To go on an information diet, decide when you read news, how much and from which sources, then make those rules the default: turn off news notifications, cap apps with Screen Time or Digital Wellbeing, block feeds with a tool such as Freedom, and swap endless feeds for finite ones: a newsletter, an RSS reader or a personal briefing.
An information diet is a deliberate set of rules for the information you take in: which sources, at what times, in what amount. As with food, the aim is not less but better: mostly what nourishes you, little junk. For news, that means a short list of sources you chose, read at set times, in formats that end. The phrase is best known from Clay A. Johnson's book The Information Diet: A Case for Conscious Consumption, which O'Reilly Media announced in December 2011. The announcement compared junk information to junk food and said that, like a food diet, "it's about finding a healthy balance that works for you" (O'Reilly Media).
This guide is for anyone worn out by the news who doesn't want to tune out. If your main problem is the scroll itself, read how to stay informed without doomscrolling as well. Full disclosure: Avos is our product. Facts about other products and research come from their own pages, linked below.
Why do so many people want an information diet?
Because most people want to stay informed, and many find the volume hard to take. In a Pew Research Center survey of 3,560 US adults in December 2025, 52% said they are worn out by the amount of news, six in ten said they have reduced their overall news intake, and two-thirds have stopped getting news from a specific source (Pew Research Center, February 2026).
The American Psychological Association measured the same tension in its August 2017 Stress in America survey: 95% of adults said they follow the news regularly, 82% check it at least once a day, and 56% said that while they want to stay informed, doing so causes them stress (APA, Stress in America 2017).
How do you audit your news habits?
Spend one ordinary week noticing before you change anything.
- List every way news reaches you: notifications, news apps, social feeds, newsletters, podcasts, TV, group chats, the homepage you open out of habit.
- Check the minutes in Screen Time (iPhone) or Digital Wellbeing (Android), and note the time of day. The first and last hour are the usual leaks.
- Ask three questions of each source. Did I act on anything from it? Would I miss it? How did I feel afterwards?
- Sort into keep, cap and cut. Keep what you used and would miss, cap what you value but overuse, cut what left you anxious and changed nothing.
In many audits, two or three sources turn out to do most of the informing, and the rest repeat them.
What rules make a good information diet?
- When: one or two fixed windows. A morning read and, if you want, a short evening check. No news in the first and last hour of the day.
- How much: formats that end. A newsletter or a set number of headlines has a last line; a feed, a live blog or a 24-hour channel doesn't. One short read a day and one longer read a week is enough for many people; follow more if your work, money or safety depends on it.
- From what: a short list and one test. A general overview, your field, where you live. For anything else, ask: does this affect my money, health, work, family or plans this week? If not, it waits for the weekly read.
One exception: an alert for the few things you can't miss, such as a storm warning for your city. It beats a news app's alerts for everything.
Which tools help you stick to it?
Pick tools by the job they do. Checked on 7 November 2026 against Android's Digital Wellbeing help, Apple's pages on Screen Time and notifications, and the sites of Freedom, Cold Turkey, one sec, 1440, theSkimm and NetNewsWire.
| Job | Tool | What it does | Cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop interruptions | Phone notification settings | Turns off a news app's notifications | Free, built in | Everyone, first |
| Cap time in apps | Digital Wellbeing, Screen Time | Daily app timers and scheduled pauses | Free, built in | Apps you overuse |
| Block sites and apps | Freedom | Blocks apps, sites or the whole internet on schedules, on macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, Chromebook and Linux | Free with limited features; Premium $39.99 a year | Every device at once |
| Block sites and apps | Cold Turkey | Blocks sites and apps on Windows and macOS on weekly schedules; once locked, a block is very hard to stop | One-time purchase, no subscription | A block you can't talk yourself out of |
| Add a pause | one sec | Interrupts opening an app with a breath or another short exercise | Essentials free | Habitual checking |
| A finite overview | 1440, theSkimm | One edited morning email, the same for every reader; 1440 calls itself a "5-minute, fact-driven news briefing" | 1440 says "100% free" | The day's big stories |
| Only sources you chose | NetNewsWire, Feedly, Inoreader | New items from the feeds you follow, no recommendations | NetNewsWire is free and open source | Choosing what to open |
| A briefing on your topics | Avos News | One short email written from your sources and filters, at your hour | Free Starter plan; see pricing | Narrow interests, one window |
Two details worth knowing. Android's Focus mode pauses chosen apps so "you can't use these apps and won't get notifications from them", on a schedule if you like; on iPhone, any notification can switch its app off (swipe left, tap Options, then Turn Off). And feed readers differ: NetNewsWire is a plain reader, while Feedly and Inoreader add filters and AI on top, as our Avos vs Feedly page explains.
How do you reduce news anxiety and still keep up?
- Read rather than watch when something big breaks. Text ends; rolling video and live blogs replay the worst moments.
- Give breaking stories a day. First reports change, and the next morning's summary keeps what held. If it's your city or your job, that's what one alert is for.
- Keep news out of bed. Schedule Focus mode or a Screen Time limit for news apps at night.
- Pair each worry with an action, or let it go. Write down the one thing you'll do: call someone, check a booking, donate, nothing. If there's nothing to do, read it once and move on.
- Rerun the audit monthly. Drop any source that leaves you worse off and changes nothing you do.
If worry about the news hurts your sleep, work or relationships for weeks, talk to a doctor or therapist; a reading routine is not treatment. To decide exactly what reaches you, see escape the algorithm by making your own.
How do you set up an information diet in Avos?
Avos turns the three rules into settings: a short briefing, once, at the hour you pick.
- Describe it to the AI editor. "Every weekday at 7:30, a short briefing: the three biggest world stories, three on renewable energy policy in Europe, and local news for Lyon. Leave out celebrity news, crime and opinion pieces." The editor builds the sections.
- Keep sections few and short. Each News section has a Format (Headlines list, Headlines bullets, Headlines with descriptions, or an article brief) and a Number of items. Three sections of three headlines is a good start.
- Write filters in plain words, such as "Only stories that change something for small exporters" or "Skip live blogs and opinion".
- Choose sources you trust: curated topics such as World or Tech, a news search on any topic with its own language and region, RSS feeds of sites you rely on, research papers, company news by ticker.
- Fix the window: daily, on chosen weekdays, or monthly, at your time and in your timezone.
- Add alerts for the exceptions. A news alert watches feeds for something you describe, such as "a strike at Lyon airport", and emails you instantly, in a daily digest or in a weekly report (news monitoring).
- Tune it. Your copy ends with a 1 to 5 rating; when recent ratings point at a problem, the AI editor suggests one change.
Every section type and feed kind is on every plan, including the free Starter plan; AI search, X, funding-round and podcast feeds use extra credits each run. The Daily Brief template is a ready-made start.
When is another option the better choice?
- You lose time to social apps, not news. Start with app limits or a blocker; no briefing helps while the feed is one tap away.
- You want an editor's view of the whole day. A general newsletter such as 1440.
- You like choosing every article. A feed reader gives you every item, in order, with no AI in between.
- You want no AI in your news. Avos sections are written by AI, with links to the original articles; newsletters written by people and a plain RSS reader are not.
- You need it as it happens. For one critical subject, official warnings beat any daily read.
For the shortest formats, see keeping up with the news in two minutes a day.
FAQ
Is an information diet the same as avoiding the news?
No. Avoiding the news cuts it out; an information diet chooses it. You still follow what affects your money, health, work, family and town, from sources you picked, at times you set.
How much news a day is healthy?
There is no official amount. A common pattern is one 10 to 20 minute morning window and one longer read a week. The better test is what you do with it and how you feel afterwards.
Do I need apps to go on an information diet?
No. Turning off notifications and choosing a few finite sources does most of the work. App timers and blockers help when habit beats intention.
Is Avos free?
The Starter plan is free, with every section type and feed kind. Plans differ in credits and limits, and some feeds use extra credits when they run. See pricing.