Read-it-later service Instapaper is going independent again

Popular read-it-later app Instapaper is going independent.

Pinterest acquired the service in 2016 and has agreed to transfer ownership to Instant Paper Inc; the people who have worked on Instapaper for the last five years own and operate Instant Paper. These individuals have also worked on the service since Betaworks acquired it in 2013.

The company said in a press release the the transfer will take place in 21 days. Instapaper will give “users fair notice about the change of control with respect to their personal information.”

Furthermore the company stresses that not much is changing in regard to the app itself. The people who worked on the service since 2013 — and who own it now — will continue to maintain it.

Also in that press release, the company expressed gratitude to Pinterest for supporting the product for the last two years.

Under Pinterest, Instapaper rebuilt its search capabilities, introduced an extension for Firefox and optimized its app for the latest mobile systems.

After a full ten years, I’ve just requested that @instapaper delete my account. Whatever their reason for being unable or unwilling to implement basic privacy measures and to favour locking out EU customers in place of GDPR compliance, it’s a darn shame.

— John Blackbourn ?? (@johnbillion) July 12, 2018

However it’s important to note that the company’s product isn’t currently available in Europe since the platform doesn’t support the new GDPR regulations. Some of Instapaper’s loyal fans have declared their intent to leave the service due to lack of GDPR support.

Some users also speculated that the lack of compliance was due to Pinterest. Those users hope that by going independent, support for the GPDR will follow. However it’s not clear whether Pinterest has any impact on that decision, or why Instapaper doesn’t currently support GDPR.

Source: Instapaper