Facebook 'Save' Button is Like Pocket, Lets You Read Later

facebook save button read it later saved — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Facebook finally added a “Save” button to the news feed, so you can bookmark posts, photos, Web links, pages, and more for later. The Save button is supposed to help users find specific content that they want to check out in depth when they have more time. That way, you don’t have to go scrolling backward every time you want to read that article your friend posted.

The Save button puts all the content you want to save in a convenient folder under the “More” tab on the app or in the left-hand sidebar of the website. There, you’ll be able to flip through all the different items you’ve saved and dive into the post or page of your choice. The saved items are categorized by category, so if you stored a bunch of music pages, they’ll all wind up in one section, while links from your friends will show up in another section.

Hopefully, Facebook’s categorization will make the content you’re looking for easier to find within the Saved folder itself, but regardless, it should be easier to find there than it would be buried in your news feed. Facebook might even remind you to check out the content you’ve saved with a post in your news feed from time to time. When you go into your saved list, you can decide to archive things you’ve read, move it elsewhere, or share it with a friend.

Facebook Save Reminder — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Facebook claims that no one will be able to see what you’ve saved for later unless you want them to know. For example, if you think your friend would find a certain link, page, or post interesting, you could show them that you’ve saved that specific story. However, it wouldn’t be too surprising if Facebook started sharing information about what you save with marketers, companies, and other websites.

Unfortunately, you won’t be able to view the items in the Saved folder unless you have Internet access, because Facebook isn’t putting the content you save in the cache. When it comes to saving items for offline viewing, Pocket and Instapaper are still user favorites.

Facebook says the new button will roll out to all iOS, Android, and Web users over the next few days. At this point, it’s hard to tell whether the Save button will take off or not. However, if it does, Facebook could very well add an offline option, too.

Facebook ‘Save’ button reminds you to read it later, like ‘Pocket’

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