After Mozilla’s Read It Later Pocket app shut down in August, a number of options have emerged to take its place. But one newcomer, Ltis taking things more than offering a way to record what is read. This app lets you save anything on the web for later consumption, whether it’s an article, recipe, screenshot, video, PDF, bookmark or tab.
The app also automatically sorts those file types and lets you organize them into collections it calls “cases.” It can also remind you of items recorded on the date you choose, which can help you remember local events or places you want to visit on a certain day. (Or maybe a way to force you to get through your reading list!)
The interesting thing about how the app works is that everything you save becomes a private archive that can only be accessed on your own device. That means you don’t need to create an account to use Laytr, and developers can’t see anything you’ve saved. However, you can access your content on many Apple devices, including iPhone, iPad, and Mac, because the content syncs through iCloud.
The idea for Laytr came from Ontario-area indie developer Mostafa Talaat, and was published under his company name, Waitery Inc. Talaat told TechCrunch that he was inspired to create the read-it-later app after hearing about Pocket’s shutdown. Building an app without a server is a personal choice on his part.
“What you save says a lot about you, and I don’t want to hold it. Everything is on your device and in your own iCloud,” explained Talaat. “When you save something, Laytr asks when you want it back and reminds you that day. It also imports your old Pocket exports, so no one has to start over,” he added.
Because the app is focused on privacy, there are things it won’t do, including personalizing the feed or using AI to automatically summarize or tag items.
The app is free to try, but limits you to 30 saved items. For full access, the Premium level of the app costs $1.99 per month, $14.99 per year or $39.99 per lifetime plan. (The lifetime offer is on sale for $24.99 until the end of December.) Talaat said the app will focus on adding more languages over time.
If your subscription expires, you won’t lose your savings — you just won’t be able to add more until you join the plan or bring your archive back under the 30-item limit for the free plan. You can also leave Laytr at any time, because all archives can be exported as ZIP files, with readable Markdown and HTML for every item, note, tag, date, and collection (aka “case”).
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