Google Reader officially says adios

Google Reader is dead. Done and dusted. The internet giant has put yet another of its services, ala Wave, to bed, but at least it’s had the curtesy to say goodbye, via an official blog post.

Google launched the popular Reader back in 2005, but reports that its usage declined over the years, leading up to the decision to retire it for good. A huge player exiting leaves space for innovation in the RSS arena. Popular alternative reader Feedly, is currently leading the charge, having garnered 500 000 new users after Google’s initial announcement, and it has our backing.

Here is Google’s final farewell to everyone’s favorite Reader.

A final farewell

Thank you for stopping by.

Today, we powered down Google Reader. We understand you may not agree with this decision, but we hope you’ll come to love these alternatives as much as you loved Reader.

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.