shouldiuse.io

Report

Should I Use Flipboard?

flipboard.com·Analyzed 1 day ago··Based on 11 sources

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

Depends

Depends

Works fine as a free, casual news reader if you like magazine-style browsing.

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

Confidence: Medium

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

Value for money5

Core product is free

Ease of use4

Users praise smooth navigation

Feature depth3

Magazines, fediverse, local news; no pro workflows

Security posture2

Two breaches in 2019

Pros

  • Free core app; client software available at no charge⁷
  • Praised for ease of use and smooth navigation
  • Personalized smart magazines tailor content to your interests³
  • Follows anyone in the fediverse, widening discoverability
  • Big brands like Airbnb and Levi's ran campaigns on it11

Cons

  • Hacked twice in 2019; ~150M users' data exposed⁵
  • Recent reviews say it's gotten more frustrating over time²
  • Only 46 Trustpilot reviews — thin independent feedback¹
  • Bloggers report no referral traffic from Flipboard⁴
  • Some longtime users abandoned it years ago

Gotchas

  • high2019 breaches exposed usernames, emails, and hashed passwords; all passwords were force-reset.⁶
  • mediumNo security page found at — a transparency gap.
  • mediumMarketers: Reddit bloggers report zero traffic uplift — don't count on distribution.⁴
  • lowFreemium creep: Flipboard TV video add-on cost $3/month.⁸

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

Companies that use it

  • Airbnb11
  • Levi's

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

Google News

Free, simpler aggregator; a common Redditor swap

Full analysis

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

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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