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Instapaper is going independent

blog.instapaper.com

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Re: Instapaper is going independent

#181

Post by k1m »

tschellenbach wrote: post #48

Anybody know any good APIs or projects that help you get the article content for a given url? There is of course Mercury API, but are there any alternatives?

Something I've worked on: http://fivefilters.org/content-only/

Actually uses the original Insapaper site-specific extraction rules (they were hidden after Marco sold it I think) which can now be found here: https://github.com/fivefilters/ftr-site-config/ We get contributions from users of Wallabag (good open source alternative to Instapaper/Pocket).

It also uses the original Arc90 Readability code ported to PHP to figure out where the article content is without any knowledge of the site.

We sell the latest versions (AGPL licensed) but older versions go up in our public repository: https://bitbucket.org/fivefilters/full-text-rss

Re: Instapaper is going independent

#182

Post by ksejka »

zulrah wrote: post #71

Instapaper is still not available to users in EU. It's been to months. I started to use Pocket because of this and now I don't think I'm coming back.

shameless plug here, if you'd like to read pocket articles on kindle go check out my free, open-source service - https://sejka.github.io/PocketToKindle/

Re: Instapaper is going independent

#183

Post by ksejka »

amatix wrote: post #137
andrepd wrote: post #67

Why would anybody use instapaper over pocket?

Instapaper sends weekly digests of new articles direct to my Kindle.

shameless plug here, if you'd like to read pocket articles on kindle go check out my free, open-source service - https://sejka.github.io/PocketToKindle/

Re: Instapaper is going independent

#184

Post by andygates »

bthdonohue wrote: post #9
brad0 wrote: post #4

From what I’ve seen this is usually what happens when the parent company wants to close the service down. First they spin off the service into its own company then the company shuts down because of a lack of income. Is that what’s happening here? What’s the name of this process?

Hi Brad, Brian from Instapaper here. Just want to reassure you that's not the case here, we intend to operate Instapaper for the foreseeable future. We made this decision because we believe it’s best for both Pinterest and Instapaper.

From the EU, you shut it down two months ago.

And (tinfoil /on) if you were planning on winding down, compliance development is exactly the kind of thing that would be stopped. Shutter that, prior to shuttering everything else.

Re: Instapaper is going independent

#185

Post by andygates »

jasaloo wrote: post #76

I'm just curious b/c I use Instapaper but am surprised that it's risen through the ranks here. Are people bumping in this b/c of interest in Pintrest, or b/c they find Instapaper an amazingly useful app? If the latter, what else are you all using it for other than saving long articles on plane flights w/o wifi?

I imagine their GDPR failure will be a reason it's interesting.

Re: Instapaper is going independent

#186

Post by tedmiston »

hermitdev wrote: post #156
bartread wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure why the above is getting downvoted. Sure, it's a bit salty, but if I were paying for instapaper (which I realise is cheap as chips, but the principle still stands) I don't think I'd be very impressed with being locked out for two months. Genuine question: as an EU citizen, without the use of a VPN or proxy is it still possible to at least log on to the service to cancel your account?

Not an EU citizen, but I'd think it'd be pretty shady if they cut you off and didn't automatically suspend any subscription charges until they can properly serve you again.

> and didn't automatically suspend any subscription charges

Instapaper is not a subscription-based service. The product is completely free on all platforms today.

I think the app was a one-time purchase at launch but it has been free for many years. All of the Premium features were also made free when Premium was discontinued in 2016 shortly after the Pinterest acquisition.

Re: Instapaper is going independent

#187

Post by hk__2 »

briandear wrote: post #144
hk__2 wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, considering that GDPR has been voted two years ago and is based on 20-years-old EU privacy laws, even if it took 6 months or 2 years it still wouldn’t be a valid excuse. Also, giving a bit of detail or a minimal schedule is easier than a PR campaign. It’s called transparency, and it works even if you’re alone on a project.

Except "20-years-old EU privacy laws" didn't risk 4% of global revenue. It also didn't risk activist lawsuits. https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/25/17393766/facebook-google-... Funny thing how DailyMotion isn't getting sued, but YouTube's parent company is.

> Except "20-years-old EU privacy laws" didn't risk 4% of global revenue. It also didn't risk activist lawsuits.

That’s the point. When there’s no risk, nobody cares about their users’ privacy. That’s not an excuse for shutting down now that it’s legally risky to disrespect your users.

Re: Instapaper is going independent

#188

Post by throwaway37585 »

bartread wrote: post #179
throwaway37585 wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

s/you/politicians. And your original comment implies you agree with it.

Yes, I agree with having my privacy protected. Do I think the legislation is perfect? No, but I think I already made that clear.

> Yes, I agree with having my privacy protected.

This is equivocating.

The issue is not whether you agree with having your privacy protected. The issue is deciding what constitutes "respecting privacy" for every single person in the EU, and threatening people with violence if they disagree.

Re: Instapaper is going independent

#189

Post by throwaway37585 »

flukus wrote: post #158
briandear wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even if you are 100% compliant, that doesn't protect you from getting sued or having to answer potentially hundreds of thousands of inquiries. The compliance risk is what's dangerous and challenging, not the actual "fixing" of systems. Many people in these comments seem to have no experience with business risk management. They think it's as simple as "just make data deletable." But, the technical side is the easy par…

> Even if you are 100% compliant, that doesn't protect you from getting sued or having to answer potentially hundreds of thousands of inquiries. You can be sued at essentially anytime for any reason, long before the GDPR. If you're worried about a GDPR lawsuit ruining your company then you're either violating the GDPR or you should have shut down already because the risk was already there.

> If you're worried about a GDPR lawsuit ruining your company then you're either violating the GDPR

X is guilty of violating Y because they're worried about being sued for Y. Interesting legal principle.

> or you should have shut down already because the risk was already there

X should shut down because of the risk of being sued for Y? What?

Re: Instapaper is going independent

#190

Post by vsl »

marbletiles wrote: post #155
briandear wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why should EU residents not be allowed to decide what they want to use and not use? I'm not sure I understand why the EU makes laws that effectively decide what websites "free" people are allowed to visit.

For similar reasons that “free” people aren’t allowed to visit restaurants with health code violations. People have to be able to make informed decisions. It’s hard to tell from the outside if a restaurant is safe, so we have inspections. It’s impossible to tell if a website is trustworthy with your personal data, so we have laws to try and ensure they will be. You really don’t understand this?

Sorry, but that’s a preposterous analogy. Seeing targeted ads won’t harm me in any way. I don’t give a damn about this sort of tracking. You may feel differently, but I don’t, and am perfectly capable of evaluating the risks and benefits for myself.

What I do give a damn about is not being able to read some quality publications that rationally decided GDPR is not worth the risk.

Not a week passes without such a reminder that I’m now living behind the Great EU Firewall. I now live in a place where I need to use a VPN to access all of the Internet, for crying out loud.

And that’s not to mention the click through acceptances of terms an every fucking site, that’s “only” annoying as hell (which nobody reads anymore and thus GDPR changed exactly nothing in it’s supposed goal).

EU’s bureaucratic zeal made, via GDPR, my life worse, with no benefit, even theoretical, for me. So please spare us the lecture on how GDPR is good for us. It’s terrible even for consumers.

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