Frequently asked questions

Yes. The reader is free for as long as you use it. There is no trial period, no credit card required, and no automatic upgrade. Reading feeds, folders, starred articles, keyword filters, OPML import, and web/Android sync are all free. Only the optional Pro AI features cost money: $5/month. The help chat is free too.

Pro adds AI filters you describe in plain English and a learned reader profile. AI can mark matching new articles read or star them. The profile learns from reading activity and feedback to improve filtering. You can read and edit it in Settings on the web. You can keep using the free reader without ever subscribing to Pro. To subscribe, sign in, open Pricing, then choose View Pro options.

You can keep using the free reader. Your feeds, starred articles, and keyword rules stay available. The AI features stop when your paid access ends. Payment is handled by Stripe. For help managing or cancelling a subscription, email [email protected].

Your account keeps your feed subscriptions, read status, and starred articles together and syncs them between the web reader and Android app. Creating an account does not start a paid subscription. Use Start reading on the home page, then enter your name, email, and password. No card details are requested.

After signing in, choose Add Feed and paste an RSS or Atom feed URL. RSS 1.0, RSS 2.0, and Atom are supported. Blogs, news sites, podcasts, and newsletters work when they provide a feed. If a website URL does not work, look for its RSS or Atom link and use that feed URL. Use folders to group subscriptions by topic.

Yes. Export your subscriptions as an OPML file from your current reader, then sign in to the web reader, open Add Feed, then choose the Import OPML tab. This imports subscriptions, not your old reading history. OPML import is part of the free reader.

Yes. Sign in with the same RSS Reader account in the Android app. Feed subscriptions, read status, and starred articles sync in the background. Android can read downloaded articles offline and sync changes after reconnecting. Web/Android sync is free.

Feeds refresh in the background about once an hour. Use the refresh button on the web or pull down to refresh on Android. If a feed fails, check that its URL is still valid and that its publisher is available. A feed requiring a login needs its credentials entered in Add Feed.

Yes, for feeds that support a username and password using HTTP Basic Auth. In Add Feed, expand This feed requires a login and enter those credentials. The saved password is encrypted, and that feed's articles are private to your account. Re-add the same URL with updated credentials to change a saved login. This does not bypass a publisher's subscription or paywall; any publisher fees are separate from RSS Reader.

Manually marking an article unread protects it from automatic read-marking for one hour. During that time, scrolling past it or opening it will not mark it read again. You can still mark it read manually. The protection works offline on Android and syncs across devices when connected.

No. Keyword Filter Rules are free. In Settings on the web, create rules that match article text such as a title or author and automatically mark matching articles read or star them. On Android, use Filters. Pro is only needed for AI filtering and the learned reader profile. Per-feed filtering lets you turn keyword or AI filtering off for individual feeds without deleting your rules.

Yes. Open Marked Read By AI in the sidebar to see articles the AI marked read and its reasons. Mark an article unread to rescue it back into your reading list. Rescuing also helps the learned reader profile understand what you want to keep. In Settings on the web, Your Reader Profile lets you edit the profile or rebuild it from recent activity. See How AI Filters Work for examples.

While signed in on the web, click the minus at the right of the Help chat button to shrink it into a tiny chat bubble. Click the tiny bubble to restore the full button, then click Help chat to open the conversation. The minimized state is remembered across tabs and browser restarts on this browser. Minimizing or restoring the button also updates other open tabs. Your conversation stays in its own tab.

The help chat is an AI assistant with the same product documentation as this FAQ. It receives the messages you type and recent conversation history through DeepSeek. It cannot see your feeds, articles, reading history, account, or payment details, and it cannot make account changes. Do not send passwords or card details. Your conversation is kept in this browser tab for navigation, and is cleared on sign-in or sign-out. RSS Reader does not save chat transcripts on the server or automatically forward them to support. Use New conversation to clear the tab's chat history.

Email [email protected] for questions, bug reports, feature requests, trouble signing in, or subscription help. The chat cannot reset a password, inspect your account, or cancel a subscription. If it cannot answer, you can use the Email support link to write to Justin.