Feedly blames bug for weeklong slowdown, not AI shift
▼ Summary
– Feedly, the largest standalone RSS reader with 15 million users, has faced over a week of technical issues, including an “unusably slow” web app and ignored support requests from paying users.
– Users reported the web app running “extremely” slow, making it unusable, while the iOS app (including on iOS 27 beta) failed to work, and the classic mobile app was shut down without prior warning.
– Feedly has shifted focus to AI-driven cyber threat intelligence, raising questions about its commitment to core RSS customers amid the ongoing problems.
– CEO Edwin Khodabakchian stated RSS remains a priority, attributing the web app slowdown to a bug related to “Mark as Read” on accounts with many folders, with a fix released Friday.
– The CEO confirmed the Feedly Classic app was retired two weeks ago due to unmet iOS and Android requirements, affecting only a few hundred users, and pledged to investigate and fix the iOS app issues.
RSS loyalists have hit a rough patch. Feedly, the biggest standalone RSS reader on the market, has been struggling with technical glitches for more than a week, and subscribers are voicing frustration over a web app they describe as painfully slow. Some have even claimed their support tickets went unanswered, which only adds to the growing discontent.
Feedly stepped into the spotlight after Google shuttered Google Reader back in 2013, and it has since become the go-to platform for RSS enthusiasts. The company reports 15 million users, a figure that puts it well ahead of rivals like the web-based Inoreader and desktop options such as NetNewsWire and Reeder. But size hasn’t shielded it from recent turbulence.
The most glaring problem is a major slowdown in the web app, turning what should be a quick scan of headlines into a sluggish ordeal. Reddit users have described the experience as “extremely” slow and flat-out “unusable.” Beyond that, complaints have surfaced about the iOS app, including issues on the iOS 27 beta, where feeds fail to load properly. Adding to the frustration, Feedly quietly pulled the plug on its Classic mobile app weeks ago, a version still favored by a niche group of long-time users.
The RSS market has always been a niche corner of the tech world. Most people now get their news from aggregators like Apple News, search engines like Google News, or social media feeds. Feedly, however, has been repositioning itself around AI, pitching its platform to businesses as a tool for tracking emerging cyber threats and delivering tailored intelligence. That strategic shift has some wondering if the company is losing sight of its original audience.
Given the flood of complaints on Reddit, TechCrunch reached out to Feedly for clarification. CEO Edwin Khodabakchian was quick to push back on the idea that RSS has been deprioritized.
“Despite the pivot to cyber threat intelligence, fixing the basic RSS functionality is still a priority because our CTI community uses the news-reading capability,” he said. “Our goal has been to maintain the Feedly News Reader as fast and streamlined as possible.”
Khodabakchian acknowledged the web app trouble and pinned it on a bug. The front-end team has been testing a fix, and they now believe the issue stems from the “Mark as Read” feature when used on accounts with a heavy number of folders. A patch rolled out Friday, though the company is still verifying whether it solves the problem across the board.
As for the Classic app, the CEO confirmed it was retired two weeks ago because it “no longer met some iOS and Android requirements.” The app had been removed from app stores long before that, and only a few hundred active users remained at the end. Those users, however, were not given a heads-up before the shutdown.
On the iOS loading issues, Khodabakchian said he was unaware of the problem but promised the team would look into it. He stressed that Feedly continues to invest in its main iOS and Android apps and that a fix would come quickly.
(Source: TechCrunch)