Feeling overwhelmed by generic headlines, celebrity gossip, or endless sports recaps? You’re not alone. On average, users spend 31 minutes per day in news apps—but much of that time is wasted on stories they don’t care about. In this post, you’ll learn 20 Google News customization tips—from following specific topics and hiding unwanted sources, to advanced RSS aggregation and schema markup—to transform your feed into a focused, productivity-boosting news hub. By the end, you’ll know exactly how to tailor your feed, widget, notifications, and even your site’s markup so you only see—and publish—what truly matters.
1. Master Your Interests: Follow & Unfollow
Why it helps: See more of the topics you love and none of the ones you don’t.
—————————–Recommendations; Please continue reading below——————————
ASUS Chromebook C223 11.6″ HD Laptop Shop Now
This Asus HD Laptop is an amazon’s choice for ‘chrome computer laptop’ is reviewed by 980+ reviewers that is available at only $249.99. It is ready for productivity and performance while being on the go or travelling, with speedy performance, robust security, and convenience for the user. This laptop has Lightweight 2.2 pound body and with thin and premium metallic finish for a sleek appearance having 11.6 inch HD 1366×768 Anti-Glare Display. The machine is powered by the Intel Celeron N3350 Processor (2M Cache, up to 2.4GHz) for fast and snappy performance including 4 GB DDR3 RAM; 32GB eMMC hard drive; No CD or DVD drive with it. Learn more about this product >>>
Step 1: Open Google News (web or mobile).
Step 2: Click/tap the Search bar; type your topic, source, or location (e.g., “quantum computing,” “BBC News,” “New York”).
Step 3: In the results, click Follow.
Step 4: Confirm under the Following tab that it appears.
To Unfollow: Go to Following → Topics/Sources/Locations, click the three-dot menu → Unfollow.
Pain Point Solved: No more hunting for your favorite outlets—and no accidental clutter from outdated interests.
2. Silence Irrelevant Sources & Topics
Why it helps: Block low-value or distracting content forever.
Find an article from the source/topic you dislike.
Click/tap More (⋯) → Hide all stories from [Source] or Hide all stories about this topic.
Quick Win: One tap and you’ll never see another click-bait sports recap or gossip story from that source.
3. Refine Individual Story Feedback
Why it helps: Train the algorithm on a per-story basis.
Under any unwanted article, click More (⋯).
Select Fewer stories like this or Fewer stories about this topic.
Watch your feed adapt in real time.
4. Eliminate Entire Categories (e.g., Sports)
Why it helps: Remove whole genres you never read.
(Ad)
In Google News, search a broad category (e.g., “sports”).
Hide the top outlets (ESPN, Sky Sports, Bleacher Report) using Hide all stories from…
Repeat until no sports stories remain.
5. Block Specific Domains Permanently
Why it helps: Blacklist repeat offenders of low-quality content.
Open any story from the domain you dislike.
Click More → Hide all stories from example.com.
6. Customize Your Home-Screen Widget
Why it helps: One-tap access to your personalized feed.
Android/iOS: Long-press home screen → Widgets → select Google News.
Drag to position and resize.
Tap the cog icon to choose Headlines, Following, or Full Coverage.
7. Fine-Tune Discover & Search Settings
Why it helps: Sync your Google Discover cards with News preferences.
Open the Google app → Profile → Your data in Search → Manage your interests.
Adjust Following or Not interested topics to mirror your News feed.
8. Harness Full Coverage for Context
Why it helps: Compare multiple sources on a single story.
Tap Full Coverage under any headline to view grouped articles, tweets, and analyses.
9. Save & Organize Long-Reads
Why it helps: Build a personal reading list for later.
Tap the bookmark icon on any story.
Access Saved from the menu—even offline.
10. Leverage Newsstand Topic Bundles
Why it helps: Subscribe to expert-curated topic packs.
In Following, scroll to Newsstand, pick bundles like Tech, Health, or Finance, and tap Subscribe.
11. Advanced RSS-Based Aggregation
Why it helps: Combine Google News queries with your favorite reader.
On news.google.com/search, enter your keyword.
Copy the URL (
…/search?q=…).Paste into Feedly, Inoreader, or any RSS reader for custom filters.
12. Use Google Alerts for Niche Topics
Why it helps: Get email digests before stories hit your feed.
Go to Google Alerts → enter your term.
Set frequency, sources, language, and delivery email.
13. Monthly Feed Maintenance Routine
Why it helps: Keep your feed aligned with evolving interests.
Schedule a 5-minute monthly review: unfollow stale topics, unblock domains you miss, and re-tune Discover interests.
14. Fine-Tune Your Notification Settings
Why it helps: Only get alerts you actually open.
In Google News, tap Profile → News settings → Notifications.
Toggle off unwanted categories, and schedule Daily briefing emails instead.
15. Adjust Language & Region of Interest
Why it helps: Prioritize the markets and languages you follow.
Profile → News settings → Languages & regions of interest.
Choose up to two locales (e.g., English–UK, Urdu–Pakistan).
16. Activate Mini Cards for a Compact View
Why it helps: Fit more headlines on smaller screens.
Profile → News settings → toggle Mini cards on.
17. Use Time-Period Filters on the Web
Why it helps: Zero in on only the freshest content.
After any search on news.google.com, click the “Any time” dropdown.
Select Past day, Past week, or a Custom range.
18. Reset or Test Your Feed via Incognito/Cookies
Why it helps: Compare your custom feed to the default Top stories.
Open an Incognito/Private window—or clear cookies for
news.google.com—and sign in. This resets your Following history.
19. Schema Markup for Your Own News Site
Why it helps: Enhance your articles’ visibility in Google News.
Use NewsArticle schema in your HTML
<head>.Implement recommended properties (headline, datePublished, author) per Google’s Article structured data guide.
Ensure your
<meta name="news_keywords">tag includes your primary and secondary keywords.Publish an XML News Sitemap with
<publication_date>entries.
20. Putting It All Together: A Case Study
Scenario: A cybersecurity analyst who wants only AI, infosec, and blockchain news—no sports, gossip, or unrelated tech—and reads on both desktop and mobile.
Follow: “AI,” “Cybersecurity,” “Blockchain.”
Hide: “Sports” sources (ESPN), “Entertainment” topics, and gossip domains (TMZ).
Save: Deep-dive analyses for evening reading.
Widget: Add a Tech widget to home screen.
Alerts: Set up Google Alerts for “zero-day vulnerability.”
Maintenance: Monthly review to remove outdated interests.
Outcome: A feed delivering exactly five AI articles, three security analyses, and two blockchain explainers daily—zero noise.
I understand how frustrating it is to keep seeing X.com content everywhere. Fortunately, you can both hide it in Google News and even request its removal from Search.
1. Hide X.com in Google News
In the Google News app or on news.google.com (desktop), find any story from X (formerly Twitter).
Click or tap the three-dot menu on the story card, then choose Hide all stories from “X”. This blocks that source from your feed going forward.
If you ever want to re-enable it, go to the Following tab, scroll to Sources, find “X,” click **More ⋮ **, and select Stop hiding.
2. Remove specific X.com URLs from Google Search
If X.com URLs still pop up in search results, you can ask Google to drop outdated or unwanted pages:
Visit the Remove Outdated Content tool at “support.google.com/websearch/answer/6349986.”
Paste the exact X.com URL you want removed, then submit the request.
Google will review and usually clear cached snippets within a few days.
Conclusion & Next Steps about Google News Customization Tips
You now have 20 Google News customization tips to tackle every pain point—information overload, irrelevant topics, scattered reading lists, and even SEO for publishers. Pick three to implement today: perhaps hide one unwanted category, follow one new interest, and set up a widget. Then schedule your first monthly maintenance. Over time, your feed (and your productivity) will improve dramatically.
What’s the first topic you’ll clear from your feed to make room for what truly matters?
Now loading...
