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An Artifact news app alternative for iPhone
Artifact showed that a news app could learn what you actually read, instead of what you tap in a moment of boredom. It closed in early 2024. If you miss a feed that gets better the more you read, Daily Dash does that on your iPhone, from sources you pick, without an account.
What happened to Artifact
Artifact was a news app from Instagram co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. It launched in early 2023 on iOS and Android. In January 2024 the founders announced it would close, saying the market opportunity wasn't big enough to keep investing. In April 2024 Yahoo announced it had acquired Artifact's technology to use in Yahoo News. As of September 2026, Artifact doesn't exist as a separate app.
What people liked about Artifact
- A feed that learned. Machine learning ranked stories from what you read, so it improved with use.
- Less clickbait. You could flag a clickbait headline and have it rewritten by AI.
- Summaries and audio for some articles.
- A social layer. Later versions added likes, comments and posting links to a profile.
Personalised news in Daily Dash
Daily Dash is a daily dashboard for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. Its News tab is a feed reader with a personal ranking layer called For You:
- You choose the sources. Paste any website and Daily Dash finds its RSS, Atom or JSON feed. Only https feeds are supported. Or add a Google News topic, like “Formula 1” or “interest rates”, in your language and region. Use quotes for an exact phrase and OR to match either term.
- It learns on your device. Daily Dash notices which stories you open, read through and keep, and trains a small model on the device. Nothing about your reading is sent to a server.
- It explains itself. Once it has enough history, For You picks the headlines on the Today screen, filters new-story notifications and sorts the News tab, with a reason shown for each story.
- It ends. News pages through stories a day at a time, so there's a bottom. Clear Old News… removes everything before a date you choose.
- It works offline. New stories are saved in the background for the offline reader. Save any story to Links to keep it.
What it doesn't do: rewrite headlines, read articles aloud, or offer comments and profiles. There's no editorial team choosing stories, so the quality of your feed depends on the sources you add.
Side by side
Artifact details describe the app before it closed, as of September 2026.
| Artifact (closed early 2024) | Daily Dash | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Closed; tech acquired by Yahoo | Coming soon to the App Store |
| Where stories come from | Chosen by the app | Your feeds and Google News topics |
| Personalisation | Machine learning ranking | On-device model, reason shown per story |
| Clickbait headline rewriting | Yes, when flagged | No |
| Social features | Likes, comments, profiles | No |
| Offline reading | — | Yes, 7-day offline copies |
| Account | — | None; feeds sync via your iCloud |
| Platforms | iOS, Android | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch |
Who should pick what
Pick Daily Dash if you liked that Artifact learned from you, but you'd rather decide the sources yourself and keep your reading history on your own device. It also suits you if you want headlines next to your calendar and reminders each morning.
Look elsewhere if you want an app that finds sources for you with an editorial team, or you enjoyed discussing stories with other readers. A big aggregator does that better. Our Apple News alternative page covers the trade-offs with one of them fairly.
How to set it up
- Start with a handful of sources. In News, open Manage Feeds. Paste the sites you read most, or pick from suggested feeds such as BBC, NPR, The Guardian, The Verge, Ars Technica and Hacker News.
- Add topics for breadth. Add two or three Google News topics for the subjects Artifact used to surface for you.
- Tag your feeds. Use tags like #work or #sport, then filter the News tab or the Today news card by tag.
- Read normally for a week or two. Open what interests you and save what's worth keeping. For You needs some history before it starts ranking.
- Prune. Pause feeds you skip, and turn off Include in Brief for feeds you want in News but not on Today.
News that learns from you, on your device
Daily Dash ranks your own feeds and Google News topics with an on-device model, and shows why each story was picked. No account, no ads. Coming soon to the App Store for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. See how News works →
FAQ
Is Artifact still available?
No. Artifact shut down in early 2024, and Yahoo acquired its technology in April 2024 to use in Yahoo News. It no longer exists as a standalone app.
How does Daily Dash personalise news without an account?
It notices which stories you open, read through and keep, and trains a small model on your device. Once it has enough history, it picks Today's headlines, filters new-story notifications and powers the For You sort, with a reason shown for each story.
Where do Daily Dash's stories come from?
From sources you choose: RSS, Atom or JSON feeds from any https website, and Google News topics you set up. There's no Daily Dash newsroom or editorial feed.
Can I read the news offline?
Yes. New stories are saved in the background so the reader works offline. Offline copies are dropped after 7 days while the headlines stay, and you can save any story to Links to keep it.