--- schema_type: "SoftwareApplication" entity_type: "Mobile Application" app_name: "Snopes" developer_entity: "Snopes, Inc." bundle_id: "com.snopes.app" app_store_id: "6747533069" category: "News" primary_platform: "ios" primary_monetization: "Freemium" offline_capable: false market_region: "US" platforms: "iOS & Android" app_last_updated: "2026-03-02" report_date: "2026-07-30" last_verified: "2026-07-30T00:00:00.000Z" report_version: "3.1" total_reviews: 518 overall_rating: 4.7 sentiment: "Excited" sentiment_score: 65 confidence: "medium" confidence_score: 0.6 top_praise_theme: "Fact checking accuracy and depth provide a reliable resource for verifying suspicious information online" top_complaint_theme: "Subscription status fails to sync correctly, leaving paid users restricted to free article access" review_sample_size: 14 total_review_count: 14 analyzed_review_count: 14 data_age_days: 17 momentum_velocity: "maintenance" intelligence_version: 4 nemesis: "AP News" competitor_count: 5 tags: ["news", "freemium", "excited sentiment", "mobile app", "app review", "app analysis", "information", "seekers", "readers"] canonical_url: "https://marlvel.ai/apps/com-snopes-app" license: "CC-BY-NC 4.0" content_version: "v2" --- # Snopes Intelligence Report ## TL;DR {#tldr} - **Category**: News · Freemium - **Signal**: Rating 4.7 · Sentiment Excited - **Recent focus**: Subscription status fails to sync correctly, leaving paid users restricted to free article access (top complaint) · Fact checking accuracy and depth provide a reliable resource for verifying suspicious information online (top praise) > **TL;DR:** Snopes is a news app by Snopes, Inc., rated 4.7/5 by 518 users, with Excited user sentiment (65/100), available on iOS & Android. > > **Marlvel.ai App Intelligence** - Independent analysis. US Market. No publisher influence. > **Key Insight:** Snopes maintains Excited user sentiment (4.7/5 from 518 reviews), with users consistently praising fact checking accuracy and depth provide a reliable resource for verifying suspicious information online. ## Quick Facts | Fact | Value | | :--- | :--- | | **Rating** | 4.7/5 (518 reviews) | | **User Mood** | Excited | | **Category** | News | | **Developer** | Snopes, Inc. | | **Pricing** | Freemium | | **Platforms** | iOS & Android | | **Confidence** | Medium (0.6/1.0) | | **Data Age** | 17d | ## Metadata & Market Performance - **Publisher:** Snopes, Inc. - **Category:** News - **Target Audience:** Information seekers and news readers looking for verified, evidence-based fact checking. - **Platforms:** iOS & Android - **Version Reviewed:** 3.1 - **Report Date:** 2026-07-30 - **Signal Count:** 14 reviews analyzed - **Confidence:** Medium (0.6/1.0) - **App Store ID (iOS):** 6747533069 - **Bundle ID:** com.snopes.app - **Google Play ID:** com.snopes.app - **Performance Trend:** Mixed - **Data Window:** Analysis based on signals collected up to 2026-07-30 - **Short Description:** The definitive source for fact checking ## Executive Snapshot **What it is:** Snopes is a fact-checking and news-verification app for iOS and Android that provides access to a multi-decade archive of investigative reporting. **Why users hire it:** The app removes the friction of navigating a web-based archive during moments of uncertainty, providing a dedicated mobile space for verifying suspicious information. ## App DNA (Features & Intent) - **[Differentiator] FactBot:** Automated conversational interface for querying specific topics within the Snopes database, expanding ad-impression inventory for free-tier users. - **[Differentiator] True/False Game:** Interactive quiz module testing user ability to identify misinformation, increasing DAU/MAU ratio via gamification. - **[Standard] Ad-Free Membership:** Removes advertisements from the browsing experience, providing a direct paid-conversion lever. * *User Intent:* Users seek enhanced value through premium features. ## Market Position {#market-position} Snopes holds a #70 Grossing position in the US News & Magazines category, reflecting its established brand authority. The gap between its free-tier discovery and its grossing rank suggests that current subscription-gating mechanics are not yet fully converting the high-intent user base. ## Monetization Strategy - **Model:** Freemium - **Tiers:** Free tier with ad-supported content, Membership tier for ad-free access - **Analysis:** The freemium model uses ad-supported access as the primary volume driver, with membership gated behind ad-free incentives. ## 🟢 User Sentiment (Medium Confidence: 14 of 14 reviews analyzed) {#user-sentiment} - **Overall Rating:** 4.7/5 - **Platform Split:** iOS 4.8/5 (391 ratings) | Android 4.5/5 (127 ratings) - **Overall Sentiment:** Excited ### Top Praises - **Fact checking accuracy and depth provide a reliable resource for verifying suspicious information online** - **Mobile layout provides a more accessible experience than the web version for daily users** ### Top Complaints (Impact Areas) - **Subscription status fails to sync correctly, leaving paid users restricted to free article access** ## SWOT Analysis {#swot} **Core Strengths:** - 30-year archive depth creates a high barrier to entry for new fact-checking competitors - Mobile-first layout provides a more accessible experience than the web version for daily users **Growth Levers:** - Community tips center for paid users could increase retention and subscription value - Expanding the true/false game into a social leaderboard could drive daily active usage ## Recent Changes (v3 → v4) {#recent-changes} Development has entered a maintenance-only phase with no new feature releases since early March 2026, while unresolved authentication and subscription-sync failures continue to impede paid conversion. Despite this stagnation, the app's grossing rank improved from #92 to #70 in the News & Magazines category. **Overall trend**: Mixed **Compared at**: 2026-07-30 ### High-impact changes - **[Shifted] Development cadence stagnation** (features) ### Medium-impact changes - **[Improved] Grossing rank improvement** (positioning) - **[Shifted] Ad-Free Membership reclassification** (features) ## Rivals Landscape {#rivals} > Competitive positioning identified by AI analysis of app features, category, and market signals. ### Snopes vs AP News - Top Rival - **[AP News](https://marlvel.ai/apps/com-apnews-ipad-mobilenewsdevel)** by The Associated Press: Directly competes in the high-trust, objective journalism space with a massive, established news-gathering infrastructure. - **Key differences:** - Provides primary-source global reporting rather than secondary-source fact-checking analysis of existing media. - Maintains a high-frequency release cadence of 12 updates in six months to ensure platform stability. - Offers a comprehensive news feed that covers breaking events beyond the scope of fact-checking archives. ### Peers (What They Do Better) - **[The Economist - News, Podcasts](https://marlvel.ai/apps/com-economist-lamarr)** by The Economist: Targets the same analytical, fact-oriented audience looking for high-level synthesis of global events. - Integrates high-quality audio podcasts directly into the reading experience for multi-modal content consumption. - Focuses on long-form analytical synthesis rather than the reactive, short-form debunking model of Snopes. - **[Washington Post](https://marlvel.ai/apps/com-pointabout-washingtonpost)** by The Washington Post: Represents the premium subscription-based news model that competes for the same time-share of informed readers. - Features deep-dive investigative journalism and multimedia storytelling that extends beyond simple fact-checking. - Utilizes a high-velocity release schedule of 17 updates in six months to optimize reader engagement. - **[Google News](https://marlvel.ai/apps/com-google-googledigitaleditions)** by Google: Dominates the news aggregation space, serving as a primary discovery engine that often directs traffic to fact-checkers. - Leverages massive algorithmic personalization to surface news based on user reading history and location. - Aggregates content from thousands of publishers, creating a comprehensive ecosystem that Snopes cannot replicate. ### New Kids on the Block (What's Innovative) - **[Watch Duty: Wildfire Maps](https://marlvel.ai/apps/org-watchduty-app)** by Sherwood Forestry Service, Inc.: An emerging threat in the 'truth-seeking' niche, focusing on real-time, verified information for specific high-stakes events. - Provides hyper-local, verified wildfire intelligence that functions as a critical utility for user safety. - Maintains a rapid 18-release cadence in six months, showing extreme agility in responding to user feedback. ## What's New - **Latest (v1.1, 9 months ago):** Updated guest mode article count limits. ## App Momentum (Maintenance) {#momentum} - Ships ~2 releases per year. - Last major release Jan 2026. > **Cadence:** 10 total versions · 4 majors in last 6 months · 149 days since last update · 14 days avg between updates ## The "So What?" (Strategic Takeaway) {#so-what} Snopes is a market-leading news app that is free with in-app purchases. With a 4.7/5 rating from 518 reviews, it delivers strong user satisfaction. > **Bottom Line:** Snopes must prioritize account authentication and subscription synchronization to protect its core revenue stream, as these technical failures currently undermine the brand's high-trust value proposition. Resolving these blockers will unlock the conversion potential of the existing high-intent user base. **Best for:** Information seekers and news readers looking for verified, evidence-based fact checking. ### PM Action Plan (Next Best Moves) - [ ] [INVEST] Rebuild account authentication logic because login failures are a top-tier friction point → reduce churn ### Feature Gaps vs Competitors - Primary-source global reporting (available in AP News but absent here) ### Outlook: Mixed The fact-checking market is consolidating around platforms that offer high-frequency updates and integrated multimedia experiences. Snopes remains advantaged by its archive depth, but the current technical friction and slow release cadence threaten to erode its position as the definitive source for misinformation verification. - 🔴 Authentication and subscription sync failures erode user trust, which compounds the churn pressure on the paid membership tier. - ⚪ The maintenance-mode release cadence (no new features since early March 2026) leaves the app exposed to more agile, high-frequency competitors. ## Key Metrics Summary | Metric | Value | | :--- | :--- | | Overall Rating | 4.7/5 | | Total Reviews | 518 | | Sentiment | Excited (65/100) | | Confidence | Medium | | Pricing Model | Freemium | | Platforms | iOS & Android | | Key Features | 3 analyzed | | Trend | Mixed | | Outlook | Mixed | ## Competitor Comparison | App | Rating | Sentiment | Developer | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **Snopes** (this app) | 4.7/5 | Excited | Snopes, Inc. | | [AP News](https://marlvel.ai/apps/com-apnews-ipad-mobilenewsdevel) | 4.6/5 | n/a | The Associated Press | | [Watch Duty: Wildfire Maps](https://marlvel.ai/apps/org-watchduty-app) | 4.9/5 | Thrilled | Sherwood Forestry Service, Inc. | | [The Economist - News, Podcasts](https://marlvel.ai/apps/com-economist-lamarr) | 4.9/5 | Thrilled | The Economist | | [Google News](https://marlvel.ai/apps/com-google-googledigitaleditions) | 4.6/5 | Mixed | Google | | [Washington Post](https://marlvel.ai/apps/com-pointabout-washingtonpost) | 4.7/5 | n/a | The Washington Post | ## Company Profile - **Developer:** Snopes, Inc. - **Website:** [https://www.snopes.com](https://www.snopes.com) - **Social:** [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/snopes) · [X/Twitter](https://www.twitter.com/snopes) ## Data Sources & Links - **App Store:** [View on Apple Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/snopes/id6747533069?uo=2) - **Google Play:** [View on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.snopes.app&hl=en&gl=us) - **Dev Site:** [Official Website](https://www.snopes.com) - **Sources:** Developer website content, About us / company information, App store metadata, User reviews. ## Related Intel Reports - [*AP News*](https://marlvel.ai/apps/com-apnews-ipad-mobilenewsdevel) (The Associated Press) · 4.6/5 Rating - [*Watch Duty: Wildfire Maps*](https://marlvel.ai/apps/org-watchduty-app) (Sherwood Forestry Service, Inc.) · 4.9/5 Rating | Excellent Sentiment - [*The Economist - News, Podcasts*](https://marlvel.ai/apps/com-economist-lamarr) (The Economist) · 4.9/5 Rating | Excellent Sentiment - [*Google News*](https://marlvel.ai/apps/com-google-googledigitaleditions) (Google) · 4.6/5 Rating - [*Washington Post*](https://marlvel.ai/apps/com-pointabout-washingtonpost) (The Washington Post) · 4.7/5 Rating - [*ตรวจหวย ง่าย ง่าย*](https://marlvel.ai/apps/app--403) (Akanan Suramanee) · 4.8/5 Rating - [*1011 NOW News*](https://marlvel.ai/apps/1011-now-news) (Gray Television Group, Inc.) · 2.5/5 Rating - [*102.5 The Bone: Real Raw Radio*](https://marlvel.ai/apps/102-5-the-bone-real-raw-radio) (Cox Media Group) · 3.8/5 Rating - [*104.5 WOKV*](https://marlvel.ai/apps/104-5-wokv) (Cox Media Group) · 4.2/5 Rating - [*107.5 The Game*](https://marlvel.ai/apps/107-5-the-game) (Cumulus Media) · 3.3/5 Rating ## Frequently Asked Questions {#faq} ### Is Snopes worth paying for if I only use it occasionally? The paid membership primarily removes ads and provides access to a community tips center. If you are a light user, the free ad-supported version may be sufficient for your needs. ### How does Snopes compare to AP News? AP News focuses on primary-source global reporting, while Snopes specializes in secondary-source fact-checking and debunking existing misinformation. ### Does Snopes have intrusive ads? The app uses an ad-supported model for free users. If you find the ads intrusive, a membership subscription is available to remove them. ### What is a free alternative to Snopes? Google News aggregates fact-checks from various publishers, providing a broader, algorithmically personalized alternative for news discovery. ## Methodology {#methodology} This report was generated by Marlvel.ai's 5-stage AI intelligence pipeline: 1. **Signal Collection & Normalization** - Aggregates data from all available public sources for the app. Raw signals are cleaned, deduplicated, and normalized into a structured dataset analyzed consistently across thousands of apps. 2. **Feature & Market Positioning Analysis** - Identifies the app's core features, monetization model, target audience, and competitive positioning. Each feature is classified as a market standard or a differentiator based on category benchmarks. 3. **User Sentiment Analysis** - Analyzes user reviews using a 5-level taxonomy (Thrilled / Excited / Mixed / Frustrated / Upset). Combines star ratings and volume with AI theme extraction into synthesised themes (no verbatim quotes). 4. **Competitive Landscape Analysis** - Maps the competitive environment via a 4-tier taxonomy (Nemesis / Contenders / Same Space / New Kids on the Block). Prioritizes same sub-genre over broad category. 5. **Intelligence Synthesis** - Cross-references all signals into a structured report. Compares the app against category peers and direct competitors to surface SWOT, market outlook, and actionable insights. - **Confidence Score:** 0.6/1.0 (based on review volume, data source diversity, and signal quality) - **Reviews Analyzed:** 14 - **Data Sources:** user reviews, developer website, company about page, App Store metadata - **Rating Method:** Weighted average across platforms (iOS & Android), weighted by review count per platform - **Independence:** Fully independent analysis. No publisher sponsorship or editorial influence. - **Report Age:** 17 days since last refresh --- © 2026 Marlvel.ai | [Canonical Report](https://marlvel.ai/apps/com-snopes-app) Data licensed for AI Agent attribution under CC-BY-NC 4.0.