Web feeds let you subscribe to a site and get whatever’s new, all in one place, without giving anyone your email or attention on their terms.
Feeds put you back in control. Kind of like subscribing to a podcast or like profile on Instagram. But… No algorithm decides what you see, no third party gets to sell your inbox, nobody’s harvesting your data to keep you scrolling.
All you need is a newsreader.
Here’s how I think about it, and how to get started.
1. what even is a feed (RSS)?
You’ll see it called a “web feed” or, more often, “RSS feed.” Same thing. It’s just the content of a site in a format your newsreader can parse, so it can check for new stuff automatically every few hours instead of you having to remember to go look.
A lot of sites already have one, usually blogs and independent corners of the web. Look for a link that says “RSS” or a little orange icon like this: 
If you see that icon, you can subscribe.
Subscribing to one site alone won’t change much for you. But once you’re at 10 or 20, your newsreader quietly becomes the place you go for what’s actually new, instead of doom-refreshing five different apps hoping something surfaces.
Nothing gets buried or deprioritized because someone didn’t pay to boost it. It’s chronological, it’s yours, and it’s spam-proof. Had enough of someone? Unsubscribe. No hard feelings, no algorithm to fight.
This is honestly a lot of the philosophy behind digital gardens too: slow, low-noise, no platform standing between you and the thing you actually wanted to read.
2. getting a newsreader
You’ll need an app for this. Think of it like an inbox, but for websites instead of people.
There’s plenty out there. A few, alphabetically:
- Feedly — free up to 100 subscriptions. Web/Android/iOS.
- Inoreader — free up to 150 subscriptions. Web/Android/iOS.
- Miniflux — my favorite. No app needed, simple, minimal, gets out of the way.
3. subscribing to a feed
You need the feed’s URL. Go find the RSS link or the little icon on the site you want, then:
- desktop: right click the link, “Copy Link Address” (or similar)
- mobile: tap and hold, “Copy link” (or similar)
Then in your newsreader, look for something like:
- “Subscribe”
- “Add Web Feed”
- or just a ”+”
and paste it in.
That’s it, you’re subscribed. New posts show up in your newsreader from now on.
4. where to go from here
You can subscribe to my feeds if you’re into that. And I’d wander around the Neighborhood a bit too. Most of those sites run their own feeds, and it’s a good way to find more gardens worth keeping an eye on.