Mozilla is buying Pocket and its more than 10 million users

Mozilla, the company behind the Firefox web browser, is buying Pocket, the read-it-later service, for an undisclosed amount. Pocket, which is described by Mozilla as its first strategic acquisition, will continue to operate as a Mozilla subsidiary. Founder Nate Weiner will continue to run Pocket, along with his team of about 25 people.

Pocket, previously known as Read It Later, lets users bookmark articles, videos and other content to read or view later on the web or a mobile device. It’s great for things like saving offline copies of web articles to read on plane rides or subway commutes, especially where internet access is sparse.

Pocket, which was founded in 2007, has more than 10 million monthly active users, according to a rep. That’s not bad, but suggests it’s still a fairly niche service, especially as big firms like Facebook and Apple build simple “reading list” features into their platforms.

Last August, Pinterest acquired Pocket’s long-term rival, Instapaper, also for an undisclosed sum. Pocket had raised at least $14.5 million, including a $7 million round in 2015 that included New Enterprise Associates, Ashton Kutcher’s fund and Axel Springer.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Contributions are a key part of the future of Vox

Readers rely on Vox for clear, nuanced coverage that not only illuminates the issues, but poses solutions, too. And we rely on help from our readers: Advertising and grants cover the majority of our costs, but we count on contributions to help us close the gaps in our budget. In fact, we’re looking to reach 95,000 individual contributions before the end of the year. Will you make the next contribution right now? Our average gift is just $20 — and it goes a long way in helping us keep our work free. Vox is here to help everyone understand what’s shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. Join that mission by making a contribution today.

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via