Guardian sets limit for free stories on apps

The Guardian has placed a limit on the number of stories that readers can access free of charge on its app.

In a sign of growing financial pressure on the newspaper, people will be able to see 20 stories on the app until they have to pay to continue to use it or wait until the end of the month for the cap on stories to reset. The website remains free to access via a mobile or desktop browser.

A Guardian spokesman said that the move to introduce the 20-story cap, called an “app meter”, had come after a “successful trial” that began in 2022.

“The app meter rollout is a key element of our global supporter strategy, which seeks to engage with even more of our regular readers around the world and grow in order to invest in Guardian journalism and in our digital products,” he said.

It marks a revolutionary change from the view of Alan Rusbridger, the former Guardian editor, that paywalls could lead the news industry towards a “sleepwalk into oblivion”.

The media group expects to make a loss of £39 million this year because of a weak advertising market, The Sunday Times revealed last week. Katharine Viner, its editor-in-chief, told staff that they “should worry but not panic” about the situation.

As a result, The Guardian has been exploring greater sources of revenue, such as subscription revenues from certain products, including a crossword app and Feast, a soon-to-be-launched recipe app. The app charges £74.99 for an ad-free annual subscription and breaking news updates.

The Guardian started testing a paywall on its news app in 2022 with a group of regular readers as it tried to decide whether to change its business model and make users pay for reading articles.

The website also appeals for donations from readers and pop-ups nudge them with how many articles they have read, encourage them to register and suggest that they buy a subscription.

The Guardian is owned by the Scott Trust, which funds the newspaper. The Guardian Media Group reported a £21 million loss for the year to the end of March 2023 and its turnover was up by 3 per cent at £264 million. Two thirds of its digital audience comes from its overseas operations.

The spokesman added: “We continue to evolve our long-standing paid-for news app, while maintaining access to our desktop or mobile web at no cost to the reader. By supporting us, our readers know that they are not only helping to support impactful journalism they can trust, but are also ensuring the Guardian’s independent journalism can be seen by people around the world.”