The Feedspot Top 15 Scam

Feedspot is a blogger scam.

I fell victim to the Feedspot Top 15 scam…and I felt stupid because of it for a while.

Then I realized that I was just one of many.

Earlier this month, I received an email from Feedspot’s founder that went like this:

Hi There,

My name is Anuj Agarwal, I’m the Founder of Feedspot.

I would like to personally congratulate you as your blog Izzy Out Blog has been selected by our panelist as one of the Top 15 Adult Autism Blogs on the web.

blog.feedspot.com/adult_autism_blogs/

I personally give you a high-five and want to thank you for your contribution to this world. This is the most comprehensive list of Top 15 Adult Autism Blogs on the internet and I’m honored to have you as part of this!

We’d be grateful if you can help us spread the word by briefly mentioning about the Top 15 Adult Autism Blogs list in any of your upcoming post.

Please let me know.

Best,
Anuj

That should have been my first clue. They didn’t even call me by name, and my name is literally in my blog name.

But I have seen Feedspot everywhere. It shows up on Google when you search for blogs in specific categories.

Sites that show up repeatedly at the top of Google are supposed to be trusted, but what happens when you can’t trust them?

It started with a simple email, to which I replied that I mentioned it on social media.

That wasn’t enough. I would then be harassed throughout the month to “kindly” mention them in a blog post every. single. day.

Again, and again, and again, and again. When you’re constantly asked to do something that somebody else would be grateful for, it’s no longer an act of kindness but an obligation. It’s an aggressive request, not gratitude.

Feedspot consistently shows up on top of every other result on Google like it’s trustworthy.

In the midst of Microsoft Bing’s horrific autistic results, making a top list felt like I was actually making some kind of progress.

But the emails. Having relapsed in eating disorder recovery, I have not been focusing on blogging.

Why Feedspot is bad

Feedspot just wants the backlinks.

This is how they get so high on Google.

Feedspot sells personal data.

The information of bloggers is added to a spreadsheet that spammy outreach companies can buy.

Regular subscribers are just people. Feedspot is selling the contact information of bloggers. This distinction is important.

I have no idea if they’re selling that info to regular subscribers. I just know that blogger info is sold like hot cakes to scammy outreach marketers and getting your info off those lists is extremely difficult.

Feedspot scrapes your blog posts

Feedspot scrapes your blog using an RSS scraping tool to display the RSS feed, but it’s more than that.

It is actually scraping because they are hosting permanently your posts and your pictures, even after you remove them.

They host your content on their servers, that they pulled from your RSS feed using their scraper.

According to their site, they maintain 12 months of blog post from each blog.

Forcing people to pay to subscribe to YOUR blog

Feedspot forces users to pay to use their site, even if they’re only subscribing to blog feeds.

If you submit your email to subscribe to a feed, it will force you to do a free trial that you can supposedly cancel anytime.

You cannot escape the free trial, therefore you cannot do anything except for pay for the service.

Running a paid newsletter is one thing; in this case, Feedspot is profiting off of YOUR content without any commission to you.

Feedspot is not legit.

It’s not trustworthy.

They claim to be real, then harass you to mention them on your blog while they compile your personal information in a spreadsheet that they will sell to anyone who wants it.

Feedspot is not free.

You have to subscribe to use their site, and then you have to hand over payment information under the guise of a free trial.

Feedspot is not reputable.

Bigger bloggers know Feedspot is a scam. It seems Feedspot preys on smaller bloggers who are more prone to falling for their scam by being excited about being a “Top 15” blogger.

Feedspot used to be run by Google, but they discontinued the RSS reader service and sold it. It’s no longer free, but paid.

Feedspot will not benefit your website.

They will steal your content and host it indefinitely on their servers.

By sending them your website link, you are consenting to all of this — including the sale of your personal information. I never consented, never submitted my URL, but they got it anyway.

So…I made a top list of autism blogs, above ABA blogs. It was illegitimate.

And then I was harassed to “kindly mention” that I made the list, across several emails, for weeks.

Here’s my mention — and it’s definitely nofollow.

To the tune of Blackpink, how you like that?

Update

• I reported Feedspot to Google for engaging in link schemes.
• Their host is AWS by Amazon. If they do not remove all of my content from their site within 5 business days or the next reply, I will submit a DMCA notice to their host.
• I threatened them with a DMCA if they didn’t remove my content from their site within 7 days. Anuj responded immediately that it was removed. I had him remove the feed, too.