A new redesign to the Google News Following feed is among a host of new features the app will be getting. Other new additions to the app include design as well as other functional elements. These new features aim to improve the user experience on the Google News app and make content more readily available.
Customization of one’s following feed on the Google News app is an indispensable ability. It gives users extra control over news content they get to see first once they open the following news section of the app. Despite this section displaying news genres that the user picks, there is still a level of personalization necessary to make things feel more in sync with the user’s needs.
With this new design, Google is giving users the ability to customize their following feed to their tastes. According to sources, this redesign will first be available on Android devices before making an appearance on iOS devices. While waiting for this new design to be available, it is good to know how you can put it to use.
Getting familiar with the Google News Following feeds customization feature
For some years, users of the Google News app have been able to pick and follow news topics they relate to. After selecting these news categories or genres, users don’t get to see any news articles in the following section of the app. This is very unhelpful, as users will need to tap and expand every news genre before they can view news content.
But now Google is putting more power in users’ hands by allowing them to view news articles directly from their following feed. So, instead of the boring list of the topics and genres users follow, they can also get actual news content. This redesign reshapes the entire following feed section of the Google News app.
With a future update, the Google News Following feed will get actual news articles displayed for users. This means that they get a headline, cover picture, and name of the publishing website just like they do on the For Your page. All news articles displayed in this section will be from topics and genres the user follows.
For example, if a user follows technology as a topic, on the following page they will be able to find tech-related articles. Google claims to use some ranking algorithms to select what news appears on the following page. This algorithm is trained to select news to display to users based on certain factors.
This redesign will help users search for news topics that are of interest to them to easily find them. Other additional features include the new Google News Showcase for a more personalized experience. These features will first become available to users in the US before arriving to users in other regions.