Apple News does not provide a single switch to completely disable auto-refresh. However, you can significantly reduce background updates, downloads, and notifications by adjusting a few settings on your iOS device.
How Apple News Handles Updates and Downloads
According to Apple Support, Apple News uses two key settings to manage content refresh:
- Background App Refresh controls whether the app fetches new content when you’re not actively using it.
- Automatic Downloads applies to News+ subscribers, managing the automatic arrival of new magazine issues and
story packs.
By turning these settings off, you limit much of the behind-the-scenes refreshing.
What You Can Control
- Background Updates: Turning off Background App Refresh for Apple News stops it from updating content in the
background on your device. - Automatic Downloads: For News+ subscribers, disabling Automatic Downloads prevents new magazine issues and story
bundles from downloading automatically. - Notifications: You can reduce alert interruptions by disabling Apple News notifications entirely or by using
scheduled summaries to bundle notifications at specific times. - Low Power & Low Data Modes: Enabling these system-wide modes reduces background activity, further limiting app
refreshes.
The Feed Jump Issue
Some users notice the news feed “jumping” back to the top while browsing. Unfortunately, no official setting exists to disable this behavior; it appears to be part of the app’s feed reloading process.
How to Curb Apple News Auto-Refresh
1. Turn Off Background App Refresh for Apple News
Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh. Select “Off” to disable it globally, or keep it “On” but toggle off Apple News in the app list to stop background updates specifically.
2. Disable Automatic Downloads for News+
Navigate to Settings > Apps > News > Automatic Downloads. Turn off “Allow Automatic Downloads” or selectively disable options like Recent Stories and magazine issues to avoid automatic content downloading.
3. Manage Notifications
Inside the Apple News app, open the Following tab and scroll to Notifications & Email. Turn off unnecessary alerts or channel notifications. Alternatively, use Settings > Notifications > Scheduled Summary to group and delay alerts.
4. Activate Low Power Mode
Enable Low Power Mode in Settings > Battery to reduce all background tasks, helping to curb News app updates when you want minimal activity.
5. Use Low Data Mode on Metered Networks
For Wi-Fi, go to Settings > Wi-Fi, tap the “i” next to your network, and enable Low Data Mode. For cellular, use Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Data Mode > Low Data Mode. This disables Background App Refresh on data-restricted connections.
What Apple News Cannot Do
Apple News does not allow users to stop the feed from refreshing while actively using the app. There is no built-in toggle to disable this in-app refresh. If you experience feed jumping during reading, save articles to your Following tab and read them from Saved to keep your place. Apple has acknowledged this behavior but has not released a fix.
Using Apple News+ Offline
News+ subscribers can pre download content for offline reading, which is useful for flights or commutes:
- Go to Settings > News.
- Ensure Background App Refresh is enabled.
- Tap Automatic Downloads (or Download Options) and enable your preferred content types—Recent Stories, Saved
Stories, Magazine Issues, Audio Stories, or Puzzles. - In the News app, save desired articles for offline access.
Bottom Line
While you cannot fully disable auto-refresh in Apple News, you can substantially reduce it by turning off Background App Refresh and Automatic Downloads, managing notifications, and using Low Power or Low Data Modes. The feed will still reload during active use, but these steps minimize constant background updating.
