# 4RSS — Full Documentation for LLMs

> A minimalist RSS reader app for iPhone. 4 feeds. No accounts. No tracking. Just news.

4RSS is a free iOS app developed by Robert Poetzsch, an indie app developer based in Hofheim, Germany. The app lets users follow up to 4 RSS or Atom feeds in a clean, focused reading experience. It is built entirely with Apple's native frameworks and stores all data locally on the user's device.

## Product Overview

**Name**: 4RSS
**Tagline**: Read news. Not noise.
**Developer**: Robert Poetzsch
**Location**: Hofheim, Hesse, Germany
**Contact**: support@robspace.de
**Platform**: iPhone only (iOS, SwiftUI)
**Price**: Free (no in-app purchases)
**Current Version**: 2.2
**Release Date**: January 2026 (V1.0)
**App Store ID**: 6756433329
**App Store URL**: https://apps.apple.com/app/4rss/id6756433329
**Website**: https://4rss.app.robspace.de
**Copyright**: 2026 Robert Poetzsch

## Design Philosophy

4RSS is intentionally constrained. The 4-feed limit is a core design feature, not a technical limitation. It forces users to curate their news consumption rather than subscribe to dozens of feeds they never read. The app is designed to be opened, scanned, and closed in under a minute.

Key principles:
- **Minimalism over feature density**: Every feature must justify its existence.
- **Privacy by architecture**: No server, no accounts, no data collection — these aren't policies, they're architectural decisions.
- **Speed and simplicity**: The app should feel instant. No unnecessary animations, no heavy assets.
- **Intentional constraints**: Limits (4 feeds, no sync, no accounts) are design features that shape user behavior positively.

## Complete Feature List

### Feed Management
- 4 configurable feed slots for RSS and Atom feeds
- Custom feed names and URLs
- Favicon display for each feed (via Google's public favicon service)
- Long-press context menu on feed slots for Edit and Delete
- Default startup feed selection (which feed opens on app launch)

### Reading Experience
- Full article list with title, date, and read/unread state
- Built-in article browser via WKWebView
- Unread article count badges on each feed slot
- Cycling colored unread dot indicators (amber, cyan, green, red)
- Amber-colored unread titles, dimmed read titles
- Dark amber/gold visual design (permanent, not a theme option)
- Pull-to-refresh on current feed with automatic badge updates

### Article Actions
- Mark individual articles as read (automatic on open)
- Mark all articles as read (toolbar button)
- Favorite/star articles with persistent storage
- Favorites filter toggle (show only starred articles)
- Share articles via iOS share sheet

### AI Article Assistant (Beta)
- Optional feature requiring user's own API key
- Supported providers: Claude (Anthropic), OpenAI, Google Gemini, Mistral
- Multiple model options per provider
- Summarize full articles
- Generate mini-summaries for sharing
- Summarize today's news for current feed
- Summarize this week's news for current feed
- 7-day article cache for history summaries
- Web content fetching for full article text analysis
- API keys stored in iOS Keychain (never transmitted to developer)
- AI button only visible when a provider is actively configured
- Data Privacy Notice in AI settings

### Settings
- Default feed selection
- AI provider configuration
- About section with version info

## Technical Architecture

- **UI Framework**: SwiftUI with NavigationStack
- **Architecture**: Single-file SwiftUI (all code in one .swift file)
- **Data Persistence**: UserDefaults (feeds, read state, favorites, settings), iOS Keychain (API keys)
- **RSS Parsing**: Custom XMLParserDelegate supporting RSS (<item>) and Atom (<entry>) feeds
- **Date Parsing**: Supports 15+ RSS/Atom date formats found in the wild
- **Web Content**: WKWebView via UIViewRepresentable
- **Networking**: URLSession (async/await)
- **State Management**: @StateObject / @ObservedObject with central RSSViewModel
- **Dependencies**: Zero third-party libraries — pure Apple frameworks only (SwiftUI, WebKit, URLSession, Security, NaturalLanguage, Combine)

## Privacy Policy Summary

4RSS collects zero user data. Specifics:
- No analytics frameworks of any kind
- No crash reporting SDKs
- No advertising identifiers
- No fingerprinting
- No usage tracking
- No user accounts
- No server-side components
- All data stored locally on iPhone via iOS UserDefaults
- API keys (for AI features) stored in iOS Keychain, never transmitted to developer

Network requests made by the app:
1. RSS/Atom feed fetching — direct to the feed provider's server
2. Favicon loading — via Google's public favicon service (only domain name sent)
3. Article viewing — loads the web page in the built-in browser
4. AI summary requests (optional) — article content sent to user's chosen AI provider using user's own API key

## Version History (Complete)

### V2.2 (April 2026) — Fresher News, Faster App
- Added: Auto-refresh when you come back — if you've been away for more than 10 minutes, 4RSS updates your feed automatically
- Improved: Pull-to-refresh always brings back the latest articles, every single time
- Improved: Smoother scrolling and a snappier, more responsive app overall

### V2.1 (March 2026) — Feed Refresh Fix
- Fixed: Article list now properly updates after pull-to-refresh — resolved an issue where the LazyVStack inside ScrollView did not re-render with new content
- Added: Refresh token mechanism that forces the article list to rebuild when feed data changes, ensuring newly fetched articles always appear immediately

### V2.0.1 (March 2026) — Stability Improvements
- Fixed: Cancellation-safe feed refresh — pull-to-refresh no longer shows false errors when triggered rapidly
- Fixed: Stale error messages properly cleared when switching feeds
- Improved: Optimized refresh logic to avoid duplicate network requests

### V2.0 (March 2026) — The Amber Redesign
- Complete visual overhaul with dark amber/gold brand identity
- Color palette derived from the 4RSS app icon
- Dark mode is now the permanent brand aesthetic (theme picker removed)
- Colorful cycling unread dot indicators (amber, cyan, green, red)
- Permanent favorite article data storage (survives feed rotation and cache cleanup)
- Redesigned dark amber glass bottom bar
- Full-width article list with warm amber text hierarchy
- AI button only appears when a provider is actively selected
- Backfill support for pre-V2.0 link-only favorites

### V1.3 (February 2026) — AI Article Assistant
- AI Article Assistant (Beta) with article and feed summarization
- Multi-provider support: Claude, OpenAI, Google Gemini, Mistral
- Model selection per provider
- Secure API key storage via iOS Keychain
- 7-day article cache for history summaries
- Web content fetching for full article analysis
- Data Privacy Notice in AI settings

### V1.2 (January 2026) — Favorites
- Favorites feature — star articles to save them
- Favorites filter toggle in toolbar
- Yellow star indicators in article list
- Empty state for filtered favorites view
- Version number display in Settings

### V1.1 (January 2026) — Sharing & Bug Fixes
- Share sheet for article links via iOS share sheet
- Fixed: Edit dialog now pre-fills with existing feed data

### V1.0 (January 2026) — Initial Release
- 4 configurable RSS/Atom feed slots
- Floating translucent glass bottom navigation bar
- Favicon display via Google favicon service
- Unread article count badges
- Mark as read (individual and all)
- Pull-to-refresh with badge updates
- Theme selection (System/Light/Dark)
- Default startup feed selection
- Long-press context menu for Edit/Delete
- In-app article viewing via WKWebView
- All data stored locally — no accounts, no tracking, no sync

## Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: What is 4RSS?**
A: 4RSS is a minimalist RSS reader app for iPhone that lets you follow up to 4 RSS or Atom feeds. It requires no accounts, has no tracking, and stores all data locally on your device.

**Q: Why only 4 feeds?**
A: The 4-feed limit is an intentional design choice to keep the app focused and distraction-free. It encourages curating only the news sources that truly matter.

**Q: Is 4RSS free?**
A: Yes, 4RSS is free to download on the App Store with no in-app purchases. The optional AI summary feature requires your own API key from a supported provider, which may have costs based on that provider's pricing.

**Q: Does 4RSS collect any data?**
A: No. 4RSS contains no analytics, no crash reporting, no advertising identifiers, and no tracking. All data is stored locally on your iPhone.

**Q: How does the AI feature work?**
A: You bring your own API key from Claude, OpenAI, Google Gemini, or Mistral. The key is stored securely in the iOS Keychain. When you request a summary, article content is sent to your chosen provider for processing.

**Q: Does 4RSS work with Atom feeds?**
A: Yes, 4RSS supports both RSS and Atom feed formats.

**Q: Can I sync my feeds across devices?**
A: No, by design. 4RSS has no server-side components and no sync features. All data lives on the device.

**Q: Is 4RSS available on iPad or Mac?**
A: No, 4RSS is iPhone-only.

**Q: Who develops 4RSS?**
A: Robert Poetzsch, an independent app developer based in Hofheim, Germany.