Ground News

Ground News Review: Bias Labels Are Free, Factuality and Blindspot Cost Extra

Ground News free: bias labels, 30 interests and 6 Blindspot stories a day

The free version has no ads but works as a sampler. Ground's comparison chart caps free readers at 30 followed interests, six Blindspot stories a day and one podcast or opinion item per story, with My News Bias limited. A signed-out story page on ground.news shows each outlet's bias label but leaves the Factuality and Ownership fields blank beside a "Subscriptions start at $9.99/year" banner. Muting topics with Show Me Less needs a subscription too, say the developer's replies to September reviews, which also confirm the free version's upgrade banner can't be permanently dismissed; signing in only makes it less prominent.

Bias Bar and Blindspot: how the AllSides, Ad Fontes and MBFC ratings combine

Each outlet's bias label averages AllSides, Ad Fontes Media and Media Bias Fact Check on a seven-step scale from Far Left to Far Right, judged in a U.S. political context. Factuality averages only Ad Fontes and Media Bias Fact Check across five levels, while ownership categories are Ground's own, hand-coded for 2,276 outlets. All three describe a publication, not the article in front of you, and unrated outlets drop out of the Bias Bar. Blindspot follows a formula: a Blindspot for the Left needs fewer than 10 left-leaning sources, at least 33% right-leaning coverage and no more than 35% low-factuality coverage. The pencil icon on a source page edits its bias label for your account only.

Pro $9.99, Premium, Vantage $99.99: what each tier adds and how refunds work

Pro, $0.99 a month or $9.99 a year in the US App Store, lets you follow interests and hide topics and sources. Premium, $3.99 a month, adds the full Blindspot feed, factuality ratings, the Burst Your Bubble newsletter and a paywall filter; the store lists yearly Premium at $29.99, $39.99 and $49.99, so check which offer you see. Vantage, $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year, adds ownership data, My News Bias and the Alternative Media beta. Prices vary by region. Website plans bill annually, and the 7-day Vantage trial renews unless cancelled. Web purchases get a full refund within 48 hours, a prorated one until day 7, then none; store purchases follow Apple's or Google's rules.

No ads or data sales, but Meta conversion tracking in the July 2026 privacy policy

The help center says the company sells no ads and no user data, and the privacy policy, updated July 24, 2026, says preference data isn't used to infer political beliefs. It lists name, email, phone number, date of birth and an approximate location such as a ZIP code among account data, with precise location only if you grant the permission. Sign up after tapping a Ground News ad on Facebook or Instagram, and the company may send Meta your email, IP address, phone, name and Meta Click ID to match the conversion; the Do Not Sell or Share page opts out within 30 days. Play's Data safety section declares no third-party sharing, and Apple's label lists no tracking data.