Question 1

What is an RSS feed?

Accepted Answer

RSS is a way to subscribe to updates from a website. Instead of visiting each site to check for something new, your reader fetches the feed on a schedule and shows new items in one place, like a personalized newspaper. It's the same open technology that has powered podcasts for over two decades.

Question 2

Why is RSS better for privacy than a typical app?

Accepted Answer

RSS is pull-based and one-way. A publisher can see that a request was made, but not who clicked what, how long they stayed, or what they did next. Most social apps are instrumented environments that log fine-grained behavior for analytics and advertising. SocialWeb fetches feeds on your behalf, so publishers see a request from SocialWeb, not your identity.

Question 3

What does self-hosting mean?

Accepted Answer

Self-hosting means the server that stores your data (feeds, messages, media) runs on hardware you control instead of a company's infrastructure. You decide who has access, you aren't subject to policy changes or shutdowns, and you can delete your data knowing no other copies exist. SocialWeb ships as a single Docker image and runs comfortably on a small Linux server.

Question 4

How is messaging different from other chat apps?

Accepted Answer

SocialWeb's group chat is built on an extension to RSS instead of a proprietary backend, and messages are end-to-end encrypted. Each chat has a host whose server stores the conversation and publishes it as a private, authenticated feed; the other members subscribe to receive messages. Your conversations live on a server you choose, your own or ours, not on a shared corporate platform that owns them by default.

Question 5

How does web search stay private?

Accepted Answer

When you search from SocialWeb, your query is routed through SocialWeb's servers, which query the search provider on your behalf and return the results. From the provider's perspective the request came from SocialWeb, not from your IP address, device, or cookies. Premium includes 15 proxied searches per day; Premium Plus is unlimited.

Question 6

Is the AI optional, and how does it work?

Accepted Answer

Yes. AI is entirely opt-in, and the app works fully without it. If you enable it, self-hosted users can run a local model on their own server so nothing leaves their infrastructure, and managed-cloud users can opt into cloud AI through Baseten under terms that prohibit using your content for model training.

Question 7

How will private video sharing work? (Coming soon)

Accepted Answer

Private video is on the way. It works like podcasting: each video lives on a host's server and is shared through a secret feed link with specific people. Streaming goes server-to-server, with no corporate platform holding the content.

Question 8

How much does SocialWeb cost?

Accepted Answer

Premium is $0.99/month and Premium Plus is $3.99/month. Annual billing saves about 16%: $10/year for Premium and $39.99/year for Premium Plus. Every plan starts with a free 7-day trial.

Question 9

What's included in the free trial?

Accepted Answer

Full access to all Premium features for 7 days: feed reading, stacks, messaging, proxied web search, and AI chat.

Question 10

Is there a yearly discount?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Premium is $10/year (versus $11.88 paid monthly) and Premium Plus is $39.99/year (versus $47.88 monthly), about 16% off either plan.

Question 11

Can I cancel or switch tiers?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You can upgrade or downgrade at any time. Upgrades take effect immediately, downgrades at the start of the next billing cycle. If you cancel, you keep full access until the end of the billing period, and your data is always yours to export.

Question 12

Do you take crypto?

Accepted Answer

Not at this time. Payments are handled through the App Store and Google Play.

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