Flipboard, known for its social magazine app, is taking a leap into the era of the open social web with the introduction of its latest app, Surf. Unlike its original app, which allowed users to curate content from blogs, news outlets, and traditional social media platforms, Surf is designed to help users discover and navigate the open social web. Currently in invite-only beta, Surf supports decentralized platforms like Mastodon and Bluesky, as well as other public content such as blogs, podcasts, and YouTube channels.
Surf operates on open protocols, including RSS for website and podcast updates, Bluesky’s AT Protocol, and ActivityPub, which powers platforms like Mastodon, Pixelfed, and PeerTube. It even integrates with Instagram Threads.
Flipboard CEO Mike McCue shared that Surf has been in development for nearly two years to address challenges faced by users transitioning from centralized platforms to those built on open protocols. “Surf is essentially a browser for the social web,” McCue explained. “It lets you explore any feed, whether it’s from ActivityPub, AT Proto, or RSS.”
The app’s home page features pre-made feeds curated by Flipboard’s editorial team, categorized into sections like Featured, Trending, Expert Voices, and Communities. However, the real power of Surf lies in its ability to let users create custom feeds by combining sources tailored to their interests.
For example, users interested in a specific topic, such as AI advancements or a hobby like mountain biking, can combine feeds from chosen individuals, real-time searches, hashtags, RSS feeds, podcasts, YouTube channels, and more. Surf offers various features to fine-tune these feeds, including a “Keep Feed on Topic” option that filters out unrelated content.
The app also supports multi-topic feeds and allows users to configure settings to include or exclude replies, reposts, and mature content. Feed owners can decide how their feeds are organized and which view is set as the default.
Surf provides multiple viewing modes, such as “Discuss” for a timeline-style view, “Watch” for videos, “Read” for articles, “Listen” for podcasts, and “Look” for photos. Users can interact with posts from various platforms, provided they log in with credentials like Mastodon.
This app aims to unify fragmented communities that span across multiple platforms, creating a seamless browsing experience. Surf is currently available on iOS and Android through an invite-only beta and will eventually expand to the desktop.
