Rakuten and Instapaper have launched a new integration that brings saved articles directly to Kobo e-readers. This move effectively replaces the previous Pocket functionality that was available on the devices. The change was necessitated after Mozilla announced it would be shutting down its read-it-later service, Pocket, in May of 2025.
The new Instapaper feature on Kobo works almost exactly like Pocket did. Once you link your Instapaper account, you can access your entire library of saved articles. These articles can be downloaded for offline reading, and you can manage them by liking, deleting, or archiving as you read. For users who depended on the Pocket integration to manage a large backlog of reading, Instapaper serves as a highly capable and seamless replacement. The only notable feature missing is support for handwritten annotations on Kobo models that come with a stylus, such as the Kobo Libra Colour or the Kobo Elipsa 2E.
Mozilla decided to discontinue Pocket and several other smaller products to focus its time and resources on the Firefox browser. Instapaper itself has had a interesting history, having been acquired by Pinterest in 2016. The service saw a period of decline following the acquisition, but was eventually bought back by its original developers in 2018, returning it to independent operation.
While Pocket and Instapaper are not perfect substitutes for one another, with Instapaper sometimes handling images differently, they are very close in core functionality. For the Kobo ecosystem and its users, the shift from Pocket to Instapaper represents a best-case scenario, ensuring continuity for a beloved feature. The Instapaper integration is now available worldwide on all currently supported Kobo e-reader models.
