You don't own your reading list. You rent it.

Short summary

The article argues that following content on platforms means you rent your reading list rather than own it, since platforms control ranking, throttling, and access. RSS and Atom feeds once kept the web interoperable without logins, but platforms closed the loop to lock in audiences. The author advocates for feed-first tooling that puts content streams back under user control, linking to a fuller post on their blog.

• •Platform 'follow' buttons store your reading relationships in company databases, not under your control
• •RSS/Atom feeds enabled permissionless interoperability but were replaced by login-walled platform accounts
• •Feed-first tooling can restore independence by treating feeds as first-class infrastructure

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