It has been an eventful day for Google, starting off with an announcement that Andy Rubin, who has been a big part of the Android movement, will be leaving. Now another wave of changes have been announced – Google Reader will be retired on July 1st due to what has been a steady drop in usage. Likewise, several other Google services will also be shutting down.


This comes as a bit of a blindsided announcement for those who have happily and loyally used the service, but alas, all good things must come to an end. Twitter and Facebook are both alight with users who are expressing their displeasure over the announcement, and the search is on for an adequate replacement that lives up to its Google counterpart.

As we mentioned, Google Reader isn’t the only service that will be shutdown. In addition, CalDav API, Apps Script, Google Cloud Connect, Google Voice App for Blackberry, Google Building Maker, Snapseed Desktop for both Windows and Mac, and Search API for Shopping are all getting the axe as well. According to Google, this is its second round of spring cleaning.

After this takes place, the combined results of spring cleaning rounds one and two will be a total of 70 services and features being shutdown. Those of you who use Reader can export your data using Google Takeout by July 1st, at which point the service will fizzle away. Are you a Reader user? What service do you plan to transition to? Let us know in the comments!

[via SlashGear]

17 COMMENTS

  1. I’ve been using it for years… tried some others and stuck to google reader. It’s real bad news…

  2. WTF! Yes I’m a, I was a Google Reader user throught my android tab, home PC and work PC and everything was perfectly in sync and flawless.

  3. This is the 2nd time I’ve been disappointed by a google axe, first time was google listen. I’m sad and confused… don’t know what I’ll do really but I’m sure there is something out there that might make me happy, at least I hope so.

  4. I have been using this for a couple years now and think it to be the best option for my RSS aggregator, no idea why Google would kill it, is truly a sad day

  5. Very disappointing! First I lose my iGoogle, then I replace it with Reader as my one stop shop for RSS. I am losing my ability to trust anything Google puts out there for fear of retirement. I am getting ready to start my transition to Google Apps for Business, but now I am rethinking this decision. What if they decide they are losing money on Apps for Business and decide to cut that?

  6. Well, it’s time for my spring cleaning too. I will be dumping all my google services as they don’t seem to think that I, as a customer matter. As others have said, there is no good replacement for reader, this is a bonehead move by google and it is time they pay.

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