Google is testing a new feature for its Android Chrome browser that allows users to follow sites to create an updated list of new content they post.
The feature is based on RSS, an open source web standard that was the backbone of many popular web tools in the past, including Google Reader which now no longer exists.
Eight years after the sudden demise of Google Reader, Google is back in RSS adoption again.
The test is small in size, and followable sites will be an option for some Chrome Canary users in the United States only (the developer version of Google Chrome that gives access to experimental features).
Users can follow the sites from the browser menu, and updates are compiled into a card-based feed that appears when users open a new tab.
Although this is just an early test, it is important for users who may not know RSS, as this technology allowed to maintain a custom feed of new content from favorite sites, blogs and podcasts..
Although the tools that used these feeds were very common for a brief period, they were blocked for many reasons.
Many see the demise of RSS technology as a turning point for the web, where decentralized, chronologically ordered feeds have been replaced by Interactive algorithms for social media giants.
Adrienne Porter Felt of Google tweeted that the following feed is RSS-based and that the company is building it to meet the user's need, adding that the feature is mainly RSS-based to pull content from sites, but it can also get additional information using the link tracker..
Google recommends sites keep the RSS feed up to date so that Google Chrome can get the latest content, and it also requests input from publishers, bloggers, creators and internet users.
The company said: We are exploring how to simplify the experience of having the latest and Best favorite websites directly in Google Chrome based on the open RSS web standard.
"Our vision is to help people build a direct connection with their favorite publishers and creators across the web.
News of the feature comes on the heels of Google's annual developer conference Google I/O 2021, where it unveiled a range of new products, including the next versions of Android and Wear OS, along with updates for photos, maps and search
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