It sounds simple on the surface. You copy a link on a site into a feed reader app. Then whenever that site updates you get a nice readable article on the app.
But that sounds like something that could be accomplished locally. Why does every RSS reader I run into require an account or otherwise rely on the cloud?
It was done locally at first. They need accounts to push for subscriptions and to steal your reading habits.
They do not need an account ever.
There are a few companies that run reader apps that do require an account.
RSS was very common until Google created Google Reader, everyone centralized on it for some reason, then they killed it. Then Google and Apple and Firefox removed rss feeds from their browsers.
There are independent apps not is hard to find good ones
I used to use RSS to get a Craigslist search feed so new listings I searched for would just pop up next to my email in Thunderbird. it was nice
NetNewsWire is a phone app that handles RSS locally - it just has to do a bunch of updating every time you open the app
You could also run FreshRSS locally and use a client
+1 for FreshRSS
+2
RSS/Atom feeds are exactly what you describe. And there are plenty of local-only RSS readers. I use newsboat personally. There are also GUI programs, and mobile apps, if that’s your preference.
It can absolutely be local.
For podcasts I use AntennaPod, for news I use Feeder. Whatever your use case, there is probably a local, well-made FOSS option.
Nonlocal uses have additional capabilities, such as syncing across multiple devices. I also use gpodder.net for podcast syncing, although there are self-hosted options for this as well.
Accounts are not required.
I use mpage https://github.com/mpod/mPage?tab=readme-ov-file
dense and simple
Many sites provide a “feed” page, which is a regularly changing XML file* that a program of your choice can read and thus update a list of articles/podcasts etc.
That’s literally all. No accounts or other BS.
That some apps try to make it into a business was to be expected I guess. I have no idea what the (perceived) advantages are, but there’s no need to outsource any of the above into “the cloud”. Plenty of purely local feedreader or podcast apps exist.
