HOW TO Use Pocket like a pro

1 Sign up and install

Create an account on getpocket.com. Once logged in, you will see any saved articles on your homepage. On the App Store, install the Save to Pocket extension for Safari. This adds a button to the left of Safari’s URL bar.

2 Start saving

Every time you visit an article you want to save, click Pocket’s Safari button and you’ll find it is added to your account. Alternatively, copy an article URL, then click the ‘+’ on Pocket’s dashboard, paste it, then click Add.

3 Formatted for reading

Saved stories strip out most of the original formatting, instead grabbing the text and any images embedded in the article. Although it’s not perfect 100% of the time, this approach helps you focus on enjoying the story.

4 Reading options

Once an article is in your account, click it to read it. A toolbar will appear at the top of the screen. Click the AA toolbar button to adjust text size, font, and background colour. There are paidfor options here too.

5 Tag and favourite

There are other tools in the top bar. Click the tag button to categorise the article with tags, which you can peruse from Pocket’s My List page. Or click the star button to add the article to your favourites list.

6 Highlight key areas

If you select a passage of text, a dialog box appears with options to highlight and share it. Highlighted pages are kept on your Pocket dashboard. On an article with highlights, use the lefthand sidebar to browse them.

7 Find more to read

Go back to your Pocket dashboard and click Discover. This shows a selection of articles that other people have saved to Pocket. Click one to read it, or you can click the Save button to add it to your list of saved articles.

8 Archive old articles

When you are done with an article, you can add it to Pocket’s Archive. This does not delete the article entirely (there is a separate button for that), meaning you can restore it if you then change your mind about it later.

9 More ways to read

There are also Pocket apps for macOS, iOS, and iPadOS. The latter two are great for reading on the go. There is even an iMessage extension. Note that the macOS Pocket app lacks the Discover feature, though.