# Helena Independent Record — user reviews > 17 indexed App Store user reviews of Helena Independent Record by Lee Enterprises, rated 3.00/5 from 60 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/helena-independent-record/id437589283/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/helena-independent-record/id437589283.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 19 · 4★ 11 · 3★ 3 · 2★ 5 · 1★ 22 ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Almost nonfunctional with a 2014 iPad Air with iOS 12.5.6 *2022-09-07* Bummer. The Helena IR app is almost nonfunctional on my 2014 iPad Air with iOS 12.5.6. It used to work. Was about to stop getting the print edition. I still might, but I’ll have to read it on my iPhone 12. What a shame. ### 1/5 — Doesn’t work consistently *2022-02-20* Has for several days in the past month given an error that I need to subscribe/pay to access content even though I AM A PAID SUBSCRIBER and have been for years. Support on 1/27/22 reply essentially said go use the website instead of the app and “ Unfortunately, there is a known issue with the app that causes the login to malfunction.” It took several days before the app finally worked again. It worked for a few days and now it doesn’t work again. To pay this much a month to access news on my phone and not be able to is not acceptable service. ### 1/5 — Almost useless *2021-11-26* And you would like for folks to pay? ### 1/5 — Terrible App *2021-08-04* Crashes every time I click on a notification. ### 1/5 — Poor content worse execution *2019-03-15* This app used to more closely follow the print edition now it is dominated by irrelevant local sports and has very limited local news. If you click on notifications to check the story, the text is blocked and you are requested to participate in a survey (this can, however, be averted by backing out of the story and then opening it from the app). This app needs a complete redo and a new content editor. ### 1/5 — Helena Independent Record *2018-12-20* Stories are Difficult to follow. Print is to small. No index. ### 1/5 — Print & e edition subscriber *2018-10-26* Average Prior to 10/23 changes with list if articles we could open. Terrible After 10/23 changes. Very difficult to navigate. Headlines can’t be seen in the picture. To busy with pictures. Limited local stories and no national or international stories. Just give us an e edition of the print newspaper. Again TERRIBLE ### 1/5 — Don't waste your time *2014-08-22* I'm sorry, but this app is a joke. The Independent Record is bad enough in print, but this app is worse. It only allows access to a few stories and is very buggy. You are far better off downloading the KXLH app if you want to be informed about what is going on in the Helena area. ### 2/5 — Buggy performance, messy layout, subpar reporting *2021-06-30* The IR app has serious performance problems; specifically, any time i try to click a push notification, the app crashes every time, requiring me to relaunch the app and manually search for whatever story caught my eye...and there is no “latest news” section to find it in. Layout is poor too; pages are riddled with add content that is poorly formatted, causing text to frequently jump around. Finally, the IR has suffered from lackluster coverage and writing for years; headlines or story leads are frequently confusingly written or don’t accurately sum up the details in the full article. Push notifications often promote opinion articles that it perhaps thinks will generate more traffic, regardless of the quality of those editorials. Unfortunately the IR is one of the few online sources for local Helena news...for State-wide news, I usually turn instead to Yellowstone Public Radio, Montana Public Radio, or Montana Free Press for better coverage and more engaging news write-ups. ### 2/5 — Ok *2015-09-20* News isn't overly current. Dear lord make it so that this app doesn't ask me about location services every single time I open it. I have changed the settings. It always reverts back. Why would you ever need to know where I am when reading the news. ## Most praised reviews (7 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — I love the IR *2025-02-04* My husband gets the paper regularly but I love reading articles on my phone! **Developer response:** We appreciate the positive review! Thank you for taking the time to let us know you’re enjoying the app. ### 5/5 — Helena independent record *2018-10-08* It gives us information about stuff ### 5/5 — Great app *2012-01-26* I haven't lived in Helena for over twenty years, and I still miss it like crazy! This app keeps me up to date and makes me feel like I'm back home! ### 5/5 — Helena IR *2011-09-28* The Helena independent record app for the "iPhone" serves as Helena Montana's most resourceful news app. In fact it is the only app made for Helena that I know of! The Helena independent record is bias. They believe in president Obama who is otherwise known as the anti-Christ. Just kidding! But anyways here's 5 stars. ### 4/5 — Improvements made *2025-04-08* It’s easier to pull up stories to read now. But still challenging to get past initial screen that offers subscription deal. **Developer response:** Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback. We truly appreciate it. ### 4/5 — Rating IR *2020-08-25* I was in a much larger metropolitan area in Idaho (than Helena) last week and Sunday I had a need for some print news - so I bought a paper there. The Independent Record far exceeds the paper I read. I was done in minutes and was not mentally satisfied. Keep up the good work. ### 2/5 — Meh *2012-10-12* It crashes constantly. Most news is omitted in place of obits, which really should have a category of its own any ways. --- *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 2026-09-02.*