Feedburner Subscriber Count: View Numbers When FeedCount is Hidden

Discovering Hidden Feedburner Subscriber Counts

Bloggers concerned about the visibility of their subscription numbers should be aware of a little-known detail. Even if the Feedcount widget isn't actively shown on your blog, subscriber counts remain accessible if Feedburner has been enabled previously.

How to Access Subscriber Numbers

Determining the number of subscribers is surprisingly straightforward. Simply locate your main article feed URL. For instance, the feed for HowToGeek is: http://feeds.feedburner.com/HowToGeek.

To reveal the subscriber count, insert "/~fc" immediately before the "/HowToGeek" portion of the URL. This modified URL – http://feeds.feedburner.com/~fc/HowToGeek – will display the current feed count when visited in a web browser.

This technique functions even with "branded" feed URLs provided by Feedburner, such as feeds.mysite.com/feedname. It allows for insight into the subscriber base of various websites, even those that choose not to publicly display their Feedcount.

Protecting Your Subscriber Privacy

If you wish to prevent others from viewing your subscriber numbers, a simple adjustment within Feedburner is required.

Navigate to the Publicize tab within your Feedburner account. Then, select FeedCount and choose the Deactivate option.

Following deactivation, any attempt to access the subscriber count via the modified URL will result in an error message.

This ensures that your subscription statistics remain private.

Feel free to examine your own Feed Settings, and perhaps even those of your competitors.