
Full Instapaper API now available - ggordan
http://blog.instapaper.com/post/3208433429
======
Hagelin
From the Terms of Use:

 _Apps may not use users’ Instapaper data or other personal data in any way
that a reasonable person would likely deem “creepy” or otherwise unacceptable.
Instapaper reserves the right to decide whether an app’s usage of users’ data
is creepy._

~~~
ludwigvan
I believe it's related to this article by Gruber: Creep Executive Officer

<http://daringfireball.net/2010/08/creep_executive_officer>

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tomjen3
I was quite happy when I saw this, as I have been using a different unofficial
client to use my Instapaper account on my Android app.

Unfortunately one of it's nicest features is the ability to sync and download
it's content in the background. I am very disappointed to see that the api tos
especially for forbid this.

Combine this with the ability of sites to opt out of Instapaper and the
prohibitation against automatically adding things to the user account from an
rss feed and my use for Instapaper has pretty much disappeared.

I understand the need for Marco to make money on this, and I hope you make so
much money of this that you can swim in it, but frankly the way to do this is
not to deliver a crippled service - it's to charge what you are worth, which
is far more than one dollar.

The only reason to charge one dollar is to make it to the top of the iphone
sales charts. It's not really a viable strategy anywhere else.

~~~
pixelcort
Looking at the terms of use, I couldn't find any prohibiting downloading its
content for offline use. As I understand it, there appear to be two semi-
related rules:

* Don't make multiple simultaneous API calls.

* Each thing added must be a result of a specific user action. I'm not sure whether this applies to things retrieved from the API.

Also, the dollar per month is for the subscription service, not the purchase
of the Instapaper iOS app. Current Instapaper for iOS app users do not need
the subscription service, but users who use apps that use this new API will.

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BSeward
API access for subscribers only is a really interesting idea. I'm curious how
it will play out. Are there examples of other apps using a similar scheme?

~~~
bruceboughton
Remember the Milk

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hartror
Which I pay for for the exact reason Instapaper users will pay a subscription
for their service.

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statictype
I like the option he chose.

This has the effect that non-iPhone users who want an instapaper client on
their phone will have to have a subscription _and_ possibly pay for the mobile
app.

In a sense, having an iPhone is akin to having a free subscription (at least
for now)

~~~
maguay
Yes, I think that's the only problem ... Now Instapaper iOS users will be
worried that they will have to pay for a subscription in the future.

~~~
tel
I don't think I'm in the minority in saying that being charged for Instapaper
would actually be, in some ways, a relief. It transformed how I read online
things, brought whole new levels of usability to my iDevices, and while if
Marco ever went insane and shut it down I'm sure there would be a million
competitors to fill the void.

But the second he wants me to pony up, I'm in.

~~~
nuclear_eclipse
Instapaper has had an optional $1/mo subscription for quite a while now...

~~~
tel
And despite following Marco.org on RSS managed to not notice that! It sounds
like it is certainly not being aggressively marketed on established users, but
hey, I wasn't kidding above.

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hung
This is a very interesting compromise. I wonder if it will have the side
effect of confusing users who are not subscribed (and may not even realize
what "subscription" means). It could backfire especially if a third party paid
app is released. "What do you mean I have to pay for a subscription? I paid
for the app!"

Still, a smart move for keeping Instapaper profitable (or at least to keep the
API from eating at Instapaper's profits).

~~~
true_religion
They should have an API for creating subscription accounts with an already
registered credit card.

That way 3rd party apps can create new keys and issue them to their users
transparently.

~~~
glasner
I think the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act [1] made this impossible
in the US. Instapaper would be a third party seller and would be bound by new
data pass rules:

(2) the post-transaction third party seller has received the express informed
consent for the charge from the consumer whose credit card, debit card, bank
account, or other financial account will be charged by--

(A) obtaining from the consumer-- (i) the full account number of the account
to be charged; _and_ (ii) the consumer's name and address and a means to
contact the consumer;

 _and_

(B) requiring the consumer to perform an additional affirmative action, such
as clicking on a confirmation button or checking a box that indicates the
consumer's consent to be charged the amount disclosed

[1] <http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:S3386>:

~~~
true_religion
I'd better elaborate here. No, I do not suggest that the 3rd party APIs should
pass customer credit cards to instapaper before recieving an API key.

Instead Instapaper should allow developers (or any user) to have more than
than one API key/subscription associated with a single card or account. That
way if I'm a 3rd party developer, I can create 100 subscriptions myself, and
attatch them individually to each program I release to a customer.

The customers information never goes to Instapaper.

My account can be pre-billed if that's what it takes to stay within fincance
regulations, but once there's a certain amount prepaid into the account I
should be able to create a working subscription key via api.

One benefit of this is that Instapaper doesn't have to worry about dealing
with front-line customers---that's the 3rd party developers responsibility. If
one customer overuses the API, Instapaper can just cut them off and leave the
investigation up to the 3rd party developer.

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pixelcort
Yay! We can now finally have an offline Mac client.

~~~
larrywright
I've always hoped Marco would do this on his own, but I can't fault him for
focusing his time where he does.

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nigelsampson
Damn, literally as I read this article my mind was working on how quickly I
could build a Windows Phone 7 app to take advantage of this.

Turns out not quick enough. I think this is the best way to approach an API
for non VC backed start ups.

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petercooper
I wonder how much of this was sped up due to Readability's rapid march into
Instapaper's territory (e.g. <https://www.readability.com/publishers/api/>)

~~~
cobralibre
Readability may be marching into Instapaper's territory, but by all reports,
Marco is welcoming them with open arms and a bouquet of flowers:

<http://www.marco.org/3044068415>

~~~
itsnotvalid
The thing is that if I am using Readability already I wouldn't subscribe to
Instapaper. Of course, readability may have paid back $1 from your $5 to
Instapaper if you make the accounts from both to be synchronized.

~~~
maguay
Another thing is, since Readability's apps will be "powered by" Instapaper,
Marco may make money from Readability subscriptions too. We of course don't
know right now, but it is possible/likely.

~~~
itsnotvalid
The thing is, some features in the new Readability is exactly the same as
Instapaper. This already sound odd enough for me. I just wonder why don't they
get themselves under the same umbrella.

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albemuth
I clicked on this thinking it was Instagram, I'm still waiting to hear back on
the dev API registration :(

