GoodLinks is a dual purpose app which serves two critical functions to me : Read later and Link saving. GoodLinks is a universal purchase for Mac OS, iPad OS and iOS costing $9.99. The version 2.0 and later has a hybrid business model with base app costing $ 9.99 and optional yearly subscription of $4.99. The good thing about the subscription is you get to keep the features released during the subscription. Also the first year of updates is included when you purchase the app.
Saving into GoodLinks
GoodLinks has a browser extension for Safari and Chrome. The important thing is that the extension works without the app running. This means that if you’re browsing in Safari and encounter an article that you want to read, you can click the browser extension and it saves it into GoodLinks.
Saving on Windows PC is also supported. After installing the Chrome extension on Windows and logging into your Apple ID. One click saving works on windows. This is a critical as it allows me to save the links I encounter at work for triage later.
Clean Reading Experience
I am particularly pleased with the clean reading experience the app offers. After saving the link from Safari or Share sheet, the app downloads the article when you open the app. It also does this in the background if you have it running.
Logging into Websites
Another strength of the app is downloading paywalled articles. The App has a feature to log into websites and it stores the token to retrieve paywalled articles. I do most of my reading into my RSS app (Readkit) or GoodLinks. This is particularly handy when you’re browsing and come across a long read and want to read that later. It also has no ads in between reading.
To conclude this app works particularly well for me and the business model is quite well done. The model of keeping the features you have unlocked resonates with me where I can see that my money is being spent on improving the app and if I don’t find that the app has enough new features, I don’t subscribe.
iVikrant 