# Hacker News Tech Reader - HACK — Best Hacker News YC Digest > Beautiful, ad-free Hacker News reader with advanced features and customization. (iPhone/iPad app by Pranoy Chowdhury.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hacker-news-tech-reader-hack/id1464477788 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Pranoy Chowdhury](https://appshunter.io/developer/952263202) - Category: News, Developer Tools - Price: Free with in-app purchases - Rating: 4.70/5 from 1,589 App Store ratings · 200 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 9+ - Requires: iOS 15.0 · 28 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2019-05-26 - Data updated: 2026-11-03 - Monetization: free - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hacker-news-tech-reader-hack/id1464477788/reviews.md ## What is Hacker News Tech Reader? HACK for YC's Hacker News is the most beautiful and easy way to read about the latest tech, startup and STEM news. - No Ads. No subscriptions. - Login or Register your Hacker News account - PUSH NOTIFICATIONS for Hacker News replies to comment or post - Supported on iPhone, iPad, and Mac - Setting to block AI posts on HN. - Comments are presented in nested threads - Tap a comment to collapse that thread - Swipe left or right on stories and comments to upvote and favorite - Ability to submit new posts including drafts - Long press a story, link or comment to share - iPad supports split view - On iPads, you can drag a story / comment / story's image (link) to open it in safari in split view. This is useful for when you are viewing the app in split view / multitasking and like opening the link / story / comment in a browser side by side. - Landscape and Portrait support - 3D touch for peek, pop support - Home screen 3D touch shortcuts - Hide posts from the feed - Tap the bottom button to scroll to the next root comment in the thread. Long press it to go to the previous one - All known hacker news endpoints - News, front page, Ask HN, Show HN, Show HN Newest, classic, active, best stories, best comments, new stories, new comments, noob stories, noob comments, jobs, over 100-500 points - Submit posts, reply, comment using your HN account - Browse top 100 leader accounts - Browse stories from a specific site, user or date - Search in comments and usernames! Search is case and diacritic insensitive and ignores punctuations. Search uses an CONTAINS, OR operation if multiple words are typed. - Can select / highlight the comment/post title text for lookup/copy/translate etc iOS native operations. - Powerful search (powered by Algolia API) - use @date to sort by date, #story to filter for stories, #comments to filter for comments, #author_username to filter by user etc. These tags can be separated by commas. Refer to https://hn.algolia.com/api for more tags. - Dark mode - both pure black and gray mode - Low contrast text mode to make the text not be pure white - Many color choices & color picker for customization - App icons in variety of colours for light and dark mode - Font choices - Ability to change font sizes, padding etc to make the layout as compact as you like! - Threaded comments with color bar to maintain visual orientation - Articles open in Safari view with setting to automatically open in "readability" mode - Tap the domain in a story to see all stories from that site - Tap the username in a story or comment to go to the user profile - Browse your submitted stories and comments, favorited stories and comments, upvoted stories and comments - Archive: View an archive of the post website. archive.is, archive.org & google cache. - Share comment as image - Articles can be opened in built in safari or 3rd party browsers. Supports Brave, Firefox, Firefox Focus, Orion, Opera Touch, Dolphin, DuckDuckGo, iCab Mobile, Microsoft Edge and Chrome. Go to settings > Disable the "Use in-app Safari" setting > tap that row to change the default browser. All stories and comments are via Algolia API and Hacker News API: https://news.ycombinator.com/ https://hn.algolia.com/api https://github.com/HackerNews/API Profile picture robots lovingly delivered by Robohash.org There are ongoing costs of developing and maintaining HACK. I am a small indie developer and need your help keep the lights on. I offer a beautiful app for the absolute best user-experience. I don't use intrusive ads, trackers, third-party analytics, subscriptions, or other nonsense. I need to run my own server for caching high quality favicons shown in the app plus for push notifications for replies to hacker news posts. If you can afford it, please support me by purchasing the one-time-only in-app-purchase or giving me a tip. No subscriptions. It's a small and fair amount which helps cover development costs of future updates. Contact me at: pran@pranapps.com ## Key features - Ad-free and subscription-free experience - Push notifications for replies - Nested comment threads - Advanced search with filters - Customizable fonts and themes - Article sharing and archiving - Support for multiple browsers ## Pricing and in-app purchases Base price: Free. **One-time purchases** | Purchase | Price | Type | | --- | --- | --- | | Hack Premium | $12.99 | one-time | | Nice Tip | $3.99 | one-time | | Kind Tip | $6.99 | one-time | | Amazing Tip | $12.99 | one-time | | Generous Tip | $9.99 | one-time | | Godzilla Tip | $19.99 | one-time | ## Is Hacker News Tech Reader safe? Hacker News Tech Reader - HACK appears safe based on user ratings. The AppsHunter Safety Score for Hacker News Tech Reader is 94 out of 100. This assessment is based on 1,589 user ratings, with an App Store average of 4.7 out of 5. Of 1,589 App Store ratings, 91.4% point to a safe experience, 2.6% suggest some concerns, and 6.0% point to a risky experience. ## Is Hacker News Tech Reader legit? Hacker News Tech Reader - HACK appears to be a legitimate app. The AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for Hacker News Tech Reader is 100 out of 100 points across 7 verification signals from App Store and developer data. ## Recent user reviews (10 of 200) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hacker-news-tech-reader-hack/id1464477788/reviews.md ### 5/5 — Great app, stop the begging! *2026-11-01* The app is great, but why are you still nagging me to buy you a tip when I already purchased the life-time version for 15,00 EUR? Please stop the begging! ### 5/5 — Awesome app *2026-10-19, version 184* This is the best HN app I’ve found. The developer is super responsive, the app is very well designed, and even the non-premium app is very full featured. I of course recommend going premium to support amazing people like Pran! ### 4/5 — iOS 27 bug, but great *2026-10-01* On iOS 27, scrolling up and down comments seems to cause some random "tremor" as if the UI is being caught by a comment header and springs back and forth up and down at like 5hz for 1 seconds. It gets quite annoying over time. **Developer response:** The latest update fixes it. Please give it a try and let me know. If the issue is fixed, please update your review. If it still persists, please email me at: pran@pranapps.com ### 5/5 — Easy *2026-09-22* Simple et efficace ### 5/5 — Fantastic *2026-09-19* Does everything you could want from a HN reader and is continuously maintained. Fast, customizable and no subscription! Highly recommended **Developer response:** Thank you!! ### 5/5 — Awesome app *2026-09-12, version 170* This is the best HN app I’ve found. The developer is super responsive, the app is very well designed, and even the non-premium app is very full featured. I of course recommend going premium to support amazing people like Pran! ### 5/5 — you will not regret buying this app! *2026-09-05, version 165* Disclaimer: I do not know this developer, I have never been in his country, which is far away from mine. I can say the following: (1) this is a very useful app, if you do not consider your MacBookPro or whatever computer you have, so kind of wondorous toy bursting with surprises; in other words, if you know really nothing of programming, this is **not** for you. Otherwise, **very much so!** (2) the developer uses a business plan assuming general decency, both from the side of the developer community, and the user community; in the case of the present application, we are talking anyway of the intersection of the above two community. Decency cannot be assumed these days lightly, so exercising this (this time as a user), is a sane way to imagine other alternatives for the future, than always the worst. (consider the disclaimer above) Please, do support this developer, for our own common sake. ### 5/5 — Awesome app *2026-08-22, version 164* This is the best HN app I’ve found. The developer is super responsive, the app is very well designed, and even the non-premium app is very full featured. I of course recommend going premium to support amazing people like Pran! ### 5/5 — Good but *2026-08-07, version 163* Can u guys pls add a tutorial and I need to get help but it kinda ez ### 5/5 — Solid App- across the board! *2026-07-26, version 163* This is my favorite app and is constantly improving. Great work, buddy! ## Frequently asked questions about Hacker News Tech Reader ### Does Hacker News Tech Reader have ads? No, Hacker News Tech Reader is completely ad-free. The app explicitly states 'No Ads. No subscriptions.' in its description. ### What devices does Hacker News Tech Reader support? Hacker News Tech Reader is supported on iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices. It also offers split view support for iPads. ### How does Hacker News Tech Reader handle comments? Comments are presented in nested threads, allowing users to easily follow conversations. You can tap a comment to collapse its thread and swipe to upvote or favorite. ### Can I customize the reading experience in Hacker News Tech Reader? Yes, the app offers extensive customization options including dark mode (pure black and gray), low contrast text, multiple color choices, font selections, and adjustable font sizes and padding. ### What are the search capabilities of Hacker News Tech Reader? The app features powerful search powered by the Algolia API, allowing you to search comments and usernames. You can use tags like @date, #story, #comments, and #author_username for advanced filtering. ### How frequently is Hacker News Tech Reader updated? The latest version is 185, and the app was last updated on October 31, 2026. This indicates a history of regular updates to maintain functionality and add features. ### What is the age rating for Hacker News Tech Reader? Hacker News Tech Reader has an age rating of 9+. This suggests it is suitable for most users and does not contain mature content. ### Can I submit posts or reply to comments with Hacker News Tech Reader? Yes, you can submit new posts, including drafts, and reply to comments using your Hacker News account directly within the app. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 185 — 2026-10-31 - Crucial fix for a bug where scrolling up comments would sometimes flicker and get janky when many comments are collapsed. Due to the infrequent nature of this bug, I am hoping the changes I made in this update fixes it. If it persists, please email me. - Fixed a bug where replying to a comment would mess up the comment tree with random comment appearing below your reply. - HACK is supported on Mac, iPhone, iPad. There are ongoing costs of developing and maintaining HACK. I am a small indie developer and need your help keep the lights on. I offer a beautiful app for the absolute best user-experience. I don't use intrusive ads, trackers, third-party analytics, subscriptions, or other nonsense. I need to run my own server for caching high quality favicons shown in the app plus for push notifications for replies to hacker news posts. If you can afford it, please support me by purchasing the one-time-only in-app-purchase or giving me a tip. No subscriptions. It's a small and fair amount which helps cover development costs of future updates. You can also write a review on the App Store as that really helps me get the word out. Thank you for choosing HACK. If you have a programming job or have feedback, contact me at: pran@pranapps.com ### 184 — 2026-10-18 - Updated to latest iOS 27 SDK. - Fixed a bug where replying to a comment would mess up the comment tree with random comment appearing below your reply. - Fixed bugs where the "Open in HACK" safari extension, URL scheme, and app icon shortcut weren't working. - HACK is supported on Mac, iPhone, iPad. I am a small indie developer and need your help keep the lights on. I offer an ad and analytics free and beautiful app for the absolute best experience for my users. I need to run my own server for caching high quality favicons shown in the app plus for push notifications for replies to hacker news posts. If you can afford it, please support me by purchasing the one-time-only in-app-purchase or giving me a tip. No subscriptions. You can also leave a review on the App Store as that really helps me get the word out. Thank you for choosing HACK and supporting me. If you have a programming job or have feedback, contact me at: pran@pranapps.com ### 183 — 2026-09-24 - Updated to the latest iOS 27 SDK. Fixed bugs where the "Open in HACK" safari extension, URL scheme, and app icon shortcut weren't working. - This update hides the "time" icon on the story list. This helps reduce text wrapping and thus allows more stories to be shown. There are two new settings to toggle this behavior for stories and comments. - When full screen swiping, the app will now try to prevent accidental swiping to upvote on a story due to conflicting gestures. - Added a new "See Blocked Posts" option to menu. Useful if you have the "Reduce AI posts" setting on. - Updated the UI for the pagination button to match with rest of the app. Previous update added a setting to disable infite scroll aka auto-paginate to load more content. When disabled, shows a "Load more" button when scrolled near the bottom. Reduces addictive doomscrolling behaviors.) - Previous update also added another highly requested setting: "Reduce AI posts". This is OFF by default. When ON, it uses a regex to block any post titles matching a big list of AI related keywords. Fixed a typo in this setting name. - HACK is supported on Mac, iPhone, iPad. I am a small indie developer and need your help keep the lights on. I offer an ad and analytics free and beautiful app for the absolute best experience for my users. I need to run my own server for caching high quality favicons shown in the app plus for push notifications for replies to hacker news posts. If you can afford it, please support me by purchasing the one-time-only in-app-purchase or giving me a tip. No subscriptions. You can also leave a review on the App Store as that really helps me get the word out. Thank you for choosing HACK and supporting me. If you have a programming job or have feedback, contact me at: pran@pranapps.com ### 182 — 2026-09-22 - Updated to the latest iOS 27 SDK. Fixed bugs where the "Open in HACK" safari extension, URL scheme, and app icon shortcut weren't working. - This update hides the "time" icon on the story list. This helps reduce text wrapping and thus allows more stories to be shown. There are two new settings to toggle this behavior for stories and comments. - When full screen swiping, the app will now try to prevent accidental swiping to upvote on a story due to conflicting gestures. - Added a new "See Blocked Posts" option to menu. Useful if you have the "Reduce AI posts" setting on. - Updated the UI for the pagination button to match with rest of the app. Previous update added a setting to disable infite scroll aka auto-paginate to load more content. When disabled, shows a "Load more" button when scrolled near the bottom. Reduces addictive doomscrolling behaviors.) - Previous update also added another highly requested setting: "Reduce AI posts". This is OFF by default. When ON, it uses a regex to block any post titles matching a big list of AI related keywords. - HACK is supported on Mac, iPhone, iPad. I am a small indie developer and need your help keep the lights on. I offer an ad and analytics free and beautiful app for the absolute best experience for my users. I need to run my own server for caching high quality favicons shown in the app plus for push notifications for replies to hacker news posts. If you can afford it, please support me by purchasing the one-time-only in-app-purchase or giving me a tip. No subscriptions. You can also leave a review on the App Store as that really helps me get the word out. Thank you for choosing HACK and supporting me. If you have a programming job or have feedback, contact me at: pran@pranapps.com ### 179 — 2026-09-21 - Updated to latest iOS 27 SDK. - This update hides the "time" icon on the story list. This helps reduce text wrapping and thus allows more stories to be shown. There are two new settings to toggle this behavior for stories and comments. - When full screen swiping, the app will now try to prevent accidental swiping to upvote on a story due to conflicting gestures. - Added a new "See Blocked Posts" option to menu. Useful if you have the "Reduce AI posts" setting on. - Updated the UI for the pagination button to match with rest of the app. Previous update added a setting to disable infite scroll aka auto-paginate to load more content. When disabled, shows a "Load more" button when scrolled near the bottom. Reduces addictive doomscrolling behaviors.) - Previous update also added another highly requested setting: "Reduce AI posts". This is OFF by default. When ON, it uses a regex to block any post titles matching a big list of AI related keywords. - Fixed bugs where the "Open in HACK" safari extension, URL scheme, and app icon shortcut weren't working. - HACK is supported on Mac, iPhone, iPad. I am a small indie developer and need your help keep the lights on. I offer an ad and analytics free and beautiful app for the absolute best experience for my users. I need to run my own server for caching high quality favicons shown in the app plus for push notifications for replies to hacker news posts. If you can afford it, please support me by purchasing the one-time-only in-app-purchase or giving me a tip. No subscriptions. You can also leave a review on the App Store as that really helps me get the word out. Thank you for choosing HACK and supporting me. If you have a programming job or have feedback, contact me at: pran@pranapps.com ## Apps similar to Hacker News Tech Reader | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Octal for Hacker News](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/octal-for-hacker-news/id1308885491) | 4.8 (2,852) | Free | News | | [Hacker News - Latest in Tech](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hacker-news-latest-in-tech/id1573004386) | 4.7 (34) | Free | News | | [Hacki for Hacker News](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hacki-for-hacker-news/id1602043763) | 4.6 (41) | Free | News | | [Cyber Security News & Alerts](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cyber-security-news-and-alerts/id792406035) | 4.5 (395) | Free | News | | [Tech News Tube](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tech-news-tube/id422953518) | 4.6 (950) | Free | News | | [9to5Mac — Breaking Tech News](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/9to5mac-breaking-tech-news/id955138289) | 4.7 (4,845) | Free | News | ## More apps by Pranoy Chowdhury - [Fititude - Cardio, Workout, Exercise tracker and full log with music player for fitness and training](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fititude-cardio-workout-exercise-tracker-and-full-log-with-music-player-for-fitness-and-training/id952263203) - [Color Circle - Tap to Switch](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/color-circle-tap-to-switch/id1084246048) - [Note Flash Music Sight Reading](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/note-flash-music-sight-reading/id1285315687) - [OLEDify Pure Black Wallpapers](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/oledify-pure-black-wallpapers/id1416984528) - [Keyboard Warrior Speed Typing](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/keyboard-warrior-speed-typing/id1435547020) - [MoodWell: moody tracker diary](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/moodwell-moody-tracker-diary/id1443436795) All apps by Pranoy Chowdhury: https://appshunter.io/developer/952263202 ## Related topics [cydia hack](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/cydia-hack) · [hacer](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/hacer) · [tldr tech](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/tldr-tech) · [hacker news](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/hacker-news) · [hacker news app](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/hacker-news-app) · [cybersecurity news](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/cybersecurity-news) · [real news for ycombinator hacker news](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/real-news-for-ycombinator-hacker-news) · [hacking apps code](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/hacking-apps-code) · [hacker news reader app](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/hacker-news-reader-app) · [paywall bypass](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/paywall-bypass) · [react native hacker news](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/react-native-hacker-news) --- *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 2026-11-03.*