Mitchell Report

Caption: A hand-drawn sketch showing a frustrated man with empty pockets in front of a laptop running Pocket in Firefox.

I’ve been using Pocket since I switched to Mozilla Firefox over four years ago. I like Firefox, though I do miss some functionality from Chrome—like the ability to cast directly to the TV. Still, one of the things I’ve always appreciated was Pocket.

I actually signed up for Pocket back when it was called Read It Later, even before Mozilla acquired it. I never paid for the service—I stuck with the free plan. But recently, I decided that Pocket is one service I’m willing to support financially, especially to help Mozilla. I also subscribe to Mozilla’s Relay service (which I’ve started using quite a bit) and pay for it annually.

Overall, I’ve been happy with Pocket. I even started using it with my Kobo e-reader once that integration became available. But lately, things have started to turn.

I’ve noticed that Pocket hasn’t really improved much, particularly when it comes to reading articles on the desktop—outside of the browser experience, which is just okay. Meanwhile, I’m beginning to feel subscription fatigue and have been exploring some free and open-source alternatives like Wallabag. I’ve also considered using Micro.blog’s built-in bookmark feature, since I already have a Premium subscription there.

Again, subscription fatigue is real.

Unfortunately, trying to move your Pocket data elsewhere isn’t easy. Pocket’s export method is awkward and basic, making it hard to transfer your saved articles cleanly to another service. That’s been a big frustration and has made me even more inclined to leave Pocket. But I also feel stuck, since I’ve built up a huge archive of saved articles over the years.

I think once my current Pocket subscription renews this month, that’ll be the last time. Mozilla has been making some puzzling decisions lately—at a time when they really need to retain users. You’d think they would be more customer-friendly to help grow their base.

Honestly, if Mozilla offered a $15/year subscription that bundled Firefox with some of their other services and prioritized privacy, I think they could really thrive. But they need to embrace that vision fully.

Tags: #Pocket #Mozilla #SubscriptionFatigue

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