BBC World Service Downloads & RevenueBBC World Service · Google Play
BBC World Service gets 1k+ downloads a day worldwide (AppInsider estimate, November 2026, rounded down to a band).
BBC World Service is #15 in News & Magazines Free on Google Play in India and charting in 13 of 23 countries we track.
Updated 11 Nov 2026 · rankings refresh through the day
Full timeline · 13 events
- 📈BBC World Service entered the top 10Top Free · News & Magazines · MX
- 📈BBC World Service entered the top 100Top Free · News & Magazines · TH
- 📈BBC World Service charting in a new countryThailand
- 📈BBC World Service entered the top 100Top Free · News & Magazines · NL
- 📈BBC World Service charting in a new countryNetherlands
- 📈BBC World Service entered the top 10Top Free · News & Magazines · SA
- 📈BBC World Service entered the top 100 in 3 chartsTop Free · News & Magazines · ES · Top Free · News & Magazines · MX · Top Free · News & Magazines · TR
- 📈BBC World Service charting in a new country in 3 chartsSpain · Mexico · Turkey
- ✏️BBC World Service: new screenshots12 screenshots (was 12) · US
- 📈BBC World Service entered the top 100Top Free · News & Magazines · DE
- 📈BBC World Service entered the top 10Top Free · News & Magazines · IN
- 📈BBC World Service entered the top 10Top Free · News & Magazines · AE
- 🆕BBC World Service first spotted by AppInsiderCanada
Collected from the stores by AppInsider since we first spotted the app. Dates are when we saw each change.
News & Magazines FreeBBC World Service at a glance
AI summary written from our chart and store data, 2026-09-28. It can be wrong: check the numbers above.
A free news application from the British Broadcasting Corporation providing multilingual global reporting, live video, and analysis for international audiences. The app demonstrates strong regional traction in the Middle East and South Asia, ranking #5 in the UAE and #8 in India within the free news category, while maintaining moderate visibility in Western markets like Canada and Australia.
Similar apps: Al Jazeera English, Reuters News, BBC News
BBC World Service on Google Play
App details
Tech stack
Trackers and permissions of build v9.15.0.31840, from the εxodus privacy report (CC BY-SA).
BBC World Service downloads
Worldwide, per day, and installs to date. The band is open; the exact number is free with an account.
How this is calculated
Where BBC World Service's downloads come from Modelled
Last 30 days: organic search, browsing the store, features and paid ads.
Active users
All platforms, worldwide. Free with an account.
Retention · share of new users still active
Time spent · per daily user
How this is calculated
Where it ranks on Google Play
Every top 200 chart it appears in across 23 countries.
| Country | Charts | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| India | News & MagazinesFree | #15 |
 Spain | News & MagazinesFree | #21 |
 Saudi Arabia | News & MagazinesFree | #22 |
 Australia | News & MagazinesFree | #40 |
 Russia | News & MagazinesFree | #32 |
 Mexico | News & MagazinesFree | #30 |
 Canada | News & MagazinesFree | #48 |
 Brazil | News & MagazinesFree | #49 |
 United Arab Emirates | News & MagazinesFree | #29 |
 Germany | News & MagazinesFree | #141 |
 Thailand | News & MagazinesFree | #22 |
 France | News & MagazinesFree | #102 |
 Italy | News & MagazinesFree | #95 |
Apps near BBC World Service on the chart
News & Magazines Free, around #15.
Inshorts - News in 60 words#10
Amar Ujala Hindi News, ePaper#11
NDTV : Daily News & Updates#12
Hindi News:Aaj Tak Live TV App#13
Dailyhunt - News & Magazines#14
Hindustan: Hindi News, ePaper#16
Google News - Daily Headlines#17
Rapid News - Daily News App#18
Mint: Stock Market & IPO News#19
Gujarati News by Divya Bhaskar#20
Ratings
Google Play, worldwide.
What users say about BBC World Service
From the 142 most recent Google Play reviews in the US.
Users appreciate the reliability and factual nature of BBC news content, with many expressing long-standing loyalty to the brand. However, significant complaints focus on technical instability, particularly audio interruptions during playback and poor performance when multitasking.
Mixed but leaning positive (64% of recent reviews give 4–5 stars). People like it for regular updates, and its features and content. The main complaints are about missing features or content, and crashes and bugs.
What people like
- Updates: “so please update the app soon”
- Features & content: “best news app of india , ground level news”
- Fun: “I enjoy listening to this apps news all the time”
- Useful
Common complaints
- Features & content: “There is no BBC Urdu option to select”
- Crashes & bugs: “refresh button is not working, every time need to close and relaunch the app”
About BBC World Service
Download the BBC World Service app to stay informed with impartial global and regional news wherever you are. Discover top stories, breaking news, in-depth analysis, investigations, and explainers to help you understand the stories shaping the world. Remain vigilant against misinformation and disinformation and keep informed with trusted journalism that brings the facts into focus.
Watch live reporting and explore video coverage, all in one place. Stay up to date across a wide range of topics including world news, politics, health, lifestyle, culture, business, science and technology, and the environment.
The BBC World Service app helps you stay connected to the stories that matter most to you.
Impartial global and regional news, top stories and analysis
Headlines, features and expert analyses
Breaking news and live reporting
Stay up to date with current affairs
Investigations and explainers
In-depth reporting, longer reads and videos exploring key global and regional stories, alongside explainers that tackle disinformation and unpack complex news topics.
Video
Watch the latest news moments, insight and analysis.
Alerts for top stories
Opt-in to push alerts where you will receive notifications instantly to your device.
If you choose to receive push alerts, a unique identifier relating to your device will be stored by Airship on behalf of the BBC to provide you with the service. No other personal data relating to you (such as a username or email address) is processed. You can choose to unsubscribe from BBC News push notifications in your device's 'Notifications' screen.
If you install this app, you accept the BBC World Service App Terms of Use, Privacy Notice and information about the use of cookies and similar technologies, available at:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3HbwbT5gzbDN6TG1gsLpjTv/bbc-world-service-app
To give you the best experience and to enable the features provided by this app, we and our partners may use cookies and similar technologies. You can find out more about how your information is used by visiting the link above.
Store changes
What BBC World Service changed on its store page: name, icon, screenshots, price, size, languages, requirements.