Privacy Concerns: Enhancing Protection for Private and Paid RSS Subscriptions

[eMUQI]

Clear and concise description of the problem

I've identified a potential privacy issue while using the app that I believe warrants your attention and action.

Currently, the follow app incorporates users' RSS subscriptions into its database and displays them when other users search. While this improves user experience, it also brings privacy and security risks. Especially for private RSS feeds (such as Wallabag) or paid content, even if "private follow" is selected, they may still be included and publicly searchable.

Suggested solution

To address these concerns, I propose the following privacy-enhancing measures:

1. Introduce opt-in privacy settings: Give users control over whether their RSS feeds are added to the public database. For instance, prompt users with: "You're the first to add this RSS feed. Would you like to include it in our public database?"
2. Implement default protection for private feeds: Automatically exclude feeds that are clearly private unless the user explicitly agrees to share them.
3. Offer a data removal option: Create a mechanism for users to request the deletion of their private RSS feeds from the database.

By implementing these changes, we can strike a better balance between user experience and privacy protection, ensuring that users feel safe and respected while using the app.

Alternative

No response

Additional context

No response

Validations

• [X] Check that there isn't already an issue that request the same feature to avoid creating a duplicate.

[linear[bot]]

FOL-67 Privacy Concerns: Enhancing Protection for Private and Paid RSS Subscriptions

[DIYgod]

Your request is reasonable, but it addresses a niche demand that conflicts with our principles of openness and connectivity. As a result, it is a low priority for us and may take a long time to implement. However, we will note this issue for future consideration.

[DIYgod]

Sorry for forgetting to update, we added a rule a few versions ago that private subscription feeds will not be searchable, and we think this can meet the needs.