Brandwave

News apps:Which are searched most?

In August 2026, Google News was the most searched among news apps worldwide, with an estimated 7.5M branded searches and 94.4% estimated Share of Search within this set. These are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.

Share of Search, August 2026
  1. Google News94.4%
  2. Ground News3.1%
  3. Apple News2.1%
  4. SmartNews0.42%
  5. Feedly0.02%
  6. Flipboard<0.01%

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Share of SearchLeaderboard

Compare the news apps brands and creators work with. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.

Share of Search among news apps worldwide, by month

Share of Search by month for Google News, Ground News, Apple News. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of search table
MonthGoogle NewsGround NewsApple NewsSmartNewsFeedlyFlipboard
Oct 202593.7%3.8%2.1%0.42%0.01%0.01%
Nov 202594.7%3.1%1.7%0.42%0.01%0.01%
Dec 202595.6%2.6%1.4%0.42%0.01%0.01%
Jan 202693.7%3.8%2.1%0.42%0.02%0.01%
Feb 202694.7%3.1%1.7%0.42%0.01%0.01%
Mar 202693.3%3.8%2.5%0.34%0.02%<0.01%
Apr 202694.7%3.1%1.7%0.42%0.02%0.01%
May 202694.7%3.1%1.7%0.42%0.02%0.01%
Jun 202695.3%2.6%1.7%0.35%0.02%<0.01%
Jul 202694.7%3.1%1.7%0.42%0.02%<0.01%
Aug 202694.4%3.1%2.1%0.42%0.02%<0.01%
Sep 2026——————

This month’s ranking, August 2026

  1. 1.Google News

    94.4%

    Held 1st. 7.5M estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share -0.4 points.

  2. 2.Ground News

    3.1%

    Held 2nd. 246K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

  3. 3.Apple News

    2.1%

    Held 3rd. 165K estimated branded searches, +22.2% vs prior month. Share +0.4 points.

  4. 4.SmartNews

    0.42%

    Held 4th. 33.1K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

  5. 5.Feedly

    0.02%

    Held 5th. 1.9K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

  6. 6.Flipboard

    <0.01%

    Held 6th. 720 estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

Compare search popularity between leading brands

Which brand is most popular in search among news apps worldwide?

In August 2026, Google News was the most searched among news apps worldwide, with an estimated 7.5M branded searches and 94.4% estimated Share of Search within this set. Ground News is in 2nd place, 91.3 percentage points behind at 3.1% Share of Search.

Global news apps, last 12 months ending September 2026
BrandShare of SearchPeakLowRank
Google News93.7% → 94.4%95.6%Dec 202593.3%Mar 20261st
Ground News3.8% → 3.1%3.8%Mar 20262.6%Jun 20262nd
Apple News2.1%2.5%Mar 20261.4%Dec 20253rd
SmartNews0.42%0.42%Dec 20250.34%Mar 20264th
Feedly0.01% → 0.02%0.02%Apr 20260.01%Nov 20255th
Flipboard0.01% → <0.01%0.01%Feb 2026<0.01%Mar 20266th

Each finding as a sentence

  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Google News’ estimated Share of Search among news apps worldwide increased from 93.7% to 94.4%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Ground News’ estimated Share of Search among news apps worldwide decreased from 3.8% to 3.1%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Google News’ estimated Share of Search among news apps worldwide peaked at 95.6% in December 2025 and was lowest at 93.3% in March 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Ground News’ estimated Share of Search among news apps worldwide peaked at 3.8% in March 2026 and was lowest at 2.6% in June 2026.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Apple News’ estimated Share of Search among news apps worldwide peaked at 2.5% in March 2026 and was lowest at 1.4% in December 2025.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Apple News, SmartNews, Feedly and Flipboard held steady: their estimated Share of Search among news apps worldwide each moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

How did search popularity change for news apps worldwide in August 2026?

  1. Estimated monthly branded searches for Feedly worldwide rose 46.2% over 11 measured months, from 1.3K to 1.9K in August 2026.

  2. Estimated monthly branded searches for Ground News worldwide fell 33.2% over 11 measured months, from 368K to 246K in August 2026.

  3. Estimated monthly branded searches for Flipboard worldwide fell 28% over 11 measured months, from 1K to 720 in August 2026.

  4. Estimated monthly branded searches for SmartNews worldwide fell 18.3% over 11 measured months, from 40.5K to 33.1K in August 2026.

  5. Estimated monthly branded searches for Google News worldwide fell 18.2% over 11 measured months, from 9.1M to 7.5M in August 2026.

  6. Estimated monthly branded searches for Apple News worldwide fell 17.9% over 11 measured months, from 201K to 165K in August 2026.

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