RSSum for iPhone and iPad

Your RSSum guide.

Set up your sources, explore the controls, and choose your AI provider. A visual reference for reading, summaries, Q&A, YouTube, and podcasts, with practical lessons for Siri, Shortcuts, and feed agents.

Browse all 21 screens
Watch the video walkthrough
Watch the short film: The Curiosity Edition

Reference

Summaries & podcasts

Summarize

Summarize and ask questions

Summarize RSS articles, Reddit posts and their comments, YouTube videos, and podcast episodes. Use individual summaries, an overall summary, or ask questions across the saved sources.

Embedded podcast player

Play a podcast episode

Play episodes from your podcast feeds inside RSSum. Summarize an episode or ask questions about it. If the podcast does not supply a transcript, RSSum creates one locally.

Local podcast creation

Create a podcast from reading

Generate a two-host podcast from your saved summaries, then listen inside RSSum. The Batch Podcast chapter below explains the voices, script, and episode workspace.

Interactive walkthrough

App walkthrough

Select a screen and then a control to read its explanation.

Screen 01 of 21

Your reading desk

Choose a source, scan the feed, then act on everything in it.

RSSum feed screen
RSS feed and subscription navigation

Available now · iPhone, iPad & Mac

Siri, Shortcuts & feed agents

Ask about your reading, gather evidence across feeds, and save a briefing you can run again. Six ways to get started.

App Intents make RSSum actions available to Siri and Shortcuts. Speak a request, select an RSSum action in a shortcut, or combine it with another action. Summaries and answers use the AI provider selected in RSSum Settings.

  1. 01

    Start with the article you’re reading.

    Open an article in RSSum, then ask Siri:

    Summarize this article in RSSum.

    For a question about the open article, say:

    Ask RSSum about this article.

    When Siri asks for your question, try “What does this announcement mean for existing customers?” The open article supplies the context. Siri can speak a concise reply; the Shortcuts action returns the full text for your next action.

  2. 02

    Catch up through Siri.

    Get today’s summary without opening each article:

    What’s new today in RSSum?

    Or ask about one subscription:

    Catch up on MacRumors in RSSum.

    Replace MacRumors with a feed you follow. Both actions use RSSum’s existing today and feed summaries, through your selected provider.

  3. 03

    Ask questions across your feeds.

    Tap the Ask My Feeds symbol in the top toolbar, or say “Ask my feeds in RSSum” and give Siri your question. Try:

    What did my feeds report about Apple Intelligence this week?

    Summarize the OpenAI announcements today.

    What are the main concerns about these new AI models?

    Answers include numbered sources. Tap a source card to open the supporting article. In the panel, select a feed, choose Today, This Week or All Time, and filter for unread articles or favorites.

    If nothing matches: refresh your feeds and try All Time. The answer uses RSS articles already loaded in your library and respects the filters you selected.

  4. 04

    Let the agent gather evidence.

    The selected AI model can decide what to look up before it answers. It can search loaded articles, read relevant ones, refine its search and collect more evidence across several steps.

    Search for OpenAI, read two relevant articles, compare what they say, and cite both.

    1. SearchFind articles in your selected feeds and date range.
    2. ReadRead article text and look for more evidence when needed.
    3. Compare & citeAnswer with numbered references to the articles used.

    Choose a native provider in Settings.

    Apple Local / Apple Cloud
    Multi-step tools are available where the selected Apple model and configuration support them.
    Gemini API
    Use a supported Gemini model with your API key. Normal API usage charges apply.
    ChatGPT Plan
    Use a supported model from your own signed-in ChatGPT account. Your account’s usage limits apply.

    Other providers, including other local models and Web AI, use the search-and-answer path: RSSum retrieves relevant loaded articles and asks your provider to answer from that evidence. The native Gemini API and ChatGPT Plan options are separate from those services inside Web AI.

    The agent’s tools search and read your loaded RSS library, keeping your feed, date, unread and favorite filters in place. Evidence fits the selected model’s context limit; larger models can use more article text.

    Cloud providers receive your question and the article evidence needed for the answer. Read about privacy.

  5. 05

    Create your morning briefing.

    Open Ask My Feeds → Briefings and create a briefing. It remembers the feeds, time window, style and question to use each time. For example:

    Title
    Morning Tech
    Feeds
    Your technology subscriptions
    Date range
    Last 24 hours
    Style
    Bullet points
    Question
    Summarize the important announcements and explain why they matter.

    Then say:

    Run Morning Tech in RSSum.

    You can also choose Today or This week, and use Short or Detailed for a different style.

    Listen through Shortcuts.

    Combine Run Briefing → Speak Text and pass the briefing’s result into Speak Text. On iPhone or iPad, add that shortcut to a time-of-day personal automation for a spoken morning update.

    AI actions may open RSSum to run. Keep the selected provider ready; cloud providers need an internet connection and the appropriate account or API key.

  6. 06

    Watch topics. Search from Spotlight.

    In Settings → Manage Topic Alerts, enter topics such as Apple Intelligence, OpenAI. Choose feeds, turn on Notify about new matches, and allow notifications when asked.

    New matching articles can trigger a notification that opens the matching list. Keywords are literal: commas separate alternatives, and every word in an alternative must appear in the article. Alerts are evaluated when feeds refresh.

    Find articles outside RSSum.

    Use Spotlight to search recent articles, favorites and feed names, then open a result in RSSum. Control article indexing with Show articles in Spotlight in Settings.

Keep the examples handy while you try them in RSSum.

Open the full Siri & agents guide

Reddit connection

Connect Reddit
without errors.

RSSum connects through a Reddit app that you create. The app type and redirect URI must match these instructions exactly or Reddit sign-in will fail.

  1. 01

    Choose installed app

    When creating the app in Reddit's developer settings, select installed app as the app type.

  2. 02

    Use the exact redirect URI

    Enter redapp://auth exactly as shown. The value is case-sensitive and must not end with a slash.

    redapp://auth
  3. 03

    Paste the Client ID into RSSum

    Copy the Client ID shown under your Reddit app's name and paste it into RSSum. Do not paste a client secret.

  4. 04

    Check for invisible formatting

    Remove any leading or trailing whitespace. redapp://auth/ is not valid because it includes a trailing slash.

AI providers

Choose the right model
for the job.

RSSum can use local models, cloud APIs, browser-based AI, or a Mac gateway. The main differences are how much content each option can process, where that processing happens, and what it costs.

Cloud APIBest all-rounder

Gemini

Uses Google’s Gemini API with your own API key. It is fast, inexpensive, and has a very large context window.

  • Well suited to full subreddits and long time ranges
  • Supports large inputs, podcast creation, and multi-step feed agents
  • Heavy personal use cost about $2 in one month; actual cost varies
Signed-in accountNative provider

ChatGPT Plan

Sign in with your own ChatGPT account in RSSum Settings and choose a supported model. Requests use that account and its normal usage limits.

  • Supports multi-step feed agents with a supported model
  • No API key or Mac gateway needed for this route
  • Separate from ChatGPT inside Web AI
Built-in browserNo API key

Web AI

Uses ChatGPT or Gemini through the app’s built-in browser. Sign in with your normal account, including a free account, without configuring an API key.

  • No separate API usage charges
  • Slower than using an API directly
  • Processing happens through the selected web service
On deviceBring a model

CoreAI MLX Local

Lets you choose and run a free local MLX model. It gives you more control while keeping processing on the device.

  • Private and configurable
  • Uses device storage, memory, and compute
  • Context depends on the model and device
Mac gatewayFor subscribers

Codex / Summarize

Uses the Codex or ChatGPT account already signed in on your Mac. It is useful if you already subscribe and want to avoid separate per-request API billing.

  • The Mac must be on and available
  • Your account’s normal usage limits still apply
  • Supports large inputs and podcast creation
Mac gatewayTemporary

Apple PCC Gateway

Lets an iOS 26 device use the Apple Private Cloud Compute model through a Mac running the latest beta software.

  • Uses the same model as Apple Cloud
  • The Mac must stay on and reachable
  • Expected to be removed after iOS 27 is publicly available

Recommended setup

Start local. Reroute when needed.

On an Apple Intelligence device, keep Apple Local enabled for smaller tasks and use Gemini for larger ones. RSSum detects when content exceeds the local context window and lets you choose a larger provider.

Why so many options?

Choose how RSSum connects.

For multi-step feed agents, choose a supported native Apple, Gemini API, or ChatGPT Plan model. Web AI and other providers use the search-and-answer path. See the agent lesson for the differences.

Free option

Web AI

Use a free ChatGPT or Gemini account through the built-in browser when you do not want an API key or usage bill.

YouTube

The transcript is the source

RSSum always sends the video’s captions or transcript to the selected provider. Local models favor privacy; cloud models generally offer more context and speed.

Podcast creation

Large-context providers only

Podcast creation needs more context and is currently available with Gemini, Apple Cloud, and providers that run through a Mac gateway.

Mac-powered providers

Connect the app
to your Mac.

These providers run through a companion service on your Mac. Your iPhone or iPad sends the prompt over your local network; the Mac forwards it to the selected AI service and returns only the answer.

Route 01

Codex / Summarize

Use the Codex account already signed in on your Mac. Summarize prepares the request, Codex generates the answer, and the open RSSum Mac app securely relays it back to your iPhone or iPad.

Before you begin
  • A Mac and iPhone/iPad on the same network
  • Node.js with npm installed on the Mac
  • Codex CLI installed and signed in
  • RSSum installed on the Mac
1RSSumiPhone or iPad
2RSS Mac bridgePort 8790 · secret protected
3SummarizeLocal daemon · port 8787
4Codex CLISigned-in Mac account
  1. 01

    Prepare Codex on the Mac

    Install the Codex CLI if needed, then sign in. The gateway uses this Mac’s Codex login and its associated usage limits.

    codex login
  2. 02

    Download and run the one-time setup

    Download the setup script directly from this guide. It installs Summarize, creates private tokens, configures the daemon, starts it, and prints the iPad connection details.

    Download Codex / Summarize setupsetup-rssreader-codex-summarize.sh

    Then run this command in Terminal:

    chmod +x ~/Downloads/setup-rssreader-codex-summarize.sh && ~/Downloads/setup-rssreader-codex-summarize.sh

    The full connection details are also saved to ~/.summarize/rssreader-gateway-info.txt.

  3. 03

    Keep RSSum open on the Mac

    The Summarize daemon works locally, while the Mac app provides the network bridge your iPhone or iPad connects to. Both the Mac and the mobile device must remain on the same local network.

  4. 04

    Enter the connection on iPhone or iPad

    Open Settings → Summary Source → Codex / Summarize, then use the values printed by the setup script.

    Mac host or IPLeave blank firstUses automatic discovery. Enter the Mac’s LAN IP only if discovery fails.
    Bridge port8790Default port created by the setup script.
    Bridge secret/passFrom the MacCopy the generated bridge secret exactly.
  5. 05

    Test, then summarize

    Tap Test Connection. When it reports Connected, Codex / Summarize can power article summaries, Reddit summaries, Overall Summary, and Q&A.

Get RSSum