Feedly Says Bug, Not AI Pivot, Caused Weeklong RSS Reader Slowdown

Feedly says a software bug, rather than its growing focus on artificial intelligence and cyber threat intelligence, was responsible for a prolonged slowdown that left some RSS users struggling to use its web app.

Users have reported performance problems for more than a week, with some describing Feedly’s web reader as extremely slow or effectively unusable. Several customers also said on Reddit that requests for technical support went unanswered while the problems continued.

Feedly traces slowdown to Mark as Read bug

Feedly CEO Edwin Khodabakchian said that the company was aware of the web performance problems and had been testing a fix. The team identified a likely connection to the “Mark as Read” function on accounts with large numbers of folders.

A fix was released Friday, although Feedly was still determining whether it had resolved the slowdown for every affected user.

The problems prompted questions about whether Feedly’s traditional RSS reader was receiving less attention as the company increasingly promotes AI-powered cyber threat intelligence products to businesses.

Khodabakchian rejected that suggestion, saying basic RSS functionality remains important even as Feedly expands its enterprise products because cyber threat intelligence customers also rely on its news-reading capabilities.

"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," Khodabakchian said.

Feedly has increasingly positioned itself as an AI-powered platform for security teams that need to track cyberattacks, vulnerabilities and other emerging threats. Its homepage currently emphasises Feedly Threat Intelligence, while its traditional news reader continues to serve users who organise and follow websites via RSS feeds.

Feedly Classic retired without user warning.

The web slowdown is not the only issue affecting Feedly customers. The company recently retired Feedly Classic, an older version of its mobile app that remained popular with a small group of longtime users.

Khodabakchian said the Classic app was shut down because it no longer met certain iOS and Android requirements. Only a few hundred people were still actively using it, according to the CEO, but Feedly did not notify those users before the service was finally discontinued.

Some users have also reported problems with Feedly’s main iOS app, including loading failures. Khodabakchian said he was not previously aware of those reports but that the company would investigate them. He added that Feedly continues to invest in its primary iOS and Android applications.

The recent problems arise as Feedly balances two parts of its business: the RSS reader that helped establish the company as a major Google Reader alternative and a growing suite of AI-powered tools aimed largely at professional security teams.

For existing RSS customers, Feedly’s explanation points to a technical problem rather than a deliberate reduction in support for the news reader. The company is still confirming whether its latest web fix has fully restored performance for affected accounts.