It’s sad to see Pocket, one of the best read it later apps, unceremoniously shut down by parent owner Firefox. The app deserved better. Read it later apps separate reading from browsing, providing a refuge from the attention economy and endless doomscrolling. They are practical tools that benefit almost everyone.
Originally, read it later apps were originally built to address poor mobile bandwidth and other tech constraints. Today they combat cluttered designs from sources like The New York Times, Bluesky, Reddit, and Semafor. Design patterns like infinite scroll, autoplay, and recommendation lists push users toward another article or video. This abundance drives engagement, which in turn drives revenue.
While this noisy design ethos helps us browse and gather news quickly, it rewards mindless consumption and information gathering on autopilot. When browsing, there is always another enticing piece of content that promises another dopamine hit. We feel pressure to skim articles, cut content short, or skip reading entirely to reach the next headline or short video. Deep reading and reflection suffer as a result.
Constant gathering can become addictive, leading to poor time management. A glance down at our phones leads to scrolling through an infinite feed of hot takes and video clips. Time melts away. But like a fast food meal, what’s engaging in the moment can lead to feeling empty and unsatisfied afterwards. We’ll blow through a hundred headlines, but never stop to read and reflect on a single article.
Still, taking a moralistic stance to slow down and read one article at a time is naive, especially when most designs push us so heavily in the opposite direction. This approach is also hypocritical, given my occasional doom scrolling sessions through my RSS feeds and Bluesky.
Thankfully, adding a read it later app to your routine is easy. When encountering an interesting article, save it to your read it later app of choice instead of trying to read it immediately. No skimming. No skipping. No deep thoughts required.
When done right, gathering paired with a read it later app keeps your headspace intentionally shallow. You’ll probably browse faster since anything interesting of sufficient depth gets saved rather than read. The approach also makes it easier to be mindful of how long you’ve been browsing and when it is best to stop.
I’d recommend to wait to read your saved articles until you have the mental capacity and headspace to enjoy them. For me, that’s during longer breaks in the day or late at night during wind down time.
An underrated benefit of read it later apps is how you’re in control of what to read next. You can choose date, subject, mood, or length. Spend time customizing your unread list in app to your liking, and familiarize yourself with any search functionality. Many apps show estimated reading time for each article, a statistic I find especially useful for shorter reading breaks. Also, when you begin reading, customize the text and layout to your liking. Good read it later apps will let you adjust font, line spacing, and other typographic elements.
Regarding read it later apps to try, The Verge published a good starting point. I’m a fan of free or relatively inexpensive options with solid customization, simple capture methods, and a reliable update history over several years. I use Raindrop.io to archive thousands of legacy Pocket links. The app is an excellent jack of all trades starting point with strong clients across web, iOS, and Android.
GoodLinks is my daily driver of choice. Its cleaner, minimalist design fits my stripped down workflow. It has a great parser for capturing text and imagery, and uses dependable iCloud syncing across devices. However, GoodLinks is only available on iOS, iPadOS, and MacOS, making it best for users heavily in the Apple ecosystem. It’s also paid only, though the pricing model is reasonable as a single inexpensive purchase across all iCloud friendly devices.
No matter which read it later app interests you, if you browse and read your share of content online, you owe it to yourself to give one a try. Worst case, you’ll lose a few hours failing to incorporate a new app into your life. But many will find the addition brings more sanity and calm to an otherwise cluttered internet.