In a new blog post entitled “A second spring of cleaning” this afternoon, Google announced that it was going to be closing down a number of its projects and services over the next several months.
Included in the shutdowns is Google Reader—a popular RSS news aggregation service, which a number of apps and users still depend on to serve up headlines. Keep reading for more details….
From Google’s blog post:
“We launched Google Reader in 2005 in an effort to make it easy for people to discover and keep tabs on their favorite websites. While the product has a loyal following, over the years usage has declined. So, on July 1, 2013, we will retire Google Reader. Users and developers interested in RSS alternatives can export their data, including their subscriptions, with Google Takeout over the course of the next four months.”
While initial reactions to the news have been negative, it shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise. Google Reader has been in rough shape lately, indicating Google had turned its attention elsewhere.
Also listed in today’s round of shutdowns are Snapseed for Mac and Windows (don’t worry, the iOS app is still alive), the Google Voice app for BlackBerry, and the Google Cloud Connect Office plug-in.
Google ended the post by saying: “These changes are never easy. But by focusing our efforts, we can concentrate on building great products that really help in their lives.”