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Introduction to RSS Feeds
If you clicked on this post, you’re probably unfamiliar with the concept of RSS feeds (as I was only about a year ago)! If you aren’t a very tech-y person, or perhaps primarily use social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, etc to access your daily news/updates, the concept of RSS is likely very foreign, but the truth is, RSS has been around way longer than Facebook – and it’s better!
In a nutshell, RSS feeds are a way for you to create and curate your very own news feed of all the things you want to keep updated with across the internet. News feeds from big tech platforms such as Facebook put you in a controlled little box, dictated by a manipulative algorithm that decides who and what you are going to see and when you’re going to see it. Big tech news feeds like Facebook are most often limited to the confines of their own website. An RSS feed, on the other hand, is your very own news feed that gives YOU full control over what you want to see, when you want to see it. Your feed is not restricted to just one website; you can follow what and who you want to follow across tons of websites. You can see your feed all in one place with no manipulative algorithms, all curated by you.
How to Use RSS Feeds
To use RSS feeds, you’ll need a feed reader. There are many different feed readers out there. Once you have a feed reader, you can add the RSS feed for your favorite websites. Adding a feed is usually as simple as copying the website’s RSS feed URL and pasting it into your feed reader. Some websites will have an RSS icon that you can click on to subscribe to their feed. Once you’ve added a feed, you’ll be able to see all of the new content from that website in your feed reader. You can browse through the headlines and summaries, and click on anything that interests you to read the full article.
One of the great things about RSS feeds is that you can customize them to your liking. If there are certain topics or keywords that you’re interested in, you can set up filters to only show you content that matches those criteria. You can also organize your feeds into folders to make it easier to keep track of everything. This makes RSS feeds superior to email subscriptions in the sense your email inbox does not need to be bombarded with emails in order to keep up with all of your favorite websites. Simply subscribe to them via their RSS feed and keep your email inbox squeaky clean!
Choose Your RSS Feed Reader (PC)
So, it looks like you’re on the hunt for the perfect RSS feed reader. Luckily, there are a ton of great open-source options out there that are user-friendly, privacy-focused, free, and actively updated. Let’s dive in!
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QuiteRSS
First up, we have QuiteRSS. This RSS feed reader is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, making it a great option for those who use multiple operating systems. The interface is simple and intuitive, with a clean layout that’s easy to navigate. To add a new feed, simply click on the “Add Feed” button and enter the URL of the feed you want to subscribe to. You can learn more about their features here.
Pros:
• QuiteRSS is lightweight and doesn’t use up a lot of system resources.
• Available for multiple operating systems. (Windows, Mac, and Linux)
Cons:
• Some users have reported issues with syncing across devices.
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FeedReader
For those who want a simple, no-frills RSS feed reader, there’s FeedReader. This reader is available for Windows and Linux. The interface is clean and easy to use, with a basic layout that won’t overwhelm users with too many options.
Pros:
• FeedReader has a built-in browser, making it easy to view articles without leaving the app.
• Available for multiple operating systems. (Windows and Linux)
Cons:
• Some users have reported issues with syncing across devices.
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Tiny Tiny RSS
Another great option for those who want a privacy-focused RSS feed reader is Tiny Tiny RSS. This reader is self-hosted, which means you’ll need to have your own server to run it on. However, this also means that you have complete control over your data and can ensure your privacy. Adding a new feed is as simple as clicking on the “Add Feed” button and entering the URL.
Pros:
• Tiny Tiny RSS supports plugins, allowing you to customize it to your needs.
Cons:
• Setting up a self-hosted RSS feed reader can be daunting for users who are inexperienced with self-hosting their own servers. Best avoid Tiny Tiny RSS if you are unfamiliar with this process.
> Tiny Tiny RSS Installation Guide
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Feedly
Last but not least, we have Feedly. This RSS feed reader is available for Android, iOS, and web, with a paid version available for those who want even more features. Feedly is known for its clean, modern interface that’s easy to navigate.
Pros:
• Feedly integrates with a ton of other apps and services, making it easy to save articles to read later or share them on social media.
Cons:
• Some users have reported issues with the free version being limited in features.
Choose Your RSS Feed Reader (Browser Extensions)
If you’re looking for a list of user-friendly, privacy-focused, fully free and actively updated open-source RSS feed readers for (primarily) Firefox and Chrome-based browsers, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s dive right in!
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Feedbro
Feedbro is an RSS feed reader that is compatible with both Firefox and Chrome browsers. It offers a user-friendly interface and has features such as feed filtering, sorting, and a built-in search engine.
> Get it for Firefox
> Get it for Chrome
> Get it on Microsoft Edge
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Smart RSS
Smart RSS allows you to follow new posts on your favorite websites exposing RSS and Atom feeds in a three pane view, providing background loading of new articles and allowing you to organize sources into folders.
Choose Your RSS Feed Reader (Mobile Apps)
Mobile apps are notorious for tracking and harvesting user data, possibly even moreso than pc given the modern smart phone’s ability to record audio, video, and keep track of your location in real time. Here is a list of free, open source, privacy-focused RSS feed reader apps for both Android and iOS so you can enjoy your favorite RSS feeds on the go.
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Feeder
Feeder is a fully free/libre feed reader. It supports all common feed formats, including JSONFeed. It doesn’t track you. It doesn’t require any setup. It doesn’t even need you to create an account! Just setup your feeds, or import them from your old reader via OPML, then get on with syncing and reading.
> Get Feeder on Google Play (Android)
> Get Feeder on F-Droid (Android)
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Flym News Reader
While no longer being updated, Flym News Reader is still an excellent news reader for Android. Flym News Reader is a simple, modern, totally free (no ads) and opensource project which keeps you inform by fetching your websites/blogs and displaying them in a mobile-optimized way.
> Get Flym on Google Play (Android)
> Get Flym on F-Droid (Android)
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Fiery Feeds
Fiery Feeds is a powerful and highly customisable feed reader and read-it-later client that syncs with most services. It features article view modes, feed management, flexible layouts, smart views, color themes, and more! While I wasn’t able to uncover if it was open source, the developer does have a good privacy-respecting policy here. It’s one of the better alternatives for IOS.
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Getting RSS feed URLS
In order to subscribe to a website’s RSS feed and add it to your feed reader, you will first need to get the RSS URL (aka link or web address) to the feed you want to follow.There are a few ways to do this, so if you’re totally new to RSS, let’s start with the easiest way first.
- First, you’ll need to know what website or blog you want to subscribe to. If you’re not sure, try searching for it in Google.
- Once you’re on the website or blog, look for the orange RSS feed icon. It looks like this:
Sometimes it’s located in the top right corner of the page, or at the bottom of the page. - Click on the RSS feed icon. This will take you to a page with a lot of code on it. Don’t worry, you don’t need to understand any of this code!
- Look at the address bar in your web browser. This is the URL for the RSS feed. Copy this URL.
- If you’ve chosen an RSS Reader from the options previously discussed, open your RSS reader. This could be an app on your smartphone, browser extension, or a website or program on your computer.
- In your RSS reader, look for an option to add a new feed. This option might be called “Add Subscription” or “Add Feed”.
- Paste the URL for the RSS feed into the field provided in your RSS reader. Then click “Add” or “Subscribe”.
- Congratulations! You’ve successfully subscribed to an RSS feed. Now you’ll be able to read new articles from this website or blog as soon as they’re published.
What if there is no RSS feed icon on a website I want to follow?
Unfortunately while many websites are RSS compatible, many websites do not offer RSS directly as a subscription option (ex. Youtube, certain blogs, etc). In this circumstance, it gets a little trickier if you aren’t very tech savvy. Have no fear! I will walk you through the process.
The easiest solution if you are not tech savvy is to use the Get RSS Feed URL extension below for your web browser. This extension will automatically grab the rss feed of the page you’re currently visiting (if it has an rss feed available), and then you can simply copy and paste it from your extension to your reader if your RSS reader is on PC. If your RSS reader is on mobile, however, you can use your PC to create a list of all the feed URLs you want to follow, email the list to yourself, and the copy/paste each url from your list by accessing your email from mobile.
> Get RSS Feed URL for Firefox
> Get RSS Feed URL for Chrome
If you are a bit tech savvy, however, there is a more straightforward way to get RSS URLs that is much faster.
- If you are on PC, check the source code: If you can’t find the RSS icon, you can check the source code of the website. Right-click on the website and select “View Page Source” or “Inspect Element”. Look for the “<link>” tag with the type “application/rss+xml”. The URL located in the “href” attribute is the RSS feed link. Copy and paste the link into your preferred RSS reader.
- One other thing you can try is experiment with adding each of the following to the end of the URL of the page you want to follow:
/feed
/feeds
/rss
/rss.xml
/atom.xml
.atom
In most cases where an RSS feed is available, adding one of these options to the end of the page’s URL will bring up the page’s RSS feed. This method is hit or miss but always worth a try as it often comes up successful.
For example, if you wanted to subscribe to my status updates (located at https://status.cafe/users/thecozycat) you would add https://status.cafe/users/thecozycat.atom into your RSS feed reader. Or if you wanted to subscribe to my website activity feed (located at https://town.thecozy.cat/activity/feed/), you would add https://town.thecozy.cat/activity/feed/ into your Feeder app. Now, you’re probably asking, how do you know which one is the right one? You will need to test each of the six options in your web browser by trying each of those options at the end of the url you want to add to your feed. If it’s wrong, you’ll likely get an error page. If it’s right, you’ll see a page with code on it OR your browser may prompt you to download the feed file. That’s how you know you’ve got the right one.
Big Tech and RSS Restrictions
RSS is incredibly useful, though you’re probably wondering: if it’s so great, why aren’t more people aware and using it? Personally, and this is just my belief due to what I’ve witnessed with big tech censorship over the years; it is by design that it is not often spoken about anymore. Big tech (and/or “big brother”) companies want everyone to stay stuck in their own information silos, because it is much easier for them to control narratives and the information you consume there, as well as have more control over your private data for their own capitalistic gains. Those who control the flow of information ultimately control the minds of the masses, and that control can make them a heck of a lot of money. Unfortunately it is big tech websites such as Facebook that block people’s access to retrieving RSS feeds from their websites, because if they allowed you access to their RSS feeds, then they wouldn’t be able to contain you to their controlled information silos. It’s against their own best interests to allow you this freedom, as keeping you contained to their walled gardens allows them to continue their data harvesting monopolies. So that is probably the biggest downside about RSS feeds when it comes to big tech social media platforms, is that if the information you care most about comes from your loved ones whom are contained within the walled gardens of these big tech social platforms, you won’t be able to retrieve RSS to create feeds from your friends there.
Not all social platforms are like this, however. You will just have to experiment with retrieving the feeds from different platforms to discover which big tech platforms have blocked RSS access and which ones haven’t.
This is also where the movement to Free The Net comes in. More and more people are starting to feel the desire to break away from big tech platforms, and one way individuals like us are doing that is by creating our very own personal websites! Ultimately, this movement stems from remembering the early days of the internet, as well as the freedom of expression and creativity that came along with it. By creating our own websites and social systems, we are breaking away from big tech internet censorship and taking back our power to express ourselves as we see fit. If you’d like to learn more about this movement and how you too can break free from big tech’s grasp, click here.
Conclusion
I think that covers all the bases! The reason for this article, while a bit lengthy, I feel it is important to teach those who may not be tech-savvy in simple terms that are easy to understand. I think it is important for everyone to know how to use RSS and create their own feeds independent of Big Tech social media platforms. Especially in this day and age where Big Tech has so much control and grasp on the information we consume and our private data is so heavily abused, there has never been a better time to start using RSS feeds. Aside from TheCozy.Cat being my own personal space, I also want it to double as my personal contribution to helping folks break free from their relationships with corrupt corporate entities.
If you have any questions or suggestions to add to this post that could make it even better, leave me a comment letting me know! As I receive feedback, I will make adjustments accordingly to make this article as simple as possible for those who are just getting started with RSS feeds. 🙂
And as always, if you found all this information useful, be sure to bookmark this page so you can easily find it again. Consider sharing it with your friends as well so they too can discover how to curate their own RSS feeds!
Ironically, I saw this post in my RSS feed reader. My current feed reader of choice is NetNewsWire. I thought that was pretty amusing.
Facebook used to actually have RSS feeds for user posts, but sadly they removed them quite a while ago.
Hey Shannon, haha what a coincidence! I remember reading that Facebook used to allow it as well. As social media restrictions grow, I hope to see more folks start to explore the web revival and creating their own independent online spaces outside of big tech. ♥ It’d still be so easy to keep up with loved ones’ posts this way via RSS. 😄