When I first got my iPad, I loaded it with apps that I knew would make my life easier and more fun. Facebook, Twitter, Bookman, Pulse – and one new player I had only heard of at the time: Instapaper.

What exactly is Instapaper? At the time, it was a simple yet powerful tool – an Internet-based locker for articles you wanted to read later. If you came across something interesting on Twitter, Facebook, or even in the amazing RSS reader Pulse, you could quickly send it to Instapaper and revisit it later, uninterrupted by ads or distractions.

The service itself was free, but the iPad app came at a price of $4.99. Was it worth it? At the time, the answer was a resounding yes.

One of the features that stood out was the ability to store not just articles but the images embedded within them. That way, you weren’t just staring at a block of text; the visual elements of the article were preserved as well, making for a more engaging reading experience.

What really impressed me was how seamlessly Instapaper integrated with other apps on the iPad. For example, when I was browsing news in Pulse, I could easily send an article to Instapaper with a single tap. The same went for articles shared via Twitter or Facebook’s web browsers – it was all about capturing content and saving it for later, in a way that felt effortless and natural.

Not everything was perfect. One feature that bugged me at the time was the way the app handled deleted articles. On Instapaper for iPad, there was a garbage can icon at the top of the screen, but instead of deleting an article, tapping it sent the article to the archives. This seemed inconsistent with the usual behavior of such an icon, where the trash icon usually signaled deletion. Additionally, the Instapaper website used a separate button for archiving, so the app’s design felt a little confusing. A simple solution would’ve been to keep the trash icon for deletion and use a different icon – perhaps a book or library – to archive the articles.

Despite this small annoyance, Instapaper for iPad quickly became an indispensable tool for me, which I use to this day.

Instapaper in 2025: How It Has Evolved and Where It Stands

Fast forward to 2025, and Instapaper has undergone several key changes that have expanded its functionality and refined its user experience. While the core idea of saving articles for later reading remains intact, the app has evolved significantly.

Instapaper has seen multiple ownership transitions since its original creator, Marco Arment, first sold it to Betaworks. In 2016, Pinterest took over, and by 2018, ownership shifted again to a company called Instant Paper, Inc., which was formed specifically to manage and develop Instapaper.

One of the most noticeable improvements has been its cross-platform support. Originally an iOS app, Instapaper quickly expanded to Android and now features a robust web interface, allowing users to save and read articles from virtually any device. This flexibility means users are no longer tied to a specific ecosystem, making it easier than ever to access saved content on the go.

Beyond platform availability, Instapaper has enhanced its reading experience with richer customization options. Users can now choose from various font styles, text sizes, and themes, tailoring the app’s appearance to their preferences. These refinements make reading more comfortable, whether on a phone, tablet, or desktop.

Another major upgrade is the ability to highlight text and add notes. This feature makes it easier to capture key insights from saved articles, particularly useful for research or knowledge retention. Power users who rely on Instapaper as part of their workflow will find this functionality invaluable.

Instapaper’s recommendation engine has also been refined, offering personalized article suggestions based on reading history. This helps users discover content they might not have otherwise encountered, adding a layer of curation to their saved reading lists.

While some older features—such as integration with now-defunct services like Pulse—have faded away, Instapaper remains true to its core mission: providing a clean, distraction-free reading experience. In an age where digital content is often cluttered with ads and pop-ups, this focus continues to be one of its biggest strengths.

The Rise of Self-Hosted Alternatives

In recent years, Instapaper has faced competition from self-hosted alternatives like Hoarder, Linkwarden, and Readeck. These tools offer a more privacy-focused approach to saving and archiving web content, allowing users to run their own local or remote read-it-later services.

With some configuration, these self-hosted solutions can even work remotely. For my needs, a hybrid approach works best — I use Hoarder at home for local archiving, while Instapaper remains my go-to for remote article saving.

That said, self-hosted solutions aren’t without trade-offs. Readeck, while well-designed, lacks an easy way to save articles and read them directly. There may be third-party apps that improve its workflow1, but I haven’t come across one yet. Hoarder is nearly perfect, though its default behavior when tapping a saved link is to open the original URL instead of the archived local copy. Accessing the saved version requires clicking a specific button, which adds an extra step.

Despite these challenges, the growing ecosystem of self-hosted read-it-later services signals a shift in how users approach digital reading. While Instapaper continues to be a convenient, polished option, those seeking full control over their reading data now have viable alternatives.

Ultimately, whether you rely on Instapaper, a self-hosted setup, or a mix of both, the key takeaway is that the tools for saving and consuming content have never been more diverse. Each approach has its strengths, and choosing the right one depends on your reading habits, privacy concerns, and workflow preferences.

  1. I’ve come across a shortcut that someone created, but I have run into issues where it does not appear to work, no articles are saved when I try to use it. ↩︎