BBC World Service, published by Zeno News, delivers the latest BBC World Service headlines and radio programmes in a free listening experience. It offers an audio player for streaming and a telephone dial-up option, plus quick access to top programmes like Global News Podcast, Newshour, HARDtalk, and more. With a solid 4.10 rating from 19,175 reviews and market presence in AU (#63) and CA/PL (#71) within News Magazines, the app has amassed 1,000,000+ total downloads and 9K downloads in the last 30 days.
Pros & Cons
Free access to BBC World Service content and top programmes
Multiple listening options (audio player or dial-up)
Clear headlines and programme updates from BBC World Service
Widely recognized brand with strong market presence in multiple countries
Lacks explicit live radio or music-focused content that some competitors emphasize
No visible podcasts listed in the description, which may limit podcast fans
Last-30-days downloads reported as 0, suggesting limited recent growth despite high total installs
About BBC World Service
BBC World Service was a news & magazines app developed by Zeno News. It was removed from Google Play Jun 14, 2026 and is no longer available for download.
Download Statistics
BBC World Service had been downloaded 1.8 million times before it became unavailable.
User Ratings
BBC World Service was rated 4.20 out of 5 stars, based on 19 thousand ratings.
App Information
BBC World Service was free to download. The APK download size was 58.02 MB. The last available version was 4.9.5. The last update was on August 24, 2025.
Technical Requirements
BBC World Service required Android 5.0+ or higher. The app had a content rating of Everyone. The app had been available on Google Play February 2019.
Description
The official BBC World Service news app by Zeno Media LLC offers the latest programmes and news headlines from the BBC World Service.
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EDIT: -- Downgraded by one star due to the fact the app keeps freezing. -- Just like the World Service used to be when listening on short wave.
★★★★★Daniel Hsia· May 19, 2026
Although I swipe to switch off the app, it remains in the phone's memory and never go away and keep streaming the program without stopping. I need to switch off or restart the phone to make it stop and not occupy the memory.
★★★★★Tamsir Njie· Jun 5, 2026
To develop tam sir voluntary training center to help the children's to have skills and better future at home back way is not the answer the question is to action against poverty because corrupt leadership and government will never help the future of tomorrow means our children's meny are deported from Europe and have nothing to do except smoking dob and drugs because the system is corrupt I want to do something can educate the system and know corruption is part of criminality against justice in my
★★★★★David Crowley· Jun 13, 2026
Excellent source of news - after decades listening to the BBC World service, I feel I know all the presenters! 🥰
★★★★★Sami Mukhtar· May 10, 2026
I find the BBC world and its APP, highly professional, impartial as they could be and extremely informative through the variety of programs the BBC provides either in their live broadcasting or podcasts.
★☆☆☆☆Donal Moran· Jun 1, 2026
App stays on after exit. Have to pause to stop it. Is there a solution? Terms and conditions are too long & too complicated. Can't agree. Does anyone read them??still stays on with new Samsung phone.
★☆☆☆☆* LMcLM *· Mar 31, 2026
Needs a dark mode. Lacks a search function. World Service programs on the BBC Sounds app aren't available on this World Service app after BBC Sounds became defunct outside the UK after 21 July 2025. Still no night mode.
★★☆☆☆Philippe LeBel· May 5, 2026
App stops playing randomly and won't play again afterward even if i shut down the app until I restart my phone. This happened on 3 different phones across 2 brands.
★★☆☆☆Sandra MacEachen· May 8, 2026
Podcasts cutout intermittently and randomly over the whole bbc. Website audio service in the Netherlands. Much worse than bbc sounds app did. As a UK expat, I would rather pay the bbc a subscription fee for bbc sounds than tolerate audio adverts in Dutch or French. Please consider subscription service if legally practical such BBC Benelux stile transmission of 🇬🇧 popular drama. BBC First for example.
★☆☆☆☆Nai Nat· May 20, 2026
Love the programming, absolutely fed up with the app, when it crashes, frequently, you have to shut it down in the background as well. Will not work if you just tried to relaunch without doing that. Extremely disruptive to the listening experience
Technologies used by BBC World Service
19 permissions·89 libraries
Subscribe to see full permission and library details
Trust & Safety: The app requests multiple permissions related to networking, ads, and device identifiers. EU users may opt for customized ads using Advertising ID. A BBC privacy policy is referenced, and the app provides privacy notices within Settings.
Each subscription will automatically renew 3 days before the expiration date for
the same time period. Subscriptions can be cancelled at any time before the renewal.
