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Home / News / Google Reader is shutting down and the Internet is angry about it

Google Reader is shutting down and the Internet is angry about it

Google announces that it will retire its RSS service on 1st July, sparking outrage and sadness amongst users

Google has announced that, from 1st July 2013, Google Reader will be no more.

The announcement was made on Google’s official blog, halfway down a post about “spring cleaning” changes that are being made over the coming months. Google’s reasoning behind its closure of the RSS reader, which has been running since 2005: usage has declined.

The blog does concede that Google Reader still enjoys “a loyal following”, and many of its users took to Twitter last night and this morning to express surprise and dismay at the service’s imminent demise – and the feeling that, while there are alternative RSS readers available, there’s nothing else capable of replicating its functionality.

There was also anger, with some suggesting that Google’s decision to drop it is part of a strategy to steer more users towards its ailing Google+ social network. And the fear that the death of Reader could be just the tip of the iceberg, with other Google services getting canned in the near future.

And of course, someone made a Downfall parody in which Hitler reacts to the news. It’s quite good at summing up the general mood of users, and actually quite sad:

If you’re a disappointed Google Reader user, you may want to look at Feedly and The Old Reader, which are two fairly similar services.

[via Google blog]

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Profile image of Dan Grabham Dan Grabham Editor-in-Chief

About

Dan is Editor-in-chief of Stuff, working across the magazine and the Stuff.tv website.  Our Editor-in-Chief is a regular at tech shows such as CES in Las Vegas, IFA in Berlin and Mobile World Congress in Barcelona as well as at other launches and events. He has been a CES Innovation Awards judge. Dan is completely platform agnostic and very at home using and writing about Windows, macOS, Android and iOS/iPadOS plus lots and lots of gadgets including audio and smart home gear, laptops and smartphones. He's also been interviewed and quoted in a wide variety of places including The Sun, BBC World Service, BBC News Online, BBC Radio 5Live, BBC Radio 4, Sky News Radio and BBC Local Radio.

Areas of expertise

Computing, mobile, audio, smart home