Fraidycat

Follow from afar. Follow blogs, wikis, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr - anyone on nearly any blog-like network - from your browser. No notifications, no unread messages, no 'inbox'. Just a single page overview of all your follows.
What is Fraidycat?
Fraidycat is a versatile Firefox add-on designed to help users monitor their follows from a variety of platforms in one place. Instead of multiple traditional feeds, this extension brings all your follows to one location and presents them in a user-friendly, organized way. Users can tag their follows by priority and interest, creating a personal surveillance network without any complicated algorithms. The focus is on users having control over their online activity, making the Web feel more like a personal network.

Add-on stats

Users: 775 ▲ 5
Rating: 4.78 (37)
Version: 1.1.10 (Last updated: 2021-05-29)
Creation date: 2019-11-08
Weekly download count: 6
Firefox on Android: No
Risk impact: Very high risk impact
Risk likelihood: Low risk likelihood
Manifest version: 2
Permissions:
  • http://*/
  • https://*/
  • https://m.facebook.com/*
  • https://*.fbcdn.net/*
  • https://www.instagram.com/*
  • https://www.reddit.com/*
  • https://pbs.twimg.com/*
  • https://twitter.com/*
  • storage
  • tabs
  • See more
Size: 1.98M
URLs: Website

Other platforms

Fraidycat (v1.1.10)
4.92 (12) 1,000
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Add-on summary

Fraidycat is a browser extension for following folks on a variety of platforms. But rather than showing you a traditional 'inbox' or 'feed' view of all the incoming posts - Fraidycat braces itself against this unbridled firehose! - you are shown an overview of who is active and a brief summary of their activity.

Fraidycat attempts to dissolve the barriers between networks - each with their own seeming 'network effects' - and forms a personal network for you, a personal surveillance network, if you will, of the people you want to monitor. (It's as if the Web itself is now your network - imagine that.)

There are no fancy algorithms behind Fraidycat - everything is organized by recency. (Although, you can sort follows into tags and priority - "do I want to track this person in real-time? Is this a band that I am only interested in checking in on once a year?") For once, the point isn't for the tool to discern your intent from your behavior; the point is for you to wield the tool, as if you are a rather capable kind of human being.

User reviews

These summaries are automatically generated weekly using AI based on recent user reviews. Firefox Browser Add-ons does not verify user reviews, so some user reviews may be inaccurate, spammy, or outdated.
Pros
  • Great way to keep track of friends, colleagues, and favorite actors/musicians across multiple platforms in one feed.
  • Helpful in following specific people and places without the clutter of traditional aggregators.
  • Nice organization features and user interface.
  • Encourages purposeful content checking and deeper engagement with the web.
  • Could potentially replace other feed services like Feedly.
Cons
  • User data and settings are handled online rather than locally, which may cause privacy concerns.
  • Performance issues, as mentioned by the author on the support page.
  • Some users report functionality stopping without clear reasons.
Most mentioned
  • Online service integration vs local offline functionality
  • User-friendly organization of feeds
  • Encourages purposeful browsing
  • Potential to replace other feed aggregators
Recent reviews


View all user reviews

Add-on safety

Risk impact

Fraidycat requires a lot of sensitive permissions. Exercise caution before installing.

Risk likelihood

Fraidycat has earned a fairly good reputation and likely can be trusted.

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