# Birmingham Live — user reviews > 77 indexed App Store user reviews of Birmingham Live by Trinity Mirror Digital Media Limited, rated 4.50/5 from 53 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/birmingham-live/id662307361/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/birmingham-live/id662307361.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 40 · 4★ 6 · 3★ 2 · 2★ 2 · 1★ 3 ## What do users think of Birmingham Live? Overall sentiment: negative **Pros** - 👍 Good for local news - 👍 Keeps users informed - 👍 Good for expats to stay connected - 👍 Informative news coverage - 👍 Impressive layout (recent) - 👍 Great storylines **Cons** - 💸 Paywall introduced - 💸 Restricted article access - 💸 Greedy monetization - 💸 Misleading headlines - 💸 Poor quality content - 💸 Clickbait headlines - 💸 Ads everywhere - 💸 Annoying auto ad scroll - 💸 Bad spelling and grammar - 💸 Lame and trashy news - 💸 Left-wing slant - 💸 Censored comments - 💸 Poor reporting - 💸 Repetitive stories - 💸 Random video clips - 💸 Fiddly new layout - 💸 Outdated content - 💸 Unacceptable cookies and tracking - 💸 Limited categories - 💸 Interface is shocking **Commonly reported bugs** - App crashes frequently - App freezes - Comments not loading - App doesn't refresh - App crashes when logging in - App crashes mid-composition - App crashes when trying to read articles - Pages don't load properly - App kicks user out mid-article - Comment section unusable - App crashes or doesn't load content - Villa news locked after update - Cannot register online name - App crashes when trying to see comments - Error message when trying to comment/read - App fails to send comments - App crashes and causes device to heat up - App doesn't download comments - App won't open after update - App doesn't refresh articles often - Slow to open on all devices - Pages not loading properly - App is glitchy and hard to navigate - Constant adverts pop up **Most requested features** - Allow users to delete or amend comments - More detailed news with less repeating - More local news, less celebrity/soap content - Revert to previous app version - Improve comment section moderation - Fix comment posting issues - Allow mobile users to comment - More local news, less filler - Improve grammar and spelling - More good news, less bad news ## Newest reviews (18 of 77) ### 2/5 — BL *2025-01-14, version 9.4.0* BL occasionally reports real news and likes to stir up racial hatred and deletes any comments that do not fit their narrative ### 2/5 — D *2024-11-10, version 9.3.7* Apps ok, just a little bit sensitive on the comment section. Half the comments I type aren't offensive, yet they get blocked ### 1/5 — Useless app *2024-03-18, version 9.2.3* Useless app can’t use it anymore half the stories aren’t local news anyway awful ### 1/5 — Worse then before since update *2024-03-11, version 9.2.3* The app doesn’t even work, keeps saying refresh! Useless!! ### 1/5 — Deleted!!!! *2023-12-15, version 9.2.0* Shocking they want to charge you to read now…. No way am i paying this company, go jog on!!!!!! ### 1/5 — Poor *2023-12-10* Having had this app for years today I deleted it, suddenly you limited to 25 articles a week and the interface is shocking, you now needs 2 hands to read the stories as the back button no longer work. The articles are confusing and it takes several reads to actually understand what the reporter is trying to say One star is generous wanted no stars ### 1/5 — Limited to 25 articles per week *2023-11-28, version 9.2.0* What’s the point in being a local source of information and putting a limit of 25 articles per week? Rather deal with more ads than have to subscribe. ### 1/5 — Chasing the £ *2023-11-18, version 9.1.1* Good for local news however after the update you are limited to 25 articles a week unless you pay a premium. ### 1/5 — Pay for poor stories *2023-11-05* I use this app as a brummie living out of town to see news about my old area but now they started blocking stories off unless you pay £20 a year! Why would I pay £20 of my hard earned money for something thats always been free and quite frankly isn’t worth a pound a year. Whoever came up with this idea just trying to take advantage of an already strained society give your head a wobble and sort it out. ### 1/5 — Pay For News *2023-11-02, version 9.1.1* Now you have to pay to look through more than 25 articles a week lmao what a joke what an absolute joke just ridiculous makes me laugh. Good riddance to the app sticking to BBC NEWS app instead. Joke joke joke beyond joke. ### 1/5 — Who asked for an update? *2023-10-23, version 9.1.0* Don’t like the new update… scrolling, scrolling, scrolling. I feel your more excited than your readers. I may have to delete it… ### 1/5 — Reduced categories & a bug *2023-10-18, version 9.1.0* The new update has a lot less news categories. For instance, only one of the local teams is featured. Also, whenever I try to see the list of my own comments, the app crashes. ### 1/5 — Ruined the app *2023-10-18, version 9.1.0* The latest update has made this app totally impersonalised - all of the setting that I had and am supposed to still have are gone and it’s just a stream of whatever the author imposes. Won’t be using again - total homogenised rubbish ### 1/5 — Disgrace *2023-10-16, version 9.1.0* So now you can only read 25 articles per week unless you pay for the privilege Birmingham Live your a disgrace ### 1/5 — Only bad news *2023-08-08, version 8.3.5* Nothing but bad news, days in and days out, surely there some good news too ### 1/5 — Can no longer use it *2023-07-07, version 8.3.5* I enjoyed using this app often. I’m on an iPhone 6. I can text and call fine but because I can’t update my iOS to 14 I lose out on now being able to use the app. As a 50 year old man I don’t need to keep buying the new phones. So this update has killed the app for me. Wish developers would revert back. Sad. ### 2/5 — Lame news articles *2023-04-25* I’m a Brummie living in the US and am embarrassed that my hometown newspaper reports such lame, and often trashy, news. I put it down to the fact the parent company is the Mirror. **Developer response:** Hi and thank you for your feedback. You can use the in app Feedback tool to report your concerns around article content directly to our editorial team, simply tap the 'My Account' tab at the bottom of the app, tap the 'Feedback' option and then select 'Editorial Feedback' from the options provided. The Reach PLC Apps Team ### 1/5 — Utterly hopeless, clickbait, censored tat *2023-03-28* This is my honestly held belief after a number of years using the app. Crammed with clickbait misleading headlines, and cut and paste filler from online review sites like Tripadvisor, estate agent adverts converted into ‘news’ articles almost daily. Twitter, Facebook and Tik Tok pieces often with no relevance to the region they cover. ‘Celebrity’ (in the loosest possible sense) tat. Endlessly milks stories getting clicks, multiple times a day, sometimes with different writers covering identical things at the same time. The level of grammar and basic English skills is risible, and they clearly don’t use sub-editors or even proof read. One particular writer is renowned amongst readers for perpetually cutting and pasting from all over the place and in particular for his clickbait prediction pieces claiming the “exact time” some weather event or new law will unleash on the readership (and for never allowing comments on his articles). He spent his time during a recent very high profile ongoing tragedy solely focussed on posting multiple articles of minimal legitimate public interest clearly trying to maximise clicks. Utterly repellant. Often with a left wing slant to appease it’s Daily Mirror owners. Many of the readers commenting in the comment sections are of dubious integrity or intelligence. Perfectly polite, intelligent and considered comments can find themselves deleted without explanation. The latest iteration of this app crashes multiple times a day, often multiple times during a single reading session. Oh for a local news app that actually provides good quality reports on actual news! Update: Content still as awful as ever, and despite being fully updated it still crashes randomly but VERY frequently, especially when logging in and mid composition of a comment. In fact it has just crashed seconds after logging in after updating to IOS 16.4 and the very latest version of this awful app. **Developer response:** Hi and thank you for your feedback. We are sorry to hear you are seeing instability with our app, as we see our crash free rate is over 98%. Please use the in app 'Feedback' tool provided to send us more information around the issues you are seeing, and if you can, please include a Screen Recording of the issues. To do this, simply tap the 'My Account' tab at the bottom of the app, tap the 'Feedback' option and then select 'App Feedback' from the options provided. You can also use the in app feedback to raise your concerns around article content directly to our editorial team, simply select the 'Editorial Feedback' option. The Reach PLC Apps Team report. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Restricted?! *2026-06-23* I used to use this app daily but imagine my surprise when I open the app and I have to now PAY to view the news! I had used my 7 free articles and now can’t read any further articles, I’m appalled and have deleted the app to just search the news online rather than use this app. Ridiculous and ludicrous to just change how the app can be used without giving fore warning. If I’d have known this was the direction I wouldn’t have downloaded the app. ### 1/5 — Misleading headlines and charges *2026-03-29, version 26.2.6* If they want to charge fair enough but don’t use misleading or click bait headlines. You can still get their news free via Apple News! ### 1/5 — Can’t read the whole article *2026-03-29, version 26.2.6* The only thing you can do is pressing the like button and can’t even read the whole article and what’s happening in that article and before is not like that before and you can read the whole articles in Birmingham Live and now you have to pay for it 😒 and you can’t even write your comment because there’s no comment section everything on this all changed and it’s really annoying ### 1/5 — Greedy *2026-03-28, version 26.2.6* Used to like scrolling the local news but GREED has taken over. Trinity want money off people to read the local news. No thank you. ### 1/5 — Why do we have to pay? *2026-03-18, version 26.2.6* I’m not paying to read the local news. ### 1/5 — Goodbye app *2026-03-13, version 26.2.6* 90% plus is now behind a pay wall and still ads for what is left. The content is not good enough to warrant a massive paywall ### 1/5 — Can only view 20 articles A WEEK!?!? *2026-02-06, version 26.1.2* This app was good and kept me in the loop with local news in Birmingham. For many years. I have just been blocked from viewing any further articles as I have an allowance of 20 articles per week??!? Or pay £2.99 a month for unlimited access. PER WEEK?!? Are you kidding me?!? ### 1/5 — Pathetic *2024-12-07, version 9.4.0* The amount of one star reviews tells you everything you need to know. I dumped this app a long time ago, couldn’t stand the bad spelling and grammar. ### 1/5 — Annoying Auto Ad Scroll *2024-09-05, version 9.3.3* When reading a story there is a new unwanted feature where as all of a sudden the page just auto scrolls into an ad further down. Disgusting attempt at forcing people into reading ads they have no intention of. ### 1/5 — Rubbish *2024-04-22, version 9.2.4* Abysmal, doesn’t refresh & the spelling is atrocious. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Pete / Lichfield *2023-07-10, version 8.3.5* Great news coverage, Sports can’t wait for the new Football season to start. Thanks again BirminghamLive. Pete Villa fan. ### 5/5 — Helps with the News *2023-05-08, version 8.3.5* Best way of knowing what’s happening in the Brum ### 5/5 — Birmingham live *2022-12-08, version 8.2.0* Hi having born and brought up in brum in the fifties, it’s so nice to catch up of what it’s like today after traveling the world and now living in Spain, wonderful thank you , Brian john , ### 5/5 — Great *2022-08-04, version 8.1.0* Great storylines ### 5/5 — Love This App! *2022-04-08, version 7.1.6* The Birmingham Mail is very informative with all its news and stories. ### 5/5 — Review *2022-02-26* I would enjoy it more if I could put a comment on things or even read some of the comments but no it keeps commingled up with error try again which I do and it’s still says the same ### 5/5 — The App is really good *2020-11-26* I like this app. I look at it over and over again all through the day. Keeping me up to date with the news. Area new is great. I like it with the black background setting easy on the eyes. ### 5/5 — Pages not loading properly *2020-09-04* Pages don’t load up properly, you start reading an article and can’t finish it, so frustrating! ### 5/5 — Could be better *2018-07-16* The news could be more detailed with less repeating , some stories seem to stay put for weeks . Overall not a bad app .. ### 5/5 — Australian subscribe *2018-02-10* I love this App it keeps me in touch with my home town. Living in Australia and having family (especially my 92 year old Dad) in Brum keeps me posted daily on what happens in Birmingham. 5 stars love it --- *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 2026-09-06.*