Readplace

For readers who have already lost a queue once

Stop paying and it goes read-only, not dark.

Pocket shut down. Omnivore shut down. I cannot promise Readplace outlives them, so instead the cancelled state is written into the code: you keep reading everything you saved.

Export stays in the menu whether or not you are paying.

What happens when you stop paying

The account changes what you can add, not what you can read.

  1. 1

    Reading keeps working

    A cancelled account resolves to read-only. Your queue, your articles and the reader view all keep working, and you can still mark things read or delete them. Saving new links and running imports stop.

  2. 2

    Export stays in the menu

    A read-only account can still request an export. It is not moved behind the subscription.

  3. 3

    The export is a JSON file

    One indented JSON file readable in any text editor: URL, title, site name, excerpt, word count, estimated read time, read status, saved date and read date, one entry per article.

Why this is in the code rather than on a promise page

A sentence about always letting you export does not survive an acquisition.

What survives is the branch that resolves a cancelled subscription to read-only instead of denied, and the export route that carries no write gate. Those are the two things that decide what happens to your account, and they are both a few lines long.

Readplace is source-available on GitHub, so those lines are something you can go and read rather than something you take my word for.

I would rather tell you exactly what the export contains than imply it is more than it is. It carries your URLs and how you read them. It is not a copy of the articles.

What this does not do

  • The export lists what you saved — URL, title, excerpt and read history. It does not contain the full article text.
  • The export runs in the background and arrives as an emailed download link. The link works for 7 days; after that, request another.
  • A read-only account loses Import and Inbox from the menu. Queue, Export and sign-out stay.
  • Source-available is not open source. The code is on GitHub to read, but no licence grants you rights to reuse it.
  • None of this promises Readplace outlives Pocket. It describes what happens to your account if you stop paying.

Questions

What happens if I cancel?
Your account goes read-only. You keep reading every article you saved and can still mark things read or delete them. Saving new links and importing stop.
Can I still export after I cancel?
Yes. Export stays in the menu for a read-only account rather than moving behind the subscription.
What is in the export?
One JSON file with an entry per article: URL, title, site name, excerpt, word count, estimated read time, read status, saved date and read date. It does not include the article text.
How do I get the export file?
Request it and it runs in the background. A download link arrives by email and works for 7 days.
Is Readplace open source?
No. It is source-available: the code is on GitHub to read, but no licence grants rights to reuse it.

Somewhere your reading survives a cancelled card

The branch that decides what a cancelled account can do is readable on GitHub.