IndustryGoogle Reader Closes: Save Your Data by July 15 Or Lose it Forever

Google Reader Closes: Save Your Data by July 15 Or Lose it Forever

Google Reader is no more. Google officially closed the doors on its popular RSS news reader yesterday. Today, it has posted a thank you message to its fans, and points users to alternatives like Feedly. Digg and AOL have also launched RSS readers.

 

google-reader-end-of-internet

Google Reader is no more. Google officially closed the doors on its popular RSS news reader yesterday. Today, it has posted the following message:

Google Reader has been discontinued. We want to thank all our loyal fans. We understand you may not agree with this decision, but we hope you’ll come to love these alternativesas much as you loved Reader./p>

Sincerely,

The Google Reader team

Frequently-asked questions

1. What will happen to my Google Reader data?

All Google Reader subscription data (eg. lists of people that you follow, items you have starred, notes you have created, etc.) will be systematically deleted from Google servers. You can download a copy of your Google Reader data via Google Takeout until 12PM PST July 15, 2013.

2. Will there be any way to retrieve my subscription data from Google in the future?

No — all subscription data will be permanently, and irrevocably deleted. Google will not be able to recover any Google Reader subscription data for any user after July 15, 2013.

3. Why was Google Reader discontinued?

Please refer to our blog post for more information.

Google announced the shutdown of Reader in March, saying it had seen a “deterioration of interest” in the service.

“We launched Google Reader in an effort to make it easy for people to discover and keep tabs on their favorite websites,” Google SVP of Technical Infrastructure Urs Hölzle said at the time. “While the product has a loyal following, over the years usage has declined.”

The news of Google Reader’s closure didn’t go down well with the service’s loyal following, with users flocking to the web to bemoan Google’s decision to shut it down.

One Twitter user said, “Killing off Wave was merciful; but killing off Google Reader? Oh my aching old bones, what are they thinking?” Others said that Google should have shut off its not so popular social network Google+ instead.

There is some light at the end of the tunnel for loyal Google Reader users, though, as other firms have been quick to launch similar services to win over users with nowhere to read news.

In addition to the alternatives linked to above, AOL has launched AOL Reader, which made its full debut yesterday. Digg has also unveiled its own RSS reader service.

Image Credit: Google Operating System

This article was originally published on the Inquirer.

Resources

The 2023 B2B Superpowers Index
whitepaper | Analytics

The 2023 B2B Superpowers Index

8m
Data Analytics in Marketing
whitepaper | Analytics

Data Analytics in Marketing

10m
The Third-Party Data Deprecation Playbook
whitepaper | Digital Marketing

The Third-Party Data Deprecation Playbook

1y
Utilizing Email To Stop Fraud-eCommerce Client Fraud Case Study
whitepaper | Digital Marketing

Utilizing Email To Stop Fraud-eCommerce Client Fraud Case Study

1y