RSS feeds might be a thing of the past. Previously, Google News used to allow you to set up an RSS (or “rich site summary”) feed to get the news you wanted from them, and subscribe to updates on the topics you were most interested in. In 2017, Google announced they would not be running their RSS feed option anymore, so now you’ll need to make other arrangements.
Luckily, Google didn’t get rid of their RSS option just to make it harder for you to see what you want. Rather, their technology has become sophisticated enough that customizing your news experience is easier than ever. Google News is still one of the best news apps you can use, and you can certainly still use Google News like an RSS. We’ll show you how.
What is covered in this article:
- How to choose Google News topics to see more often
- How to see stories Google suggests for you
- How to customize Google News based on location or language
- How to see more stories you like on Google News
- How to hide sources on Google news to stop seeing their content
- 5 Reasons why Google News is trustworthy
- What is an RSS Feed and why does Google no longer use it?
Just because Google said “goodbye” to their RSS, doesn’t mean your news experience needs to be any less customized. Let’s start with the easiest way to add topics to your Google News app to make it your own.
How to choose Google News topics to see more often
Google News has a “Sections List” on the left side of the menu that customizes the types of news you can easily access. The categories you want to see will appear here, or can be accessed by clicking the three horizontal lines in the top-left of Google News.
To customize this list:
- Go to Google.com.
- Choose any category from the sections list on the left and click on it.
- When the category opens, click Follow/the star at the top-right of the title.
Now, in the future, these topics will show on your Top Stories, and your Just for You Google news feeds.
How to see stories Google suggests for you
To see the Google News stories based on the topics you follow, go to news.google.com, and click For You in the top-left of the side menu. This will take you to a list of stories organized based on your interests. The more often you use Google News, the more accurate these predictions will be.
How to customize Google News based on location or language
If you want to set the primary region of your news, or the language your news sources come from, go to news.google.com, scroll down on the menu on the left to the “Language & Region” section, and click on it. Select the language and region pair that best matches the news you want to see, and click Update.
If you want some more tips directly from Google, they can teach you more about customizing Google News here.
How to see more stories you like on Google News
There are two ways to see similar stories to things you like on Google news.
Method 1: Find more versions of the same story
If you’re reading about a topic and you want to learn more about that exact news story, and see stories similar to the one you’re reading now, click View More under any story.
You can also click View Full Coverage at the bottom of the list to see all stories currently covering that topic.
Method 2: Find more stories in the future similar in topic and content
If you like the general tone of what you’re reading, want to follow news about a public figure, or just generally think you’ve happened upon something that would interest you in the future, you can “thumbs up” content to see more of it.
To do this, hover over the name of a news story until the additional menu pops up, and click the three vertical lines (More), and click More Stories Like This (thumbs up).
How to hide sources on Google news to stop seeing their content
If you are reading about something and realize it’s not really the type of story you were looking for, or can’t tolerate news from any specific source, you can see less stories like what you’re reading, or block a news source entirely. Here’s how you do it:
Method 1: See fewer stories like the current one you’re reading
If you’re reading about a topic and you want to see less stories like it, hover over the name of a news story until the additional menu pops up, click the three vertical lines (More), and then click Fewer Stories Like This (thumbs down).
Method 2: How to block a news source on Google
If you are done with a specific news website, don’t find it reliable, or just don’t want to see any more content from them, you can hide their stories from your news feed. To do this, hover over the name of a news story until the additional menu pops up, click the three vertical lines (More), and then click Hide Stories From [name of news source].
This will stop you from seeing their content every again.
PRO TIP: If you want to unblock a news source you already hid:
Scroll down the menu on the left side of Google News, and click Settings. Under the “Hidden Sources” heading, click Manage. Then, click the red circle to remove the source from your list of blocked news.
5 reasons why Google News is trustworthy
Google News is one of the most often used sources for news online. There’s a reason why it’s algorithms for showing news are much more sophisticated than other services. Here are some reasons why you can trust Google News.
1. It completes fact-checking and looks for sources.
Google has one of the most advanced algorithms in the world, which is great for picking up exactly what you’re looking for when you search for something. This applies to their news stories as well, as they provide a series of ‘questions’ they pose to the articles they are going to feature, which ensures they are legitimate, have appropriate sources, and contain true facts. Since 2016, this has already limited the amount of fake news that’s put out on the Internet.
2. It’s not its own news medium.
Google is not a news media company – it runs a search engine (and other services). It compiles lists of articles from other news mediums, and shows them to you, so you don’t have to comb through these sites yourself. Because of this, it does not have a real stake in whether you like or dislike the article you read, as you can simply go back and find another one. Therefore, Google does not have a stake in how much you share a specific article.
3. It shows stories from all perspectives – and has no political or moral bias.
In addition, it shows you stories from all different perspectives, and is not skewed by a political or moral bias. It does not benefit from how much you like an article, dislike it, share it with others, and so on. So if you’re looking for unbiased news that caters to your interests, than Google is a great option.
4. The bias is based strictly on what you search.
The biases that do exist is based only on the articles that you choose to read, which is affected by the way that you choose to frame your searches. If you search for something in a biased way like “global warming is fake,” then you will get results like this:
But if you search in an unbiased way like “is global warming real?,” then you will get results like this:
5. It blocks feeds when businesses use them to channel traffic to a site for gain.
If websites attempt to use certain feeds that you subscribe to simply as a way to gain traffic rather than to keep you informed on the news, they will block them from appearing in news feeds. That way, you know you’re not falling into a trap where a company is just trying to get you to buy something, rather than to actually help you.
What is an RSS feed and why does Google no longer use it?
RSS, or “Rich Site Summary,” is a format used by websites to deliver content that is regularly changing, such as the news. Instead of one website updating you, multiple sites are compiled in one space, and is updated constantly, to provide you with topics you are interested in, as they are updated.
RSS Feeds are typically customizable, since they are consistently updated. In general, websites will track your habits and even let you tell them what you want to see, to make your experience better overall. Google News is a site that does this, and they really go out of their way to make your experience better – and let you customize it, right down to the last detail.
If you need any more help, this Google Help page can teach you more about customizing Google News. If you like getting your news and information online, you should also check out the rest of our articles on news resources.
