This lesser-known Kobo feature helped me stop doomscrolling

Summary

Kobo e-readers integrate with the Pocket app for easy article reading.
The Kobo Libra Colour features Natural Light adjustment for user comfort.
Add the Pocket plugin to browser for seamless content syncing.

If you spend all day staring at a screen for work like me, you might find it difficult to kick up your feet and do some casual reading on an LCD or OLED tablet like Apple’s iPad. That’s where an e-reader can swoop in and save your tired eyes.

Many people might not realize it, but Kobo has offered direct integration with read-later app Pocket for several years now. With a simple browser plugin and some quick account creation/logging in, you can read pretty much anything from the web on your Kobo, whether you’re using the newer Libra Colour, the Klara BW, the pricey Sage, or even an earlier Kobo e-reader. E Ink displays, even if they’re color like with the Kobo Libra or Clara, look more like a paper book, especially under lower light.

It’s also helped me stop doomscrolling social media on my smartphone and to better focus on reading when I have a bit of downtime, which is always a good thing.

With this in mind, I’m a big fan of turning on automatic Natural Light adjustment on my Libra Colour, which tints the screen blue and yellow based on the ambient light in the room (you can find it by tapping the sun-like icon beside Wi-Fi at the top of your Kobo’s menu).

This feature makes the already chilled-out experience of reading an E Ink display that much easier on my eyes. Purists will say nothing compares to reading a physical book and feeling the crisp turn of a fresh page, but I’ve always valued the convenience e-readers offer, and the ability to read articles I’ve saved throughout my work day on my Kobo is an added bonus I’ve come to really enjoy. It’s also helped me stop doomscrolling social media and to better focus on reading when I have a bit of downtime, which is always a good thing.

Below are the steps you need to take to integrate your Pocket account with Kobo.

Kobo Libra Colour

The Kobo Libra Colour is a game changer. The Libra Colour allows users to scribble down their every thought as they read, write in a separate notebook, and access their own Google Drive.

Brand: Kobo
Screen: 7-inch E Ink Kaleido 3 display with FastGLR and Dark Mode (150ppi)
Storage: 32GB
Connectivity: USB-C

The first thing you need to do is create a Pocket account

This is a simple, straightforward process

Navigate to your Kobo’s Home Screen and press the three-lined More icon. Then, tap My Articles.
Next, click Link with Pocket. If you already have a Pocket account, you can login with your username and password.
To create a Pocket account, head to kobo.com/pocket to make an account or scan the QR code that popped up on your Kobo screen. Next, enter the code that appears on your e-reader screen.
Now, move through the process of creating a new Pocket account. Your options include attaching it to a Firefox, Apple, or Google Account.

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Now add the Pocket plugin to your browser

This makes it easy to add articles to the app

The Pocket app can be added to Safari, Chrome, or Firefox. There’s also an app available on iOS and Android. Web articles saved through either of these methods will appear on your Kobo as long as you’ve synced your e-reader (make sure it’s connected to Wi-Fi). In my case, I use Pocket primarily with Firefox.

To install Pocket on Firefox, follow this link and click Start Using Pocket.
A Save to Pocket button will then appear in your toolbar as an extension (you can move it around, too).
Whenever you want to save a story, just click this icon, and it will appear on your Kobo as long as it’s synced.

I often accidentally click this button and add random stories to my saved Pocket list. Because of this, I tend to clean out my saved Pocket list once a week.

Once you’ve followed these steps, your saved Pocket content is available across the platform’s web-based desktop app, its Android/iOS app, and directly on your Kobo. To find your content on your Kobo, click More (it’s the three lines in the bottom right corner) and select My Articles.

You’ll then see all of your saved content in a grid. When you tap on a saved article, you’ll see text, including the byline, publication date, and headline, but images are stripped out. This can sometimes lead to odd formatting, but in my experience, unless it’s a very image-heavy story, Pocket works pretty well across all Kobo models. As a bonus, if you’re using a color Kobo, the header image of some stories will show up in color, just like book covers.