Feedly gets Greedly: Users suddenly HAVE TO create a Google+ account

Feedly has done an evil thing: it is now demanding anyone who uses the service to log in via a Google+ account - thereby helping the Chocolate Factory to scrape yet more data from netizens.

The Register noticed that dunderhead journalists who rely on Feedly were weeping into their cornflakes and beer this morning^* on discovering that the crappy RSS feeder was now nagging such, er, power users to go public on Google+.

Those who refuse are brutally denied access to the service, which is free for access to basic feeds but also offers a premium version - at a price.

The outfit explained in a blog post that Google was in the process of shifting from its OAuth authentication methods over to Google+ – a service which Mountain View has repeatedly struggled to define^**.

Feedly said Google was unifying its identity system across its vast online empire.

"This transition opens the door to interesting opportunities like simpler login across devices - and a lot more," it said.

But Feedly's decision to allow Google to more deeply mine the data of its users on the service has already come under fire - in part because the company did not issue a prior warning to those people who use the service.

Feedly actually scooped up tons of users following the demise of Google's own RSS service - Google Reader. At the time, some bristled at the fact that the service used Google authentication system for logins. Clearly, it should have been plainly obvious that Feedly would be forced to shift over to Google+ eventually.

Complaints have begun to pile up about Feedly's switch to Google+. One such user said on the company's blog post:

I was very, very happy with Feedly, but if I need a google+ profile — which I don’t have and don’t want to have — for signing up… I won’t use feedly anymore. Bye bye feedly.

Elsewhere, on Twitter some simply said a big fat "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO" to Feedly's strategic shift.

The firm is clearly aware of the coming shitstorm from its users. It has promised to offer more "identity choices" in which it will allow you lucky lot to log in via Twitter, Facebook and Wordpress. But that won't happen for about seven weeks, apparently. ®

Bootnotes

^*Obviously we're not referring to anyone who works at Vulture Central - don't be silly (coughs).

^**Is it a platform? Is it a benign social media stream? Is it a "network thingy"? Or is it a way of locking your identity and thereby your web footprint into all Google services - including third parties who use its authentication service? Bingo, if you nodded your head affirmatively to that last question.