Mozilla Acquires Read-Later Service Pocket

Mozilla has acquired Pocket today—formerly known as Read-It-Later—which has over 10 million users, for an undisclosed sum (via The Verge). Both companies have worked closely over the years, with Pocket set as Firefox browser’s default read-it-later service since 2015.

The move is seen by Mozilla to reach more mobile users, an area where it has struggled to gain users (does anybody even use Firefox for iOS?).

Pocket says it will still operate independently as a subsidiary of Mozilla, working in the same office and location, with the same team, and the same road map in place. To date, over 3 billion items have been saved by Pocket users.

Here’s what Pocket’s founder said in a blog post today:

How does Mozilla fit into this equation? They’re adding fuel to our rocketship. We have worked closely with Mozilla as we partnered with their Firefox team, and established a deep trust with their team and vision. They have extraordinary resources, global scale, and reach to put Pocket in more places, and help us build an even better product, faster.

Together we are going to continue expanding the reach of high-quality content, while staying true to the values that drive both Pocket and Mozilla alike: Protecting the openness of the web and creating a content platform built around trust and privacy.

Pocket rival, Instapaper, was sold to Pinterest last August.