Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

WIVB News 4 vs 13 ON YOUR SIDE News

WIVB News 4 4.6★ · Free to download 60
Winner 13 ON YOUR SIDE News
13 ON YOUR SIDE News 4.7★ · Free to download 65

While both apps suffer from similar issues, 13 ON YOUR SIDE News has a slight edge due to its slightly higher lifetime rating and fewer critical reports of app-breaking bugs compared to WIVB News 4.

Full reviews: WIVB News 4 · 13 ON YOUR SIDE News

Both WIVB News 4 and 13 ON YOUR SIDE News are free local news apps that struggle with excessive ads, outdated content, and frequent technical issues like crashing and slow loading. WIVB News 4 faces more severe complaints about app functionality and ad interruptions, while 13 ON YOUR SIDE News, despite similar ad issues, appears to have a slightly more stable user experience.

Head to head

Features and Content tieR2R3R6R9
WIVB News 4 Users appreciate WIVB News 4 for its local news and weather forecasts, with some specifically praising meteorologists like Don Paul and Todd Santos R2R6. However, many users complain about outdated news, especially on weekends, and a lack of diverse content, focusing too much on local or specific topics like the Bills R9R24. Some also note difficulty finding specific articles or live streams R3R12R16.
13 ON YOUR SIDE News 13 ON YOUR SIDE News is valued for its local and national news, and timely alerts . Its weather forecasts are also highlighted as a strong point . However, similar to App A, users report outdated news, especially on weekends, and a perceived overemphasis on certain topics like COVID-19 . Some users also miss specific features like high school sports or water temperatures .
Ease of Use tieR3R7R8R12
WIVB News 4 Many WIVB News 4 users find the app difficult to navigate, with issues like hard-to-find topics, small print, and an unintuitive layout R12R24. Notifications are a mixed bag, with some finding them helpful R8, but others complaining about excessive or irrelevant alerts, and pop-ups for notifications R3. The app also has issues with videos autoplaying despite settings and automatically silencing other audio R7.
13 ON YOUR SIDE News 13 ON YOUR SIDE News also faces criticism for its user interface, with users finding the new version confusing, hard to navigate, and not user-friendly . Issues include difficulty seeing full article lists due to ads and problems with screen rotation . Notifications are generally appreciated for keeping users informed , but some report specific notification failures .
Reliability and Performance tieR10R13R16R21
WIVB News 4 WIVB News 4 users frequently report severe reliability issues, including constant crashing, black screens, flickering, and failure to open after updates R10R13R45R49. Streaming is often unreliable, with broadcasts hanging or showing dead air R16R21. The radar feature also experiences errors . Some users were particularly frustrated when an update was required during a critical event like a blizzard, rendering the app useless .
13 ON YOUR SIDE News 13 ON YOUR SIDE News also has significant reliability problems. Users report the app crashing frequently, failing to open, freezing, and being slow to load . Some mention the app shutting down within seconds of trying to load . The weather section and radar are specifically noted as slow to load or buggy .
Price and Value tieR4R25R28R29
WIVB News 4 Both apps are free to download, but WIVB News 4 is heavily criticized for an overwhelming number of ads. Users report pop-up ads on opening, timed ads before videos, ads on top and bottom of pages, and constant interruptions during live streams, making the app almost unusable R4R25R28R29. The volume difference between content and ads is also a complaint R28.
13 ON YOUR SIDE News 13 ON YOUR SIDE News, also free, is similarly plagued by excessive ads. Users complain about pop-up ads, full-screen ads, ads that make pages jump around, and ads that continuously appear while reading articles . The loud volume of commercials compared to programming is also a significant annoyance .
Support and Updates tieR10R13R43R45
WIVB News 4 Users of WIVB News 4 express frustration with updates that break the app or introduce new issues, with some uninstalling and reinstalling multiple times without success R10R13R43R45. There's a general plea for bug fixes and improvements R13R45.
13 ON YOUR SIDE News 13 ON YOUR SIDE News users also report that updates sometimes cause the app to stop working or become less user-friendly . There are requests for fixes for crashing issues and slow loading . Some users note contacting support without seeing improvements .
Pick WIVB News 4 if

You are a dedicated fan of the WIVB News 4 team and their specific local coverage, and are willing to tolerate significant app performance issues and a high volume of ads R8.

Pick 13 ON YOUR SIDE News if

You prioritize receiving local and national news alerts and appreciate the specific news team of 13 ON YOUR SIDE, and are prepared to navigate an app with frequent ads and occasional performance glitches .

Evidence note: Both apps are free, so the negative reviews regarding ads are expected from non-paying users. The lifetime ratings are very close, indicating similar overall satisfaction despite the numerous complaints.

Frequently asked

Do these news apps have a lot of ads?
Yes, both WIVB News 4 and 13 ON YOUR SIDE News are heavily criticized for having an excessive number of ads, including pop-ups, full-screen ads, and ads that interrupt videos and articles R4R25R28R43.
Are the apps reliable and stable?
No, both apps have significant reliability issues, with users reporting frequent crashing, freezing, failure to open, and slow loading times, especially after updates R10R13R45R49.
Is the news content always up to date?
Users for both apps frequently complain that the news content is often outdated, particularly on weekends, and that breaking news alerts don't always link to current stories R9R24R33R57.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R2] WIVB News 4 5/5 · US The Best!: Don Paul rocks!!
  2. [R3] WIVB News 4 3/5 · US Notifications: The app functions well. I do miss the ability to watch live from my phone in real time in the mornings. More customization of notifications would be appreciated. I’d like to receive Breaking news & Local news notifications without Sports. My Sports notifications are disabled, but some must be sent anyway when other notification groups are enabled.
  3. [R6] WIVB News 4 3/5 · US News 4: I love this this is the best app to look at the weather
  4. [R9] WIVB News 4 3/5 · US Old news: Almost all the news on this is over 24 hours old You are better off looking elsewhere
  5. [R7] WIVB News 4 1/5 · US Sound: I love the app but I hate that is automatically silences anything playing on my phone when it’s opened. If I am not trying to watch something why does it take over my audio.
  6. [R8] WIVB News 4 5/5 · US Best news app: I love these app cause I’m informed all the time with the latest events
  7. [R12] WIVB News 4 3/5 · US Looking: Half the time I can’t find what I’m looking for since you changed it a while ago
  8. [R10] WIVB News 4 1/5 · US Update broke it: Since updating, the app flickers when opened then I get a black screen.
  9. [R13] WIVB News 4 1/5 · US Constantly crashing: App will not work more then 5 times without crashing once open. Horrible update. Are we going to get a working app anytime soon? Have uninstalled and re-installed twice. Still does it after 4-5 times opening it. Please fix!
  10. [R16] WIVB News 4 1/5 · US Live: This app is horrible for watching the news live all I get is “we will be right back” I rather watch a commercial than dead air . then I would know it’s not buffering or loading.
  11. [R21] WIVB News 4 3/5 · US Unreliable streaming: I mainly use the Channel 4 app to watch the noon news. I have a lot of trouble with it not coming up or hanging in the middle of a broadcast. It may be due to my device or wifi, but it seems to mostly happen with this app. Another complaint: see ing the same commercial several times during a broadcast, and many times during the week is very annoying.
  12. [R4] WIVB News 4 1/5 · US Too Many Ads: Had to uninstall, waaaayyyy too many ads. Pop-up ad when I open the app, timed ad before any video I watch, ads on top and bottom on every page.
  13. [R25] WIVB News 4 1/5 · US The same ads … before and after every story.: It is so annoying! Uninstalled.
  14. [R28] WIVB News 4 1/5 · US Bloated with adverts....: 5 minutes of commercials for every 2 minutes of news. This app is overwhelmed by various banners and averts that make watching the news almost impossible and slow on my iPad. Very biased news stories that promote many businesses and government but little real news. Also for every segment I have to unmute the sound until the next segment when I have to unmute it again and
  15. [R29] WIVB News 4 5/5 · US Ads - wayyy too much: Too many ads before I can watch news clips.
  16. [R43] WIVB News 4 1/5 · US Random ads app, no longer a news app: New September 2017 update to your WIVB News4 app is horrible. The live stream of news is constantly interrupted by ads. For every 30 seconds of news I'm getting another ad so I never here the full news story, rendering the app useless. Ads are OK in the commercial breaks and only for the duration of the commercial breaks. This needs to be fixed yesterday! Oct
  17. [R45] WIVB News 4 1/5 · US Need an update ASAP: This app has been constantly crashing for the past few weeks. I think an update is needed
  18. [R49] WIVB News 4 1/5 · US Awful news app: Crashes doing nothing. No content, Half articles telling you nothing. Advertising set to look like news articles mixed in with news articles. Complete garbage. An embarrassment to humankind.
  19. [R24] WIVB News 4 3/5 · US Online: Too hard to follow and find topics. Not up to date.
  20. [R33] WIVB News 4 1/5 · US Not up to date: The stories on this site are generally outdated especially on the weekends. I won’t watch any of the Buffalo stations because it’s frustrating to wait an hour to hear a weather forecast. Tease after tease after tease. I don’t care about the wind direction and I can see the temperatures across the region. I don’t need Mike to read them to me.
  21. [R57] WIVB News 4 1/5 · US Outdated news: The news on the home page is never updated timely. I may as well read the paper. Other local apps have up to date news a lot quicker. Come on your better than this

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store