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Flipboard Review

Depends

Should I use Flipboard?

One place for all the stories you care about. Join the Flipboard community to discover and share what inspires you. - flipboard.com

· 1 month ago

Works fine as a free, casual news reader if you like magazine-style browsing. Skip it for marketing distribution, team use, or if the 2019 breaches concern you.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 25+ public sources: app-store and Reddit reviews, security breach coverage, pricing pages, and company announcements.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityNo public support evidence found
  • Security posture

Pricing

$0

Free

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
Flipboard TV$3/month

Best for

  • Casual news readers
  • Visual, magazine-style browsing fans
  • Brand content curators
  • Fediverse users

Not for

  • Bloggers chasing referral traffic — users report none
  • Privacy-sensitive buyers — two breaches touched 150M accounts
  • Teams wanting collaboration or workflow features
  • Minimalist RSS readers — Feedly tested as the better fit

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

2019 breaches exposed usernames, emails, and hashed passwords; all passwords were force-reset.

medium

No security page found at — a transparency gap.

medium

Marketers: Reddit bloggers report zero traffic uplift — don't count on distribution.

low

Freemium creep: Flipboard TV video add-on cost $3/month.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free core app; client software available at no charge
  • Praised for ease of use and smooth navigation
  • Personalized smart magazines tailor content to your interests
  • Follows anyone in the fediverse, widening discoverability
  • Big brands like Airbnb and Levi's ran campaigns on it

Cons

  • Hacked twice in 2019; ~150M users' data exposed
  • Recent reviews say it's gotten more frustrating over time
  • Only 46 Trustpilot reviews — thin independent feedback
  • Bloggers report no referral traffic from Flipboard
  • Some longtime users abandoned it years ago

Sources & method

- 11 sources - Breached twice in 2019, exposing data for ~150M accounts; passwords were force-reset, and no newer incidents appear in reviewed sources.

official x2review x5security x2news x2
  • Two 2019 database intrusions, Usernames, email addresses, and hashed passwords exposed across ~150M user accounts; company forced system-wide password resets.
  • System-wide password resets, Flipboard initiated password resets for all users after confirming the intrusions.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 11

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Core product is free
  • Ease of use: 4/5. Users praise smooth navigation
  • Feature depth: 3/5. Magazines, fediverse, local news; no pro workflows
  • Support quality. No public support evidence found
  • Security posture: 2/5. Two breaches in 2019
  • 3.6/5 Benchmark Grid rating per Benchmark Grid review
  • $0 Starting price client software free of charge
  • 150M Reported users per Forbes, 2019
  • $50M+ Funding 2013 round; $10.5M Series A in 2010

Pricing

Free

$0

  • News reader and social magazines
  • iOS, Android, web clients

Flipboard TV

$3/month

  • Subscription video content (2019 launch)

Security

Breached twice in 2019, exposing data for ~150M accounts; passwords were force-reset, and no newer incidents appear in reviewed sources.

  • Two 2019 database intrusionsUsernames, email addresses, and hashed passwords exposed across ~150M user accounts; company forced system-wide password resets.⁵
  • System-wide password resetsFlipboard initiated password resets for all users after confirming the intrusions.⁶

What users say

The magazine format and navigation still earn praise, but recent user reviews describe growing frustration and quiet abandonment.

“Flipboard used to be great but now it's more frustrati…”
Google Play review
“No, it's a gigantic waste of time.”
Reddit, r/Blogging
“I stopped using flipboard back in 2018 or so.”
Reddit, r/feedly

Alternatives

Compare Flipboard with each alternative.

  • Feedly

    Ranked best Flipboard alternative for most readers in 2026 testing

  • Inoreader

    More powerful reader, pitched directly against Flipboard

    Flipboard vs Inoreader

  • Google News

    Free, simpler aggregator; a common Redditor swap

Companies that use it

  • Airbnb11
  • Levi's
Full analysis

Based on 25+ public sources: app-store and Reddit reviews, security breach coverage, pricing pages, and company announcements.

Free, pretty news reader for casual browsing — but 2019 hacks, souring reviews, and zero marketing ROI say manage expectations.

Methodology

Based on 25+ public sources: app-store and Reddit reviews, security breach coverage, pricing pages, and company announcements.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. Flipboard Reviews — Trustpilot (46 reviews)trustpilot.com
    review
  2. Flipboard — Google Play reviewsplay.google.com
    review
  3. Flipboard review — Benchmark Grid (3.6/5)benchmarkgrid.com
    review
  4. Does Flipboard actually help promote blog posts? — Redditreddit.com
    review
  5. Flipboard Confirms It Was Hacked Twice — Forbesforbes.com
    security
  6. Flipboard Resets Passwords After Database Intrusions — GovInfoSecuritygovinfosecurity.com
    security
  7. Flipboard — Wikipedia (pricing, breach history)en.wikipedia.org
    news
  8. Flipboard Jumps Aboard the Subscription Video Train — Wiredwired.com
    news
  9. Flipboard Raises $50 Million — About Flipboardabout.flipboard.com
    official
  10. 9 Best Flipboard Alternatives in 2026 — Readlessreadless.app
    review
  11. Airbnb and Flipboard marketing case studyabout.flipboard.com
    official

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