The short answer: yes, Pocket is gone. Mozilla shut it down on July 8, 2025. The best replacement depends on what you used it for. For reading articles later, use Instapaper or Matter. For bookmarks and links, use Raindrop.io. For highlights and research, use Readwise Reader. For social media posts (the thing Pocket never handled well), use Sprink. Safari Reading List is the free, built-in fallback.
What Happened to Pocket
Mozilla announced in May 2025 that it was shutting Pocket down. The apps stopped working on July 8, 2025, and users had until October 8, 2025 to export their saves before the data was deleted. Pocket wasn't the first to go: Omnivore, a popular free read-later app, shut down in late 2024. That's a good reason to pick a replacement with an active, paying user base.
The Best Pocket Alternatives
The original read-later app and the most direct swap for Pocket. Save articles from your browser or share sheet, read them in a clean, distraction-free view, and organize with folders. There's a free tier and a Premium plan.
Best for: people who used Pocket mainly to read articles later.
A polished bookmark manager with collections, tags, visual previews and search, on every platform including the web. Free tier, with a Pro plan for extras like full-text search.
Best for: people who used Pocket as a big bookmark library.
Pocket was built for web articles. Posts from Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest usually saved as a bare link with no preview. Sprink is built for exactly that content. Tap Share → Sprink on any post and it's saved with its caption and link, filed by topic with AI (Food, Fitness, Travel, Shopping) and keyword-searchable. It handles screenshots too.
Best for: people whose "read later" pile was really reels, recipes, outfits and ideas.
A paid read-later app built around highlighting and note-taking, handling articles, PDFs, newsletters and more in one place.
Best for: heavy readers, students and researchers.
A newer read-later app with a clean design, newsletter support and text-to-speech for listening to articles. Free tier available.
Best for: people who want a fresher take on read-later.
Built into Safari on iPhone, iPad and Mac. It syncs through iCloud and can save pages for offline reading. No tags or folders, but nothing to install.
Best for: light use on Apple devices.
Which One Should You Pick?
| If you used Pocket for… | Switch to |
|---|---|
| Reading articles later | Instapaper or Matter |
| A big library of links | Raindrop.io |
| Highlighting and research | Readwise Reader |
| Saving Instagram, TikTok or Pinterest posts | Sprink |
| Occasional saves, nothing to install | Safari Reading List |
"Pocket was a read-later app. Most of what people save today isn't something to read. It's something to watch, cook, buy or try."
Saving both articles and social posts? Many people pair a read-later app for long articles with Sprink for everything they find on social media. See how to organize saved posts across platforms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Pocket's shutdown and what to use instead.
Did Pocket shut down?
Yes. Mozilla announced in May 2025 that it was shutting down Pocket. The service stopped working on July 8, 2025, and users had until October 8, 2025 to export their saved items before the data was deleted.
What is the best alternative to Pocket?
It depends on what you used Pocket for. For reading articles later, Instapaper is the closest replacement. For organizing bookmarks and links, Raindrop.io is the strongest option. For saving social media posts from Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest, which Pocket never handled well, Sprink is built specifically for that.
Can I still get my Pocket saves back?
Only if you exported them before October 8, 2025. After that date, Mozilla deleted Pocket user data. If you did export, most alternatives, including Instapaper and Raindrop.io, can import a Pocket export file.
Is there a free Pocket alternative?
Yes. Safari Reading List is free and built into iPhone, iPad and Mac. Instapaper, Raindrop.io and Matter all have free tiers, with paid plans for extra features.
The Pocket replacement for social media
Download Sprink free. Save posts from Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest and more in one tap, sorted by topic and searchable by keyword.
Download Sprink Free