5 ms·
The "secret power" of Pocket is that someone is making money off selling detailed information on what people red, probably including when, where, probably how l
by pdkl95 11y ago
The "secret power" of Pocket is that someone is making money off selling detailed information on what people red, probably including when, where, probably how long a given document is read. They aren't offering their bandwidth and storage as some sort of charity; those server costs are obviously being covered by surveillance-as-a-business-model.
The database Pocket is building is an incredibly tempting target for many different groups (governments, insurance companies, etc). Even if Pocket isn't using that data (unlikely), the probability of leaks/theft is high.
Building a better bookmark system is a good idea. Such a system doesn't need network access. If for some reason you need to share between devices, a socially responsible bookmark/read-it-later tool would be encrypting at the endpoints so an opaque encrypted blob is the only thing stored remotely. (prior art: the original Firefox "sync")
- athenot 11y agoSafari has a Reading List which also syncs between devices and downloads the content in case one doesn't have internet access. It may not be an open-source solution and it's only within the Apple ecosystem but at least it's run by a company that is increasingly differentiating itself by how it is NOT monetizing its users' content. For me, that's good enough. Having said that, I'd love to see an open (or at least extensible) and private bookmark system.
- meow_mix 11y ago> Private bookmark system Couldn't you just write one for yourself?
- jimbobimbo 11y agoPinboard.in fits the bill nicely. In fact, I'm reading this thread after bookmaking it earlier in the day. :)
- z1mm32m4n 11y agoThere's always wallabag[1]. It's self-hostable and open source. You can even install it using sovereign[2]. [1]: https://www.wallabag.org/ https://www.wallabag.org/ [2]: https://github.com/sovereign/sovereign https://github.com/sovereign/sovereign
- tshtf 11y agoPocket has anything but a glowing record when it comes to security: https://www.gnu.gl/blog/Posts/multiple-vulnerabilities-in-pocket/ https://www.gnu.gl/blog/Posts/multiple-vulnerabilities-in-po...
- Brakenshire 11y agoNeeds to be a standard protocol alone the lines of CardDAV/CalDAV.