How to Filter and Modify RSS Feeds

If you use RSS feeds, you’ve probably run into the same problem: your feed is full of posts you don’t care about. Scrolling through all that noise takes time and energy you could be spending on things that actually matter.

The good news? You can filter RSS feeds so they only show the content you want automatically. In this guide, I’ll walk you through exactly how to do it using RSS.app.

1. Generate Your Feed

Start by plugging in the RSS feed or the URL of the website you want to use into the RSS Generator. 

Click “Generate”, “Save To My Feeds” and then head to the Filters tab.

2. Get to Know the Filters Tab

On the left, you’ll see all your filter settings. On the right, you’ll see a live preview of your feed. This lets you instantly see how your changes affect the posts that show up.

3. Auto-Hide Posts You Don’t Want

You can automatically hide posts that are missing important details:

This is the fastest way to cut down on clutter.

4. Clean Up Titles

The Clean Title option removes website names or unnecessary terms from your headlines. For example, “The New York Times” can be removed from every title.

You can do this automatically or manually choose which terms to exclude from a dropdown list.

5. Whitelist Keywords

Want to only show posts that mention specific words? Use the Whitelist.

You can:

• Type each keyword one at a time and press Enter, or
• Paste them in a single paragraph separated by commas.
• Choose where the filter applies: title, description, link, or image URL.

6. Blacklist Keywords

The Blacklist works the same way, but hides posts containing certain words.

7. Use AND Conditions for Precision

By default, keywords match individually. But if you enable AND Conditions from the three-dot menu, a post must include all your chosen keywords to appear.

8. Enable Partial Match

Partial match means your keywords don’t have to be exact. If “fire” appears inside “wildfire,” it’ll still match.

9. Auto-Hide by Age

Keep your feed fresh by hiding posts older than a set number of days or hours.

10. Advanced Rules

Advanced rules let you edit the content of your feed posts. 

• Replace text: Change “Live Updates” to “Breaking”.
• Remove text: Delete “Opinion” from titles.
• Add prefix: Add “NYT: ” before every title.
• Add suffix: Append “(via RSS)” to the end.
• Set a new link: Swap a paywalled link with an archive link.
• Replace URL substring: Shorten or clean tracking links.

If you’re comfortable with regex (regular expressions), you can use it for powerful, pattern-based edits.

11. Manual Actions

You can also:

• Hide specific posts
• Block domains entirely
• Pin important posts to the top

12. Apply Global Filters or Reset When Needed

Global filters apply to all feeds in your account. Perfect for blocking certain keywords or sources everywhere without repeating the setup.

Click the More menu at the top to reset all filters.

Final Thoughts

Filtering your RSS feeds can save you hours of scrolling and help you stay focused on what’s important.

With RSS.app, you’re not just following content, you’re curating it. Try RSS.app now and start filtering smarter.