No—not with a documented political-neutrality setting. Apple News lets you influence personalized recommendations by following or blocking channels and topics, and by asking for more or fewer stories like a particular one. On iPhone, you can also restrict Today to followed channels, but Apple says that removes Top Stories and Trending Stories and significantly reduces variety. Apple describes Top Stories as editor-selected and the same for everyone, so individual feed controls do not make that section politically balanced or neutral.
What “politically neutral” means in Apple News
Apple’s published News guides do not define a political-neutrality standard, provide a political-balance metric, or promise that the service is politically neutral. They describe a feed that combines personalized recommendations with editorially selected sections. That supports a practical distinction: you can tune some recommendations, but you cannot use a setting to require viewpoint balance across Apple News.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Media Literacy | $154.47 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
Teaching Media Literacy with Social Media News | $24.74 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
Can You Believe It?: How to Spot Fake News and Find the Facts | $10.87 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
Media Literacy for Kids - Activity Book: A Fun Workbook to Help Kids Spot Tricks in Media, Think... | $9.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
|
True or False | $10.66 | Buy on Amazon |
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Apple says that “Experienced Apple News editors curate the day’s top stories.” Its Style Guide also says News learns a reader’s interests and suggests relevant stories; that describes personalization, not political balance. Apple Style Guide
Which parts of the feed can you change?
The Today feed is not one uniform list. Apple describes it as a mix that can include editor-selected Top Stories, stories from followed channels and topics, Siri suggestions, trending stories, and other modules that may vary by region. The controls available to you mainly affect personalized parts of the experience.
#1 Best Overall
| Option | What it changes | Important limit or trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Follow or unfollow channels and topics | Changes which sources and subjects are part of your followed interests and can make related material more prominent. | Does not set a political-balance rule for the feed. |
| Block a channel or topic | Reduces that source’s or topic’s presence in personalized areas. | Does not guarantee every related story disappears from editor-curated groups such as Top Stories. |
| Suggest More or Suggest Less | Gives feedback about stories similar to a particular story. | Apple does not say this changes editors’ Top Stories selections. |
| Restrict Stories in Today (iPhone) | Limits Today to channels you follow. | Apple says it significantly reduces variety and removes Top Stories and Trending Stories. |
Apple’s guides describe these features, but they do not establish a neutrality score or guarantee a particular ranking outcome. Availability and feed modules can vary by device, operating-system version, and region. Apple Support: See news stories chosen just for you on iPhone; Apple Support: Explore channels, topics, and stories in News on Mac
How to adjust Apple News on iPhone
Follow or block a channel or topic
- In News, open the channel or topic you want to manage.
- To make it part of your followed interests, choose the follow control if it is available. To reduce its presence, tap the more-actions control and choose Block Channel or Block Topic.
Apple’s interface guidance may vary by region and iOS version. Blocking affects personalized areas, but it is not a universal filter for all editor-curated groups.
Rank #2
Ask for more or fewer similar stories
- In Today, find the story you want to respond to.
- Tap the more-actions control below its headline.
- Choose Suggest More or Suggest Less.
This is story-level feedback for recommendations. Apple does not describe it as a way to alter editors’ Top Stories selection.
Outdated Drivers Are Slowing You Down
One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchWindows Errors? Fix Them Before They Spread
Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallLimit Today to followed channels
- Open Settings > Apps > News.
- Turn on Restrict Stories in Today and confirm the choice.
This is the closest documented way to avoid Top Stories and Trending Stories in Today, because Apple says restricting the feed removes those sections. The consequence is a narrower feed with significantly less variety, not a neutralized version of the full feed.
Why a blocked political source can still appear
Apple distinguishes personalized results from editor-curated groups. Its iPhone guide says Top Stories appear the same for everyone and notes that a blocked channel’s story may still appear there as a headline, even while the channel remains blocked elsewhere in the feed. Apple’s Mac guide likewise says blocking is unsupported in Top Stories and other editor-curated groups. Blocking can therefore reduce a source’s presence without removing every mention of it from every part of News.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Can you make Apple News show only sources you follow?
On iPhone, Restrict Stories in Today is the documented control that limits Today to followed channels. It is not the same as a custom source whitelist across every area of Apple News: the setting is specifically for Today, and Apple warns that it removes Top Stories and Trending Stories while reducing variety. The Mac guide describes feed restrictions as well, but the setting path and available options depend on the device and software version.
Quick Recap
Best Value
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
