Google Reader
Google Reader: Feed Aggregator
Popular RSS/Atom feed aggregator developed by Google, allowing users to subscribe to feeds and view updates from blogs, news sites, and other web content in one interface.
What is Google Reader?
Google Reader was a popular RSS/Atom feed aggregator service developed by Google that allowed users to subscribe to web feeds from a variety of online sources and have new content delivered to them in one place. Launched in 2005, Google Reader helped popularize the consumption of web syndication data like blogs, news headlines and multimedia through RSS feeds.
At its peak, Google Reader had millions of dedicated users who relied on the service to consume content from thousands of sources across the web conveniently in one place. Its clean and simple interface let users easily subscribe to any site offering RSS/Atom feeds with just the click of a button.
Key features of Google Reader included:
- Ability to subscribe to unlimited number of feeds
- Keywords and folders for organizing feeds
- List and expanded views for reading feeds
- Sharing articles and feeds with contacts
- Mobile apps for Android and iOS
- Integration with other Google products like Gmail and Google+
Despite Google Reader's popularity with power users, Google decided to retire the service in 2013 to focus engineering resources on more promising products. This led to disappointment from its loyal user base. Several alternative RSS services emerged to fill the void left by Google Reader's demise.
Google Reader Features
Features
- Ability to subscribe to RSS and Atom feeds
- Aggregated feeds into a single interface
- Offline reading mode
- Sharing of feeds and articles
- Tagging and starring articles
- Mobile apps
Pricing
- Free
Pros
Cons
Official Links
Reviews & Ratings
Login to Review26 reviews
Rating Breakdown
Recent Reviews
Alex Miller
Apr 30, 2026The King is Dead, Long Live the King
Google Reader was my daily hub for years, perfectly aggregating all my favorite blogs and news sites into one clean, simple interface. It was fast, reliable, and genuinely made keeping up with the web a pleasure. Its abrupt shutdown in …
Marcus Jackson
Apr 30, 2026The Feed Reader That Defined a Decade
Google Reader was my daily hub for following dozens of blogs and news sites. The simple, clean interface let me quickly scan headlines and mark items as read. Its sharing and tagging features were intuitive and made curating content a …
Liam Lopez
Apr 28, 2026A Pioneer I Still Miss, But It Wasn't Perfect
Google Reader was my daily hub for the internet, brilliantly consolidating all my favorite blogs and news sites into one clean, fast interface. It made keeping up with the web effortless. However, it sometimes felt a bit spartan in features …
Jordan Davis
Apr 27, 2026A Beloved Tool That Vanished Too Soon
Google Reader was my go-to hub for staying updated on dozens of blogs and news sites. Its clean, simple interface made skimming headlines and organizing feeds effortless. However, its shutdown in 2013 felt like a betrayal, forcing me and millions …
River Taylor
Apr 27, 2026My go-to feed reader that's sorely missed
Google Reader was my daily hub for keeping up with dozens of blogs and news sites. Its clean, simple interface made it effortless to organize feeds and mark items as read. The ability to share and discover content through its …
Rating Distribution
The Best Google Reader Alternatives
View all Google Reader alternatives with detailed comparison →
Top News & Books and Rss & News Readers and other similar apps like Google Reader
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Feedly
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