App Intel

Pencil

LiveBillion Labs9 apps · 6.2K installsProductivityFreecom.billionlabs.pencil

Pencil turns the day's news into stories built around the topics you follow.

Alert me★ WatchOpen in Play ↗
Total installs
28
exact · Play shows 10+
Installs / day
~1
est. · lifetime avg over 48 days
Rating
—★
— ratings · — reviews
Released
25 Aug 2026
2mo ago
Last update
12 Sept 2026
v1.0.1 · 30d ago
Countries
—
not checked yet

Install history

exact counter from Google Play
27.43338.744.35011 Oct12 Oct12 Oct
27.43338.744.35011 Oct12 Oct12 Oct

Installs per day · last 90 days

Not enough history yet — check back tomorrow

Change timeline

No changes recorded yet. We compare every crawl with the previous one and list title, icon, screenshots, description, version, price and availability changes here.

Country availability

Availability has not been checked for this app yet. “Check all countries” looks the app up in about 140 Google Play storefronts and shows where it is live, listed but not installable, or missing — plus any country-specific (custom) store listings.

Top countries

Country data will be available soon.

We estimate where downloads come from using the app’s position in Google Play’s top charts in about 140 countries. This app is not in any chart we have collected yet; the estimate appears as soon as it is.

Top chart positions

Not in any tracked top chart.

App manifest

Read this app's manifest from Google Play: permissions, declared SDKs, components and AdMob app ID. Saved analysis appears here automatically.

Manifest analysis reads only the required APK ranges. Base APK downloads may need separate device splits to install.

Data safety

declared by the developer on Google Play
  • No data shared with third parties
  • Collects data App activity, App info and performance, and Device or other IDs
  • Data is encrypted in transit
  • No way to ask for data deletion

This is the developer's own declaration, summarised from the Play listing. The permissions below show what the app is technically able to access.

Permissions

7 in 2 groups
1 Sensitive1 Notable5 Routine

What this app can do with your phone

  • Record sound using your phone's microphone
MicrophoneSensitive1

Access to your phone's microphone to record sound

  • Record sound using your phone's microphonerecord audio · RECORD_AUDIO
OtherNotable6

Access to miscellaneous device features that don't fit other categories

  • Keep your phone's processor or screen from going to sleep, which can use more batteryprevent device from sleeping · WAKE_LOCK
  • Check whether you are online and whether you use Wi-Fi or mobile dataview network connections · ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE
  • Connect to the internet to load content and send datafull network access · INTERNET
  • Check with Google Play that you got this app legitimatelyGoogle Play license check · com.android.vending.CHECK_LICENSE
  • Read Google service settings stored on your deviceread Google service configuration · com.google.android.providers.gsf.permission.READ_GSERVICES
  • Receive push messages sent from the app's servers over the internetreceive data from Internet · com.google.android.c2dm.permission.RECEIVE

Sensitive = can reach personal data, location, camera/mic or act on your behalf. Notable = changes how your device behaves. Routine = normal for almost every app. Source: Google Play's permission list for all versions of this app.

Store listing

Full description
Pencil turns the day's news into short, opinionated stories you can actually finish. Most news apps hand you a wall of headlines and leave the thinking to you. Pencil does the opposite. It follows the news on the topics you care about, then writes each story as a short, sharp take — a point of view, not a press release. Open the app, read a few, get on with your day. WRITTEN TO BE READ, NOT SKIMMED Every story is a few lines long and says something. No five paragraphs of background before the point. Each one carries the voice of its writer — a name, a profession, a perspective — so the news reads like people talking about it, not a wire feed. BUILT AROUND WHAT YOU ACTUALLY FOLLOW Start with categories like Top News, Politics, Business, Startups, International Affairs, Sports and Entertainment — then go further. Tell Pencil in your own words what you want to follow: a company, a person, an industry, a rivalry, a story you've been tracking for months. Say it out loud if that's easier. Your feed is ranked from that, not from what's trending for everyone else. Already use an AI assistant that knows you well? Paste what it says about your interests during setup, and Pencil starts personalised from day one. WHAT'S INSIDE • A feed of short stories, refreshed through the day • The full source article behind every story, one tap away • Like the takes that land — your feed learns from it • Bookmark anything worth coming back to • Chat with Pencil to add, change or drop interests any time • Notifications for the stories worth interrupting you for • Share any story with anyone, app or no app HOW IT WORKS 1. Tell Pencil your country and what you're interested in. 2. Pencil reads the news all day and writes short stories on what matters to you. 3. Open the app whenever you like. There's always something new waiting. IT GETS SHARPER THE MORE YOU USE IT Every story you read, like or bookmark feeds back into how your next one is picked. So does anything you say in chat — "more on semiconductors", "less football", "keep an eye on this company". Your interests are yours to edit any time. HOW THE STORIES ARE WRITTEN Pencil's stories are written by AI from real, published news articles and are presented under fictional writer personas. They are takes and summaries, not original reporting. The source article is always one tap away, so you can read the original for yourself. Pencil. The news, in short.

What's new

Bug Fixes

Growing in Productivity

Category →