# NewsTap (Usenet Newsreader)

> Usenet newsreader for mobile with offline access and article filtering. (iPhone/iPad app by Alexander Clauss.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/newstap-usenet-newsreader/id292410356 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Alexander Clauss](https://appshunter.io/developer/286091996)
- Category: News, Social Networking
- Price: $3.99
- Rating: 3.40/5 from 19 App Store ratings · 198 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 17+
- Requires: iOS 10.0 · 4 MB
- Languages: German (Germany), American English
- Released: 2008-10-08
- Data updated: 2026-08-30
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/newstap-usenet-newsreader/id292410356/reviews.md

## What is NewsTap (Usenet Newsreader)?

NewsTap is a powerful Usenet Newsreader for the iPad, iPhone and the iPod Touch.

Features:
- Optimized for offline usage, so you can read and write news articles without an internet connection

- It's easy and simple to subscribe, manage and read news groups.

- Filters (also known as "Killfile") can automatically mark articles as read or mark them with a certain color.

- The application fully supports the portrait and landscape mode.

- Support for binary groups (photos and other files). Photos and pictures can be displayed directly. It's possible to add photos into the photo album or open them in other Apps. 

- Quotes are displayed in different colors. Colors are also used to distinguish between read and unread articles, filtered articles.

- Hyperlinks are automatically detected and  can be opened in a web browser.

- Optimized article layout for the small iPhone display. The original article layout is also available.

- Navigate within the articles from within the thread view or simply by flipping to the next/previous article with your finger.

- A graphical „tree view“ visualizes a complete discussion and makes it super-easy to follow and participate discussions.

- It's possible to hide articles that are already read and to hide quotes.

- Sync the read/unread states of the articles using a „newsrc“ file with other usenet client. The sync can be done via SFTP, WebDAV, Dropbox and iCloud.

- Post new articles or send followups.  

- Build-in help, which explains all the application features.


For more screenshots please look at the developers web site.

## Key features

- Offline usage for reading and writing
- Easy group subscription and management
- Article filtering (killfile)
- Binary group support with image display
- Graphical discussion tree view
- Sync read/unread states via cloud services
- Post new articles and followups

## Chart rankings

- #27 in Top Paid · News (US App Store)

## Recent user reviews (10 of 198)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/newstap-usenet-newsreader/id292410356/reviews.md

### 5/5 — It's a usenet newsreader ...

*2026-04-10*

... in 2026, with recent fixes, on iOS.  I mean, that should be enough, but it's also pretty pleasant to use, obvious to configure, uses proper newsrc files and ... really, there is nothing here to complain about.

### 1/5 — Ne trouve pas les news de Free

*2026-03-28*

Voir titre

### 2/5 — Update problem

*2025-08-18*

Unable to reply any posts after recent update, please have it fixed.

### 4/5 — Good but isolated

*2024-12-19*

It's a nice app. An oldie too.

One thing I think is curious is that it still doesn't have a url-scheme, so you can't share a post with someone else. I'd like to see the developer create a url-scheme that can be used to jump to specific posts on specific servers, and also add sharing of posts and servers to the iOS share sheet. It can't be that hard. I get that it's niche but the whole app is niche. Own the niche I say.

### 5/5 — Great

*2024-10-28*

Best Usenet reader I’ve found for IOS. Does everything I need it to do (reading, posting, browsing) in a simple, easy to understand and smooth interface. Thank you!

### 4/5 — Zoom in original layout

*2024-10-06*

Works terrible- scrolling of the zoomed text is impossible (Linux kernel newsgroups)

Articles saved in favorites do not contain links to relevant topics/replies and thus do not allow tracking discussions development.

Strange delay (~30 seconds ) in logs between successful save of config in cloud and news server connection

### 2/5 — Well, it works at least

*2024-09-13*

Unfortunately, it lumps EVERY message on the server into EVERY group. Example: I subscribed to only 3 or 4 groups. Every single message on the server shows up in each of the groups I subscribed to.  Kinda pointless.

### 4/5 — Il “punto a capo” non funziona

*2024-01-27, version 5.5*

Quando si visiona un post, i “punti a capo” non fanno andare a capo, ma fanno continuare sulla stessa riga.
Però ci sono, perché con Google group gli stessi post, si vedono con gli “a capo” funzionanti.
Inoltre si vede che ci sono anche quando si risponde al post.
Per il resto, tutto funziona benissimo.

### 2/5 — Errore di connessione

*2023-06-27, version 5.5*

La versione lite funziona perfettamente mentre quella a pagamento da errore di connessione allo stesso server.

### 1/5 — Loaded articles once, then they disappeared

*2021-10-15*

After that articles won’t load again, tried following steps in the support section and no luck. Wish I could get my money back.

## Frequently asked questions about NewsTap (Usenet Newsreader)

### What is NewsTap?

NewsTap is a powerful Usenet newsreader application for mobile devices. It allows users to subscribe to and read newsgroups, post new articles, and participate in discussions. The app is optimized for both online and offline usage, providing flexibility in how you access Usenet content.

### What are the key features of NewsTap?

Key features include optimized offline usage, easy management of newsgroups, powerful article filtering (killfile), support for binary groups with direct image display, a graphical tree view for discussions, and the ability to sync read/unread states with other clients via cloud services.

### How much does NewsTap cost?

Based on the provided information, the application is a paid app. There are no mentions of in-app purchases or advertisements, suggesting a one-time purchase model.

### What devices is NewsTap compatible with?

NewsTap is designed for Apple devices, specifically the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. It supports both portrait and landscape modes, and offers an optimized article layout for smaller iPhone displays.

### Can I use NewsTap without an internet connection?

Yes, the app is optimized for offline usage. You can download articles and newsgroups when you have an internet connection and then read and write new articles without being connected. This makes it convenient for users on the go.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 5.6.3 — 2026-01-20

Bugfix: it could happen that articles which were encoded via "quoted-printable" were decoded twice

### 5.6.2 — 2025-11-23

An issue of iOS 26 prevented that "X-Face" images could be displayed on the iPhone. This will now work again.

### 5.6.1 — 2025-06-10

Bugfix: Under the latest iOS release the options to open links in web browsers did no longer work

### 5.6 — 2025-05-28

- The maximum age of articles is no longer limited, so you can now go back to the 1980s or 1970s and read the articles from the beginning of the Usenet era (for example when connecting to "archive" servers which do still have such old articles).

### 5.5 — 2021-03-19

Because of a bug in iOS 14 very large and deep threads could not be read properly anymore. So articles of the groups could not be accessed. The new release will include a workaround for this iOS 14 issue, so articles do no longer get lost. There was no such problem under iOS 13 or older.

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## More apps by Alexander Clauss

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All apps by Alexander Clauss: https://appshunter.io/developer/286091996

## Related topics

[usenet](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/usenet)

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*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 2026-08-30.*