Feedly is a

news aggregator In computing, a news aggregator, also termed a feed aggregator, feed reader, news reader, RSS reader or simply an aggregator, is client software or a web application that aggregates syndicated web content such as online newspapers, blogs, podc ...

application for various

web browser A web browser is application software for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's screen. Browsers are used on ...

s and

mobile device A mobile device (or handheld computer) is a computer small enough to hold and operate in the hand. Mobile devices typically have a flat LCD or OLED screen, a touchscreen interface, and digital or physical buttons. They may also have a physical ...

s running

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

and Android. It is also available as a cloud-based service. It compiles news feeds from a variety of online sources for the user to customize and share with others. Feedly was first released by DevHD in 2008.

History

DevHD’s first project, Streets, which aggregates updates from a variety of online sources is the basis of Feedly. Originally called ''Feeddo'', Feedly was first released as a web extension before moving onto mobile platforms. On March 15, 2013, Feedly announced 500,000 new users in 48 hours due to the closure announcement of

Google Reader Google Reader was an RSS/Atom feed aggregator operated by Google. It was created in early 2005 by Google engineer Chris Wetherell and launched on October 7, 2005, through Google Labs. Google Reader grew in popularity to support a number of progra ...

. By April 2, 2013, the total number of new users was up to 3 million. At the end of May 2013, the total user number was up to 12 million.

Mobile app

The Feedly mobile application is available for

and Android devices. All versions of the app run on Streets (DevHD's other project), which allows for the application to run on the same code for all devices. Running the same code across multiple platforms lets the developers release updates faster because they are only working with one version. Like its web counterpart, the mobile application employs a minimalistic interface that imitates a magazine spread. However, unlike the browser extension, the Feedly app cannot load an entire article. Instead, it will present a summary, and a link to the actual article. The mobile application acts as a browser on its own, so any redirects happen inside the app itself, as opposed to opening a separate Internet browser. Additionally, the application adapts to the user, and will recommend posts based on what the user has read or shared in the past. The Feedly app does not support offline mode but third party apps offer the service.

Reception

Feedly has received mostly positive reviews. Many have praised its minimalist design and personalized interface. However, some have found the service relies too heavily on its minimalist approach, while others have stated that the degree of customization can be overwhelming for first-time users. Following the termination date for Google Reader, transitioning users began to express frustration at the number of seemingly basic features that were broken or missing from the latest version of Feedly. Moreover, on 8 November 2013 Feedly disabled login via

OAuth OAuth (short for "Open Authorization") is an open standard for access delegation, commonly used as a way for internet users to grant websites or applications access to their information on other websites but without giving them the passwords. T ...

, forcing users to use

Google+ Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...

authentication Authentication (from ''authentikos'', "real, genuine", from αὐθέντης ''authentes'', "author") is the act of proving an assertion, such as the identity of a computer system user. In contrast with identification, the act of indicati ...

. This change was announced less than 24 hours before taking place. As a result, many users reliant to this social network are unable to export their feeds. This change was rolled back on the same day. So far the users can choose either Google+ or OAuth login. As of 2018 Feedly had 14 million users, making it the most popular RSS reader.

Denial of service attacks

On June 11–13, 2014, Feedly suffered crippling

denial-of-service attack In computing, a denial-of-service attack (DoS attack) is a cyber-attack in which the perpetrator seeks to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users by temporarily or indefinitely disrupting services of a host connect ...

s that prevented users from accessing their information. The attackers demanded ransom from Feedly, which Feedly refused to pay.

References

External links