Can I password protect my RSS feeds?

By default Beanstalk uses token authentication for all RSS feeds. Every user has his own unique secure token that's built into every RSS feed that a user has access to. Token authentication is very convenient as it doesn't require users to enter their username and password every time they access a feed. It is also supported by the vast majority of RSS readers.

However token authentication can be potentially dangerous if users choose to share their feed URLs, which we strongly recommend not to do. That's why account owners can switch their accounts to use regular and more secure password authentication for all RSS feeds. This kind of authentication will require username and password every time the feed is accessed.

While password authentication provides more security, it's not supported by many popular RSS readers (such as Google Reader), that's why we made it optional.

You can turn on password authentication for RSS feeds in Account → Security: