# PennLive — user reviews > 73 indexed App Store user reviews of PennLive by PennLive LLC, rated 4.51/5 from 3,184 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pennlive/id421910267/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pennlive/id421910267.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 2,333 · 4★ 461 · 3★ 197 · 2★ 62 · 1★ 132 ## What do users think of PennLive? Overall sentiment: negative **Pros** - 🚀 Fast news coverage - 👍 Great local news focus - 👍 Excellent reporting staff **Cons** - 🐛 Frequent app freezes and crashes - 🔍 Difficult navigation and poor UI - 💰 Excessive ads and paywall - 🔍 Outdated and stale content - 🔍 Biased and opinionated reporting **Commonly reported bugs** - App freezes and crashes on launch - Inability to access articles after updates - Inconsistent behavior across devices **Most requested features** - Improved app stability and performance - Streamlined and intuitive navigation - Ability to read articles without paywall - Unbiased and fact-based reporting ## Newest reviews (18 of 73) ### 2/5 — Poor redesign. *2026-07-06, version 5.0.0* New website application is difficult to navigate and notify the same level of resources. ### 3/5 — App freezes constantly *2024-04-18, version 4.4.11* Great new coverage, however, the app freezes after about 10 minutes of being open. Seems like it’s trying to download too many ads when this happens. Very annoying though when you can only read 3 articles before it freezes. ### 3/5 — Freeze and Bounce *2024-03-16* No one likes an article that bounces around while you’re trying to read it. Worse is when an app freezes while reading a bouncing article, so it needs force closed. Fix yourself. ### 2/5 — Can’t keep quite *2022-06-22, version 4.2.15* Google adds override and play their sound track even when muted. Some articles have the same add multiple times and as you scroll to read it restarts at each instance. So if you don’t want Google noise you need to turn the volume down to zero. I understand the reason for advertising but let the sound mute mean no sound. ### 1/5 — PennLive doesn’t work *2022-03-18, version 4.2.5* After updating my PennLive doesn’t work at all ### 1/5 — Opinionated garbage *2021-07-18, version 4.1.1* Penn live is nothing more than liberal Democratic garbage ### 1/5 — Bring back the old app *2021-02-16, version 4.0.8* Don’t know why they screwed this app up so. It used to provide local news in a decent manner. Now it’s a hot mess! I’m deleting it! I’ll have to try elsewhere I guess. Sad. ### 1/5 — App Not Working *2020-12-23, version 4.0* I enjoy this APP however after the last update the app won’t open on my iPhone. I attempted to reload it and have had no luck even with a digital subscription. ### 2/5 — Not great *2020-12-18, version 4.0* New app is not an improvement. They removed half the sections, such as ”politics”. ### 1/5 — Now Requires a Subscription *2020-11-04, version 3.9.4* I was fine with the excessive ads supporting this app in the past years I’ve been using it, but now they are charging $15/month to read articles. No thanks, definitely not worth it. ### 1/5 — Good but *2020-09-09, version 3.9.4* I actually like Pennlive and would give them a five. I just don’t like the idea of having to be continually coerced/bombarded into buying a subscription. They should sell a subscription when you download it. ### 3/5 — App keeps asking to subscribe *2020-07-10, version 3.9.3* I have a valid subscription. I can’t view articles because it keeps asking me to subscribe. I have restored purchases and verified I have a subscription and still doesn’t work. Terrible app right now. ### 1/5 — Deleted *2020-06-01, version 3.9.2* I have used this app for many years and they just started charging 15$ a month to look at any articles. I liked the news from here but not willing to pay that so it is now deleted ### 1/5 — Now a junk app *2020-06-01, version 3.9.2* This app use to be free but with latest updates they want paid. I don’t feel your big enough for payment and why I’m deleting your app. You have advertisements all over app now which I left go but guess they don’t pay your bills. I’ll stay with a real news source outside you since want to charge. ### 1/5 — Totally useless *2020-04-24, version 3.9.2* Pennlive wants $15/month for the crap they post? The least they could do is allow free access to the obituaries like the LDNews does. Otherwise, don’t bother downloading. Just go to Google and get it for free. ### 1/5 — Fake news at it’s finest!!! *2020-01-29, version 3.8.12* If I could give pennleft a lower rating than 1 Star I would! It’s completely biased left wing opinions and copy and paste news stories! Filled with grammatical errors, if your opinion differs from them be prepared to have your comments deleted by the moderator!!! Now to add insult to injury they removed all comments on the app! They actually have the audacity to want 15.00 a month for this horrible app, I’ll be removing it asap not even worth it for free! ### 2/5 — Login in problem *2020-01-28, version 3.8.12* I like the content. What I don’t like is having to login every time I want to read the entire story. Very frustrating. ### 3/5 — Well..... *2020-01-10, version 3.8.12* This was a great app for local and world news if you could get passed the extremely biased views. I could take that but can’t wrap my head around the $14.99 a month subscription, once every article prompted me to subscribe before I could read...I deleted it.... ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Why? *2026-08-12, version 5.0.0* Why pay to read the news?! ### 1/5 — Subscription *2026-08-03, version 5.0.0* My husband pays for a pennlive subscription and I’m unable to use it. If we subscribed to a paper we would both have access. ### 1/5 — Don’t bother with Penn Live *2026-07-24, version 5.0.0* You have gotten greedy! Waaaay too expensive to subscribe. Most articles are “subscriber only “. Major magazines and newspapers are a third of your costs !! ### 1/5 — This is worthless! *2026-07-23, version 5.0.0* I’m originally from PA and like to keep up with news and info. Every article I try to read stops me saying I need to buy a subscription. I will. NEVER pay to read online articles, especially from a Harrisburg newspaper. So I now watch CBS 21, or WGAL 8 news broadcasts online. ### 1/5 — Garbage *2026-07-22, version 5.0.0* Covered in ads and requires a subscription for 99% of the articles. ### 1/5 — Not friendly app, especially for blind person using screen reader with voiceover *2026-07-11, version 5.0.0* It’s only giving me a short most recent version of stories in all the categories News sports and so forth I can’t find stuff from two or three days ago like I can in most apps. No change by September I will probably cancel thank you. ### 1/5 — PA *2026-07-10, version 5.0.0* Too expensive to pay for, not enough original content. Too much borrowed from other news outlets ### 1/5 — Click bait app *2023-09-14, version 4.3.10* Poor performing app that is riddled with click bait misroutes for apps. Very, very difficult to use this app without numerous misroutes for sales, apps, & more. I am going to delete the app and just use a browser. Shame on PennLive for shoving blatant and unwanted sales in our faces. ### 1/5 — Sad *2023-09-04, version 4.3.10* This is as good as it gets for the HARRISBURG area for news. Old dated news stories show up in various sections. Crashes. Very odd navigation that’s not intuitive. Renewing a subscription is a nightmare. Various pricing in Ap vs Web site. Ap and website don’t interact. Charged multiple times for subscription. Doesn’t keep you logged in. Tap on story in Tweeter (X) and you need to relight in or worse Penn Live asks you to subscribe but goes no no log in option! ### 1/5 — Poor APP update again!!! *2022-03-22, version 4.2.5* Again the App developers have failed to support older IPhones! Both the regular and football app no longer work on my IPhone 6 with the latest allowed IOS update. I don’t think they realize that not everyone upgrades their phones every couple of years. My IPhone works great except when trying to use the PennLive apps. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — It’s a news app *2020-06-10, version 3.9.2* It really doesn’t do anything special. It’s a news app and it works pretty well. ### 5/5 — Excellent Staff *2020-02-10, version 3.8.12* Great local news focused on central Pa. We enjoy Nancy and her reporting. We need outspoken reporters on what’s going on in DC and around the world. The press must report the real truth and facts and restore democracy. ### 5/5 — Liked it better when it was free.... *2019-11-22, version 3.8.11* Free ### 5/5 — News *2019-09-14, version 3.8.7* Love it ### 5/5 — Review *2019-07-12, version 3.8.6* Do not like the fact that changes occurred and you now have to have a subscription to read an article ### 5/5 — Great app *2019-07-04, version 3.8.5* After latest update the app has been working fine again. Like the news and local interest stories. Use it every day. ### 5/5 — Great app -- broad coverage & timely. *2016-11-15, version 3.6.1* My only source of aggravation is that the "slideshows" are impossible to back out of and still stay in the app. Only solution is to terminate the app and then go back in and try to figure where where I was in the main menu. This irritation makes me reluctant to open a slideshow. Fix that and you get an A++. ### 5/5 — Terrible... A downgrade. *2014-03-04, version 3.0.0* This update takes away the functionality of reading in landscape mode and adds nothing. The inability to read in landscape mode makes me think that it was created by someone who has never used a iPad. Truly makes me never want to use this app. Please fix this. I will read another online paper until you do. ### 5/5 — Terrible upgrade *2014-03-04, version 3.0.0* Very slow and an unfriendly user interface. Plus every time I use it on the iPad it asks me to download the new version. Really???? So I can download the same piece of crap??? I'm done with this until PennLive fixes it. You are losing readers by the dozen. ### 5/5 — Still can't load app since update!!!! *2013-10-27, version 2.2.4.1* This app definitely needs some work, haven't been able to access since update. Reloaded 4 times and still doesn't work, freezes at the logo screen. --- *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 2026-09-09.*