STV News vs HNM
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
STV News
Stay informed with breaking news and essential updates from across Scotland. Access engaging videos and a straightforward five-day weather forecast. This app delivers top stories and local reports without complex navigation.
- Breaking news notifications
- Video content
- Simple navigation
- Local news reports
- Five-day weather forecast
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All the latest news from across Scotland, brought to you by STV - a team you can trust. Key Features: • Breaking news notifications - be the first to know the big stories as they develop • Brilliant videos - all the must-see clips every day • Easy to use - the top stories in one place with no menus or complex navigation • News where you are - up-to-date reports from our newsrooms across Scotland • Weather - a simple five day forecast for where you live The STV News app - it's the home of Scottish news We love your reviews and use them to inform future releases. However, we can react to issues more quickly if you contact us directly by email (enquiries@stv.tv), Twitter (@stvnews) or Facebook (facebook.com/stvnews). If you choose to receive push notifications from STV News, a unique identifier will be stored by our partner, Airship. This simply allows the message to be sent to your device and no other personal data will be processed. Additional details can be found in our Privacy Policy. (https://news.stv.tv/privacy-policy/) You can easily unsubscribe from STV News notifications in your device's "Notifications" settings. Use of this app is covered by the STV News Terms of Use (https://news.stv.tv/terms-of-use/), Privacy Notice (https://news.stv.tv/privacy-policy/) and Cookie Notice (https://news.stv.tv/cookie-policy/). We hope you enjoy the STV News app.
HNM
Stay informed with trusted local news from your community. Access your local newspaper content on your phone or tablet, with a live news feed and alerts. Includes a puzzles gallery for mental sharpness.
- Trusted local news delivery
- Access to multiple local newspaper titles
- Live news feed and alerts
- Puzzles gallery
- Digital replica of print editions
- Archive content access
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If what's happening in your community in the Highlands, Moray, North-East Scotland and Shetland is important to you, then you can rely on us to deliver trusted and quality news from your local newspaper in the HNM App. For over 200 years our newspaper titles have been trusted to report the news and champion issues which are important to the communities we serve. The HNM App delivers that content with all of the local news that's important to you, accessible on your phone, tablet or device. You'll be able to read your local paper on screen just as it appears in print and as soon as it is published, including: The Inverness Courier The Northern Scot The Shetland Times John O'Groat Journal Caithness Courier Ross-shire Journal Strathspey & Badenoch Herald Northern Times Forres Gazette Inverness Courier Nairnshire edition The Banffshire Huntly Express You'll also have access to a live news feed and news alerts keeping you up to speed with everything that is happening in your community. And you'll have access to a puzzles gallery to keep your mind sharp. One subscription gives you access to all of the titles listed above. Trusted Local News > Never Miss An Issue > Live News Feed > Puzzles Gallery > Archive Content > Easily Accessible Please note: - You can also view our Privacy Policy here: https://www.hnmedia.co.uk/privacy-policy/ - We value your opinion and feedback. Our readers’ views are central to our ongoing development and improvement. You can send feedback directly by visiting https://www.hnmedia.co.uk/contact/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: HNM at none against STV News's shown. HNM also leads on monetization model (free vs ad-supported) and device support (3 vs 1). STV News's advantage is review sentiment (27% vs 0%) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 5 months). On price, in-app purchases and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
STV News ships an update every 2 months, HNM every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | STV News | HNM |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.5 (2 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 27.4% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 70 MB | 136 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | STV GROUP PLC | Highland News and Media Limited |
Customer experience
STV News
HNM
Bugs and requests
STV News
Reported bugs
36 issues- Failed to load section (HTTP 103)
- App doesn't open on iPad
- New update won't open
- Push notification opens app with 'Unable to connect'
- App crashes on opening
Show 31 moreShow fewer
- App crashes since most recent update
- Won't open at all recently
- Clicking on a story opens the one below
- Cannot get rid of 'Privacy Options' pop-up
- New version won't open on iPhone
- App no longer responsive
- Narrow strip view on iPad
- Clicking on a news item has no way to return to overview
- Photos cannot be zoomed or rotated
- Articles just stop at the bottom
- Tracking options reset to default
- Adverts interrupt music playback
- Weather section very basic with little information
- App steals from clipboard on opening
- News stories from months ago appear
- Accidentally touching an image freezes the page
- Cannot view videos on new version
- News updates are often days apart
- Swipe to next story not in order on main page
- Layout of page is awful
- Minimal number of news stories published daily
- App crashes regularly and is not available
- News stays on for up to a month
- Poorly written English coupled with amateur journalism
- Sports section removed
- Difficulty scrolling with images/videos/adverts
- Accidental swipe refreshes article
- News is far from current, especially for Highlands and Islands
- Kicked out half way through reading news stories
- Stories sit for days and are not updated regularly
- Weather forecast is a joke, constantly sunny
Requested features
10 requests- Add dynamic type sizing back for larger fonts
- Improve iPad friendliness (landscape mode)
- Add dark mode
- Add suggested articles
- Add a footer to news articles
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Allow selection of favorite region
- Improve weather forecast accuracy and detail
- Add offline mode
- Include more non-football sports news
- Allow saving default weather location
HNM
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
STV News
No in-app purchases
HNM
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is STV News free?
Is HNM free?
Do STV News or HNM have ads?
Which is updated more often, STV News or HNM?
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