5 — Excellent *2026-08-10, version 5.0.0* Read every day ### 5/5 — Great overall, but ... *2022-06-05, version 4.2.12* Old issue resurfaced. Today is June 5, 2022. With the most recent update—about two weeks ago—ads are again intruding into articles, making reading them difficult. Rarely, one can get through an article uninterrupted , which is wonderful. With the latest update, there is a Close button—which, at least now, usually works— next to the popup ad, but that button evades VoiceOver. Therefore, when an ad pops up, VoiceOver users must go through a rather clunky process to find the Close button and close the ad. Vut, as soon as _that ad is closed, _another one pops up, and one must repeat the process. This can happen numerous times during a given article. And, don’t even get me started on when that sort of thing happens if one is in Around The Web, assuming that one was able to read the entire article. Please fix this issue. There have been brief periods when the app worked like a charm, and received 5 stars from me. I do not want to have to delete the app, as I get much out of the material presented therein. There are still issues with the Search feature (see my previous reviews, which follow. Reinstalling the app, of course, didn’t alleviate these issues. New update; bug fixed quickly; back to 5 stars for now. Previous reviews below. There have always been ups and downs with this app; but, for the last little while, it was working quite well. However, with the most recent update, as of around April 8, 2022, the app is again almost unusable. The most frustrating issue is that, when a notification arrives and one clicks it, the _article that initiated the notification generally doesn’t come up, but you are taken to the most recent top stories. If that notification is from several days ago—and you are just now getting to it—you will not find that article in the latest news. So, you bring up Search; but, if you don’t enter the exact wording of the article’s title, or the exact keyword, you won’t find it anywhere. Finally, if one is scrolling through “Around the Web” after reading an article, and choose to read something, the Back button no longer takes you back into Around the Web, but takes you back to the original article—and Around the Web disappears. Again, as of three days ago, ads again pop up, sometimes with no way to close them (because the Close button doesn’t work), thus preventing reading the rest of the article or making reading it difficult. I don’t want to have to delete the ad again—as I was forced to do at one point several years ago when it wasn’t working well—but it may come to that again. This would be a shame, because I like the app overall. An earlier review may still appear below. I have always liked the diversity of content which this app offers, and have used it for a long time; however, there have always been a few issues with it. For some time, adds have tended to pop up in the midst of articles, with no foolproof way to close them, thus making it difficult to finish reading the articles. Also, an article will occasionally disappear before I can finish reading it. I had hoped that the latest app update would alleviate these issues, but it did not; and, a new—and annoying bug has crept in. Now, when reading an article that was recommended as a notification, when there is a “Done” button for backing out of an article, that button no longer works, and the only recourse is to close down the app. A similar thing happens when I look up a word directly from an article, and must hit “Done” in order to get back to the article (which doesn’t happen now, because “Done” doesn’t work)! When an article takes me directly to the website, and a “Back” tab is used to back out of an article, that tab _does work. Please fix the “Done” button, even if this is an issue for VoiceOver users only. ### 5/5 — Head President Government Officials Soleowner USA kingdom Estates *2020-07-20, version 3.9.3* Greetings this is Queen Diane Kafarror Behyance Beyoncestephanie Fields aka (Stephanie Eve Brooks-Fields) known as ( I’YONCE Goddess) I’m contacting y’all to blessings on y’all. ### 5/5 — A Fresh Breeze Across Alabama *2020-07-19, version 3.9.3* It is exciting if not exhilarating to run across anything “Alabama” that is intelligent as well as non-extremist and of which I’m not embarrassed to refer to with friends and acquaintances outside our state and region. Great insightful site! ### 5/5 — My go to! *2020-04-13, version 3.9.1* Love AL.com my favorite state media source ### 5/5 — Great app! *2020-03-31, version 3.9.1* Very informatively, reliable and unbiased news. ### 5/5 — Good news source *2020-01-13, version 3.7.25* I see this as a whole state news source. Dave ### 5/5 — Review *2019-11-24, version 3.7.24* I enjoy the informative AL.COM website --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-26.*