Mozilla is shutting down Pocket [LWN.net]

Mozilla has announced that it is shutting down Pocket, a bookmarking service acquired by Mozilla in 2017, this coming July. "Pocket has helped millions save articles and discover stories worth reading. But the way people use the web has evolved, so we're channeling our resources into projects that better match their browsing habits and online needs."

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Sorry to see Pocket go :(

Posted May 22, 2025 20:07 UTC (Thu) by NightMonkey (subscriber, #23051) [Link] (4 responses)

I really liked being able to use Pocket to create a weekend reading list on my Kobo eReader. Sorry to see it go. I hope a quality replacement pops up sometime soon. Thanks to the Pocket team for making it work very well.

Sorry to see Pocket go :(

Posted May 22, 2025 21:22 UTC (Thu) by rossburton (subscriber, #7254) [Link] (1 responses)

Instapaper still exists (and predates Pocket), though I expect their servers are about to get a workout!

Sorry to see Pocket go :(

Posted May 23, 2025 1:15 UTC (Fri) by NightMonkey (subscriber, #23051) [Link]

Sadly, only Pocket is supported on the Kobos today.

Sorry to see Pocket go :(

Posted May 23, 2025 10:04 UTC (Fri) by jfebrer (guest, #82539) [Link]

For Wallabag there is a client for Kobo:

https://gitlab.com/anarcat/wallabako

Sorry to see Pocket go :(

Posted May 23, 2025 12:54 UTC (Fri) by Schroeder (subscriber, #128168) [Link]

I see your point. But, in the long run, proprietary notetaking tools hardwired into applications and/or devices are a curse, not a blessing, and more likely than not the curse will unfold at some point.

Firefox trashing Pocket is not the first proof of this. Personally, I didn't care at all for Pocket when it appeared, mostly because I already had jumped into Evernote when it had come with my first e-book reader, a Sony. Eleven years after Sony's exit from the market, I've long since moved to another e-reader brand – no more Evernote there.

I probably would have decided to not make the same mistake twice even if the replacement device for Sony's e-reader would have offered Pocket...

So what are the new projects?

Posted May 23, 2025 0:27 UTC (Fri) by ttuttle (subscriber, #51118) [Link] (4 responses)

we're channeling our resources into projects that better match their browsing habits and online needs

I would have liked to hear what those were!

So what are the new projects?

Posted May 23, 2025 6:20 UTC (Fri) by smurf (subscriber, #17840) [Link] (1 responses)

If they had any idea what those are and what people should use as a replacement, they would presumably tell us.

Same for an actual reason for dropping Pocket, other than "doesn't have a business case".

The least they could (should!) do is to open source the thing so people can run their own instance.

So what are the new projects?

Posted May 23, 2025 9:00 UTC (Fri) by t3 (subscriber, #156089) [Link]

Wallabag is the open source alternative for Pocket, but it's not exactly new.

So what are the new projects?

Posted May 23, 2025 7:11 UTC (Fri) by cdamian (subscriber, #1271) [Link]

I am guessing AI

So what are the new projects?

Posted May 23, 2025 14:24 UTC (Fri) by higuita (guest, #32245) [Link]

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-labs-explore...

https://newproducts.mozilla.org/products/

Thanks, Mozilla!

Posted May 26, 2025 8:38 UTC (Mon) by cmm (guest, #81305) [Link]

Do note that you only seem to be able to exfiltrate links from your Pocker account, not content, so whatever has bit-rotted or got paywalled will die with the service.

My (strange) use case

Posted May 30, 2025 13:32 UTC (Fri) by nbecker (subscriber, #35200) [Link]

I've been using pocket for another purpose. gmail on android still! doesn't have mailing lists. I like to share certain articles with my co-workers. If I'm browsing on my android phone and discover an article to share, I can't send it to my list of co-workers. I save it to pocket and then when I'm on my laptop I can use the web version of gmail to send it to the group, where group mailing is (poorly) supported.

Not sure what to use to replace this yet.