Why people leave Public
- Coverage gaps in tier-3 cities. Public works well across Rajasthan, UP, Bihar and the south’s metros, but smaller towns get patchy uploads — your feed runs the same three videos for days.
- Citizen reports without context. Many clips are uploaded by users without verification, so the same accident or rally surfaces from three angles with conflicting captions. Real news apps mark editorial vs user-submitted clearly; Public does not.
- The notification load. Default settings push 10–15 daily alerts per district, and tuning them down requires three nested toggles most users never find.
- Heavy reliance on short-form video. If you want to read rather than watch, Public is the wrong shape — there’s no clean text-first feed.
- Ad density. The free tier is ad-heavy, with full-card promos every six swipes and pre-roll on every video.
If any of those push you to compare, here are 7 Public alternatives worth looking at.
Which app should you choose?
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DailyHunt if you want regional news in 14 languages with a stronger editorial line.
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Inshorts if 60-word summaries beat scrolling video.
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Dainik Bhaskar if Hindi-belt news from a major publisher matters more than user uploads.
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NDTV if English national news with TV-grade reporting is what you actually want.
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Aaj Tak if Hindi TV-style live updates are your daily habit.
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PublicVibe if local Telugu and Andhra-Telangana videos are the core need.
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ABP Live if Hindi national news with strong video is the fit.
Stay on Public if hyperlocal citizen video of your specific town or neighbourhood is the only feed you trust, and your city already has strong Public coverage.
Comparison table
| App | Best for | Languages | Editorial vs UGC | Notifications | Free |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DailyHunt | Regional news mix | 14 Indian languages | Mostly editorial | Adjustable | Yes |
| Inshorts | 60-word digest | English + Hindi | Editorial-only | Light | Yes |
| Dainik Bhaskar | Hindi-belt regional | Hindi + 4 others | Editorial-only | Heavy default | Yes |
| NDTV | English national | English + Hindi | Editorial-only | Moderate | Yes |
| Aaj Tak | Hindi TV-style | Hindi | Editorial + live TV | Heavy default | Yes |
| PublicVibe | Telugu state video | Telugu + 9 others | Citizen + editorial | Moderate | Yes |
| ABP Live | Hindi national TV | Hindi + Bengali | Editorial-only | Moderate | Yes |
1. DailyHunt -- the broadest regional news mix
DailyHunt is the closest direct swap for Public’s “what’s happening near me” intent, but with a stronger editorial backbone. The feed pulls from 1,000+ publishers across 14 Indian languages, including local newspapers and TV channels that don’t run their own apps. The short-video tab covers the same ground as Public, while the text tab adds full articles.
Where it falls short: Hyperlocal coverage at the neighbourhood level is thinner than Public’s. Notifications default loud, and the ad load on the free tier is comparable.
Pricing:
- Free: full feed, video tab, notifications
- Paid: DailyHunt Plus at roughly Rs 99 per month for ad-free reading
- vs Public: lighter on UGC, stronger on editorial breadth
Migrating from Public: Sign in with phone, pick state and language. The first feed loads quickly; selecting 4–5 categories tunes it within a day.
Bottom line: Pick DailyHunt if you want regional news in your language without the UGC chaos. Stay on Public for ground-level citizen video.
2. Inshorts -- 60-word digest
Inshorts is a different shape entirely. Every story is summarised in 60 words, the feed is text-first, and an editorial team curates the lineup. If your Public sessions feel scattered — too many opinions, too much repeat video — Inshorts gives you a tight read in 10 minutes that covers national, business, sports and tech.
Where it falls short: No hyperlocal coverage. The video tab is shallow compared to Public’s.
Pricing:
- Free: full digest, notifications, video tab
- Paid: nothing
- vs Public: faster to scan, much lighter on data
Migrating from Public: Sign in with phone. Pick three or four categories. The feed is the same for every user in a given language, so there’s no warm-up period.
Bottom line: Pick Inshorts if you want speed and brevity. Stay on Public for local video.
3. Dainik Bhaskar -- Hindi-belt regional news
Dainik Bhaskar is the digital app of one of India’s largest Hindi newspaper groups. Coverage runs deep across Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat, with district-level editions that match the geographic granularity Public targets. It’s professionally edited rather than UGC-led.
Where it falls short: No citizen-uploaded video. The home tab pushes paper-style headlines, which feels older than Public’s scroll.
Pricing:
- Free: full feed, e-paper preview, video
- Paid: e-paper subscription for archived editions
- vs Public: editorial-only, much fewer UGC clips
Migrating from Public: Sign in, pick state and district. The first feed reflects that district within minutes.
Bottom line: Pick Dainik Bhaskar if you trust a Hindi newspaper brand more than user uploads. Stay on Public for raw citizen video.
4. NDTV -- English national news
NDTV’s app is the swap for readers who want professional English national news with TV-grade reporting and clean video. The feed covers politics, business, sports and global news, with a live-TV stream embedded for breaking events. The editorial line is more measured than the social-feed style of Public.
Where it falls short: No local district feeds. Hindi coverage exists but is thinner than the English side.
Pricing:
- Free: full feed, live TV, video
- Paid: nothing
- vs Public: zero UGC, much smaller daily volume, sharper writing
Migrating from Public: No sign-in required for the feed. Notifications are off by default and easy to tune.
Bottom line: Pick NDTV if English national news is your main goal. Stay on Public for hyperlocal content.
5. Aaj Tak -- Hindi TV-style live updates
Aaj Tak is the digital extension of one of India’s biggest Hindi TV news brands. The app surfaces live blogs, breaking-news cards, full bulletins and short clips with a presenter style that feels like TV continuity. Coverage is wide on national politics, cricket and entertainment.
Where it falls short: Heavy notification defaults will buzz the phone hourly. Hyperlocal city coverage is shallow compared to Public.
Pricing:
- Free: full feed and live TV
- Paid: nothing
- vs Public: Hindi-first, no citizen uploads
Migrating from Public: No sign-in needed. Choose the topics you follow during onboarding to tame the notification load.
Bottom line: Pick Aaj Tak if Hindi TV news is your habit. Stay on Public for grassroots city video.
6. PublicVibe -- Telugu and AP/Telangana local video
PublicVibe is the closest UGC competitor to Public, with a strong focus on Andhra Pradesh and Telangana audiences. It mixes citizen videos and editorial coverage across 10 languages, with the deepest catalogues in Telugu, Hindi and Tamil. If Public coverage is thin for your area, PublicVibe often covers the gaps.
Where it falls short: Outside south India and Hindi-belt cities, the catalogue is shallower than Public’s. Moderation on UGC is comparable, so the same caveats apply.
Pricing:
- Free: full feed, uploads, notifications
- Paid: nothing
- vs Public: parallel UGC model, often complementary
Migrating from Public: Sign in with phone, pick city. Cross-posting clips from Public to PublicVibe works as MP4 upload.
Bottom line: Pick PublicVibe if you’re in Telugu states or want a parallel feed. Keep both apps installed if your area sits on the overlap.
7. ABP Live -- Hindi national TV news
ABP Live is the digital wing of ABP Network, with deep video coverage across Hindi, Bengali and a few other regional cuts. The app handles live TV streams, video bulletins and short clips well, and is one of the cleaner Hindi-first national news apps on Play Store.
Where it falls short: No real local district granularity. The text-first reader is thinner than Dainik Bhaskar’s.
Pricing:
- Free: live TV, full video and feed
- Paid: nothing
- vs Public: editorial-only, sharper Hindi video
Migrating from Public: No sign-in required. The default feed lands on national news and TV bulletins.
Bottom line: Pick ABP Live if Hindi national TV reporting is what you actually want. Stay on Public for grassroots city updates.
How to choose
If “what’s happening near me” is the real need, only PublicVibe rivals Public on UGC coverage, and only in select states. If editorial accuracy matters more than raw upload volume, Dainik Bhaskar (Hindi-belt) and NDTV (English national) are the better daily readers. For a fast scan, Inshorts wraps the day in ten minutes. For TV-style live coverage in Hindi, Aaj Tak and ABP Live both work; pick by which brand you already trust on television.
Stay on Public if your district has active uploader coverage and you’ve already trained the algorithm to your colony, market or panchayat. No editorial app reaches that level of granularity in 2026.
FAQ
Is DailyHunt better than Public? For breadth across regional news, yes — DailyHunt aggregates 1,000+ publishers. For hyperlocal citizen video, Public is still ahead because DailyHunt doesn’t accept user uploads at the same volume.
What is the cheapest Public alternative? All seven are free. DailyHunt Plus is an optional Rs 99 per month for ad-free reading; everything else runs on the free tier.
Can I get city-level news without the Public app? For most large cities, yes — Dainik Bhaskar (Hindi-belt), Aaj Tak and DailyHunt all carry city tags. For neighbourhood-level coverage, Public remains unique.
What do people use instead of Public for Telugu news? PublicVibe is the direct swap, and it’s stronger than Public in many AP and Telangana cities. Eenadu (com.eenadu.eenadu) is the editorial alternative if you prefer newspaper journalism.
Is the Public app safe to use? The app itself is safe to install. The risk is content trust — citizen uploads aren’t editorially verified, so check facts against Dainik Bhaskar, NDTV or DailyHunt before treating any Public clip as confirmed.
Why do my Public notifications keep buzzing? The default notification load is set high to drive engagement. Settings → Notifications → toggle district push down to “Major events only” cuts the volume by 80%.
