San Francisco Chronicle App Reviews

A few days ago my morning edition would not load. Tried to call customer service but got a recording. Figured I just needed to re-install the app so I deleted the version I had and went to the App Store to re-install. What I got when I re-loaded was something completely different and no where near as functional version as what I had. It works like SF Gate and all the articles are not current for that day. The old app was buggy but at least enjoyable to read. I have been a Chronicle paper, and then digital subscriber, for over 30 years but I have had enough. Other publications like the NY Times have been able to make good digital versions of the paper but the Chronicle has not been able to get their act together. Too bad because they have a good staff and product.

No delivery of print edition is offered in my area, so we tried and liked the iPad version and have used it daily since 2012. On 2/23/16 it simply stopped updating the days edition. No warning. The fix was too update then app - and I got this? Hard to believe Hearst intended this. I certainly wont pay for this.

Recently this app would not allow me to use it unless I agreed to let it access my location even when the app was not in use. When I pressed "do not allow," it didnt let me access the news stories. I restarted my phone and still could not access the news. Opening the app brought up an entirely black screen. I deleted the app and installed the current version. This version shows me news stories but does not appear to have a search function. This is a waste of my time. Im deleting this app and reading it at the sfgate website instead.

2/28/16 This is an update to my 1 star rating if 2 months ago. I give the staff credit for trying to correct many of the glaring problems of the first iteration, but it is still not as useful as the old Chronicle app. It is now possible to limit to content to that from "todays paper"; however it is still not the digital version of the print edition that it used to be. Apple customer service was very helpful and fully refunded my annual subscription fee when I explained that the product had been completely changed only weeks after I renewed. I now renew on a monthly basis in hopes that we will eventually get back to something like the former app. The truncation of the obituaries has been corrected, but now there have been no new obits published since early February and most are from mid to late January! I update the app every time they issue a revision so Im not running an old version. Apparently death has taken a holiday. 12/28/15 For decades I started the day with a cup of tea and the Chronicle...then I switched to tea and the Chronicle app on my iPad. The new version of the app has ruined my mornings! I started using the Chronicle app about 3 years ago and found it an easy way to get the daily papers content in a digital format. I eventually just dropped home delivery and used the app exclusively. On Dec 6 I renewed my subscription for a full year not knowing that a major revision of the app was planned. The new version is no longer worth the price of the subscription and I have enquired about the possibility of a prorated refund. The many negative reviews here are correct... the content bears no resemblance to the content of the daily print edition...just a mishmash of scrolling stories which may be current or may in fact be months old! Todays Dec 28 "Front Page" section began with an article from yesterday, the second story was dated Nov 29, and the third was from Oct 30! The "Garden" section is running informative articles from last summer. I spent several days playing around with the new navigational layout, but quickly realized that knowing how to use the app could not make up for the inherent design flaws. I emailed the Editor-in-Chief to report a number of major bugs, including the fact that content in the "World" section had not updated in days and was still showing week old news at the top of the screen. Obituaries do not display full content even though people have paid to have that information published. Whole sections of the paper are completely missing. She did respond promptly and forwarded my concerns to the app support team, but clearly felt that the new version was an improved product. Since support for the previous app is ceasing as of Jan 15 I think any hope of going back to the old interface is wishful thinking. What a shame...they "fixed" a good thing that wasnt broken.

Tried to repair my reliable online SF Chronicle app & wasted a day getting nowhere only to discover it has been completely ruined by the developers. Why would they choose to alienate longstanding good-paying customers? The online version of the SF Chronicle should be a better experience than wrestling with the paper version and it should provide more, not less, accurate up-to-date daily news. Super disappointing. Its expensive and now a totally ruined experience - the newspaper-like layout and reliability was always a joy. Now thats gone, and it appears to be amateur-looking with cheap scrolling features aimed at the kids market, or those with a seconds-long attention span. I will be canceling my decades long subscription along with the other good customers.

Just when they finally fixed some of the bugs they come out with this mess of old news, new news, and other junk news. I really miss the traditional "newspaper" format.

What an awful newspaper app. The old one was just fine. Now you cant tell what is current news and what in months old. No effort put into this from the Chronicle.

Had same problem as precious reviewer--one day my app would no longer download the paper, despite my being on autopay- so I knew it wasnt a billing issue. I deleted the app and re-downloaded it to discover a new format/layout that is TERRIBLE! Spoke with their digital app support and she instructed me to go to a site via my browser, sign in and read the original format paper there. Sorry, even that isnt the original format -- and, well it just doesnt feel the same. Ive been a decades long subscriber of the Chron and decided its time to let it go.

I wanted to like this new app. But its way worse than the old one. Cluttered, hard to navigate. If I wanted to read 10 day old articles, Id look at past editions, but No, thats not available anymore, so they clutter up the screen making it hard to find real news. Even small town online newspapers are way better than this. I guess Ill switch to whatever the new conglomerate is that just swallowed the Oakland Tribune etc., after a lifetime reading the Chronicle.

How is it that I can have a subscription to this newspaper app, be reading online, and yet when I click through to articles in the days paper Im told I need a digital subscription? If Im already paying for a substandard app .... why would I want to pay more? At least some of the worst problems with current articles and dating system have been improved since the format was updated, but this is still a sorry parody of a news app. It takes a lot of patience to wade through the app now that the format has been updated. At least Felix Baumgartner isnt still making a regular appearance!

The nytimes app works. Why doesnt this one? It is balky, slow, and the download function DOESNT WORK ANYMORE . But I can get the news ONLY ONLINE. They need to improve it. Very frustrating. IT DOESNT TRACK THE PAPER. Why is this SO bad? Unbelievable

Hate the new update. No access to previous editions.. Doesnt refresh properly -- requires a complete shutdown. The layout of items is messy and hard to read. What were you thinking... Oh wait, you obviously werent thinking. I would rate with negative stars, but you wisely do not give that option.

Bummer. Only todays news. Unable to view past issues.

Offline reading hasnt worked for months now. Why cant that be made to work? It worked fine on the old version. This newest version even admits they broke that feature, but claims it now works again. No. While the front page now comes up and it doesnt crash every time (which is an improvement), tapping on a story just results in an ever spinning wheel on my iPad 2. Come on, Chronicle. Get your act together.

Signed up with the chronicle special "all digital access" that touted its new iphone app. A piece of junk. Tried to set up my login and it gets hung-up on loading....never loads...lol. There is zero excuse for this on an itunes app. Zero.

. . .often NOT a good thing! Enjoyed reading the old app much more! As discussed by other readers, many problems with this one. Cant help but wonder why this app offered before the many problems not dealt with.

It was working fine for about a week. Now I cant get past login to read the articles. Its a continuous loop constantly asking me to log in. Hopefully we get a credit on our subscriptions.

Endless spinning wheel when trying to open articles, sidebar for sections selection is a joke. Get it together, please!

If I could give it a minus rating, I would! I have given up trying to read the Chronicle with this app. Its slow, the "front page" is mostly old, recycled stories. The powers that be at The Chronicle should take a few lessons from other newspaper apps such as the NY Times.

Impossible for this long-time print subscriber to "register" with this app. And clicking the "Lost Password" yields absolutely nothing!