Comparison

General Service vs Random Read

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

General Service

Features
Read full description

Alcoholics Anonymous is a worldwide group that started in 1935 with the sole purpose of alcoholics helping other alcoholics get and maintain sobriety. This General Service App provides a single platform for both A.A. officers and A.A. members to upload and consume information respectively, about the service aspects of A.A. as a whole. Currently, A.A. members must navigate to thousands of independently operated websites, newsletters, emails, and/or attend multiple business meetings throughout the U.S. and Canada, where A.A. officers upload or communicate information about A.A. service. This reality is a time-consuming and confusing way to understand “what is happening in A.A.”. If widely adopted, this app has the potential to provide A.A. service information in a single, easy to understand location, rather than disparate websites, newsletters, emails and business meetings. Each District and Area Chair can either: A. Post their news, events and resources to the generalservice.app website, similar to a social media interface, with three posting options: a. News for Announcements & Events; b. Business for proposals and discussion topics; and c. Resource for where to find more information. B. Work with the app developer to either generate an automated feed of posts that populates their page from an external website. Additional functionality includes: • Screen shots include user posts with “call to action” buttons, where users can click to find more information, or “Add to Calendar” for events. • Each post has start and end dates, which automatically disappear when the date expires. Stories can be re-ordered within each section to accommodate District and Area Chair’s priorities. • Users opt-in their phone’s location services to auto-populate their correct District and Area’s hexagonal location stored in an Excel sheet, maintained by the developer. • Color is used throughout to differentiate District vs. Area vs. General Service Office (all U.S. & Canada) service levels. Active beta testing is ongoing in the San Francisco Bay Area Districts and California Northern Coastal Area, with more regions to be added post go-live in the Apple App Store.

About

Random Read

Features
Read full description

Random Read is your antidote to algorithm-driven content and information silos. Embrace a fresh reading experience that utilizes your shortest moments of free time to explore diverse topics across industries. With no categories and a fully randomized reading mode, Random Read empowers you to step beyond your habitual interests and dive into useful and fascinating knowledge from unexpected fields. In a world dominated by algorithms that attempt (and often fail) to predict what you want to see, Random Read breaks the mold. No more confined perspectives, no more limited exploration. Just pure serendipity, like flipping through a magazine and stumbling upon stories that expand your horizons. Discover the joy of randomness and free your mind with Random Read.

Screenshots

General Service1 screens
Random Read3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Random Read at 12.0 against General Service's 15.1. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

General Service ships an update every 6 weeks, Random Read every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on September 10, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference · 5 level
General Service versus Random Read: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGeneral ServiceRandom Read
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.112.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB27 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperDANIEL REDONDO BEAMAN海军 王

In-app purchases

None

General Service

No in-app purchases

None

Random Read

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is General Service free?
General Service is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Random Read free?
Random Read is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do General Service or Random Read have ads?
Neither General Service nor Random Read shows ads.
Which is updated more often, General Service or Random Read?
General Service ships an update every 6 weeks, and Random Read every 5 weeks. Most recently, General Service was updated on September 10, 2026 and Random Read on September 10, 2026.

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