Mozilla today announced it has acquired read-it-later app Pocket, which it says has 10 million unique monthly active users on iOS, Android, and the web. The app, formerly known as Read It Later, launched in 2007 and is integrated in services such as Flipboard and Twitter. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Pocket will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Mozilla Corporation and will become part of the Mozilla open source project, the company said. Pocket's core employees and technology will help accelerate its Context Graph initiative, while promoting the discovery and accessibility of high quality web content.
Mozilla CEO Chris Beard:
“We believe that the discovery and accessibility of high quality web content is key to keeping the internet healthy by fighting against the rising tide of centralization and walled gardens. Pocket provides people with the tools they need to engage with and share content on their own terms, independent of hardware platform or content silo, for a safer, more empowered and independent online experience.”
Mozilla and Pocket worked together to integrate the service within Firefox in 2015, and this acquisition will allow the teams to work more closely together.
Mozilla's acquisition follows in the footsteps of Instapaper, one of Pocket's biggest rivals, which was acquired by Pinterest in August 2016.
Top Rated Comments
It's free, so best bet is to give it a go and see if it works for you. Mozilla are one of the few companies I would trust with my data and respect for privacy, so if anyone had to buy them out I'm glad it's them and not Microsoft or Google.
Pocket is sort of like a roach motel for me. Pages check in but they don’t check out. I put a lot of stuff into Pocket that I never go back to read. Maybe the app will help with that.