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What is SkimNews?
SkimNews turns stories from 100+ news sources into 30-second summaries covering what happened, why it matters and other perspectives. It is free to read without signup and offers a personalized feed, follow-up questions and a daily email.
SkimNews is a news aggregator that condenses each story into a short brief readable in about 30 seconds. Instead of sending readers to a single publisher, it pulls the same event from more than 100 monitored outlets, merges and deduplicates the coverage, and presents a compact account of what happened, why it matters, and which other takes are worth opening. The homepage reports roughly 99 stories on a given day and coverage across eight topic categories, including geopolitics, tech and science, finance, energy and climate, health, sports and culture. The service is aimed at readers who want to stay informed without scrolling through multiple news sites or committing to long articles. Busy professionals, people who follow markets or technology closely, and anyone wary of one outlet's framing are the natural audience. Reading requires no account: the feed at the For You page opens directly, and each story links back to the original source with a timestamp and publisher name, so readers can verify details or continue to the full article. In practice, the feed shows a headline, a category label, a one-line takeaway and the originating outlet. Opening a story reveals the summary and cross-referenced perspectives. The site says its feed adapts to a reader's interests over time, and a follow-up question feature lets users ask about a story and receive answers drawn from the source material. Summaries are pre-computed, so pages load without waiting on generation. A daily email digest delivers the day's top stories each morning, and the site states it is free with no signup needed. Among alternatives, SkimNews sits between traditional news aggregators, which mostly list headlines, and general AI chat assistants, which can summarize an article only when asked. Its distinguishing choice is multi-source consolidation with a fixed, very short format. The tradeoff is depth: a 30-second brief suits triage and daily awareness, not detailed analysis, so readers needing nuance will still click through to the linked publications. Sources named on the homepage range from wire services and major dailies to tech, finance and independent newsletters.
How do you use SkimNews?
1Open the main feed
Go to the For You page to start reading immediately. No account is required, and the latest stories load with summaries already prepared.
2Scan headlines by category
Use the category labels, such as Tech & Science, Finance or Geopolitics, to spot the topics you care about. Each card shows a takeaway line, the source and its age.3Read a story summary
Open any story to see the short brief covering what happened and why it matters. Check the other takes listed to compare how different outlets frame the event.
4Ask a follow-up question
When a summary raises questions, use the ask feature to get an answer based on the source material. This avoids hunting through several articles for context.5Subscribe to the daily email
Enter an email address in the subscribe section of the homepage to receive the day's best stories each morning. It is described as free and can be cancelled at any time.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Merges and deduplicates coverage from 100+ outlets, so one story shows several perspectives in one placeAI
- Free to read with no signup required, according to the homepageAI
- Each summary is built for a 30-second read covering what happened and why it mattersAI
- Every story credits its original publisher and time, making it easy to click through to the full articleAI
- Optional daily email digest and a follow-up question feature add depth beyond the feedAI
Cons
- A 30-second summary cannot carry the nuance of long-form reporting, so complex stories need further readingAI
- Summaries are machine-condensed, and the homepage gives no detail on how accuracy or bias is checkedAI
- Personalization is described only vaguely, with little visible control over topics or source weightingAI
- Pricing beyond the free tier is not stated, so the long-term business model is unclearAI
- Coverage is broad but limited to eight topic categories, which may leave niche interests thinly servedAI
How much does SkimNews cost?
Pricing
The homepage describes SkimNews as free forever, with no signup required to read and a free daily email. No paid plans are listed.
Learn moreIntegrations
No integrations are listed. The site aggregates content from outlets such as BBC, Reuters, TechCrunch, CNBC and The Verge, and delivers a daily email.
Features
30-second summaries, cross-referenced and deduplicated stories from 100+ sources, a personalized feed, follow-up questions on stories, real-time updates with pre-computed summaries, eight topic categories and a daily email newsletter.
Frequently asked questions about SkimNews
How much does SkimNews cost?
The homepage describes SkimNews as free forever, with no signup required to read and a free daily email. No paid plans are listed.Does SkimNews offer a free trial?
No trial is needed: reading is free with no signup, and the daily newsletter is free as well.How do you use SkimNews?
The walkthrough on this page covers 5 steps: 1. Open the main feed 2. Scan headlines by category 3. Read a story summary 4. Ask a follow-up question 5. Subscribe to the daily email.What platforms does SkimNews support?
SkimNews is available on Web App.What does SkimNews integrate with?
No integrations are listed. The site aggregates content from outlets such as BBC, Reuters, TechCrunch, CNBC and The Verge, and delivers a daily email.What are the limitations of SkimNews?
A 30-second summary cannot carry the nuance of long-form reporting, so complex stories need further reading. Summaries are machine-condensed, and the homepage gives no detail on how accuracy or bias is checked. Personalization is described only vaguely, with little visible control over topics or source weighting.
