# NewsTap Lite (Usenet Reader) — user reviews > 81 indexed App Store user reviews of NewsTap Lite (Usenet Reader) by Alexander Clauss, rated 2.60/5 from 8 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/newstap-lite-usenet-reader/id297063247/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/newstap-lite-usenet-reader/id297063247.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 2 · 4★ 1 · 3★ 1 · 2★ 0 · 1★ 4 ## Newest reviews (13 of 81) ### 4/5 — Decent overall *2025-07-22, version 5.5* As others have said it’s the best USENET reader available. It has many good functions and works well overall. Honestly it’s one of the main reasons I’m not switching from iOS to Android at this time. I would like to see a few enhancements though: — quote selected text. This is a vital function of newsreaders which helps trim down long messages. — the internal browser has stopped working reliably. It will bring up a website but never complete rendering it. — an Android version. ### 4/5 — Limited but useful free version *2023-07-02* Free version is limited but still does what I need. ### 3/5 — Good news reader *2022-01-15* Works pretty well. The author has done a fine job. It’s not perfect though. And it’s very limited. Below comments are intended to be constructive not negative. The limit of one server and two groups is pretty stingy, even for a trial version. I would suggest 2 servers and 6 groups would be less scrooge-like. The help function is fairly good but a nice touch would be a downloadable tutorial. This is a complicated app so takes a little study to master. ### 4/5 — Decent overall *2020-11-01, version 5.4.1* As others have said it’s the best USENET reader available. It has many good functions and works well overall. Honestly it’s one of the main reasons I’m not switching from iOS to Android at this time. I would like to see a few enhancements though: — quote selected text. This is a vital function of newsreaders which helps trim down long messages. — the internal browser has stopped working reliably. It will bring up a website but never complete rendering it. — an Android version. ### 1/5 — Latest Version is broken *2016-01-19* I used NewsTap for several years and found it a solid nntp news client. Then a major update came out, and since then it has not worked at all for me.It would connect to servers, download group lists, and subscribe to groups, but it would never download any news. I deleted and reinstalled the latest version (updated within the past week) and now it won’t even download the group list. Just sits and spins trying to connect to the server, and finally gives up. I’ve tried multiple servers and ports that work fine with my Mac news client. ### 1/5 — Broken *2015-10-03* After upgrading to the new version, the app doesn't show any messages in the group I'm reading. Tried everything. No errors in the log. It's just broken. ### 3/5 — Considerably improved *2015-09-26* Ver 5 appears to have fixed the IOS9 problems, & is much nicer to use too. I can't find the rot13 coder though. ### 4/5 — Does the job *2014-09-13* The best free newsgroup app available on App Store. Setup can be a bit complicated, but the additional options are welcome. ### 1/5 — Does not work at all *2014-07-25, version 4.0.1* Tried with multiple servers. ### 1/5 — Non funziona *2014-02-25, version 4.0.1* Sarebbe ora di aggiornare ;) ### 3/5 — Mediocre *2013-07-13* Doesn't support SSL, lite version only supports 1 group, can't view binaries. ### 1/5 — Too complicated to set up. *2012-12-17* The help section wasn't helpful. It tells you to enter info in the accounts section. But There isn't anything labelled accounts. There are just cryptic icons. It's probably a good app when you get it going but it needs to be a lot more user friendly at the set-up stage. You'd have thought it would be in the developers interest to make it more widely accessible. ### 1/5 — Limited to one newsgroup *2012-11-01* Lite is very lite indeed - limited to subscribing to a single newsgroup. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Can’t see articles *2023-06-24* The app does a ton of work downloading groups and showing how many articles are in them, but it stops there. I’d like a simple way to see a list of those articles and then read some. Those areas do not populate. ### 1/5 — UI wenig intuitiv eher für Informatiker *2021-09-28* Gute Idee ein Lite Version ausprobieren zu können. Damit konnte ich mir die voll Version erstmal sparen. ### 1/5 — Mal programmato *2019-09-17, version 5.3.5* È incredibile come il livello della batteria cominci a scendere quando si scaricano i messaggi. ### 1/5 — Photo Album? *2019-08-17* where is that? I can’t save any pics now, have to save via other app. Having brought back saving to photos this update has removed that function and even the view full screen. still have no idea how to view/save a picture that is too large to post as single file and is split in multiple parts eg …jpgA[1/2],…jpgA[2/2] ### 1/5 — Хреново *2018-12-08* Не отправляет сообщения ### 1/5 — Switching apps causes all entered text to disappear *2018-07-07* Makes it hard to set up servers and connections. Not user-friendly, cannot recommend. ### 1/5 — Spam spam spam adver *2016-07-20, version 5.1.9* Not install ! Spam on aplication !! ### 1/5 — Cannot get it working *2016-07-13* Loaded groups list for my newsgroup provider and entered settings. But after clicking Connect it disconnects almost at once. ### 1/5 — Ne fonctionne plus *2016-06-21* Depuis la dernière mise a jour, impossible de récupérer les articles avec iPad sous iOs 7. ### 1/5 — Hangs, sort not working *2016-04-08* Used to work great. Now, hangs often when viewing messages, cannot multi-task properly: download and viewing articles cause hangs. Threads not sorted properly... ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Buon reader per newsgroup Usenet *2021-03-12, version 5.4.1* Quest versione gratuita permette di caricare max due gruppi per volta. ### 5/5 — This is not spam! *2019-04-13, version 5.3.3* That dude who wrote it's spam, I tell y'all it is not! It is lite version, it displays some ads on the bottom, I don't mind that. Small space. Again, it's lite version so you can use only two news groups. I just use two so what evs, but if you use more then you have to pay for it :) The app. Fast, lightweight, no problems, works like all usenet readers should work. I recommend, 5 stars. ### 5/5 — Posting not working *2017-06-03* Please fix ### 5/5 — Der einzig verwendbare Newsreaderauf dem Smartphone *2016-10-25* Seit Jahren schon bei mir im Einsatz und vom Programmautor immer wieder gut gepflegt, ist NewsTap bis heute der einzig verwendbare Usenet-Newsreader auf dem Smartphone und Tablet. Herzlichen Dank! ### 5/5 — Full-featured newsgroup reader. *2015-10-06* Does everything it needs to and the latest update gives the design a much more modern look. ### 5/5 — Endlich! *2015-09-28* Die neue Version ist ein echter Quantensprung! Design und neue Funktionen top. ### 5/5 — Best free newsgroup reader app *2015-09-20* I tried every one I could find and this is best by far. If I hadn't tried so many, I might have only given 3 or 4 stars. Apparently, it is hard to make one works worth a $h1t. This one is rock solid. Or at least it was until I upgraded to iOS 9. Please fix it! ### 5/5 — Great app except... *2010-09-27* Please add yenc support so I can view pictures!! ### 5/5 — Best app for newsgroup *2010-03-15, version 0* I've used this app for really long time. It can do all normal newgroup client does. It fully supports multiple languages, includes Chinese. The latest update makes it much more prefect regarding interface and speed. Sorting and loading articles now can be more flexible as well. I definately recommend everyone uses newstap for accessing nesgroup in iphone. ### 5/5 — Promising early days *2010-03-02* Looks good so far. Easy to configure and to subscribe to groups. I only read text groups so I can't speak to binary support. Threading seems a bit clunky but it may be my learning curve. --- *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.*