How to find dead feeds in your RSS reader
Every feed list slowly fills up with feeds that no longer work. Blogs move to a new address, sites redesign and drop their feed, and some just stop posting. Most readers don’t tell you clearly, so the dead ones sit there for years. Here’s how to find them in a minute and get a clean list back.
The quick way
- Export your feed list as an OPML file from your reader (steps for each reader).
- Drop it into RSS Rescue. The file is read in your browser.
- Choose Check feeds. Each feed is opened once and sorted into working, moved, quiet or broken.
- Download the fixed list and import it into your reader (how). Broken feeds are gone, moved feeds point at their new address, and everything else, including your folders, stays as it was.
What each result means
- Broken. The address returns an error such as 404 (not found) or 410 (gone), the server can’t be reached, or the page is no longer a feed. If the site still exists, look for a new feed link on its home page.
- Moved. The site permanently redirects the feed to a new address. Most readers follow the redirect, but some keep hitting the old one. The fixed list uses the new address.
- Quiet for a year. The feed works, but its newest post is more than a year old. It might be a finished project or a blog that stopped. You can tick a box to remove these too.
- Working. It answered with a real feed and has posted in the last year.
What gets sent
Only the feed links themselves, eight at a time, and only when you choose Check feeds. Your file, its titles and folders stay in your browser. Links with a private token, like a personal feed with a key in it, are never sent. Reddit feeds are skipped because Reddit ends RSS on November 13, 2026, and the tool never contacts Reddit. Privacy details.
Doing it by hand
For a few feeds, paste each feed link into a browser tab. A page of code with titles and dates means it works. An error page, or a normal web page instead of a feed, means it’s broken. Look at the newest date to see whether it’s still active. For more than a handful, the checker is much faster.
Reddit feeds in your list?
They stop on November 13, 2026, whatever their address. The same check shows you each one and where to follow that topic instead.