One concept makes everything else click: in Surf, feeds are composable. A feed isn't just a list of accounts. It's a mix of sources social profiles, hashtags, RSS feeds, YouTube channels, podcasts, other Surf feeds filtered by topic, shaped by content type, and shareable as a unit.

Two examples from Flipboard's launch materials make this concrete. The "Film Is Not Dead" feed combines photos, videos, and podcasts from curated film photographers posting with the #FilmIsNotDead hashtag across Bluesky, Threads, Mastodon, and YouTube one feed, four platforms, one niche. The "Tech Talk" feed includes tech founders, journalists, and podcasters, but restricts posts to technology topics only, blocking the political commentary those same accounts also produce. Neither required any coding. Both took minutes to build.

Surf reads three open protocols simultaneously: RSS (blogs, newsletters, publications), AT Protocol (Bluesky), and ActivityPub (Mastodon, Threads, and other fediverse platforms). Flipboard's launch announcement confirmed support for all three from day one. That's what makes cross-platform hashtag feeds like #nbathreads possible pulling posts from Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads into a single stream just by adding a hashtag as a source. At launch, Flipboard's search index spans billions of posts across all three protocol types.

A conventional RSS reader handles web content well but knows nothing about what's being said on Bluesky about that content. Surf threads both together. Add an RSS feed from a publication, add the author's Bluesky profile, add a relevant hashtag, and the feed shows articles, social commentary, and community discussion in one view sorted by type if you want, or mixed chronologically if you don't.

One caveat on Threads: Threads content is readable inside Surf via ActivityPub. Write support is another matter interaction parity is uneven, given how ActivityPub federation with Threads currently works. More on this in the interaction section below.

Prerequisites: You'll want a Bluesky or Mastodon account if you plan to save feeds and interact with posts. Pure RSS readers can browse existing feeds without an account, but the full Flipboard Surf feed reader experience building, saving, and engaging requires at least one connected social account. Linking both Bluesky and Mastodon is optional but unlocks full cross-platform engagement.

Step 1: Sign in at surf.social

Go to surf.social and sign in with your Bluesky or Mastodon account. You can connect both under one Surf profile. Once logged in, your existing following feed is immediately accessible on the home screen. Flipboard confirmed in March 2025 that Bluesky login surfaces your full set of existing feeds following feed, discovery feed, and any pinned custom feeds you've already built inside Bluesky.

To engage with Mastodon or Threads posts, link a Mastodon account separately in Surf's settings.

Step 2: Browse existing feeds before building anything

Surf's home screen shows curated feeds organized into sections Featured, Trending, Communities, Expert Voices. Spend five minutes here before touching the build flow. Thousands of custom feeds were built during the beta period, and publishers including Rolling Stone and Wired built feeds that mix editorial content with social commentary and podcast episodes.

Following an existing feed is the fastest way to understand what you're aiming to build and you can add any existing feed as a source inside your own.

Step 3: Create your first custom feed around one specific topic

Click "Create a Custom Feed." Name it specifically. "Astrophotography" works better than "Photography"; "NBA Film Analysis" better than "Sports." Precision at this stage means less filtering work later.

Use the search bar to find and add sources. The star icon adds anything to your feed. Sources you can add:

• Bluesky profiles and Starter Packs
• Mastodon accounts
• Threads profiles (readable via ActivityPub see the interaction note below)
• Hashtags, which pull simultaneously from Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads
• YouTube channels
• RSS feeds from blogs, newsletters, and publications
• Podcasts
• Other Surf feeds

A practical starting template: Five to eight accounts whose posts you already trust, one or two topic-relevant hashtags, and one or two RSS feeds from publications that cover the space. Engadget noted that a niche like 3D printing can be built by combining notable people, relevant hashtags, specific RSS feeds, and preferred podcasts. The same pattern works for almost any topic social conversation, community discovery, and long-form content in one feed without overwhelming it.

Step 4: If you're starting cold, use Starter Sets

No idea which accounts to add? Starter Sets pre-populate a feed with community-curated sources for specific interest areas. Flipboard described in May 2025 how each Starter Set also includes an option to layer in a social account feed already filtered by that topic something no standard RSS reader offers. Add the Starter Set, then remove sources you don't want and add ones you do. It's faster than building from scratch.

Step 5: Apply a topic filter to keep the feed focused

In feed settings, set a topic filter. This is where Surf starts to feel different from a list of accounts. Flipboard's blog gave the clearest example: a tech feed that includes high-profile voices can be restricted to "Technology" posts only, so political commentary doesn't bleed in. The user sets the boundary; engagement signals have nothing to do with it.

Topic categories are currently pre-populated rather than fully freeform. Check what's available before assuming your niche has a named category.

Step 6: Add exclusions for anything that pollutes the feed

Beyond topic filtering, you can exclude specific profiles, terms, or hashtags. Access these via the three-dot menu on any post, or directly in feed settings. Flipboard's press materials have cited blocking a specific high-volume account as an obvious use case. The principle applies to any profile, keyword, or hashtag that derails the feed's purpose.

You can also toggle whether the feed includes reposts and replies, or limits itself to original posts only.

Step 7: Set your default view tab

Each feed has tabs: All, Watch, Read, Listen, Look, and Sources. Fast Company reported at launch that you can set any of these as the default view. Set Watch and Surf opens to a large-preview video stream. Set Listen and the same feed reshapes into a podcast queue.

The Verge called this "one of the coolest things about Surf" the same source pool, reorganized by what you feel like consuming right now, without maintaining separate apps for each format.

Your feed saves automatically to your home screen and profile.

Here's what a finished feed looks like in practice, assembled from the steps above:

• 5 Bluesky accounts: policy researchers, journalists, and AI lab communications accounts you already read
• 1 Mastodon account: a researcher or publication active on the fediverse
• 2 RSS feeds: one from a policy publication, one from an AI-focused newsletter
• 1 YouTube channel: a researcher or think tank that publishes explainer videos
• Hashtag: #AINews (pulls from Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads simultaneously)
• Topic filter: set to "Technology" or "Artificial Intelligence" to exclude off-topic posts from the same accounts
• Exclusion: any high-volume account or hashtag that floods the feed with noise
• Default tab: Read, so the feed opens to articles and newsletters by default

Result: one feed that surfaces policy analysis, social commentary, video explainers, and newsletter dispatches without checking four platforms or wading through unrelated content. Switch to the Watch tab when you want video; switch to All for the full chronological mix. The Flipboard Surf app handles the aggregation; the choices are yours.

Surf is built to make feeds portable. Anyone you share a feed link with can follow it directly or add it as a source inside their own feeds. Flipboard's launch press release made this composability explicit: feeds can be sources inside other feeds, which means a well-curated niche feed can become a building block for someone else's broader one. Think of it less like a private reading list and more like a collaborative playlist.

For broader discovery, you can publish your feed to the Bluesky network. As of July 2025, Surf feeds published to Bluesky appear in the Bluesky Directory a third-party index of AT Protocol feeds and tools. A feed built in Surf becomes available to any Bluesky user, regardless of whether they've touched Surf. Hundreds of feeds were already listed there before the official launch. The Bluesky Directory's owner noted this helps people "find new communities beyond the usual walled social gardens."

On interaction what works and what doesn't: When you like or reply to a post inside Surf, you're acting from your connected account. A like on a Bluesky post registers on Bluesky; a reply creates a real post there. The Verge confirmed this at launch. Interaction works most fully for Bluesky and Mastodon. Threads is readable inside Surf, but write-side interoperability is uneven given how ActivityPub federation with Threads currently functions. Test it rather than assume full symmetry.

Surf fits a specific kind of user: someone who actively curates a niche interest and wants social conversation, long-form content, and video from that community in one place. It rewards people who know what they want to follow. You do get more control, but you have to spend a few minutes setting it up.

It's not yet the right daily driver if you want a polished mobile social app. The Verge was direct at launch: the public-facing product is currently web-first, with mobile apps still in beta. Fast Company's original coverage quoted Flipboard's CEO at the beta stage: "If you just want to come here and chill and look at the people you're following, this isn't really ready for that." The official launch has closed some of that gap but passive users will find less friction staying inside their native apps.

The practical test: build one feed around the niche interest where your current platforms fail you most. Run it for a week. If it surfaces things you'd otherwise miss, build the second one. That tells you more than the philosophy does.