Wikimedia Apps/Android FAQ

Language - Hindi Bangla & English The app also works well on SailfishOS devices with Android app support.


 * The types of cards you might find in the feed (depending on their language availability) include:
 * In the News: articles about current events.
 * Trending articles: today's most-visited articles (based on total view count).
 * Featured article: today's featured article on Wikipedia.
 * Picture of the day: today's featured picture from Wikimedia Commons.
 * Continue reading: quick link back to reading an open article in one of your tabs.
 * Because you read: a short list of reading suggestions based on a recently-read article from your history.
 * On this day: events in history on this day.
 * Randomizer: opens a view which generates random articles to read.
 * Today on Wikipedia: opens the actual "Main Page" of Wikipedia.
 * On this day: Events in history on this day.

If you don't want to see a particular card in the Explore feed, you can swipe any of the cards away to dismiss it.

Since version 2.7.221, there is also an option to "Customize the feed" that allows you to choose which types of cards to show, and show them in a preferred order.

The feed also includes a Search bar at the top for easy access to searching Wikipedia, along with voice-enabled functionality.


 * Search for articles

Tap the "Search Wikipedia" bar at the top, and type your search term.

The app will give you a list of Wikipedia articles based on your search query.

The app automatically searches articles based on their title, as well as their full text, to provide the best possible match.


 * Set/change Wikipedia language

Searching Wikipedia is performed only in a single language which, by default, is set to the language of your Android device.

To change the Wikipedia language, go to the main app menu (top left) and select "More", then select "Wikipedia language".


 * Search within page

From the top-right menu (three dots), select "Find in page".

You will be able to type text to search within the current page, and the search results will be automatically highlighted and scrolled into view.


 * Read in different languages

From the top-right menu (three dots), select "Change language".

This will show a list of languages in which the current article is available for reading.


 * Share interesting facts to social media

When you long-press on the text within an article, you can highlight portions of the text, then use the buttons in the top menu to "copy" the selection to the clipboard, or "share" the selection.

If you select "share", you will be able to share the selection as plain text, or an image card that contains the text printed on top of the most relevant image from the article.


 * Reading List

You can add a page to a reading list, which acts as a sort of bookmark of the pages.

You can have more than one reading list so that you categorize the pages in your list.

Pages saved to a list are made available offline by default so that you can read it later.

You can turn it off, individually for each page in a reading list, if you do not want it offline.

You will be able to access Reading lists from the bottom menu in the App's Home page (may change with different versions). You can synchronize reading list across devices. See Synced reading lists


 * Nearby

Go to the main app screen and choose "Nearby" from the bottom navigation menu to see Wikipedia articles about places near you, based on the GPS location of your device.

We do not store or track your location over time.


 * Editing

Tap on the "pencil" icon next to section headings in an article to start editing.


 * Can I save articles for offline reading?
 * You will be able to save articles offline by adding them to a Reading list. Articles are made "Available offline" by default.  You will be able to access Reading lists from the bottom menu in the App's home page (may change with different versions).


 * Can I access Wikipedia for free with your app?
 * Please note that Wikipedia Zero has been discontinued.
 * Depending on your carrier, access to the Wikipedia app may be done in the normal rate, a reduced rate or for free. This still depends on the carrier's arrangements and you should ask them for details.

Privacy and Data Sharing

 * Does your app track me? Do you use my data?
 * Yes, we do track some of your actions. Sending usage reports can be deactivated in the "Settings". You can access the "Settings" from the top-right menu (three dots) in the main screen of the app. You can disable usage reports by turning-off "Send usage reports".
 * We also have crash reporting to help us fix bugs. This is separate from usage reporting. If a crash is detected, we automatically send reports to helps us find the reason and fix the issue (This really helps us a lot!). All collected data is anonymous. You can disable crash reporting if you wish. This can be done by turning-off "Send crash reports" in the "Settings".


 * What information does the usage report contain?
 * Different data is collected, specifics of which can seen on the event logging page.  For example, it records the average delay between typing a search term and receiving search results, or the number of times the Share button is clicked, or whether the font size was increased or decreased. We use a service called HockeyApp to report crashes in the Android application. When you choose to send us a crash (which we're immensely grateful for!), it tells us where in the code the crash originated from (the stack track across all active threads), and other diagnostic information such as the Android version and device type. This data cannot be used to personally identify you.

This is all used to better understand user engagement, and guides us to improving and enhancing the features that the app offers.
 * How does Nearby work?
 * When you click Nearby, the app requests access to your geolocation data, and offers you a list of up to 50 articles that are within 10 kilometers of your location. Nearby doesn't track your location or store your geodata.


 * Please do. Our [https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/#/admin/projects/apps/android/wikipedia repository] is available on . Please check details for contribution.


 * This permission is required so that the app can integrate with your user account on Wikipedia, so that your preferences and saved pages will be synchronized between devices when you are logged in. (This feature is currently under development.)


 * Why does the app need the Location permission (ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION)?
 * This permission is required for the app to find your current location when using the Nearby feature (displaying Wikipedia articles near your physical location). (This permission is not required to use Nearby, but you will need to manually move your map to your current location if the permission is denied.)


 * Why does the app need the Photos/Media/Files permission (WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE)?
 * This permission is required because the app allows you to save images that you browse to your local device. It's also required so that the app can temporarily save images for sharing via other apps (as in Share a fact).


 * Why does the app need the Full Network Access permission (ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE, ACCESS_WIFI_STATE)?
 * This permission is used by the app to determine the state and quality of your network connection, and adjust certain aspects of its performance accordingly (e.g. loading lower-quality versions of images when on a limited connection). This permission is also used by the app's Nearby feature, which checks the quality of your network connection to determine how aggressively it should load the graphical map tiles.


 * Why does the app need the Boot Completed permission (RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED)?
 * The app allows you to make edits to articles, as well as to the Wikidata descriptions associated with the article titles. After making an edit, the app starts a background service that listens for notifications from the server. If another user reverts an edit that you made, or leaves a comment on your Talk page, you will receive a notification via the app on your device. And if you happen to restart your device, this service needs to launch automatically, so that it can continue listening for notifications (without needing you to start the app explicitly). This is why the app needs to receive an event when your device initially boots up.


 * Is the connection between the app and Wikipedia encrypted?
 * Yes, all network traffic from the app is performed over HTTPS.


 * You can email us at: mobile-android-wikipedia @undefined wikimedia.org