# Lexington Herald-Leader \| News — user reviews > 83 indexed App Store user reviews of Lexington Herald by The McClatchy Company, rated 4.40/5 from 2,618 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lexington-herald-leader-news/id389701575/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lexington-herald-leader-news/id389701575.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 1,663 · 4★ 638 · 3★ 122 · 2★ 41 · 1★ 154 ## What do users think of Lexington Herald? Overall sentiment: negative **Pros** - 🚀 Solid app performance - 📰 Good investigative reporting - 🏀 Comprehensive UK sports coverage **Cons** - 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs - 📱 Frustrating app experience - 🔍 Lack of search functionality - 🔒 Login and subscription issues - 🖥️ Inferior to website experience - 💰 Expensive subscription for poor service **Commonly reported bugs** - Constant sign-out issues - Inability to access full e-edition - Unreliable news feed updates - Compatibility problems with iOS 15 **Most requested features** - Restore previous app version - Improve navigation and page-turning - Add search and archive features - Optimize for tablet/iPad usage - Provide offline reading options ## Newest reviews (17 of 83) ### 2/5 — Sometimes it works? *2023-08-07, version 9.2* Stories close CONSTANTLY. Most of the time when I tap on a story to read it, the story may flash on my screen for a second but will immediately return me to the front page. Or a blank screen may flash briefly before returning to home page. Happens on multiple stories, multiple days, even after deleting and re-installing. ### 1/5 — Terrible app *2023-07-22, version 9.1.8* App keeps signing me out and even when signed back in it does not acknowledge my paid subscription and I can’t read any of the articles. If this keeps up I’ll be forced to end my subscription ### 1/5 — App is not working *2023-03-17, version 9.1.8* I see an article I want to read, and then it disappears and I’m not able to read it. This app is having some issues and bugs that need to be fixed. How am I able to read the newspaper when I can’t even get it? ### 1/5 — This app is terrible! *2023-02-19, version 9.1.8* I have to delete and reload this app onto my iPad almost every single day in order to read the most recent newspaper. Otherwise I am stuck with the previous day’s paper. Even then, the tools don’t work after the first page. Why can’t the Herald Leader improve this expensive service? Other purchased subscriptions don’t have these issues on my iPad, so I strongly suspect it is the app, not the new iPad. And, as others have noted, customer service is basically nonexistent. UPDATE: After writing the above review I received an email instructing me to empty the cache in the app. I did that but there was no improvement. Almost EVERY SINGLE DAY I have to delete the app from my Ipad, reload it and then use it for the day. Given the cost of the digital paper, which just rose, this is ridiculous! Then, today, I had to scroll through 2 pages of every page in the Sunday Extra section. What kind of quality control is utilized? Just deplorable! Yes, I can read the paper via the email link but the font quality and clarity is very poor; yet another quality control issue that could be solved. We subscribe to larger papers that don’t have these issues, so we know the technology exists to provide the readers with a decent experience. Apparently the HL values profits over investing in its products. ### 1/5 — Major App flaws *2023-02-04, version 9.1.8* This app has a very frustrating issue. In order to open, it’s necessary to delete and reinstall every single time. Then you have to click on the topics you’re interested in reading. There is not a single click to check all the boxes so you have to click through all the boxes each time. I have contacted support and was told to delete the cache, but that didn’t resolve the issue. This has been going on for several months. Either it cannot be fixed or no one cares. ### 1/5 — This app is terrible! *2023-01-01, version 9.1.8* I have to delete and reload this app onto my iPad almost every single day in order to read the most recent newspaper. Otherwise I am stuck with the previous day’s paper. Even then, the tools don’t work after the first page. Why can’t the Herald Leader improve this expensive service? Other purchased subscriptions don’t have these issues on my iPad, so I strongly suspect it is the app, not the new iPad. And, as others have noted, customer service is basically nonexistent. ### 1/5 — Loaded once, won’t load and crashes now. *2022-12-02, version 9.1.8* I paid for a year subscription but can only access it on the PC. The app will not work on my ipad unless I delete and reinsall it every single time. I contacted customer service several days ago and have not gotten a reply back. Not only that, I can’t access my account information on the web. I can log in, but my account won’t load. What a waste of money this subscription was. I’m afraid I won’t be able to cancel my subcription without calling, because I can’t get to in on the ipad OR the PC! Don’t bother. ### 1/5 — Worst website and customer service ever *2022-11-30, version 9.1.8* The APP does not work; purchased subscription have my email and password and APP does not recognize my login. Freezes all the time. Called customer service 5 times and their phone system dropped me 4 times. FInally spoke to a person who was of no help. Asked for supervisor, even worse. HORRIBLE and strongly recommend you do not use. I requested partial refund and was refused. They beat me for a year's subscription for an e -edition that can't be accessed from the App; don't let them beat you. THE WORST ### 1/5 — Not cool, LHL *2022-10-14, version 9.1.8* Suddenly I can’t read a SINGLE article without a subscription. I’m not quite ready to do that, however, as I JUST moved here. Now I know I will NEVER be ready to subscribe, due to the paper's own actions. ### 1/5 — Crappy update. *2022-10-08, version 9.1.6* There are many problems with the new update. The worst is that graphics, like comics, can be nearly unreadable. If you tap on it, it seems to be clearer, but then you try to expand it and it just goes back to being pixelated. Sometimes it gets clearer, but that is unpredictable. Another bad development is that it is nearly impossible to pull up the bar at the bottom to ‘show all pages’. It used to be easy to do that, but now pretty much nothing works. Sometimes you can shrink the pages to get ‘see all articles’, but if I want to go from the back to somewhere the front, it is almost impossible to do quickly. Didn’t they have beta testers for this? I would have flunked it. Update: I was contacted by the developer and told to remove the app and reinstall it. I did and nothing changed. Apparently they practice the art of insanity… tell people to do the same thing over again and then expect a different result. **Developer response:** Thank you for the update and apologize for your experience with the app. Please take screen shots or video and email them to mobile-team@mcclatchyinteractive.com to troubleshoot this. ### 2/5 — New Version Update - week of September 12, 2022 *2022-09-17, version 9.1.6* I don’t know what the Herald Leader did, but I had to upgrade the version on my iPad this week. When I did, it made everything smaller to where I have to zoom in to read anything which doesn’t allow me to advance the pages unless I zoom back out. ### 2/5 — Undo the update *2022-09-10, version 9.1.6* After this latest update, the app is terrible. The paper “page” is much smaller and is blurry when enlarged. The bar at the bottom to skip to other pages is missing. What the heck. It worked fine before- leave it alone! ### 1/5 — Why Change? *2022-09-10, version 9.1.6* Prior edition worked perfect on my iPad. Newest version 9-9-2022 update is not full screen on my iPad, why? If it fixable I sure can’t find it! ### 2/5 — Needs more frequent news updates. *2022-07-09, version 9.1.5* Overall, an OK app as far as UI, but the main issue is the news is not updated frequently enough. As I write this review on a Sunday evening, the main story is about how to watch a UK basketball game that’s now been over for more than 24 hours, and there is still an article discussing an “upcoming” winter storm that happened overnight Friday, so that information is almost 36 hours past its time :( Update: The developers instructed me to pull down to refresh, but the news is still not updated on weekends. As I write this, the latest news is from 19 hours ago. Good during the week, poor on weekends. ### 1/5 — Terrible *2022-04-30, version 9.1.5* Slow, unpredictable, hard to customize. Can’t even search for stories, and often they appear in seemingly random order. Unacceptable app design in 2022 given the increasingly exorbitant rates charged for a subscription. ### 1/5 — Major Bug *2022-04-21, version 9.1.5* I can no longer see anything in my feed. It just says “Error fetching feeds”. This started about a week ago. I have deleted the app and tried reinstalling several times. Same problem. Please fix. ### 1/5 — Never loads *2022-04-11, version 9.1.5* The app is getting worse. Almost every morning it does not load. The only way I can make it work is to delete it and download it again. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Horrible *2026-08-04, version 11.1.15* Slow response from website. Poorly written and/or edited articles. Incomplete writing. I should not be able to discern the reporters’ opinions based on reading a NEWS story. Opinions must be labeled as such. Too many reprints of other newspapers’ articles. No local events listed. There’s no way to find out what’s going on in a particular day, week, or month. The Weekender section was crucial, although it was incomplete, usually highlighting only a few events per week. I do not recommend this “newspaper” at all. ### 1/5 — Decline *2026-08-01, version 11.1.15* The paper has declined rapidly over the last years. I have recently contacted the company twice with no response. The latest action was to stop the letters to the editor section. That was the last local page worth reading. The decline started with moving the print location several times, removing local happenings, removing editorial cartoons and opinions, moving the property transfers to an obscure location, getting rid of local home restorations, and the list goes on. The addition of more national and world news was nice even though it is just copied from other media. Lastly the same news is reported 2-3 days in a row. I understand the transition to the digital age and that’s the only subscription I receive. I can’t imagine that anyone pays money for the printed version. The Sunday edition was $9.99! I will be canceling my subscription when the current haggled over price runs out. I’ve been a subscriber for over 50 years! ### 1/5 — Review of new Herald Leader update *2026-04-10, version 10.4.0* I can’t even get it to work. Stuck in a loop open then update app open then update app. ### 1/5 — Problems *2026-01-11, version 11.0.3* App & Content is missing the whole point! ### 1/5 — Can’t access *2025-12-05, version 10.4.0* This new update doesn’t work. My husband and I read on different I pads. I got the update installed on his but can’t get on mine. ### 1/5 — User Hostile *2025-02-08, version 10.0.6* Logs you out every time you try to open app. Miserable experience. ### 1/5 — Broken app *2024-06-07, version 10.0.3* Even though I have an account and active subscription to this newspaper, I cannot access any story on the app. It always tells me I need to login or subscribe, even though it shows one page over that I have already done both of those things. In addition, the search feature just doesn’t seem to work. I can type in keywords for a specific article, and nothing will come up. I can put in the exact title of the article, and nothing will come up. It’s just ridiculous. ### 1/5 — Very disappointed. I want the print version viewing option back. *2024-05-12, version 10.0.2* I have been a loyal subscriber for the last 30 years and we cannot receive a paper delivery due to our distance from Lexington. Hence we rely on the digital version. With this latest update, we cannot view the print version of the paper online. We have emailed customer support twice and heard from them once with the standard reply that this new version is better. It is not better and we will not renew when our subscription expires later this year. Beyond frustrated and disappointed. ### 1/5 — The new app is terrible. *2024-05-03, version 10.0.2* I’ve used the app since it first came out years ago, and have always loved it. The latest version that came out May 1, 2024 is terrible beyond belief. I mean, *really* terrible. Unreadable terrible. I loved my digital paper and want it back. If they can’t fix this app by May 6, I will be cancelling the subscription I’ve had for more than 30 years. ### 1/5 — Worse than the website *2024-05-02, version 10* The app is worse than the website in every way. Screenshot? App no; web yes. Ad-block? App no; web yes. Swipe to go back? App no; web yes. Annoying? App yes; web yes. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Hometown Paper *2026-08-06, version 11.1.15* Great to read the paper I grew up with, while I am 8000 miles away serving the Navy. ### 5/5 — LHL News *2026-08-01, version 11.1.15* I absolutely love receiving and reading the news in the Herald-Leader. I have been a long time supporter of this institution for many years! Keep up the good work! ### 5/5 — Opinionated *2026-07-31, version 11.1.15* I wish we had a letter to the editor department again ### 5/5 — One star is too many… *2021-09-11, version 9.1.3* I’ve subscribed to this paper for nearly 30 years and switched to all digital when home delivery became a sketchy proposition at best. This app is horrible. It simply does not work. I have deleted and re-Installed numerous times. Get your act together folks or based on the reviews I’m reading, you will be losing revenue. It’s just seems that obvious to me. ### 5/5 — Great improvement! *2021-01-23, version 8.0.0* New Beta version of app is a huge improvement over the previous clumsy version - which was exasperating. ### 5/5 — Love the investigative reporting of this paper! *2019-08-26, version 7.2.3* I don’t live in Lexington anymore but it’s great to keep up with the things going on there. The app is much better than any we have here. Glad they are investing in good reporting! ### 5/5 — Solid sauce *2018-09-25, version 7.1.0* You guys could actually run more adds Ang should. They’re aren’t exactly to the point of annoying yet. Nice work ### 5/5 — Awesome *2017-09-05, version 6.0.5* This app is awesome to keep you updated on the Kentucky Wildcats!! Always great articles and I recommend to anyone! ### 4/5 — Generally pleased with app *2020-05-04* I’m generally pleased with the app functioning. New stories are posted quickly. I wish there was a search feature for older stories, but maybe they don’t have that much capacity built into the app. I have started regularly to get a message telling me to sign in. I click sign in, then cancel, and I can read the article because I am already signed in. I would really like this bug to be fixed. ### 4/5 — Poorly Thought Out App *2019-10-02* The image of the document presents the print so small one has trouble reading it. If your eyes become strained trying to read one can assume your eyes are being harmed. On the positive side, the option to download the eedition for reading later has been placed in a convenient spot. --- *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 2026-08-29.*