Laters

A quiet place for articles you want to read later. Save a link on Android or paste one from any browser, then return to a simple newest-first list when you have time.

Open Laters

Get started

1. Open laters.dustyb.in in your browser.
2. Install it if you want app-like access. Use the Install action when Laters shows one, or your browser's Install app or Add to Home screen option.
3. On Android, share an article and choose Laters. On desktop or mobile, select Paste a link to add a copied or manually entered web address.
4. Open Laters whenever you want to read, bookmark or remove something from your queue.

You do not need an account. Your list starts in that browser and Laters continues to work without Google Drive.

Keep two devices aligned

Google Drive sync is optional and available to any Google Account.

1. Open the circular menu at the top right.
2. Select Connect Google Drive.
3. Choose the Google Account you want to use and approve the permission for Laters' own hidden application data.
4. Repeat on another device. Keep Laters open there when you want changes to arrive; a visible app checks Drive every 20 seconds.

Google currently labels the permission screen dustyb.in. Laters cannot see or alter your normal Drive files, and the maintainer cannot see your reading list.

Closing, reloading or leaving Laters unused may end the short-lived Google session. Your local changes remain safe: open the menu and use Resume Google Drive to continue syncing.

Everyday controls

• Select an article title or the open space in its row to read the original page.
• Select the star to bookmark an article without moving it.
• Select Show bookmarks beside the list count to see only bookmarked articles, then Show all to return to the complete newest-first queue.
• Select Delete to remove an article; Undo remains available for seven seconds.
• On Android, swipe right to change the bookmark or left to reveal Delete.
• Long-press an article for Read, Edit title, Bookmark, Share and Delete. Sharing sends only its URL.
• On desktop, use the visible three-dot article control for the same menu.

Choose an appearance

Open the circular menu and choose System, Light or Dark under Appearance. System is the default and follows that device's current colour preference. A manual choice is saved only in that browser: it is not included in Import, Export or Google Drive sync.

Import or export your data

Open the circular menu and select Import CSV to add articles from a local CSV file. Laters accepts its own export format and simpler spreadsheets containing a url column, with optional title, created, tags and readtime columns. This means you can create an article list manually and put an estimated reading time in readtime as an integer number of minutes, such as 4. Blank values are allowed. Laters does not calculate reading time from an article; when a valid value is supplied, the list displays it as ≈ 4 min read. Laters checks the complete file and shows a review before changing anything. Import adds only new URLs: it never replaces or deletes existing articles. Files are limited to 1,000 article rows and 10 MB. After a successful import, the menu closes and Laters shows the first imported article in its saved-time position.

Open the circular menu and select Download CSV to create a CSV copy of the articles stored on that device. The export contains article addresses, titles, saved times, optional reading-time estimates and namespaced tags for bookmarks and deliberately edited titles. It can be opened as a spreadsheet or used by tools that accept a CSV of links.

Your browser saves the file to its normal download location. Laters does not upload import or export files. A connected import creates ordinary article additions that use the existing private Google Drive sync. The complete column rules and a manual example are in the CSV import contract.

Disconnect or delete data

• Stop syncing this browser: open the menu and select Disconnect. Laters also asks Google to revoke the active permission, but does not delete data already stored in Drive.
• Delete one article: use its Delete control and let the Undo period finish. A connected device sends that deletion to Drive.
• Delete local Laters data: clear the site data for laters.dustyb.in in that browser. Do this only when you no longer need its local list or have confirmed another copy is safe.
• Delete all hidden Drive data: open Google Drive settings, find Laters under Manage apps, then choose Delete hidden app data.
• Remove Google permission separately: use your Google Account permissions.

Revoking permission alone may leave the hidden Drive data in place. The public privacy policy explains the exact storage and deletion boundary; the hosted app also has plain-English Terms.

Privacy in brief

There is no Laters account, backend, advertising or analytics. Articles are stored locally in the browser. Optional sync uses only Laters' private Google Drive application-data folder. Google access tokens remain in page memory and are not saved to browser storage or Drive.

Laters tries to load the conventional favicon directly from each saved publisher. That request can reveal your IP address and request timing to the publisher, but no central favicon service receives your list or its source domains. Clearing browser data, storage eviction and some uninstall behaviour can remove a local-only list. Use Download CSV when you want a separate CSV copy.

For developers

Laters is a framework-free TypeScript PWA built with Vite 8. IndexedDB is the local source of truth, the application shell works offline, and Android capture uses the Web Share Target API. The optional Drive connection exchanges a base list and immutable add, edit, restore and delete operations. It does not introduce a Laters backend or account system.

Laters treats article details, Android share data and Drive files as untrusted input. It accepts only HTTP(S) article URLs, renders saved titles as text, bounds remote data, rejects website-generated cross-site Share Target submissions and hides itself when framed. GitHub Pages cannot provide project-defined HSTS, X-Content-Type-Options, Permissions-Policy or header-level frame-ancestors; see SECURITY.md for the maintained limitations and reporting route.

npm ci
npm test
npm audit --audit-level=high
npm run typecheck
npm run audit:repository-privacy
npm run build
npm run audit:public-build

Project records: MVP definition, MVP 2.0 definition, v0.4.2 release, v0.5.0 release, v0.5.7 public-readiness release, v0.6.0 Export release, v0.7.0 Import release, v0.8.0 dark-mode release, v1.0.0 completed personal-reading-queue release, v1.1.0 CSV reading-time release, Google Drive live sync, CSV export format, CSV import contract, roadmap, current project truth, and exploratory future ideas.

Licence

Laters is released under the MIT Licence. Bricolage Grotesque is distributed separately under the SIL Open Font License 1.1.