NYT App Redesign: Strategy & User Experience
- The New york Times (NYT) has found a sweet spot for boosting user engagement: integrating games into its news app.
- Speaking at the WAN-IFRA Congress in Krakow, Withrow and Kristen Dudish, NYT’s VP of Product Design, shared insights into the app's redesign.
- The redesign of the New York Times app is guided by five key principles: clarity, trust, high standards of craft, accessibility, and time well spent.
the New York Times app is evolving, and the redesign strategically integrates games to boost user engagement and news consumption. Learn how the NYT is prioritizing clarity, trust, and accessibility in its app, offering a renewed focus on the user experience. A new navigation system gives readers seamless access to diverse content, including games and audio features; simultaneously occurring, the “You” tab delivers personalized content. News Directory 3 is excited to share the latest on the new app. See how ”engaged clicks,” not just clicks,are driving the content strategy. Discover what’s next for the NYT app and its mission to cultivate a deeper connection with its audience.
New York Times App Redesign Boosts News Engagement with Games
Updated June 05,2025
The New york Times (NYT) has found a sweet spot for boosting user engagement: integrating games into its news
app. According to Emily Withrow, VP of Product and Head of Subscriber Experiences, the addition of games has
created a “symbiotic relationship” were users who come for games stay for the news, and vice versa.
Speaking at the WAN-IFRA Congress in Krakow, Withrow and Kristen Dudish, NYT’s VP of Product Design, shared
insights into the app’s redesign. The goal: to create a one-stop destination for news, games, audio, and more.
The redesign of the New York Times app is guided by five key principles: clarity, trust, high standards of
craft, accessibility, and time well spent. The recent updates especially emphasized clarity, aiming to improve
user understanding of the journalism, the business model, and subscription benefits. A core element is a new
ribbon navigation at the top of the screen, moving away from customary sections to showcase the breadth of
NYT’s journalism. This allows users to swipe between news and other offerings like The athletic,Games,
Cooking,and Wirecutter.
The app also features a bottom navigation centered on user modes, including a dedicated ”Play” tab for games.
Dudish explained that the “Home” tab focuses on news revelation, “Listen” is for audio content, and ”You”
personalizes the experience based on user interaction. Lifestyle content receives a distinct visual treatment,
with plans to incorporate looping video.
The “You” tab replaces the older “For You” section, emphasizing both user behavior and editorial curation.
Withrow noted that users wanted personalization that wasn’t just a filter bubble but access to the NYT content
they already enjoy. The app learns from user behavior, automatically adding frequently read columns to their
personal space.
The New York Times focuses on “engaged clicks,” defined as users spending at least 30 seconds with a piece of
content.Withrow emphasized that measuring only clicks can lead to clickbait, while engaged clicks ensure
valuable content delivery. The NYT team also collaborates with the advertising team to ensure ads are
non-disruptive and align with user expectations.
“What we kept hearing from users was that they wanted personalisation – not in the form of a filter bubble or a
generic algorithmic feed, but access to the parts of The Times they know and love.That’s exactly what the You
tab is built to provide,”Emily Withrow, VP of Product and Head of Subscriber Experiences, the New York Times
What’s next
The New York Times aims to leverage its app to drive discoverability of its various products, acting as a
launchpad for its broader offerings. Unlike typical redesigns that cause a dip in engagement, the NYT
maintained its baseline, signaling a successful shift towards deeper user engagement and a stronger
subscriber relationship.