FoneClaw Custom News Setup: Create, Schedule, and Manage Briefings

Check Agent and Plugin Availability

FoneClaw Custom News setup starts with the installed Agent edition. Custom News is a plugin, not a standalone news reader. Our Full direct APK supports plugin installation; Google Play Lite does not install APK plugins. If you are using Lite, a missing plugin-installation route is an edition boundary, not something to fix by granting more Android permissions.

The plugin has no separate activation fee, but that does not make every Agent or model route universally free. Check the model and service conditions relevant to your setup before enabling recurring work. The Custom News product page explains the supported product route.

Before creating a task, confirm that Custom News is available in your supported Agent setup and that you can reach its task-management interface. Then decide what you want to read and how often it would be useful. Begin with one narrow briefing rather than several overlapping tasks.

The procedures below are suggested setup checks, not a report of performed device testing. Follow the controls present in your installed interface; the descriptions explain each operation without assuming a particular button layout.

Create a News Task Manually

Use manual creation when you already know the briefing's purpose. A useful task describes a subject clearly enough that you can later judge whether the result matches it. “Technology” is broad; “public battery-research announcements and their stated limitations” gives you a more reviewable starting point.

For a proposed first task, use a harmless topic such as public transport developments. Keep private inbox content, personal travel details, and unrelated phone actions out of the request. Custom News is for public-news research.

1. Open manual task creation. Begin within Custom News rather than assuming an ordinary conversation has created a recurring task.
2. Enter the topic. Describe the subject and the distinctions that matter, such as proposed changes versus changes already implemented.
3. Choose supported timing. Select the time and repeat options actually offered by the interface.
4. Review the configuration. Check the subject, timing, and recurrence together before completing creation.
5. Inspect the saved task. Confirm that the intended configuration exists and check its enabled state before expecting scheduled work.

A possible topic description is: Cover public local-transport announcements. Distinguish proposals from implemented changes, include supporting sources where available, and identify unresolved details. This is an example of wording to review, not a promise that every source or relevant development will be found.

Do not create a second task merely because the first has not produced a result yet. First inspect the saved configuration, whether it is enabled, and its run history. Separating creation from execution helps prevent overlapping briefings and makes later diagnosis easier.

Create a News Task With AI and Confirm

AI-assisted creation is useful when you can describe your reading goal but want help turning it into a task. The AI suggestion is a proposal for you to inspect, not an instruction to accept automatically.

For example, you could ask: Suggest a Custom News task about public battery-research developments. I want reported findings separated from commercial claims. Propose a schedule using the available options and let me review it before confirmation.

Inspect the resulting topic and schedule carefully. Did the proposal retain the distinction between research findings and commercial claims? Did it add subjects you did not request? Does the proposed repeat pattern match how often you actually want to read?

Confirm only when the configuration matches your intention. Cancellation is available if you do not want to proceed. After confirming, inspect the saved task rather than treating a conversational explanation as proof that the task exists. Also check its enabled state: an off preset does not run simply because you discussed it.

If the proposal is too broad, narrow the subject before accepting. If the timing is unsuitable, choose a supported alternative rather than relying on an interpretation of “regularly” or “when useful.” Clear configuration is easier to maintain than a vague request.

AI-assisted creation and follow-up questions serve different purposes. A question about a news answer does not, by itself, establish that the recurring task has changed. When you intend to change future briefings, inspect and edit the saved configuration explicitly. For a separate, one-off research request, AI News Search and Summaries on Android with FoneClaw explains that workflow.

Choose Topics, Time, and Repeats

Choose a schedule around when the information is useful, then select the supported time and repeat options in Custom News. Do not assume a particular recurrence is available because you can describe it in natural language. Review what the saved configuration actually contains.

Keep topic scope and frequency connected. A fast-changing subject may justify a different reading rhythm from a narrow research topic. More runs do not necessarily produce more useful information; they can repeat the same announcement or create a reading queue you do not use.

Presets remain off until enabled. Review them as starting configurations, not active subscriptions. A preset's presence in the list is different from your decision to use it.

Topic selection also shapes exposure. Personalization can narrow coverage, but it does not inevitably do so; manually choosing only agreeable subjects can also limit what you encounter. Ask for relevant evidence and substantive unanswered questions rather than requesting confirmation of a preferred conclusion. Viewpoint variety does not require equal weight for unsupported claims.

Custom News is not an RSS subscription library. If your primary requirement is maintaining a fixed collection of publishers and feeds, Best RSS Reader Apps for Android with Optional AI Summaries covers that different reading model.

Inspect History and Follow Up

After setup, inspect run history before deciding whether a briefing worked. Keep three checks separate: the configuration was saved, the task was enabled, and an execution produced a result. None of those checks can substitute for the others.

Open the history associated with the intended news task and inspect the execution information available there. Then review the resulting news conversation. This helps distinguish “I configured it” from “it ran” and “it produced something useful.” Do not assume that an empty result view means there was no relevant news.

Once an answer is available, compare it with the saved topic. For the transport example, does it distinguish a proposal from a completed change? Do the sources support the wording? Are several articles repeating the same underlying announcement?

You can follow up in the news conversation. Useful proposed questions include:

• Which source supports the claim that this change has already taken effect?
• What is the publication date, and when did the underlying event happen?
• Which details remain uncertain or are absent from the available sources?
• Are these independent reports or repeated coverage of one announcement?

Open the cited material where available instead of relying only on the follow-up answer. Custom News does not provide source-bias ratings or act as an independent truth oracle. A fluent response is not proof that every fact is current or that all relevant perspectives were found.

If the result repeatedly misses your intended scope, edit the task rather than relying on a chain of conversational corrections to govern future runs. If the configuration is correct but execution is delayed, investigate run status and operating conditions before changing the topic.

Edit, Pause, Delete, and Diagnose Delays

Use the management operation that matches your intention. Edit when the topic or supported schedule needs changing. Pause when you want a break. Enable when you deliberately want an inactive configuration to run. Delete a task when you no longer need that configuration.

After an edit, reopen the task and check the saved values. After pausing or enabling, verify its state. Do not assume that changing future scheduling reverses work already completed, stops a run already underway, or deletes conversation history; inspect those matters separately.

Network interruptions and Android background limits can delay runs. Inspect relevant device conditions without treating broader permissions or a battery-setting change as a guaranteed fix. A configured schedule expresses when work should run; it is not a guaranteed completion or delivery deadline.

Finish by checking that only the tasks you want remain enabled, each has a clear scope, and you know where to inspect its history and answer. That makes Custom News manageable without confusing setup, execution, and verified information.