Why Is Tiny Tiny RSS Described as Self-Hosted and Privacy-Focused?
Tiny Tiny RSS (tt-rss) is described that way because the software runs on a system you control rather than on a vendor's servers. The project's own description states it is "self-hosted: control your own data and protect your privacy instead of relying on third party services." In practice, that means your feed subscriptions, read/unread state, and saved articles live in your own instance, and no external RSS service holds that reading history. The trade-off is that you are responsible for running and maintaining that instance.
What "self-hosted" actually means here
Self-hosting is an architectural choice, not a privacy policy. With tt-rss, the application, its database, and your feed data all run on infrastructure you provide. The project lists Docker as the supported way to run it:
- You need a modern web browser (a recent Chrome/Chromium or Firefox).
- You need a system running Docker.
- The project points to its Installation Guide for detailed instructions.
- Running tt-rss without Docker is possible, but the project warns that "support might be limited."
Because the instance is yours, the data flow is different from a hosted reader. When you subscribe to a feed, your server fetches it and stores the content locally. Your reading behavior — what you open, what you mark read, what you star — is recorded in your own database rather than on a third party's analytics backend.
Why that is framed as privacy-focused
The privacy claim follows directly from the architecture. If a third-party service hosts your reader, that service can see your subscription list and reading patterns. With a self-hosted tt-rss instance, that information stays on your machine or server. The project's framing is explicit: control your own data instead of relying on third party services.
Two supporting facts from the project reinforce this:
- It is free software under GNU GPLv3. You can inspect, modify, and run the code, so the privacy behavior is not a black box.
- It is a continuous development model based on the main branch, which the project considers stable. It strongly recommends staying current, using either the most recent Docker image(s) or the latest commit on main.
That last point matters for privacy in a practical sense: because you run the software, keeping it updated is your responsibility, and the project treats staying current as the expected mode of operation.
What you control, and what you take on
| Aspect | Self-hosted tt-rss | Typical third-party reader |
|---|---|---|
| Where feed data is stored | Your own instance/database | Vendor's servers |
| Who can see your reading history | You (and anyone you give access to) | The vendor |
| Who maintains and updates it | You | The vendor |
| Cost model | Not stated on the page | Not stated on the page |
The page does not state pricing, so no assumption should be made that running it is free of infrastructure cost — you still provide the system it runs on.
Features that support the self-hosted model
The feature list is built around owning your reading experience rather than depending on a platform:
- Organizing feeds by folders and subfolders
- Feed aggregation and syndication
- OPML import/export, so you can move your subscription list in and out
- Multiple sharing options: exporting RSS feeds, plugins for social sites, sharing by URL, and sharing arbitrary content through tt-rss
- Plugins and themes
- Embedding full article content via readability and site-specific plugins
- Deduplication, including perceptual hashing for images
- Podcasts
- Flexible article filtering
- A JSON API
OPML export and the JSON API are the practical escape hatches: your data is portable, which is consistent with the "control your own data" claim.
Where to get help and contribute
- Questions and discussion: https://github.com/tt-rss/tt-rss/discussions
- Issues and feature requests: https://github.com/tt-rss/tt-rss/issues
- Contributing (code, translations, reporting issues): https://github.com/tt-rss/tt-rss/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md
The documentation is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, and the software under GNU GPLv3.
The practical bottom line
tt-rss is self-hosted and privacy-focused in the literal sense: you run it, you hold the data, and the source is open for inspection. If your priority is keeping your reading habits off third-party servers and you are willing to run a Docker-based service and keep it updated, the model fits. If you would rather not maintain a server, the self-hosted design is a cost rather than a benefit — that is the condition to weigh before choosing it.