App Migration

Migrate to the Atode app.

Where can I download the new app?

Atode is published on Apple's App Store. You can download it for free for your iPhone, iPad and Mac.

App Store:
https://apps.apple.com/app/atode/id6475672239?mt=8

What is different with the new app?

Atode is basically the version 2 of the Articles + app. It's still the same read-it-later app to bookmark and save website content such as news or blog posts.

The main difference is how data is stored. Articles + saved the website's text including all images and other assets in iCloud. While this allowed to read complete articles even when the original website was no longer available, it can take up a lot of space in your iCloud account. Saving many bookmarks was simply not reasonable because you might run out of iCloud storage.

Atode still saves all articles and annotations in your personal iCloud account. However, only the essential text, which significantly reduces the storage space required. Website resources like images are requested on demand and only saved on your local device. You can also purge all stored downloads to free up disk space. But the downside is that some images may no longer be available afterwards.

Atode now also saves your bookmarks in case the article content could not be extracted. This way you can try again later if for example access is not possible behind a paywall. Or at least you have the link saved as a bookmark and can open the original website.

Are there any new features?

The Atode app has been completely redesigned and has a new and more modern user interface. Library management has been improved and you can also organize your articles in custom folders in addition to tags or use batch editing to mark multiple entries as read.

The app also includes many new Shortcuts. For example, you can get your current article, export it together with all annotations in text/markdown/json format, save article content as plain text and markdown or directly upload highlights to the Readwise service. Take a look at the Shortcuts FAQ for more details.

Apart from that, it still has all the previous features. Read anything you saved later in an optimized format with custom styles for better readability and distraction-free reading. Simply select text to take notes or highlight favorite sections or copy, define, lookup and translate text.

You can bookmark articles with the Share Extension or Safari Web Extension, open articles and quotes with the Widgets, use Apple Quick Note to jot down things or build your own Shortcuts.

For more details, see the guides and FAQs on the new website's support page.

But why is it a new app?

Why a new app you ask? Because New is always better ;)

On a more serious note, there has been an issue with iCloud containers where it showed up as an incorrect app in the device settings. Users understandably deleted it and lost all their data. This bug has been recently fixed by Apple, but I had already started on the new app.

Another problem is that Articles + was also published on the Mac App Store as a Catalyst app. I had decided to no longer maintain it, but it's not possible to remove it. Once you’ve had a Catalyst version approved and published to the Mac App Store, there is apparently no method to remove that version from sale.

Atode is also available for Mac, but it's now just an Apple silicon app. It's essentially the same as the iPad app, with some optimizations for macOS to provide a better user experience. But this avoids to maintain two different platforms.

How can I migrate my articles?

Direct migration of articles from the old to the new app is not supported, because data is stored in a different format. But you can export a list of all your articles and re-import them in the Atode app.

Articles + Export

  1. Open the Articles + app
  2. Tap on Library to open the sidebar
  3. Tap on Settings at the bottom left
  4. Navigate to Settings and scroll to the Data section
  5. Tap on Export articles and save them as a CSV or JSON file

Atode Batch Import

  1. Open the Atode app
  2. Tap on Library to open the sidebar
  3. Tap on Settings at the bottom left
  4. Navigate to Account and scroll to the Services section
  5. Tap on Batch import bookmarks to open the the batch import screen
  6. On the Batch Import screen, tap on Open to load the CSV or JSON file
  7. Verify the list of articles, swipe left to delete any you don't want to import
  8. Tap on Import to start downloading your articles

Batch import is limited to max. 50 articles at a time. To add more, split your bookmarks into multiple batches. It might be easier to cleanup your list of articles with a text editor before you import them.

Import will download the article again from the corresponding website. If a website or article is no longer available or accessible on the internet, it unfortunately can't be imported anymore.

Atode limits the number of bookmarks in the free version to max. 30 per month. If you need more to migrate your articles and don't want to upgrade to the premium edition, you can request a temporary increase from support:
Atode App > Left Sidebar > Settings (bottom left) > Support > Send Feedback

How can I migrate my annotations?

Articles and annotations are stored in a different format. Unfortunately, annotations can't be migrated to the new app. You still have access to your highlights and notes in the Articles + app or you can also export them in text, markdown or json format.

Annotation Export

  1. Open the Articles + app
  2. Tap on the context actions (3 dots) or long press an article
  3. Select Options > Export to choose text, markdown or json format
  4. Save the annotations with Save to Files or any other share sheet action

Export can also be automated with Apple's Shortcut app using the Export Article action. Refer to the Shortcuts FAQ for more details about how to export individual or all articles together with their annotations.

How can I delete my data?

If you no longer need the Articles + app, you can delete the app and all it's data.

First make sure that you migrated or exported all your articles and annotations. Then you will need to manually delete content from the app and all app data stored in your iCloud account.

Delete app content

  1. Open the Articles + app
  2. In the library, switch to batch editing mode (pencil button)
  3. Select all articles and tap on Delete in the bottom toolbar
  4. Uninstall the app

Some data will still be stored in your iCloud account. In case you want to completely remove everything, you can manually delete it from the device settings.

Please note that this action can't be undone and will delete your articles from all synced devices. It's recommended to first uninstall the app from all your devices.

Delete iCloud data

  1. Open the Settings app
  2. Tap on your Apple Account at the top
  3. Navigate to iCloud > Manage Storage > Articles +
  4. Choose to Delete Data from iCloud

What will happen when the service is shutdown?

The service will be discontinued later in 2025. After that, you will no longer be able to create new bookmarks.

With the old Articles + app, you can still access your articles and annotations at any time. All articles, annotations and tags are stored in a private database in your personal iCloud account. Using the legacy app will not be impacted by the service shutdown.

How can I re-install the Articles + app?

Articles + has been removed from sale and is no longer listed in the App Store. While it's not possible for new users to install the app, you can re-download it from your history.

You can view and redownload the apps you purchased with your Apple account. Re-downloading an app requires that you have previously installed the app with the same Apple account.

Redownload Articles +

  1. Open the App Store app
  2. Tap the account profile picture on top right and select Apps
  3. Scroll down or search for the Articles + app
  4. Tap the download button to install the app again

View and redownload your apps:
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/iphone/iph3dfd91de/ios