Using Pocket Offline on Android

Introduction

Syncing and downloading are two core elements of Pocket. They ensure that your Pocket is always up to date and available at any time, even while offline.

Syncing

Each time you open Pocket, the app will check to see if there have been any changes and sync them. Changes that sync automatically include:

• Saving, Archiving, or Deleting items
• Adding or removing Tags
• Favoriting/Un-Favoriting items

Background and Push Sync

By default, Pocket will check for changes twice a day and sync them in the background. If you’d like Pocket to instantly sync your changes, you can enable push sync. This will ensure that Pocket is always up to date.

To enable Instant Sync:

1. Open Pocket
2. Tap the overflow button, and then tap Settings
3. In the Syncing section, tap Background Syncing
4. Select Instantly (Push)

Background Sync can also be disabled, or set to occur at hourly or daily intervals.

Offline Downloading

After syncing, Pocket will download new articles, web pages, and images so you can view them offline.

Please note that items in your Archive are not stored offline, and videos cannot be downloaded. For more information about saving and viewing videos in Pocket, please click here.

Downloading Article and Web Views

When available, Pocket will download the Article View of your saved items, which displays the article content in a non-distracting, easy-to-read format. If an Article View is not available, Pocket will download Web View, and display the page in its original form.

It’s possible to control whether Pocket downloads Article or Web View:

1. Open Pocket
2. Tap the overflow button, and then tap Settings
3. In the Offline Downloading section, turn off Download Best View
4. Enable Always fetch Article View, Always fetch Web View, or both

If you are concerned about cellular data usage, you can enable Download only on Wi-Fi in Settings. Here’s how Pocket behaves when this is enabled:

• If your device is connected to Wi-Fi, items that are synced will be downloaded based on your downloading preferences (see above).
• If your device is connected to cellular data, Pocket will continue to sync, but not download content for offline viewing. The sync process uses a very small amount of data.
• If you are on cellular data and open an item in Pocket that has not been downloaded yet, it will be downloaded on-demand.

A Note about Web Views

Many sites use JavaScript to load images, embedded media, and other content. To ensure that Web Views load correctly for you, Pocket will always load the “live” version, not downloaded version, when your device is on a cellular or Wi-Fi connection.

Offline Storage Limits and Download Priority

If you would like to limit the amount of storage that Pocket is allowed to use, you can set an offline storage limit. To set a limit:

1. Open Pocket
2. Tap the overflow button, and then tap Settings
3. In the Offline Downloading section, tap Set offline storage limits
4. Adjust the slider to set a limit

You can choose to download your newest or oldest items with the Download Priority option.

• Newest Items First will have Pocket download as many recently saved items as possible without exceeding your limit
• Oldest Items First will have Pocket download as many of your oldest items as possible without exceeding your limit

Common Questions

I am using a limited data plan. Can I prevent Pocket from using Cellular Data to download items?

You can enable Download only on Wifi in Settings to prevent Pocket from downloading your saved items using cellular data. However, keep in mind that items that aren’t already stored on your device will be downloaded on an on-demand basis, even if you’re on a cellular network.

Can I download videos to watch offline?

Pocket is unable to download videos. You must be online to watch them in Pocket. Click here to learn more about saving and viewing videos in Pocket.