# Alfread: grow reading habit — Works with Instapaper/Pocket

> Read later app to build reading habits with goal setting and article management. (iPhone/iPad app by Tsimafei Vialichka.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/alfread-grow-reading-habit/id1521082061 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Tsimafei Vialichka](https://appshunter.io/developer/1434540593)
- Category: Productivity, Utilities
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.59/5 from 54 App Store ratings · 16 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 13.0 · 70 MB
- Languages: English
- Released: 2021-12-03
- Data updated: 2026-07-05
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/alfread-grow-reading-habit/id1521082061/reviews.md

## What is Alfread?

Alfread is a new kind of a read later app. It helps you to actually read saved articles. Or skip them. No pressure.

If you've used Instapaper or Pocket before, connect your account to import and manage your reading queue in Alfread.

Haven't used either or don't want to look back? No stress — save articles directly to Alfread.

Set weekly goals to keep yourself accountable — gentle reminders will help you get there.

Not every article you save is worth reading: automatically archive articles 1 month after saving to keep that queue leaner if you like.

Highlight your learnings and sync them to Readwise, so you don't forget what you've learned.

Watch your reading habit grow with streaks and weekly stats.

## Key features

- Import from Instapaper/Pocket
- Direct article saving
- Weekly reading goals
- Automatic article archiving
- Highlighting and Readwise sync
- Reading habit streaks and stats

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**Subscriptions**

| Subscription | Price | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly | $4.99 | per month |
| Annual | $39.99 | per year |


## Recent user reviews (10 of 16)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/alfread-grow-reading-habit/id1521082061/reviews.md

### 1/5 — Useless

*2024-10-27, version 1.1.3*

This app hasn’t been updated in a year, and the only reviews are from two years ago, so it’s clearly neglected and it shows. The reading reminders work for a day or so and then stop, requiring a reboot, but then the problem happens again. Ad infinitum.

### 1/5 — Syncing Never Implemented

*2023-03-19, version 1.1*

Despite an initial tweet from the lead developer promising a fix for the syncing problem, it has been almost a year and no resolution has been delivered. I subscribed to the pro plan of Alfred in May 2022 for the syncing feature, but it has never worked properly. It was a featured heavily advertised within the app, but never implemented. I regret investing my time and money into this service as it has been a frustrating experience from the beginning. I advise against using Alfred until these issues are addressed and resolved -- and, honestly, I would love a full refund.

### 5/5 — Alfread makes reading a pleasure

*2022-12-01, version 1.1.1*

Lovely app with a great clean UI. I love being able to send news articles from the web or an app to Alfread so that when I get more morning coffee I have some great articles to read. You can toggle between article view (reader) and the web view. You can copy/paste text, share article, favorite it, etc.

I would love to see is support for Apple News. I pay $10 a month to Apple but it doesn’t bring the article into Alfread (just a link to the source which won’t load if behind a paywall).

Hoping the developers are doing well. Would love to have paid upgrade features for highlighting the text while reading out loud, the ability to look up words, etc.

### 2/5 — Fatal Flaw

*2022-06-13, version 1.1.1*

I want to give this a higher rating, but it simply isn’t working for me. Originally, it worked great and fast, but over time, as I added more articles, had several in progress, and ticked off more and more, the app stalled and got slower. Eventually it took 20+ seconds to launch. Then it started to force quit between articles. Then it stopped launching in general. Now I can’t even get back the articles I’ve lost because the app won’t launch (which is half of why I wanted to use Alfread in the first place - so I would never lose articles from other random app shutdowns). I only have an iPhone 7, so maybe my phone is partly to blame. I also read a TON of articles, so maybe the app wasn’t built for so much content. Anyway, fantastic idea in theory, but in practice it gets bogged down. Fix this force quit/slowdown problem and the app deserves 5 stars

### 4/5 — Updated my review to 4 stars after developer interaction

*2022-05-13, version 1.1.1*

The developer kindly explained to me an alternate way to disconnect my pocket account after my recent bad review. i appreciate them taking the time and am changing my review to 4 stars based on that interaction alone.

### 1/5 — The core flow of saving from Safari does not work

*2022-05-12, version 1.1*

I was excited to try this app on my Mac, and followed the instructions to set up basic sharing to Alfread from Safari (just enable it in the share menu). After doing that, I found I could never actually share articles to Alfread from Safari because it doesn't show up in the share menu after enabling it. I tried seeing if it was based on the website or something but it doesn't show up when trying to save any article-like content, whether from Substack or Fortune. Of course I go to Alread and click the "add more articles" button to make sure I'm not missing anything. Nope, it just says the way is to share from browser. I go to close the support article, but you can't – the button at the bottom just says I've read the article before, so I have to close the app. Then I reopen, and find there is no way to just paste the link and have Alfread fetch the article. Hopefully this is fixed and I can re-review!

### 5/5 — Missing an essential feature

*2022-05-09, version 1.1.1*

Great app and ui!, but it miss a simple yet essential feature.
You can’t sync 2 devices with Alfread only!
You can use apps like pocket to save articles and watch them on alfred but doesn’t it mean that app failed at its core target? I mean whole idea is to make an app to save articles into and have it sync across all devices but somehow you made your self in debt of apps like pocket, its like you made an extension for pocket or isntantpaper or whatever name it has.
Hope to see Alfread grow and see an update to fix this issue.

### 5/5 — Brilliant idea, beautifully implemented

*2022-03-04, version 1.0.3*

Rather than being presented with a long daunting list of your articles to read (from pocket/instapaper integration or native to the app) the app’s main view shows you one of your articles (oldest, newest or shuffled) and you can choose to read it, swipe it away to archive or swipe it to have it shown again at a later date.

With other reading apps I had a feeling when I added articles to my reading list I’d never see them again, buried lower down a list by newer stuff. With Alfread I have the app set to shuffle my list, so I’m surfacing articles that I stored a long time ago, some aren’t relevant any more so I can quickly archive them and move onto the next, others I still want to read but not right now. After a few swipes I find something I want to read, in a way that feels rather fun and natural.

### 5/5 — helps me actually read articles

*2022-02-22, version 1.0.3*

I love Alfread. If I see something I want to read but don’t have time for, I send it to the app. If I read an article in a different app, I add it to the ‘must reads’ so I can mark it as read when it pops up first. The only thing I don’t like is when the reading time is off. For example, if Alfread says it’s a one minute read because there’s only a preview of an article displayed. It doesn’t happen too often and isn’t really their fault, but something to consider. 
I strongly recommend Alfread.

### 3/5 — Nice start

*2022-02-20, version 1.0.3*

but it stopped saving articles after a while

## Frequently asked questions about Alfread

### What does Alfread do?

Alfread is a read later app designed to help you build a consistent reading habit. It allows you to save articles, manage your reading queue, set weekly goals, and track your progress with stats and streaks.

### Can I import articles from other services?

Yes, you can connect your Instapaper or Pocket account to import and manage your existing reading queues directly within Alfread. This makes it easy to consolidate your saved articles.

### How does Alfread help me build a reading habit?

The app encourages habit formation through features like setting weekly reading goals with gentle reminders, tracking reading streaks, and providing weekly statistics on your progress. It aims to reduce the pressure of a large backlog.

### Is Alfread free to use?

The app is free to download and use, with options for in-app purchases. This allows users to try out the core features before deciding to invest further.

### What happens to old articles?

Alfread offers an automatic archiving feature. Articles can be archived one month after they are saved, helping to keep your reading queue lean and focused on more current or relevant content if you choose.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.1.3 — 2023-01-15

Hey there, this update includes performance improvements and bug fixes.

### 1.1.2 — 2023-01-08

Hey there, this update includes performance improvements and bug fixes.

### 1.1.1 — 2022-04-01

Hey there, this update includes performance improvements and bug fixes.

### 1.1 — 2022-03-29

The wait is over: Alfread is now available for iPads and Macs.

Save an article on desktop Mac, start reading it on your iPhone, finish it on your iPad. All perfectly synced. Safe & sound. With Alfread Pro.

This update also includes:
• Hide the article completion screen
• Notification improvements

As always, we’d love to hear your feedback!

Cheers,
Tim & Fedor from Alfread

### 1.0.3 — 2022-02-19

Hey there,
This update should fix crashes and improve performance overall.

If you’re enjoying the app, consider rating or writing a review for Alfread. Thank you!

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## More apps by Tsimafei Vialichka

- [carShare BY](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/carshare-by/id1434540594)

All apps by Tsimafei Vialichka: https://appshunter.io/developer/1434540593

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-07-05.*