Beeb Anywhere
Beeb Anywhere is a BBC News & Sport reader for Android devices.
It allows you to read the news offline – even when you have no signal, for example on a plane or the subway. It also has the ability to automatically update in the background, so you’ll always have the latest news to read.
The downloaded news articles and thumbnail images are stored on the phone’s SD Card so they won’t consume precious phone memory.
Please note: if you enable ‘Periodic download’ (found under Menu -> Settings from the main screen) this will consume data in the background whenever your phone is switched on. See the FAQ page for more information.
If you have problems with the application please report them below. Thanks!
Please see the Change Log page for details of each release.
Content is from BBC News and BBC Sport. This news reader is not affiliated to the BBC.
Features
- Instant access to stories without a network connection.
- Simple and quick to use.
- Select either the World or UK Edition.
- Choose the news categories you are interested in.
- Schedule periodic updates with a configurable interval.
Screenshots
Twitchy A2 
Hi, this is a great app, very minimal giving you just what you want, so thanks!
Is the code available anywhere? I’m thinking of making an android app that uses some similar concepts (scraping content from websites and stripping out unnecessary elements) and would be interested to see how you did it.
Hi Matt, thanks for your kind comments, they’re much appreciated.
The code isn’t available but I’d be happy to help with any specific questions you may have.
Cheers, Ash.
1.5.1 downloaded today on my HTC Desire reports “Unable to download, please try again later” in each news category. I do have a good internet connection on my device ( just browsed to BBC News ). I get the same result for the UK and World editions.
Happy to help with diagnosis.
Thanks for your help with the diagnosis, Nige.
We eventually determined that this is being caused by Nige’s network provider appearing to modify the HTML received from the BBC site (it worked fine over WiFi). Hopefully version 1.5.2 (available for download from the Market now) should fix the problem.
Ash
Could you add a night mode, with a black screen and white text?
Hi James
Thanks for the message. I’m working on adding this soon.
Amazong app. Thanks. Could you please implement text selection of the news to be able translate or google them (as implemented in the internet browser) ? Thanks.
Which version of Android and which device do you have? I don’t believe the stock browser has that feature.
I use such feature in the default browser on my HTC Desire with original Android 2.2. It’d be amazing to be able to do the same in your app. Thanks.
Hi there.
This app is perfect for me except for one thing, it does not contain a Darts category. Would you consider adding this in the future? I believe there is only one app currently on the market with darts news and the app itself is poor to say the least.
Thank you for the great work so far!
Cheers Josh. Done, see version 1.7.2 on the Market now.
Thank you! You are truly the best developer out there.
I have had no problem with BEEB until 12/30/10
Then it started saying cannot access web site. Unistalled waited 1/2 day then reinstalled,very bu
ggy,loaded twice then not at all, Uninstal . LW
Hi LW
Thanks for getting in touch. Sorry to hear about your problems, could you answer a few questions to try to get to the bottom of this?
You could try selecting ‘Delete all stories’ and see if that helps.
Looks like this should be a great app… but doesn’t work at all for me 😦
Any updates, either manual or scheduled, apparently fail to download new stories: accessing each category gives “Unable to download, please try again later”. I deleted all stories and repeated the update – same result. I even deleted the app and reinstalled it – same result.
The weird thing is that some of the stories *were* apparently downloaded after the first install, and they are *still* there, even after deleting them all, and even after the reinstall! I just can’t get any new stories.
This is all using wi-fi. Accessing the BBC site using any browser works fine. Android 2.1 (stock ROM) on Orange San Francisco.
Happy to help with debugging – I really want this app to work 🙂
Hmmmm… OK, I tried something different this time. I manually deleted the
/sdcard/data/com.wordpress.twitchya2.ba
directory and reinstalled – now it works fine. Strange, but I’m happy – the app is awesome! 🙂
Thanks Alan, for getting in touch and for your perseverance! The ‘Delete all stories’ option is supposed to do the same thing but I must have a bug in there. I don’t suppose you have a copy of the directory from when it wasn’t working?
Cheers
Ash
Really like this, awesome dark theme. Any chance of video implementation in the future? And a headline widget?
Thanks for a really nice app. It’d be nice to be able to swipe to the next article. Just a thought. Cheers
Done! See version 2.0!
The past few days I am getting the message “unable to download”.
Has been a great app until then.
Thanks.
Sorry about previous post. A reboot solved the hiccup!
I also updated to the new version. Love the swipe to next article.
Thanks for a great app.
One of the most used app on my phone.
One problem though, the new BBC Sport website has stopped the app working. Can you look into it please
Thanks for bringing this to my attention. This should now be fixed, in Version 2.1.
Any chance of making a larger font size that can be set as the default, current option (largest) not large enough for me. . I can pinch to zoom but then have to do it on every story.
Hi Alan
Sure. The current font sizes are:
12 (Smallest), 14 (Small), 16 (Medium), 18 (Large), 20 (Largest)
What size do you think you need? 22, 24?
Version 2.2 has some larger font sizes. Let me know if they’re not big enough.
Ash
My Beeb Anywhere has stopped downloading news items. I have a Galaxy S. It’s just happened in the last two days, the stories were getting less and less, now it doesn’t update at all.
Hi Jason, thanks for letting me know.
Does a manual update using “Update all now” work? Does it work over Wifi?
Ash
Yes, the “Update all now” worked just now. Thanks for a great app, I have it set on the dark setting (more apps should have that) and it reminds me on the much missed Ceefax teletext service! Keep up the good work!
Using Archos G9 – not getting text on going to story. No error message. Tried deleting all messages and updating no success, also tried re-installing app to no avail! Any suggestions ? Duncan Robertson
Hi Duncan, has it ever worked? Are you using the dark theme (does it work with the light one)? Which Android version is that using?
Cheers, Ash.
Thanks it did work with dark theme before. Just tried white theme and is OK ! Not too concerned if can’t get dark theme but would be nice if there’s an easy fix ! Thanks for reply. Duncan
Which version are you using? There was a problem with the dark theme that was recently fixed.
Can’t find version . I did reinstall app recently, so assume it has all the fixes ! Duncan
I love this app for its simplicity, minimal phone memory usage (how refreshing to hear a developer acknowledge that phone memory is “precious” – especially on older phones) and the ability to download from Wi-Fi and then read on the move with minimal data comsumption.
But there’s one irritation for me. Sometimes “update all now” doesn’t start working for a minute or so after it’s selected. But if, while waiting, I then go into the first news category and select “update now” it starts the whole update of all categories immediately. Can this be fixed to eliminate this delay? I’d estimate it happens about 50% of the time.
(Beeb Anywhere v2.3, HTC Legend, Froyo)
Hi Dave
Thank you for the kind comments.
The delay you’re seeing is most likely the clean-up process which I do before starting the actual updates. I look for and delete, any old articles before starting the updates of the various categories. This is essential for ensuring the app doesn’t fill up your SD card! I guess on older phones with quite a few categories selected it could take a minute or so. The clean-up is only done if the previous “Update All” was more than one day ago.
Cheers
Ash
Thanks for your reply to my earlier question.
I understand your explanation and I accept that the clean-up process is necessary. But how about a message to inform the user that’s what it’s doing – as this app does in some other situations? The unexplained apparent pause at present gives the impression (however inaccurate) that the app isn’t responding or isn’t functioning correctly.
Hi! I use this app on my Kindle Fire and love it! Any chance of an iOS version for my iPad??
Hi Paula, good to hear it works well on the Fire. I don’t have the time or motivation for an iOS version, and I don’t think iOS supports things like background updates anyway.
This wonderful app that I have used for around 2years seems to have developed problems downloading articles when doing an update. I am using a Galaxy s3 on ICS. It was working on about 10 days ago and has gradually got worse, I I have tried reinstalling, and but no joy. Can you please look into this. Many Thanks Norman.
Thanks Norman, looking into it now.
UPDATE: This is fixed in version 2.4 (available now on Google Play).
Fantastic, thank you so much. I spent time looking for a similar app today, just in case this was no longer supported and found nothing to match it for its accuracy, simplicity, and it’s ability to zoom when reading off line. This is the best and I am pleased to see it all working again. Many many thanks,
Norman
Dark theme makes text in stories impossible to read. White text on a white backround. This is still a must have app, great work and thank you.
Hi Mark, works fine for me as background is black. What phone are you using? What version of Android? Was it working with the previous version of the app or is this the first time you’ve tried it? Thanks, Ash.
I’m on ics with xperia u. It worked perfectly before the last update and the same version works on both my xperia x8’s, 1 on ics and the other on cm7. Its a strange 1 but its not a big problem. Thanks for your reply.
Could you try this?
It’s essentially the same as version 2.4 but with a change to when I set the background colour.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/d52k4b8fufwjdf9/Beeb%20Anywhere.apk
Comment added 09-10-12
I tried the version you uploaded and its the same. All the menu’s are ok, dark backround with white text but when I read any story both the text and backround are white. The web link at the bottom of each story remains cyan and the picture is visible. My girlfriends HTC One v has no problems with the current version of beeb. Thanks for your attempts to fix my issue but I suspect Sony are the culprits.
Had this app since mid May on Kindle Fire, worked well until about a week ago. Updates now only coming for Sports links like Formula 1 and Rugby Union. On the News feeds like Top Stories, World, England only getting sports related headlines and nothing on Science, Politics, Economy. Any chance that you can fix this? I have Vers. 2.4 from Amazon app store. Kindle fire is not recognised by Google Play, so cannot try their version.
The problems you describe are exactly the ones fixed by 2.4. Are you sure you’ve got 2.4? Unfortunately I don’t have any way of testing this, all I know is that it’s working fine a devices using the Play Store. Perhaps try uninstalling it and re-installing.
Thought I had Vers. 2.4, but managed to check the prog. and it was 2.2. Did an uninstall and downloaded from Amazon where they have your latest vers. 2.4. Great, all the feeds working okay, now have all the headline links that I have chosen. Whilst I had Vers.2.2 from the initial download in Mid May and it all worked okay, what happened to change things about a week ago, when the Vers.2.4 was around from June?
Thanks for the help and rapid response.
The BBC have changed their website so that even if you ask for the mobile version you get redirected to the full one unless you have a UserAgent from a mobile browser. My app only handles the mobile site and wasn’t explicitly setting the UserAgent.
Version 2.4 was only released a few days ago.
Hi again
I just opened the menu (Menu key) with the intention of selecting “Update all now” but I accidentally clicked “Delete all stories”. And it did. Nothing I could do to stop it! This meant that my next update required a full download of all stories, which used 2.3MB of data. I know it was my own fault – although in mitigation I’m only human and fingers do slip. But my gripe is that there was no “are you sure?” warning prompt that is common with “delete all” type software commands.
Can you please incorporate an “Are you sure you want to delete all stories?” type warning when the “Delete all stories” command?
Incidentally, what is the purpose of the “Delete all” function? Why would you want to do it?
BTW I still think Beeb Anywhere s a great app for all the reasons I said before.
Thank you!
(Beeb Anywhere v2.4, HTC Legend, Froyo)
I’m already working on moving it to the Settings screen, will be in the next version.
OK & thanks for the prompt response. Demoting “Delete All” to the Settings menu would help. But can you add a warning as I’ve suggested too? 🙂
Hi
UK edition, problem updating top stories. Now 4 days old.
Great app
Thanks
Hi John,
It’s working okay for me. Could you try ‘Delete all stories’ from the Settings menu and see if that helps?
Cheers
Ash.
Can you add the option to only download when on wifi. You can then set regular automatic updates without worrying about the amount of data you are downloading.
Thank in advance.
In my SOCCER category, I have two articles that have been stuck there for many months. No matter what I do, I can’t get rid of them. All the other stories update but these two stay stuck behind. They are:
1. Sporting spotlight: Mikael Silvestre
2. Spartak and survival – the story of Nikolai Starostin
I have deleted all stories, removed and reinstalled the app, but nothing works. They just keep coming back.
Hi Neal
There’s nothing I can do about that. The international BBC feed has those stories in it, see http://feeds.bbci.co.uk/sport/mobile/football/rss.xml?edition=int
If you’re in the UK you could go into Settings and choose UK Edition. The UK feed (http://feeds.bbci.co.uk/sport/mobile/football/rss.xml?edition=int) doesn’t have the problem.
Ash
Great app – shame I’ve now got problems – Football-Premier League is 1 day old and Technology, England, Top Stories, World all 2 days old. Tried deleting cache, all data, deleting stories, refreshing endlessly, nothing fixes it. I’m using Nexus 5. I also notice app is no longer on Play store. Is it dead?
Thanks for any info
Yes, the BBC have had it removed (see other posts).
Love this app. I use it several times a day. When I update it says it has updated but the stories are still from a couple of days ago. Any ideas what;s happening. I love this app! Thanks for doing it
Thanks Richard. I suspect that the BBC site has changed again and broken the app. This has happened a few times in the past and I’ve always managed to fix it again. However, unfortunately the BBC have had Google remove the app from the Play Store, so even if I did fix it I wouldn’t be able to get the update out to people.
The only way I’m willing to continue maintaining the app is if it’s reinstated on the Google Play Store. For that to happen the BBC need to contact Google and request that it’s republished. I’ve asked them but they refused.
Typical BBC – That you can produce a News App far superior to their own despite all the resources they have means they should be congratulating you rather than blocking the app. Why not charge for the app to cover your costs for maintaining it? I for one would be happy to pay.
Agreed boo BBC. The app is amazing and I’m really missing it. Boo BBC!
I like this app and most categories do update, but not all. Is there any way of issuing a patch to make all categories update?
I’ll look into uploading the APK here for people to install and also update the app on the Amazon app store.
Which categories aren’t updating?
Hi @twitchya2
So glad to hear you’re considering keeping this app running (whatever you name it! :-; ) – if this means I can download it directly from a website. I love this app for its simplicity, its low memory usage and its ability to avoid 3G data usage by downloading over WiFi before venturing out. So here’s another big vote in favour from me.
re updating categories: It varies somewhat – at present, all categories except “Top Stories” appear to be updating OK. But “World” was also not updating until about a week ago, then it started working again. It appears to be a bit random…
Eagerly awaiting further developments…
I’ve provided a download link to version 2.8 which should fix the download problems for now. See the latest post.
PS Sorry I forgot to tick the ” Notify me of follow-up comments via email” box last time, duh! I couldn’t edit the previous post. Does this system remember a previous “notify” tick or only the tick status of the most recent posting?
Top Stories & Scotland categories not updating for me.
Yeah, I’m seeing that too. Will look into it.
I’ve provided a download link to version 2.8 which should fix the download problems for now. See the latest post.
2.8 installed and working for all my selected topics. Great to have this app back again. Thanks again!!
Version 2.8 working great on all news categories. Thanks for fixing this.
So I guess that’s it for now – until the next BBC change breaks it again! 😉
Hi Ash,
Only just found your site, I am very pleased you are still developing this app, despite the BBC 😦
I have now updated to 2.8, but I’m still having a problem with the Cycling section. All the news stories, when you select them say “BBC Sport (international version) We’re sorry but this article is not accessible from the UK……” I’ve tried it with ‘UK Edition’ selected and un-selected just in case, it made no difference. If there is any chance you could have a look at this I’d be extremely grateful. Thanks for all your hard work. Regards, Kevin
Thanks for letting me know Kevin. I think I’ve managed to fix this in version 2.9 (links available in post and on download page). Also fixed a few things that have been bugging me for a while.
Thanks for the v2.9 update – it’s looking great! And thanks for finally eliminating those curiously old stories that were lurking in Tennis & elsewhere – I might have known it was Auntie’s fault!
One of the many things I love about this app is that it retrieves ALL current stories in each category to – even though many articles often can’t be found on the BBC news website!
I can’t thank you enough for continuing to develop this app off-market for us devotees. Long may it continue!
Hi Ash,
Fantastic, installed 2.9 and all looks great so far, many thanks.
I love your app, because it downloads all the news, so i can read it at my leisure, without being connected and it is nicely minimalist. The only feature I would suggest would be to allow you to configure the time that it downloads, I currently download once a day, early morning, with maybe a manual update later if I think something interesting is going on, but currently the download time is whenever you last rebooted, or turned the download feature on and off, it’s very much a ‘would be nice’ so don’t worry about it.
It’s a shame the BBC are so stupid, what about all the other apps on Google that call them selves BBC…..
Anyway, thanks again for a brilliant App. Regards, Kevin.
Hi
Been using your app for years and love it, have tried other news apps but always come back to this one!
Looks like though the BBC has made changes again, when I refresh my Top Stories category, I get about 4 sports related articles and nothing else. Seemed to have only happened since today (24th September)
Mario
Thanks Mario,
Yeah, seeing the same, will try and look into it soon.
Ash
Hi Ash,
2.9.2 is working great, thanks again!
One feature I’ve always wanted is one where I can specify specific times for the news stories to update. Like for instance have it update 5-10 minutes before I wake up in the morning so that its ready for when i’m awake, and maybe at other times in the day like when I go for lunch, come home from work etc. That would be excellent if you could somehow get something like that in 🙂
Mario
Top stories not working since yesterday.. Mainly sport stories
Thanks for letting me know, seeing the same problem here. Not sure when I’ll get a chance to look into it right now though.
Hi Ash,
Understand you are buisy, so no rush. Just wanted to say I still use your app several times a day, even abroad, to keep up with the news, as far as I know it’s the only one that allows you to sync with the news when available, allowing it to be read anywhere. I hope you are able to keep it working despite the BBC.
Thanks again. Kevin.
I’ve just tried updating and it seems to be working again. Working again for you?
Hi Ash, Yes seems to be working well again 🙂 I hadn’t known there had been an update, so I’ve also updated to the latest 2.9.4. Hope you can keep it going.
Thanks for your hard work. Kevin.
Yes – working again – thanks Ash! Must have been a BBC glitch and nothing to do with your app.
As with your other band of loyal followers, I still use this app daily as the only truly offline news reader. Thank you for continuing to make this app available and long may it continue.
Cheers
Hi Ash,
Looks like the Beeb have been playing around again, in virtually all of my categories, when I select a story all I get is the headline and a share link. 😦
Hope you will have the time to be able to fix it at some point and it’s fixable.
Regards, Kevin.
Hi Kevin, yeah I noticed that this morning too. I’m able to scroll down to read the story though. Not great and I’ll try to look into it but at least you can still read the story.
Ash
Hi Ash,
Do you know I hadn’t even noticed that. 😦
In that case don’t worry, I suppose it’d be nice to get rid of it, but otherwise it’s fine. 🙂
Many Thanks. Kevin.
Have fixed in version 2.9.5.
Have just downloaded now, working perfectly again 🙂
Thanks very much Ash.
Hi Ash, just just noticed your 2.10 update. Story thumbnails now working great. 🙂
Thanks very much. Kevin
Hi Ash, looks like the Beeb have done something again, all the stories show up ok under their sections, but when I select to read a story there is just a series of links to Shitface and Twatter. Any chance you can have a look. 🙂
Many thanks.
Kevin.
Hi Ash,
Just realised the story is there, you just have to scroll down a screen or two, so not vital, but would be nice to fix, as and when.
Thanks, Kevin.
Thanks Kevin, fixed in version 2.10.2.
Thanks Ash,
I’m in Crete on hols, where your app is even more useful than normal, have installed and working great 🙂
Thank you.
Kevin.
Thank you for continuing to support and update this app which I use every day.
Hi Ash, Presumably you know already, but your app has stopped downloading any news, presumably something to do with the BBC now using https?
If it is fixable that would be great as I use your app all the time. 🙂
Regards, Kevin.
I was going to comment on today’s apparent “breakdown” but Kevin Moore has already said it. I don’t know what the BBC have done this time but if you are able to work around this with another fix for Beeb Anywhere, it would be greatly appreciated, as always.
Follow-up to my comment yesterday: Beeb Anywhere was unable to retrieve any news stories for 24 hours or so but it appears to be working again now. Fingers crossed that this continues.
Thanks again, Ash, for this very useful app, which I still use every day. It remains the only 100% reliable method to read news offline or underground. You would think others would have cracked this by now, but no: instead they make their apps ever more complex but ignore the basics.
Thanks for letting me know Dave.
Double thanks from me too. I also use Beeb Anywhere as my only news reader. I completely agree with Dave in all respects.
Thanks for all of your continuing work.
Regards,
Kevin.
Thanks Kevin. I am using HTTP for the feed URLs right now, perhaps they turned that off for a while. I ought to switch over to HTTPS at some point.
Hi Ash, Looks like the Beeb have changed something again, I’m not now getting the thumbnail pictures beside each article, it’s not a major issue as If I think a better picture is needed I go to their web site, assuming I have a connection. 🙂
Regards, Kevin.
Yeah, they’ve ditched the thumbnails from their feeds now. Will have to update the app to remove them altogether and just have the headlines.
Hi Ash,
I’m still using your Beeb Anywhere, have you done any updates recently that you can pass on? I am finding increasingly, using dark theme, that pages are displaying dark grey characters on black background, making them almost invisible, initially it was the odd page, but now I’d estimate 20-30% of pages are like this.
If you have given up, is your source on Github anywhere, so I could have a go at finding out whats wrong?
Regards, Kevin.
Thanks Kevin, taking a look into this. There’s a few other layout issues to fix too.
That would be fantastic 🙂 As far as I can find, your app is still the only one that is genuinley offline once you’ve synced, I still sync it every day, usually a couple of times, then go through the headlines, reading at my leasure. If I really want the pictures, I can use your view website, which works just fine.
Thanks if you can make any improvements. Kevin.
Please try https://twitchya2.wordpress.com/2021/08/05/beeb-anywhere-2-13/
Hi Ash,
It looks like the Beeb have changed something terminal now, the app is no longer downloading any news for the last 2 days 😦 I’m hoping it’s not the end, and you can fix it?
Regards, Kevin.
Don’t worry about this one, I tried again this afternoon and it’s working again?
In the past few weeks many of my selections have ceased to download e.g. Cricket, Formula 1, also in the news, Sport Homepage. What is happening?
If things stop working it usually means the BBC have changed something. Try https://twitchya2.wordpress.com/2021/08/05/beeb-anywhere-2-13/
Hi there, even after all these years Beeb Anywhere is still my favourite news app!
Not sure if its still being maintained, however for the last 2 weeks or so, updating news articles are failing so i guess the beeb has changed something.
Also on Android 13, indicator where it says how long since the category gets updated doesnt work properly, even after you could update it, it would then say something like “120 days ago” almost immediately.
Thanks so much for your work over the years, its been appreciated!
Mine too, still use it daily, with no problems, but I am still using Android 7 or 8 on all my devices, so I suspect the problem lies with the updates to Android. Hopefully Ash will be able to find a fix for you.
Regards Kevin.
Thanks Kevin.
Thank you so so much, its now working great with the new version.
Really appreciate the constant support you show this app 🙂
Thanks Mario, please try version 2.14 – link on the Downloads page. Tested on Android 13 here and seems to be working now.
Hi Ash,
I’ve also tried 2.14 on Android 7 & 8 and it’s still working with them as well. 🙂
Thanks very much for keeping this going, I literally use it every day.
Regards Kevin.
Hello! Just tried Beeb Anywhere on Android 14 Beta on my Pixel 7 Pro and it works a treat! If anything it works better than on Android 13, which would render the article headlines in a small font, and each line bunched up. On android 14 it shows the headline in a bold font and the opening lines of the article, and all spaced out properly, much better!