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Show HN: We built an app for reading articles saved for later

104 points by shkliarau 5y ago

dillondoyle 5y ago
Cool app. But that website really buggy for me (chrome macos). Looks like they are - kind of cool idea - placing 'overlay' screenshots on top of a phone, then css transforming them on scroll to 'swipe away.' But it doesn't really work for me. Maybe the apple idea of using a video and controlling the timeline on scroll might work better
- shkliarau 5y ago
  Hm, that’s weird. Should be fine on chrome macos, will check. Cool idea with the video!
bverks 5y ago
I can see Twitter support, but will it work for storing and organizing Twitter threads? Great design tho
- shkliarau 5y ago
  It will! You can save Twitter threads to Alfread just like any link and it will make it into an easy to read article which you can also highlight.
shkliarau 5y ago
Hey HN, I'm Fedor, co-founder, and designer of Alfread, read-later app with a focus on the reading habit. Internet is full of talented writers, articles, and newsletters that are worth reading, not just saving. Our goal with Alfread is to create a place that feels exciting to come back to. For new knowledge from your saved articles, for fresh perspectives on old topics, and sometimes for fun! But a read-later app is not a to-do list. Not every article has to be read, it's not a chore. That's why Alfread helps manage your queue giving quick actions to archiving and snoozing with a familiar Tinder-like interface. We know, how hard it is to start and keep using new apps. To ensure a smooth start and get the most out of Alfread fast, you can connect your Instapaper/Pocket account to sync all your unread links. Here's how Dustin McCaffree described his experience with the app: "As soon as I signed up, I had content and value. It just uses Instapaper or Pocket like usual for me to collect articles. But then it reminds me to read, lets me set streaks, allows me to "read later" or "archive." Then, if I haven't read them after a month, it'll auto-archive them. Boom " Give it a try and let us know what you think!
- mikejulietbravo 5y ago
  This is great. I always feel like I have to read stuff because I’ll forget to do it later and I hate the “reading list” thing in apple
  - shkliarau 5y ago
    Ha, why do you hate the reading list in apple? A few people asked us to sync their reading lists to Alfread but Apple doesn't allow that, of course
    - finiteseries 5y ago
      They don’t allow it in their TOS or App Store guidelines? Desktop Safari supports bookmark (& reading list) export via an HTML file on the off chance you’re not aware, and it isn’t banned.
      - shkliarau 5y ago
        We might be talking about different things: one off export is possible like you mentioned but no way to sync saved links to the reading list continuously as there’re no API’s for that from Apple
        AJRF 5y ago
        On Desktop Safari the reading list is stored in a Bookmarks plist file you can grab and filter out Reading List items from, might be worth having some little desktop util for a 1 time sync to move people onto your platform? It's not ideal, but it's better than nothing. Here is an example with some code showing how someone did it so they could upload it to Pinboard: https://brettterpstra.com/2015/01/06/reading-list-catcher/ https://brettterpstra.com/2015/01/06/reading-list-catcher/
        shkliarau 5y ago
        Ah, could be good actually. Definitely better than nothing, thanks for finding that link, appreciate it
artiparty 5y ago
Cool website! If I understand correctly you help me to actually read the articles I saved unlike Instapaper/Pocket that only allow me to dump them? What are the dynamics you developed to make me read them? (I use Pocket)
- shkliarau 5y ago
  Great question! We're doing a few things here: managing articles, reminding to read them, and gamification. As reading later is not a chore, Alfread helps archive or postpone articles with a Tinder-like interface, so you can find a gem you want to read right now. Reminders work when or where you want them. For example, you can set a time reminder for your lunch break or breakfast. Or set you bus stop as a reminder, if you commute to work, for example. Any habit needs a nudge and a reward. Reminders work like nudges and rewards are small celebrations when you finish articles and achieve your weekly reading goal. Do you know any other ways that helped you get into any habit in the past?
kiyanovsky 5y ago
Hi Fedor, it looks good, and I'm going to evaluate it soon! Could you please tell why it's free and if it's going to be a paid app soon? If yes, what would be the pricing model? If not, what is the monetization strategy for the app if you don't sell customer data? Thanks.
- shkliarau 5y ago
  It's free-mium with a Premium plan that includes some pro features if the generous free plan is not enough :)
  - bumpkinjunkie 5y ago
    Is this tongue-and-cheek? Seems like you are creating value for people and should be compensated. Or is there some monetization of user data?
    - shkliarau 5y ago
      It’s been a question for a long time whether go freemium or just paid with a trial. We went along with freemium since biggest competitors offer that too so we are in a similar position. We don’t collect user data so we can’t sell it
  - spondyl 5y ago
    I'm glad there's a pro plan. Personally, if I'm going to add something to my workflow, I prefer to know that it'll be maintained and stick around for some time! Not to say that there's a 1:1 between paid services and them living long but charging customers is at least a good first indication that a service is serious about their offering :) I just signed up for a month and best of luck!
    - shkliarau 5y ago
      Definitely makes sense! Let us know how it goes :)
smugglerFlynn 5y ago
Any chance of integrating it with built-in Reading List in Safari?
- finiteseries 5y ago
  Impossible on iOS, no APIs available. Would need a macOS companion app and even then it probably won’t be allowed on the App Store.
- shkliarau 5y ago
  We’d love to but not possible (no surprise from Apple here)
krat0sprakhar 5y ago
Really interesting idea! Would love to try it out when it's available for Android (or Web)
- shkliarau 5y ago
  Hope to get there some day ;)
- monkeydust 5y ago
  Second this. I have a lot of stuff I save for later and just don't get around to reading, been looking for a solution.
  - shkliarau 5y ago
    Have you found/tried any?
    - monkeydust 5y ago
      No but thinking of hacking something together myself. I share links with telegram. It then blasts me with reminders during set hours or if one of the articles is trending fast. I can remove from list once read.
badtension 5y ago
Sorry if this is a bit off-topic but for me the website is overwhelming. Everything is very large and animated which makes me dizzy. I don't know what is happening when I scroll.
- systemride 5y ago
  I actually came here to say the opposite. I thought the landing page was really well done.
  - badtension 5y ago
    How do you access it? I tried to open it on mobile just now and it looks ok, it's the PC version that bugs me.
- shkliarau 5y ago
  It is on-topic :) Thanks for saying that, I felt a bit like that when designing it but the feedback we’ve gotten so far was really positive. Might consider something less in a good sense overwhelming for the next version
  - tnjm 5y ago
    While this isn't for me as I don't use iOS daily, I wanted to say that I'm impressed with your response to feedback. And, for what it's worth, I saw the landing page on desktop and it felt nicely done, and the animations had a purpose.
    - shkliarau 5y ago
      Ha, thanks! Just trying my best, first time (or maybe second) posting here
  - tailspin2019 5y ago
    It’s really nicely done on the whole! My feeling is that there is just a bit too much motion happening at once. I think the issue is that as you scroll (I’m on an iPhone) your eye is drawn to the content that has just scrolled into view but the content below then starts to animate too early, so you’re distracted by the motion happening below the content that you’re trying to read. This happens multiple times (for each content block…) I think you probably just need to delay the start of the next animation until you’ve scrolled down a bit further, and perhaps even reduce the amount of movement? It doesn’t need much motion to still give that dynamic feel. It’s so close to being quite an awesome landing page otherwise! Edit: also while we’re all here playing backseat designer…. The first animation of the iPhone showing some sort of archiving sequence seems to run too early for me - I don’t really understand what it’s demonstrating. By the time I’ve scrolled the iPhone into view, the archive overlay has already popped out and I didn’t get chance to see what the screen before that was showing. So it’s slightly confusing (though it looks nice!)
mtrovo 5y ago
I think this could be very useful, any plans for Android or web app? Also maybe a nice to have feature would be to group similar articles by theme so that when I sit down to read one article I can read all articles around the same theme while I'm still focused.
- shkliarau 5y ago
  One day :) We’re a 2-person team with 1 dev, so resources are quite limited, but hope to get there. Great suggestion! We have auto-tags for that right now, but of course it’s not perfect yet. But could be nice to suggest similar ones at the end of the one I just read, like you suggested
  - vbo 5y ago
    Alfread looks great, congrats. I'm going to give it a spin, but I would desperately need a web app to go with the iOS one. I usually just open a myriad tabs on my computers and my phone and hope I recall there was something I meant to read later. Doesn't work too well. Google Keep comes close, but the UX doesn't really do it for me. What I'd love it a simple (think HN) interface where I can scroll through article titles. And being able to save articles seamlessly from anywhere (app, bookmarklet, maybe even email to a custom address). Any other apps I've tried were sadly bloated.
    - shkliarau 5y ago
      Thank you! We do have a list of articles to scroll through on the Search tab :) Seamless saving is on our mind but have to rely on Instapaper/Pocket for saving on the desktop
    - WalterBright 5y ago
      > What I'd love it a simple (think HN) interface where I can scroll through article titles. And being able to save articles seamlessly from anywhere (app, bookmarklet, maybe even email to a custom address). Text file. Use cut&paste to put the desired URLs in. Annotate with more cut&paste or type your own.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
als0 5y ago
For anyone else looking for the privacy policy https://alfread.notion.site/Alfread-Privacy-Policy-5e67f4f92ebc4f2482e18296ed208496 https://alfread.notion.site/Alfread-Privacy-Policy-5e67f4f92...
- shkliarau 5y ago
  Thanks for sharing! Did anything stand out to you? To be honest, we did it last second but basically we don’t have accounts, don’t store any personal information, and everything stays on your device
  - als0 5y ago
    I didn't see it on your website, but I eventually found it using the App Store instead. Other than that, very clear.
gnicholas 5y ago
I'm excited to try out a new reader app, especially one that integrates with Pocket and Instapaper. Those apps haven't added many new features in years, so there's room for innovators in the space, and using their APIs gives people an easy offramp. Smart! One bit of feedback on the onboarding process: you hit people with the subscription prompt before they've started using the app, and you show them the features they can only have if they pay. At this point in the process, they have no idea what other features are in the app, and whether they want to keep using it at all. I would never subscribe to an app — or even start a free trial that will automatically rollover into a paid subscription — before exploring the app a bit. Perhaps you could put a comparison checklist at this stage, so people can see what features are included in the free version? I probably still wouldn't subscribe at that point, but at least it would feel like the app has shown me the relevant info before asking me to sign up. I do realize this is for a free trial, not the paid subscription, but I don't want to put another to-do on my calendar for "cancel app subscription for $appIJustDownloaded". Looking forward to trying out the app and seeing what's under the hood. Good luck!
- shkliarau 5y ago
  Thanks for such an insightful comment! Saving is a big part of read later apps, so we didn’t want users to do too much to start. I agree with you on the onboarding flow as a user, but data shows that it’s the best place to put it actually. You miss 100% of shots you don’t take kind of situation. But we’re trying to not be too pushy about it. Let us know how it goes!
  - gnicholas 5y ago
    Liking it so far. You do a good job of explaining how to activate the share extension, which is not an easy task! One low-hanging fruit is to have an option for the page background color to match the system theme dynamically, instead of having to set it into day/night mode manually each time. I also sent you guys a separate email regarding a collaboration possibility with my company's reading enhancement tech. I hope my emails is buried under a pile of front-page-of-HN-inbound-messages! Congrats on your launch.
marban 5y ago
I created a read-later service pre-Instapaper ca. ~2005 and only recently ditched all of them after having ~10k articles in the queue. Today I only use Safari's reading list and purge it every morning. If it's important/really interesting, I'll read it immediately — all these services just provide peace of mind but won't solve the time or discipline issue.
- shkliarau 5y ago
  Sounds like a solid workflow! "Purging it every morning" sounds key here since you don't let it sit for ages
trwhite 5y ago
I've been thinking recently about making something that would allow me to print my daily saved articles. Kind of like my own newspaper. I hardly use my inkjet printer as it is and I much prefer reading from paper than a screen.
- shkliarau 5y ago
  Love the idea! Haven’t tried but there’s this https://www.myscreenbreak.com/?ref=producthunt https://www.myscreenbreak.com/?ref=producthunt
1123581321 5y ago
Neat! Congratulations. My one question was whether you sync to Readwise and it looks like you have that covered. Does that include highlights or annotations made in Alfread? I also have to be that guy and ask if the similarity to alfredapp.com ever came up. :) For a sec I thought they were adding a reading workflow feature, which would be awesome.
- shkliarau 5y ago
  Thank you! Yep, highlights made in Alfread are synced to Readwise. We don’t have annotations yet but stay tuned. Lol, yeah it has been mentioned: someone said that it’s a poor choice of the name since it’s so similar to Alfred. Naming is one hell of a challenge
icakir 5y ago
Seems offering nothing better than Pocket. Pocket is multiplatform and integrated in Firefox.
- sofixa 5y ago
  It seems to offer reminders (at time and place) to read unread articles, which is pretty cool.
  - shkliarau 5y ago
    And a pretty cool Tinder-like interface, stats, streaks, sorting options (including shuffle) and much more!
- shkliarau 5y ago
  Ex-Pocket users that have since moved to Alfread would disagree with you :)
ronyfadel 5y ago
Kudos guys, love the clean design
- shkliarau 5y ago
  Thanks Rony!
WalterBright 5y ago
Years ago, I created a file text file (unimaginatively named `links.txt`). In it I save links to articles to read later, along with a subject. I have categories in the file. I fixed my text editor to be able to open a browser on a link I click. I don't really know what else is necessary. [I quit using browser bookmarks because 1) it cannot be backed up 2) does not survive reinstalling the browser 3) does not move to other machines 4) cannot add a text description 5) cannot categorize them 6) cannot print them.]
- cxr 5y ago
  > [I quit using browser bookmarks because 1) it cannot be backed up 2) does not survive reinstalling the browser 3) does not move to other machines 4) cannot add a text description 5) cannot categorize them 6) cannot print them.] The old Netscape bookmarks.html format is fairly well supported by lots of software (incl. the browser that you're using, probably).
- syncbehind 5y ago
  Browser bookmarks have long since been able to be bookmarked, categorized, synced to other machines, can include description, and if you fiddle a little - print them too. Not sure what you're talking about here, really.
- mihaifm 5y ago
  Unsurprisingly I'm doing the same, and the file is also named 'links.txt'. Using tags however, instead of categorising. Problem is, I almost never get to read them, an issue that this app is trying to alleviate.
- ReactiveJelly 5y ago
  Just looking from where I stand, in Tor Browser (patched version of Firefox): - Hamburger menu - Bookmarks - Manage bookmarks (Or hit Ctrl + Shift + O) There are backup, restore, import, and export options. There is also a button labelled "Organize" where I can create folders and move the bookmarks into them. I think that hits all 6 points.
- jinto36 5y ago
leveragedequity 5y ago
Love this! Is there the functionality to pull in email newsletters from iOS outlook mail app?
- shkliarau 5y ago
  Not yet! What I’m doing for now is opening the web version and saving that instead. Not ideal but does the job
jeffgreco 5y ago
Hey team - been on the hunt for a new read it later app since Instapaper has become unusably buggy and Pocket has issues of its own. Very first article I tried to pull via my Pocket account didn’t pull the full article though (which I only noticed since I just hopped over from Pocket): https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/what-lois-lowry-remembers https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/w... Then the very next article I tried only loaded in web view, while it was available as text only in Pocket. Would love to see additional font options too!
- shkliarau 5y ago
  Hey Jeff, parsing isn’t our strongest but it’s the very next thing we are improving. What other fonts would you like to see?
NithurM 5y ago
Clean and excellent UI. Keep doing the amazing work
- shkliarau 5y ago
  Thank you!
aryehof 5y ago
Was interested, but seeing that it requires a subscription rather than outright purchase, prevented me from even considering it sorry.
- shkliarau 5y ago
  Unfortunately subscriptions are the best way to support ongoing development. Understand it’s not for everyone though
NmAmDa 5y ago
Seems like it worth a try. I just installed the app but when I checked I see that it collect location data and link it to the user, I wonder why?
- shkliarau 5y ago
  Did you see it on the App Store page? We filled that out wrong: we use the location for location-based notifications if the user sets them but don’t collect any data or even know any personal information as we don’t have accounts. We’ll fix it on the App Store page to avoid the confusion
  - NmAmDa 5y ago
    Yes I found it on app store page. Thank you for clarification. Good work on the app.
    - shkliarau 5y ago
      Thanks!
mcsonka 5y ago
Are there any plans to be able to export highlights? Sync with Evernote would be ideal. I connect [NeuraCache](https://neuracache.com https://neuracache.com) to my Evernote for spaced repetition and this would be an awesome fit.
- shkliarau 5y ago
  For now there's Readwise integration that lets you export highlights from Alfread to Readwise to then Evernote: https://www.roxinekee.com/blog/readwise https://www.roxinekee.com/blog/readwise No immediate plans to export highlights to Evernote directly for now though. NeuraCache looks really interesting, thanks for sharing!
squarebizchris 5y ago
Any plans to add Raindrop.io?

104 points by shkliarau 5y ago

Cool app. But that website really buggy for me (chrome macos). Looks like they are - kind of cool idea - placing 'overlay' screenshots on top of a phone, then css transforming them on scroll to 'swipe away.' But it doesn't really work for me. Maybe the apple idea of using a video and controlling the timeline on scroll might work better

shkliarau 5y ago
Hm, that’s weird. Should be fine on chrome macos, will check. Cool idea with the video!

bverks 5y ago

I can see Twitter support, but will it work for storing and organizing Twitter threads? Great design tho

shkliarau 5y ago
It will! You can save Twitter threads to Alfread just like any link and it will make it into an easy to read article which you can also highlight.

shkliarau 5y ago

Hey HN, I'm Fedor, co-founder, and designer of Alfread, read-later app with a focus on the reading habit. Internet is full of talented writers, articles, and newsletters that are worth reading, not just saving. Our goal with Alfread is to create a place that feels exciting to come back to. For new knowledge from your saved articles, for fresh perspectives on old topics, and sometimes for fun! But a read-later app is not a to-do list. Not every article has to be read, it's not a chore. That's why Alfread helps manage your queue giving quick actions to archiving and snoozing with a familiar Tinder-like interface. We know, how hard it is to start and keep using new apps. To ensure a smooth start and get the most out of Alfread fast, you can connect your Instapaper/Pocket account to sync all your unread links. Here's how Dustin McCaffree described his experience with the app: "As soon as I signed up, I had content and value. It just uses Instapaper or Pocket like usual for me to collect articles. But then it reminds me to read, lets me set streaks, allows me to "read later" or "archive." Then, if I haven't read them after a month, it'll auto-archive them. Boom " Give it a try and let us know what you think!

mikejulietbravo 5y ago
This is great. I always feel like I have to read stuff because I’ll forget to do it later and I hate the “reading list” thing in apple
- shkliarau 5y ago
  Ha, why do you hate the reading list in apple? A few people asked us to sync their reading lists to Alfread but Apple doesn't allow that, of course
  - finiteseries 5y ago
    They don’t allow it in their TOS or App Store guidelines? Desktop Safari supports bookmark (& reading list) export via an HTML file on the off chance you’re not aware, and it isn’t banned.
    - shkliarau 5y ago
      We might be talking about different things: one off export is possible like you mentioned but no way to sync saved links to the reading list continuously as there’re no API’s for that from Apple
      - AJRF 5y ago
        On Desktop Safari the reading list is stored in a Bookmarks plist file you can grab and filter out Reading List items from, might be worth having some little desktop util for a 1 time sync to move people onto your platform? It's not ideal, but it's better than nothing. Here is an example with some code showing how someone did it so they could upload it to Pinboard: https://brettterpstra.com/2015/01/06/reading-list-catcher/ https://brettterpstra.com/2015/01/06/reading-list-catcher/
        shkliarau 5y ago
        Ah, could be good actually. Definitely better than nothing, thanks for finding that link, appreciate it

artiparty 5y ago

Cool website! If I understand correctly you help me to actually read the articles I saved unlike Instapaper/Pocket that only allow me to dump them? What are the dynamics you developed to make me read them? (I use Pocket)

shkliarau 5y ago
Great question! We're doing a few things here: managing articles, reminding to read them, and gamification. As reading later is not a chore, Alfread helps archive or postpone articles with a Tinder-like interface, so you can find a gem you want to read right now. Reminders work when or where you want them. For example, you can set a time reminder for your lunch break or breakfast. Or set you bus stop as a reminder, if you commute to work, for example. Any habit needs a nudge and a reward. Reminders work like nudges and rewards are small celebrations when you finish articles and achieve your weekly reading goal. Do you know any other ways that helped you get into any habit in the past?

kiyanovsky 5y ago

Hi Fedor, it looks good, and I'm going to evaluate it soon! Could you please tell why it's free and if it's going to be a paid app soon? If yes, what would be the pricing model? If not, what is the monetization strategy for the app if you don't sell customer data? Thanks.

shkliarau 5y ago
It's free-mium with a Premium plan that includes some pro features if the generous free plan is not enough :)
- bumpkinjunkie 5y ago
  Is this tongue-and-cheek? Seems like you are creating value for people and should be compensated. Or is there some monetization of user data?
  - shkliarau 5y ago
    It’s been a question for a long time whether go freemium or just paid with a trial. We went along with freemium since biggest competitors offer that too so we are in a similar position. We don’t collect user data so we can’t sell it
- spondyl 5y ago
  I'm glad there's a pro plan. Personally, if I'm going to add something to my workflow, I prefer to know that it'll be maintained and stick around for some time! Not to say that there's a 1:1 between paid services and them living long but charging customers is at least a good first indication that a service is serious about their offering :) I just signed up for a month and best of luck!
  - shkliarau 5y ago
    Definitely makes sense! Let us know how it goes :)

smugglerFlynn 5y ago

Any chance of integrating it with built-in Reading List in Safari?

finiteseries 5y ago
Impossible on iOS, no APIs available. Would need a macOS companion app and even then it probably won’t be allowed on the App Store.
shkliarau 5y ago
We’d love to but not possible (no surprise from Apple here)

krat0sprakhar 5y ago

Really interesting idea! Would love to try it out when it's available for Android (or Web)

shkliarau 5y ago
Hope to get there some day ;)
monkeydust 5y ago
Second this. I have a lot of stuff I save for later and just don't get around to reading, been looking for a solution.
- shkliarau 5y ago
  Have you found/tried any?
  - monkeydust 5y ago
    No but thinking of hacking something together myself. I share links with telegram. It then blasts me with reminders during set hours or if one of the articles is trending fast. I can remove from list once read.

badtension 5y ago

Sorry if this is a bit off-topic but for me the website is overwhelming. Everything is very large and animated which makes me dizzy. I don't know what is happening when I scroll.

systemride 5y ago
I actually came here to say the opposite. I thought the landing page was really well done.
- badtension 5y ago
  How do you access it? I tried to open it on mobile just now and it looks ok, it's the PC version that bugs me.
shkliarau 5y ago
It is on-topic :) Thanks for saying that, I felt a bit like that when designing it but the feedback we’ve gotten so far was really positive. Might consider something less in a good sense overwhelming for the next version
- tnjm 5y ago
  While this isn't for me as I don't use iOS daily, I wanted to say that I'm impressed with your response to feedback. And, for what it's worth, I saw the landing page on desktop and it felt nicely done, and the animations had a purpose.
  - shkliarau 5y ago
    Ha, thanks! Just trying my best, first time (or maybe second) posting here
- tailspin2019 5y ago
  It’s really nicely done on the whole! My feeling is that there is just a bit too much motion happening at once. I think the issue is that as you scroll (I’m on an iPhone) your eye is drawn to the content that has just scrolled into view but the content below then starts to animate too early, so you’re distracted by the motion happening below the content that you’re trying to read. This happens multiple times (for each content block…) I think you probably just need to delay the start of the next animation until you’ve scrolled down a bit further, and perhaps even reduce the amount of movement? It doesn’t need much motion to still give that dynamic feel. It’s so close to being quite an awesome landing page otherwise! Edit: also while we’re all here playing backseat designer…. The first animation of the iPhone showing some sort of archiving sequence seems to run too early for me - I don’t really understand what it’s demonstrating. By the time I’ve scrolled the iPhone into view, the archive overlay has already popped out and I didn’t get chance to see what the screen before that was showing. So it’s slightly confusing (though it looks nice!)

mtrovo 5y ago

I think this could be very useful, any plans for Android or web app? Also maybe a nice to have feature would be to group similar articles by theme so that when I sit down to read one article I can read all articles around the same theme while I'm still focused.

shkliarau 5y ago
One day :) We’re a 2-person team with 1 dev, so resources are quite limited, but hope to get there. Great suggestion! We have auto-tags for that right now, but of course it’s not perfect yet. But could be nice to suggest similar ones at the end of the one I just read, like you suggested
- vbo 5y ago
  Alfread looks great, congrats. I'm going to give it a spin, but I would desperately need a web app to go with the iOS one. I usually just open a myriad tabs on my computers and my phone and hope I recall there was something I meant to read later. Doesn't work too well. Google Keep comes close, but the UX doesn't really do it for me. What I'd love it a simple (think HN) interface where I can scroll through article titles. And being able to save articles seamlessly from anywhere (app, bookmarklet, maybe even email to a custom address). Any other apps I've tried were sadly bloated.
  - shkliarau 5y ago
    Thank you! We do have a list of articles to scroll through on the Search tab :) Seamless saving is on our mind but have to rely on Instapaper/Pocket for saving on the desktop
  - WalterBright 5y ago
    > What I'd love it a simple (think HN) interface where I can scroll through article titles. And being able to save articles seamlessly from anywhere (app, bookmarklet, maybe even email to a custom address). Text file. Use cut&paste to put the desired URLs in. Annotate with more cut&paste or type your own.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

als0 5y ago

For anyone else looking for the privacy policy https://alfread.notion.site/Alfread-Privacy-Policy-5e67f4f92ebc4f2482e18296ed208496 https://alfread.notion.site/Alfread-Privacy-Policy-5e67f4f92...

shkliarau 5y ago
Thanks for sharing! Did anything stand out to you? To be honest, we did it last second but basically we don’t have accounts, don’t store any personal information, and everything stays on your device
- als0 5y ago
  I didn't see it on your website, but I eventually found it using the App Store instead. Other than that, very clear.

gnicholas 5y ago

I'm excited to try out a new reader app, especially one that integrates with Pocket and Instapaper. Those apps haven't added many new features in years, so there's room for innovators in the space, and using their APIs gives people an easy offramp. Smart! One bit of feedback on the onboarding process: you hit people with the subscription prompt before they've started using the app, and you show them the features they can only have if they pay. At this point in the process, they have no idea what other features are in the app, and whether they want to keep using it at all. I would never subscribe to an app — or even start a free trial that will automatically rollover into a paid subscription — before exploring the app a bit. Perhaps you could put a comparison checklist at this stage, so people can see what features are included in the free version? I probably still wouldn't subscribe at that point, but at least it would feel like the app has shown me the relevant info before asking me to sign up. I do realize this is for a free trial, not the paid subscription, but I don't want to put another to-do on my calendar for "cancel app subscription for $appIJustDownloaded". Looking forward to trying out the app and seeing what's under the hood. Good luck!

shkliarau 5y ago
Thanks for such an insightful comment! Saving is a big part of read later apps, so we didn’t want users to do too much to start. I agree with you on the onboarding flow as a user, but data shows that it’s the best place to put it actually. You miss 100% of shots you don’t take kind of situation. But we’re trying to not be too pushy about it. Let us know how it goes!
- gnicholas 5y ago
  Liking it so far. You do a good job of explaining how to activate the share extension, which is not an easy task! One low-hanging fruit is to have an option for the page background color to match the system theme dynamically, instead of having to set it into day/night mode manually each time. I also sent you guys a separate email regarding a collaboration possibility with my company's reading enhancement tech. I hope my emails is buried under a pile of front-page-of-HN-inbound-messages! Congrats on your launch.

marban 5y ago

I created a read-later service pre-Instapaper ca. ~2005 and only recently ditched all of them after having ~10k articles in the queue. Today I only use Safari's reading list and purge it every morning. If it's important/really interesting, I'll read it immediately — all these services just provide peace of mind but won't solve the time or discipline issue.

shkliarau 5y ago
Sounds like a solid workflow! "Purging it every morning" sounds key here since you don't let it sit for ages

trwhite 5y ago

I've been thinking recently about making something that would allow me to print my daily saved articles. Kind of like my own newspaper. I hardly use my inkjet printer as it is and I much prefer reading from paper than a screen.

shkliarau 5y ago
Love the idea! Haven’t tried but there’s this https://www.myscreenbreak.com/?ref=producthunt https://www.myscreenbreak.com/?ref=producthunt

1123581321 5y ago

Neat! Congratulations. My one question was whether you sync to Readwise and it looks like you have that covered. Does that include highlights or annotations made in Alfread? I also have to be that guy and ask if the similarity to alfredapp.com ever came up. :) For a sec I thought they were adding a reading workflow feature, which would be awesome.

shkliarau 5y ago
Thank you! Yep, highlights made in Alfread are synced to Readwise. We don’t have annotations yet but stay tuned. Lol, yeah it has been mentioned: someone said that it’s a poor choice of the name since it’s so similar to Alfred. Naming is one hell of a challenge

icakir 5y ago

Seems offering nothing better than Pocket. Pocket is multiplatform and integrated in Firefox.

sofixa 5y ago
It seems to offer reminders (at time and place) to read unread articles, which is pretty cool.
- shkliarau 5y ago
  And a pretty cool Tinder-like interface, stats, streaks, sorting options (including shuffle) and much more!
shkliarau 5y ago
Ex-Pocket users that have since moved to Alfread would disagree with you :)

ronyfadel 5y ago

Kudos guys, love the clean design

shkliarau 5y ago
Thanks Rony!

WalterBright 5y ago

Years ago, I created a file text file (unimaginatively named `links.txt`). In it I save links to articles to read later, along with a subject. I have categories in the file. I fixed my text editor to be able to open a browser on a link I click. I don't really know what else is necessary. [I quit using browser bookmarks because 1) it cannot be backed up 2) does not survive reinstalling the browser 3) does not move to other machines 4) cannot add a text description 5) cannot categorize them 6) cannot print them.]

cxr 5y ago
> [I quit using browser bookmarks because 1) it cannot be backed up 2) does not survive reinstalling the browser 3) does not move to other machines 4) cannot add a text description 5) cannot categorize them 6) cannot print them.] The old Netscape bookmarks.html format is fairly well supported by lots of software (incl. the browser that you're using, probably).
syncbehind 5y ago
Browser bookmarks have long since been able to be bookmarked, categorized, synced to other machines, can include description, and if you fiddle a little - print them too. Not sure what you're talking about here, really.
mihaifm 5y ago
Unsurprisingly I'm doing the same, and the file is also named 'links.txt'. Using tags however, instead of categorising. Problem is, I almost never get to read them, an issue that this app is trying to alleviate.
ReactiveJelly 5y ago
Just looking from where I stand, in Tor Browser (patched version of Firefox): - Hamburger menu - Bookmarks - Manage bookmarks (Or hit Ctrl + Shift + O) There are backup, restore, import, and export options. There is also a button labelled "Organize" where I can create folders and move the bookmarks into them. I think that hits all 6 points.
jinto36 5y ago

leveragedequity 5y ago

Love this! Is there the functionality to pull in email newsletters from iOS outlook mail app?

shkliarau 5y ago
Not yet! What I’m doing for now is opening the web version and saving that instead. Not ideal but does the job

jeffgreco 5y ago

Hey team - been on the hunt for a new read it later app since Instapaper has become unusably buggy and Pocket has issues of its own. Very first article I tried to pull via my Pocket account didn’t pull the full article though (which I only noticed since I just hopped over from Pocket): https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/what-lois-lowry-remembers https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/w... Then the very next article I tried only loaded in web view, while it was available as text only in Pocket. Would love to see additional font options too!

shkliarau 5y ago
Hey Jeff, parsing isn’t our strongest but it’s the very next thing we are improving. What other fonts would you like to see?

NithurM 5y ago

Clean and excellent UI. Keep doing the amazing work

shkliarau 5y ago
Thank you!

aryehof 5y ago

Was interested, but seeing that it requires a subscription rather than outright purchase, prevented me from even considering it sorry.

shkliarau 5y ago
Unfortunately subscriptions are the best way to support ongoing development. Understand it’s not for everyone though

NmAmDa 5y ago

Seems like it worth a try. I just installed the app but when I checked I see that it collect location data and link it to the user, I wonder why?

shkliarau 5y ago
Did you see it on the App Store page? We filled that out wrong: we use the location for location-based notifications if the user sets them but don’t collect any data or even know any personal information as we don’t have accounts. We’ll fix it on the App Store page to avoid the confusion
- NmAmDa 5y ago
  Yes I found it on app store page. Thank you for clarification. Good work on the app.
  - shkliarau 5y ago
    Thanks!

mcsonka 5y ago

Are there any plans to be able to export highlights? Sync with Evernote would be ideal. I connect [NeuraCache](https://neuracache.com https://neuracache.com) to my Evernote for spaced repetition and this would be an awesome fit.

shkliarau 5y ago
For now there's Readwise integration that lets you export highlights from Alfread to Readwise to then Evernote: https://www.roxinekee.com/blog/readwise https://www.roxinekee.com/blog/readwise No immediate plans to export highlights to Evernote directly for now though. NeuraCache looks really interesting, thanks for sharing!

squarebizchris 5y ago

Any plans to add Raindrop.io?