The official blog of Instapaper, the read-later app, covering API changes, outages, ownership changes, and account policies.
HN links it for the app's history, including the Pinterest acquisition, its return to independence, and the password and email requirement changes. One user is happy to pay for it.
Wow, after Instapaper went back to indie from Pinterest[1] and Omnivore closing last year this is no longer surprising. This is also proof that read-it-later app as a category is not sustainable as a venture / company backed service.
This is also a category of app that I believe could be better served by local-first native apps. As there is no reason why a server has to be requirement to enjoy the full service. Your computer is fully capable of interacting with these webpages directly....
On Apple ecosystem, there are few alternatives one can migrate to. I also created an app that target this category (and more) called DoubleMemory: https://doublememory.com that has a few different takes as well:
- no registration needed (icloud sync)
- no extension required (just double command + c)
- launches from menu bar as a launcher, in a stunning Pinterest-style waterfall grid
It's all free to use with no limits, as i'm still working on paid features. I'll work on a pocket importer for these who are interested in migrating.
^[1]: https://blog.instapaper.com/post/175953870856
> Instapaper, AFAIK, syncs as soon as you open the app.
That's true, but there's also a feature in Instapaper (et al.) that will allow you to set up a geofence, and when you leave the geofence, it will launch itself in the background and sync.
It's useful for users who like to read Instapaper on a subway where there's no cell reception- you can set it to sync when you leave your office or house, and it will have downloaded everything by the time you get underground. It's just an automatic convenience so you don't have to remember to sync it manually.
Even though I don't ride a subway I find it useful, sometimes I'll get to a restaurant for lunch and there will be poor cell reception, but I can still read stuff I've just added to Instapaper.
It's also kind of a hack to allow periodic background syncing, because iOS doesn't allow apps to launch periodically to update themselves, but it DOES allow apps to launch when a geofence boundary is crossed.
Here's a blog post about it:
http://blog.instapaper.com/post/24293729146
Having read more into the Marco/9-5Mac story and looking on Twitter, seems Marco has concluded the website does not want their content 'scraped' due to content in their articles being 'almost libelous'. Unfortunately he has taken the decision to block his users ability to save from the site as some sort of punishment against them. Can't see any real official explanation, and the error message is unhelpful. Unfortunately I cannot agree with his position, it is repugnant and seems to be a double standard (he has not blocked other sites which heavily criticise Instapaper). Shame, let's hope he sees sense.
Edit: he has lifted the block and apologised for putting it in place without the publishers explicit request, guess he saw sense in the end, everyone gets clouded by anger sometimes. http://blog.instapaper.com/post/31303984531
Why is this better for Pinterest and/or Instapaper?
In the 2016 blog post announcing the acquisition:
http://blog.instapaper.com/post/149374303661
> All of these features and developments revolved around the core mission of Instapaper, which is allowing our users to discover, save, and experience interesting web content. In that respect, there is a lot of overlap between Pinterest and Instapaper. Joining Pinterest provides us with the additional resources and experience necessary to achieve that shared mission on a much larger scale.
Is that no longer true? Was it ever true?
I'm happy with instapaper. Even more now that it's independently owned and GPDR compatible. Gladly pay knowing they don't have to sell my data or add advertising to make a living.
bthdonohue.com/2018/11/17/ycombinator-operating-instapaper-through-an-acquisition.html
https://blog.instapaper.com/post/170231611161
Saving youtube (or any other) videos would be nice for offline viewing (train, airplane). I can understand it's not a core feature, would use too much bandwidth and storage on mobile devices.
10 years ago (!) Instapaper changed its tune and started requiring emails for new accounts. Before it had not required emails (just usernames) and even didn't require passwords, and after living with that for years Marco decided to switch back to the more traditional form.
https://blog.instapaper.com/post/2318776738
It's interesting to think that times may have changed and that people are hesitant to give out their email addresses anymore, but you are giving up some real benefits by leaving it out.