In addition to lots of ads which is expected and I accept as necessary there are occasional pop up ads. Sometimes they continually pop up making it impossible to read an article. This morning I was asked to sign in to read an article even though I was already signed in. I tried to sign in sgain but the pop up ads prevented me from doing that. Response to the developer’s response: I already did a reinstall and cleared the cache. You have a problem with pop up ads and you need to deal with it.
It may sound like an over exaggeration but the star has the juiciest true stories, about common city folk, I’ve ever read. I purposefully read for 2 hours a day from about 24 different sources. But no news keeps my eyes wide open, and my mouth hanging open in shock, quite like the star. Not sure if the star app is for you? Well, do you desire to read an article about a contractors services being rejected , so he threw hammer at the home owner that rejected him? Look no further than the star. Would you like to see an article that does a play by play, every single step of the way, about a car wreck? The star is here for you. Do you want to know about crappy city officials that are up to no good? Don’t worry, the star has all the details including every single f’ up that city official has ever done, and how much it cost tax payers. My friends, You don’t get just one juicy article a day about the city. Instead you get a brand new list, full of stories, every single day with the star app. In summary, I am addicted to the star. You should be too.
Living in Columbia, MO, a Blue island in a Red state, I am always encouraged with the Star and it’s thoughtful coverage of two red states. It gives me hope that we can overcome the White nationalist leanings of our current President. As a former history teacher, the Trump lies and fear mongering mimic the propaganda of the Nazi regime of another Dictator, Adolph Hitler. I never understood why the German people fell so easily for the same lies and twisted ideas espoused by the Nazi Party and leaders. I know now. The Star must continue to print the truth. Do not let fear and lies overcome our country. Many have said this election may be the most important in our lives. I believe it will be.
Since the update reading the paper on my iPad has gone from a joy to complete frustration. They said the update would result in less ads on screen, but now the full ad at the bottom has reappeared and cannot be removed. When you click on an article to read it there are ads throughout. You can no longer easily email an article or to a friend. Because you must now read the paper in a browser and have an ad at the bottom the real estate for the actual paper is substantially diminished. Using two fingers to resize does not work correctly. Double tapping to increase the size of an article often results in both resizing and bring the article up as a single tap should.
I am pleased to report that since my last review that the speed to open from a notification to read the story has improved markedly. So, increasing my rating from 2 to 4 stars as a result. The app could still be faster navigating within the app. Also, the overall navigation itself is not the most user friendly which is why I am not giving it a 5th star.
I’m saddened by this app because I think the journalists who work at the Star do a fine job. The previous version of the app was frustrating because if you were reading an article and it referenced a previous Star article, the link would open a browser and ask you to log in, rather than just taking you to the article in the app. Sooooo, when a new version appeared I had hoped it would fix that issue. It did not. The ability to see the actual physical version of the paper was a redeeming factor of the previous version, and now that’s gone. Love the journalism, hate the app.
Updated the app, there is nothing I like about the new format. It’s very very user unfriendly. I can understand readers wanting to tailor their news to suit their interests, but it shouldn’t be the default position to have to choose specific sections. In addition, the page layout/format is inefficient compared to the previous version. Having to scroll down through numerous sections to find a specific section doesn’t make sense. Maybe there’s a whole preferred setup setting that I missed. I am really disappointed. Yes, I could simply read the digital version but the previous format was better and easier to navigate.
Give me my paper back! I closed the app to make breakfast and when I re-opened it it was not in the same format. Awful. I don’t have time for this. You can’t even get this right. I’m adding my comments to those above which popped up when I tried to write this review. The new app is horrible. Small print, too many ads that won’t go away and make the page jump, shut down, and may not even come back on to the right page. I hope the Star got this app for free. Sure isn’t worth paying for. And, when trying to call to give feedback and ask for help, we are sent to the Philippines!!!! No customer service at all. Today the phone numbers don’t work.
I realize hard copy newspapers have been replaced by e-versions for mainstream readership, but this e-version/app is awful. The Star no longer provides anywhere near the same amount of info or stories that previously appeared on a common basis in the print version (which in itself is also underwhelming). The majority of news are feature stories and very seldom is their current, up-to-date information or stories. It’s difficult to find specific information or topics, particularly in the sports section. I now leverage the St. Louis Tribune app more frequently to find information, which is disheartening.
Overall the KC Star has a very serviceable newspaper app. One feature that would be nice to add would be the ability to read stories when offline. The Wall Street Journal app, for instance, downloads the top stories in each section and they are available to read even when offline. I travel a lot for work and this would be a nice feature.
Previous versions of the app allowed the user to see a full page on the iPad screen. The revised app limits the zoom out to a half page. The full page view best simulated the look and feel of reading the paper edition. One could quickly scan the page for interesting articles. Now, one needs to scroll up and down on the page before swiping to see the next page. Please restore the ability to see a full page on the screen at once.
I really enjoy The Star’s content but for $15/month I expect an ad-free experience. The banner ad at the bottom of the app is distracting and takes up too much real estate. The e-edition of the paper is the main reason I use the app, but all the app really provides is a link to the e-edition that opens in Safari with yet even more intrusive ads. It would be nice if the e-edition was contained within the app itself. The ads really are a shame because otherwise the app is well designed compared to most other newspapers’ apps.
I’m Awaiting a Reply From The KCStar App Developers
Please explain whether the new app of The Star currently has a search or a way to navigate to search for specific sections, articles, editions, etc. I cannot seem to be able to keyword search and navigate to news I want to read! I use an Apple iPad, version 14.4. I recall being able to search using previous versions of the Star app. Thank you.
Don’t pay the subscription. I like the Star. I like learning about local news, politics, and the app’s formatting. But I hate clickbait articles with only a few sentences and zero facts. I hate sensationalized news stories. I hate in-article ads and being forced to watch ads videos. So why would I want to pay for a subscription? If you want to encourage readers to subscribe, make something that is different than every other news site. I’m deleting this app now that a subscription is required
I paid for my subscription but it still doesn’t let me access content. Finally managed to get thru to their foreign, satellite customer service agency after jumping thru hoops and finding my account number. Between the data harvesting on the app and it apparently being impossible to cancel, I can’t recommend anything from The Star. They’re also a very anti union company, so if you are or have a family member that is a Union member, do yourself a favor and find a different news source.
The app covers the headlines but very often holds onto old news beyond it's expiration date. Recently articles covering the eclipse hung around on the app for days after the moment had passed. Also, the ads very often take over the article and the X to close the ad doesn't work. I have to tap it over and over to close the ad and continue reading my chosen article. Other than that, the app works well and the paper is clearly organized.
I have had repeated issues with the app’s performance. When I attempt to open articles in the news feed, the article opens and then closes automatically a few seconds later. I worked with someone from customer service… they had me delete the app and then download it again. It had not corrected the problem. I have also noticed that many of the Chiefs sports articles do not have the referenced videos attached to the correct article. This needs attention!
I like everything about the KC Star app except the news videos that posted. Whenever I play a video in the app about halfway through it abruptly stops to buffer, but it never restarts. I have to close the app and restart it. I have deleted the app and reinstalled it without any success in resolving this issue.
I love the content of the Star and the app in general. No obnoxious and intrusive ads; the ads they have are small and unobtrusive. My complaint is that if I turn my phone to landscape, it causes my phone’s screen to glitch, freeze, and then shut the app. As a paying subscriber, a problem like this should be fixable.
Great paper online. Great sports coverage of our home teams since we live in Arizona we wouldn’t normally see any news or sports of our hometown. We both enjoy reading about KC as we often visit so we are kept informed of new restaurants and new things to do in KC. Wonderful downtown improvements, The Star covers all of this!
From a pretty good app, the update has made it just right up next to useless. It tells me I can’t read articles I’ve paid for, and there’s no clear way to sign in (The directions in the FAQ Don’t Work). It wanted me to rearrange sections all over again, and has no obvious way to access a dark mode as the previous version had. If you already have the app, DO NOT UPDATE!!!!! If you don’t have it yet, wait for a functional version of the app.
The version of the Star released several days ago makes it very difficult to navigate through the Star news. It’s no longer a newspaper where you can glance at a page and decide what you want to read. I spent the last hour trying to figure out how to navigate through the Star. I much prefer the “old version” of the Star. Unfortunately, I’m having to pay for this. Makes me want to reconsider my current subscription.
The app just started a number limit on how many articles you can read without paying. But they also have ads that stop you from seeing news without watching the ad first. Hello.... pick one to make your money. Ads or subscription. But I’m not paying for a subscription when you have ads that pop up. This is common sense. My preference is to deal with the ads and not have to pay but there is no way on planet earth I would do pay you to watch your ads. Are you kidding me????
App has no way to find sports columnists and read their stuff. I don’t understand how that could be an issue. Your response gave a link to your FAQ page which doesn’t answer my question. Lowered my review to one star. Your list of articles doesn’t list the writer, and there isn’t a columnist section for sports, and you can’t search by a writer’s name. There isn’t any reason to keep your app on my phone. Deleting it and just using the website.
The new app is clunky and difficult to navigate. The cost of the digital edition of the Star is overpriced. Not good value for money. Too little local news reporting. The paywall does not permit subscribers to share any articles. The Washington Post gives you 10 free articles per month to share. It costs less than the Star too.
I prefer the e-star hat is a replica of the print version, probably because I grew up reading the print version of the paper. I very much like the convenience of reading the paper online, but there are times when it won't load and that's super frustrating.
I like to read the replica version. This new version of the app makes this frustrating to the point of being unusable. 1/3 of the screen is allocated to advertising, leaving the font so small on the paper to be unreadable. Choose fit to width and it is better, but still unreadable. Manually zoom in and the page turn icons disappear, forcing you to zoom back out to turn the page. Pages of the paper skip and you can’t read them at all.
Sometimes I see an article of interest in social media but when I search for it in the KC Star app it is not available. There is a message in the under the apps search field that says not every article is available and go to the web page. Why bother with the app if I can’t access everything I am paying for.
The app is okay since it was recently released but it desperately needs cleanup. The same stories appear multiple times as you scroll down. This is just annoying and lazy. I don’t mind if there are a limited number of stories, just save me the effort of scrolling looking for something new amid the repetition. I’ll probably cancel my subscription if this goes on for long.
I’m a paid subscriber. The log in portion of the app does not work on the iPad (it does on the iPhone and through a browser). I attempted to call customer service and received a recording to call back during regular business hours. However, the recording didn’t state the business hours and the hours do not appear to be shown on the web page or within the app. Overall, a frustrating experience.
The app may start but the documented feature related to the K C Star eEdition is always an adventure. Errors occur either in the app trying to initiate the eEdition or when trying to access the eEdtion in Safari. Clearing cache and cookies in Safari does not always work. Power cycling the iPad does not work. Forget K C Star “customer support”. They may or may not reply to your problem, and IF there is a resolution, it could be days later. This does not merit any stars, but it is not possible to rate zero stars.
I love the paper, but whenever an “upgrade” come along it’s a mess. The app doesn’t load properly. It closes randomly. You have to close the all to get the new paper loaded. The previous upgrade was a mess as well. Very frustrating. This is an add on for the 2024 update. Now you can’t even get a proper e-edition of the paper. Just a bunch of headline to click on and many of the headlines only display partially. Hate it.
If I wanted to get my news in an Apple or Google format, that is where I will go. The purpose of a digital version of a local paper is so I can ‘read’ it rather than get a delivered paper. If I wanted to do the category scroll routine, it certainly wouldn’t be at a local paper. I go to the ‘newspaper’ version and read it, but what’s the point. You have over-evolved, go back while you still can and fire whomever made the decision to change.
I can not start my day unless I have my coffee and read the KC Star. Local national and international news. I keeps me informed and up to date on the issues of the day. I have been subscriber since 1974. The day is not complete with out it.
This app in its current format is terrible. When you turn the page it comes up fuzzy and you have to wait a second or two for it to clear. If you click on an article it comes up filled with ads which you must navigate around to read the whole article. Currently when you try to read the paper in its paper format all you get is a plank page. If a negative rating was possible I would give it a minus 5
A couple of months ago the feed of top stories stopped flowing. Now, I get an message that says “Error in fetching feeds”. I have contacted KC Star Customer Service many times and all I get is the same advice: empty the cache, delete the App and then reinstall the App. I have done this numerous times and get the same results. My one star isn’t only for the App but also for the robotic and ineffective customer service.
Very unhappy with the new app. I can’t read the whole paper. The paper downloads and then when you get into the paper around 4 or 5 pages it goes back to the beginning or it says the web page has a problem and it stops. I has sent emails to support and just get told they are working on a new version but it keeps happening. I paid for this and it keeps failing. It is nuts. No wonder newspapers are going out of business.
Both my husband and I rely on The KC Star App to stay current with things going on in KC. The news on T.V. seems to be super hyped like they are the first one covering the story and at times getting information wrong. We just want the true facts and not so much doom and gloom.
I don’t like the new format. Would love to see the traditional newspaper (replica) view returned. If it is available I can’t figure out how to get it. Also, many old stories from months ago still listed. It is hard to scroll through and find just today’s stories as the preview headlines don’t give dates of publication. Finally, too many video adds that take over the app even though I am a paid subscriber.
I am from Kansas City, Missouri. I retired from the United States Navy after serving 20 1/2 years. So it is awesome for me to see what is going on in the city that I called home for 18 years. Outstanding coverage of the Kansas City area! And of course I remain a Chiefs & Royals fan forever! Eugene Swinney
The content of the Star is top notch but I cannot read it all the time without this bug infested app crashing. I have done multiple deletes, downloads and restarts to correct this. This is the only advice the developers have to solve these problems. They rely on me having to take the disappointing effort to fix it rather than doing any real coding solutions on their side
This app has always been frustrating with lots of glitches. It's the least user friendly news app that I read. The latest challenge: the home feed option doesn't work on my iPad. Happened earlier this month which means I'm stuck with only the eEdition.
Won’t let me sign in on app or website. My login info is fine because yes it is saved on my phone and I can double check it. I’ve emailed customer service and been told to reset password (which works for a week or so) or delete app and reinstall. Really? Same problem with my Miami Herald subscription. McClatchy just make them work! Ask the Washington Post why theirs always works with no problems.
New latest version has adds encroaching on the screen
Version 8.0.1 has adds that crop the bottom of the screen. There are already adds in the paper, why make it harder for people with vision challenges to read the paper? The app now frequently locks up and even crashes. The previous version was much better.
New presentation format doesn’t include print facsimile, which has been my preferred first view of daily news. Headlines in news section are sketchy, really not enough to guide a reader’s intentional progress through the site. Persistent ad at bottom gets in the way of content. Unlike earlier versions, it can’t be dismissed. Very annoying. Experience might be improved by incorporating some of the content included in daily email summaries? Not clear what is contained in “Money” section - is this Business or personal economics?
This new app is terrible. Articles constantly close while I’m in the middle of reading them. I don’t feel like I see all the articles, just the same ones for days. There is no way to search for an old article anymore on the app, you have to go to the website. Not user friendly at all. Please go back to the old app
Can’t read articles even though I have a subscription
When I tap an article to read, I get a message saying thank you for reading, with an opinion to subscribe. I have a subscription. Signing out and back in doesn’t help. Deleting and redownloading the app doesn’t help. I cannot read the articles. That is a real problem with a newspaper app.
This new app is terrible. The page doesn’t fill the screen. it’s hard to read. When you try to enlarge a story it’s jerky and the pages are constantly reloading. Please improve or go back to what you had before. The New York Times and Wall Street Journal apps are far superior. All the reloading causes it to take too long to read the full edition. i’m ready to cancel my subscription.
I’m not too happy with the new version of the Kansas City Star. I found the old way was much easier for me to find what I was looking for in the online paper. I also don’t want to download the paper on my phone. I just want to look at it. Sometimes new is not always better. Should have left it alone.
Connect to The Kansas City Star newspaper app wherever you are. Receive the latest local and breaking news from the Kansas City metro area, including community information for Lee’s Summit, Independence, Blue Springs, Belton, Parkville, Gladstone, Liberty, Grandview, Overland Park, Olathe, Lenexa and Prairie Village. The Kansas City Star reports on the local topics you care about, including local weather, traffic, crime, sports and national news. Features of the app include: • Breaking news alerts and real-time updates. • The local news and sports topics you care about from around the Kansas City metro area. • View stunning photos and videos of news coverage and events. • The Kansas City Star opinions, editorials and columns you love. • Ability to share stories on Facebook, Twitter or by email. • An app-native eEdition of the printed newspaper, including 60 additional pages in the ExtraExtra section. Read our Privacy policy here: https://www.kansascity.com/site-services/legal/privacy-policy/text-only/ Read our Terms of Service here: https://www.kansascity.com/site-services/legal/terms-of-service/text-only/ For California Residents: To learn more about managing your sharing preferences and Do Not Sell My Info rights visit https://www.kansascity.com/customer-service/privacy-policy/text-only/#notice_california
