When Mozilla retired Pocket, it took a beloved read-it-later habit with it. The good news: there are strong replacements — and some of them do far more than Pocket ever did. Here is what to look for and which apps are worth your time.
What to look for in a Pocket replacement
- What it can save — just article links, or photos, videos and documents too?
- Where your data lives — on the company's servers, or in your own account?
- Organization — folders, tags or collections that match how you think.
- Privacy — can you lock it, and who can read what you saved?
- Platforms — the devices you actually use.
1. EZ Save — best for saving everything, privately
EZ Save is a private file organizer that saves links and photos, videos and documents into folders. On iPhone everything is stored in your own iCloud — Apple's private CloudKit database — so there is no company server holding your data, and you can lock the whole library behind Face ID. If you want one private home for everything you save, not just articles, it is the biggest upgrade from Pocket. Available on iOS and Android.
2. Raindrop.io — best for power bookmarkers
Raindrop.io is a polished bookmark manager with tags, collections and a web app, available across many platforms. It is cloud-based (your bookmarks live on its servers), and it shines if you save a lot of links and want them organized with tags across every device. See our EZ Save vs Raindrop.io comparison.
3. Instapaper — best for pure reading
Instapaper is a long-standing read-it-later app focused on a clean, distraction-free reading experience. If all you want is to save articles and read them beautifully later, it does that one job very well.
4. Notion — best if you already live there
If you already use Notion for everything, its web clipper can collect links into a database. It is powerful and flexible, though heavier than a dedicated save app and stored on Notion's servers.
5. Apple Notes & Files — the free built-ins
You already have them, and they are fine for basic saving. But they are not built to be a browsable, private library of links and media — see how EZ Save compares to Apple Notes & Files.
| App | Saves media & docs | In your own iCloud | Lockable |
|---|---|---|---|
| EZ Save | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Raindrop.io | Limited | ✗ | ✗ |
| Instapaper | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Notion | Partial | ✗ | ✗ |
| Apple Notes / Files | Partial | ✓ | Partial |
How to choose
If you only ever saved articles to read, Instapaper or Raindrop will feel familiar. If you want cross-platform tagging, Raindrop is the pick. But if you want one private place for everything — links, photos, videos, documents and notes, stored in your own account and locked to you — EZ Save is the most capable step up from Pocket.
Frequently asked questions
Is Pocket still available?
What is the best free Pocket alternative?
Which Pocket alternative is best for reading articles?
Which Pocket alternative can save photos and documents too?
Moving on from Pocket?
EZ Save saves your links and everything else, privately, in your own iCloud.