Pocket Will Stop Working on Kobo

[Tawn]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Here are some screenshots (of the article linked in the first post of this thread). Is this basically what Pocket looks like?

Basically, yes. If you use Firefox, it looks a lot like Firefox's Reader Mode.

[lensmann]

It looks like they've backed down. The FAQ now says:

I use Pocket on my Kobo e-Reader. How does this change affect how I log in to Pocket?

Kobo is aiming to update the Pocket login on their eReaders to support Firefox accounts. The exact timing is to be determined, however Pocket's existing Kobo users will not be affected, nor lose access to their accounts. Note that new Pocket accounts created after August 15th may not have access to the existing Pocket login option, depending on when Kobo support becomes available. Kobo users can also continue to use Pocket on their iOS or Android device or use Pocket’s website.

I assume Kobo is at least partly responsible for the change of position. It's good news anyway.

[Cactus Chef]

Originally Posted by lensmann

It looks like they've backed down. The FAQ now says:



I assume Kobo is at least partly responsible for the change of position. It's good news anyway.

It is! Dunno whether to thank Kobo or thank Mozilla, but many thanks to everyone who reported this and got some eyes on it.

[TheSmitty]

Supposedly the FAQ has been changed now to read:

I use Pocket on my Kobo e-Reader. How does this change affect how I log in to Pocket?
Kobo is aiming to update the Pocket login on their eReaders to support Firefox accounts. The exact timing is to be determined, however Pocket’s existing Kobo users will not be affected, nor lose access to their accounts. Note that new Pocket accounts created after August 15th may not have access to the existing Pocket login option, depending on when Kobo support becomes available. Kobo users can also continue to use Pocket on their iOS or Android device or use Pocket’s website.


Saw this on: https://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/20...pport-in-july/

[Aleron Ives]

I wonder if Mozilla made this change without even telling the people at Kobo. You'd think that if Kobo had known about this from the start that this could have been fixed in advance so that the original "no more Kobo support" announcement never would have been made.

[Skydog]

Pocket's existing Kobo users will not be affected, nor lose access to their accounts. Note that new Pocket accounts created after August 15th may not have access to the existing Pocket login option, depending on when Kobo support becomes available

So, if I understand this correctly, an existing Kobo user with an existing Pocket account could purchase an additional Kobo device after August 15th and still be able to login to their existing Pocket account(?)

[compurandom]

Originally Posted by Skydog

So, if I understand this correctly, an existing Kobo user with an existing Pocket account could purchase an additional Kobo device after August 15th and still be able to login to their existing Pocket account(?)

I think if you made a pocket account now and bought the reader later it would still work. The key is when you create the account so that it is using the old login system.

Also, if you log into your account (on the web?) at some time in the future, it will automatically convert your account which will make it stop working on the kobo according to the FAQ (unless they changed it again since I last checked), so...

[meeera]

Originally Posted by lensmann

It looks like they've backed down. The FAQ now says:

I assume Kobo is at least partly responsible for the change of position. It's good news anyway.

Oh that's very good news, thanks for the update.

[Skydog]

How does this affect those not using Firefox, i.e. Brave? (still open source under Mozilla)

[Cootey]

I realize this is not going to be a popular take, but this is Kobo’s fault, not Pocket. Kobo’s web browser is antediluvian. Pocket users have been griping about the limitations of Pocket on Kobo for years.

It *is* true that Pocket doesn’t help by having an inscrutable approach to which pages it regards as articles vs websites. Those missing pages show up in the iOS app, but they require the built-in browser to view as a webpage. Since Kobo’s browser is barely above Archie or Gopher (I kid!), Pocket on Kobo doesn’t even display them in the list.

I’m glad Kobo is being forced to update the login support. I run a Calibre server, and in order to access it with Kobo’s browser, I have to pass the username and password in the URL because Kobo’s browser doesn’t support pop-ups. So maybe this kerfuffle will be a good thing in the end.

[Aleron Ives]

Originally Posted by Skydog

So, if I understand this correctly, an existing Kobo user with an existing Pocket account could purchase an additional Kobo device after August 15th and still be able to login to their existing Pocket account(?)

It sounds like no special measures will be needed in the future. At some point we should expect firmware 4.38 to come out with the updated Pocket login support, at which point everything will work normally regardless of when you made your account or bought your Kobo.

[Leonatus]

Today, I received an e-mail from Pocket, similar to the notice of @lensman:

We will be continuing our partnership with Kobo as they now plan to update our integration on Kobo devices. I apologize for the confusing messages and am happy to confirm that we will indeed be continuing with Pocket on Kobo devices. Our update to Firefox accounts will not affect Kobo access for those who are already signed in and using Pocket on Kobo eReaders. We have updated our help article to reflect this morning’s update. The update is on the "I use Pocket on my Kobo e-Reader. How does this change affect how I log in to Pocket?" section.

[rcentros]

I wonder if Kobo had a contract with Mozilla for a certain number of years.

[Cactus Chef]

Originally Posted by Cootey

I realize this is not going to be a popular take, but this is Kobo’s fault, not Pocket. Kobo’s web browser is antediluvian. Pocket users have been griping about the limitations of Pocket on Kobo for years.

It *is* true that Pocket doesn’t help by having an inscrutable approach to which pages it regards as articles vs websites. Those missing pages show up in the iOS app, but they require the built-in browser to view as a webpage. Since Kobo’s browser is barely above Archie or Gopher (I kid!), Pocket on Kobo doesn’t even display them in the list.

I’m glad Kobo is being forced to update the login support. I run a Calibre server, and in order to access it with Kobo’s browser, I have to pass the username and password in the URL because Kobo’s browser doesn’t support pop-ups. So maybe this kerfuffle will be a good thing in the end.

I guess my feeling is why does Pocket need a modern browser to work? Somehow Dropbox and Google Drive are working on Kobo without a modern browser.

If it's about "security", this is a solved problem. You make app-specific passwords for the Pocket account and allow the app limited access to Pocket's APIs. It's been done for years with 3rd-party email clients and Outlook/Gmail accounts.

[compurandom]

Originally Posted by Cactus Chef

I guess my feeling is why does Pocket need a modern browser to work? Somehow Dropbox and Google Drive are working on Kobo without a modern browser.

No they don't. To attach the kobo to google drive, you log into google by bridging through kobo's website on a modern browser on a regular computer, and kobo's website passes your kobo device the google token.

I bet they do something similar for pocket and keep the antiquated pocket client on the device with little or no updates.