# BookBuds: Read with friends — Social book reading & friends > Social reading app for friends to track, compete, and motivate each other. (iPhone/iPad app by Starter School.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookbuds-read-with-friends/id6755941845 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Starter School](https://appshunter.io/developer/6772559426) - Category: Books, Social Networking - Price: Free with in-app purchases - Rating: 4.30/5 from 152 App Store ratings · 36 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 17.6 · 50 MB - Languages: American English - Released: 2025-12-22 - Data updated: 2026-08-17 - Monetization: freemium - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookbuds-read-with-friends/id6755941845/reviews.md ## What is BookBuds? BookBuds is a cozy social reading app that makes reading with friends easy, fun, and motivating. Sit around your own virtual bonfire, track reading time, build daily streaks, and compete on a shared leaderboard to see who’s reading the most. Whether you’re trying to read more books, finish your TBR list, build a reading habit, or simply stay accountable with friends, BookBuds turns reading into a shared experience instead of something you do alone. Read Together Around a Virtual Bonfire Start a reading session and watch your BookBud glow as you read. Your friends can join you anytime, making reading feel cozy, warm, and connected.. even when you’re miles apart. Track Your Reading Time Effortlessly No more manual book logs. BookBuds automatically tracks your reading minutes with a built-in reading timer. Compete on a Social Reading Leaderboard See who in your friend group is reading the most each day, week, or month. Build streaks. Climb the leaderboard. Celebrate wins together. Invite Your Friends & Build a Reading Circle Reading is more fun when you do it together. Share your BookBuds link, invite friends, compare progress, and stay motivated as a group. Achieve your 2026 reading goals together! Perfect for Your TBR + Self-Improvement Goals If your 2026 goals are focused on reading more books, reducing screen time, or developing mindful habits, BookBuds makes it easier.. and way more fun! Why BookBuds Works Reading feels fun, not forced Friends keep you accountable Streaks build momentum The bonfire creates a comforting ritual Competition sparks motivation Tracking is automatic Start Your Reading Journey Today Read more books, stay consistent, and build a habit that sticks: all with your friends beside you around a cozy virtual bonfire. Download BookBuds and make reading social again. Link to our privacy policy: https://privacypolicybookbuds.vercel.app/ Link to our terms of service: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Subscriptions & Billing BookBuds offers optional auto-renewing subscriptions that unlock premium features such as advanced reading analytics, enhanced customization, and additional Pro tools. Subscriptions are available in monthly and yearly plans and renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current billing period. You can manage or cancel your subscription at any time from your Apple ID account settings. All core social reading features — including reading with friends, bonfire sessions, leaderboards, profiles, and chats — remain free to use without a subscription. ## Key features - Virtual bonfire reading sessions - Automatic reading time tracking - Social reading leaderboards - Friend group challenges - Reading habit building - Progress comparison ## Pricing and in-app purchases Base price: Free. **Subscriptions** | Subscription | Price | Period | | --- | --- | --- | | Weekly Subscription | $7.99 | per 7 days | | Yearly second discount | $29.99 | per year | | Monthly Subscription | $9.99 | per month | | Yearly discounted subscription | $39.99 | per year | | Yearly Subscription | $49.99 | per year | | Free Trial Annual | $49.99 | per year | | Three day trial | $49.99 | per year | ## Recent user reviews (10 of 36) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookbuds-read-with-friends/id6755941845/reviews.md ### 3/5 — App problems *2026-06-11* Honestly I love this app it’s so fun and makes me read so much more however, it keeps logging me out of my account and like a month or two ago made me create a new one. So I restarted re added all my friends did everything now today it logged me out and is again forcing me to create a new account. I have no idea how to fix this and when I reached out to try and get it fixed at first I was getting emails back but then they just ghosted me. This is very disappointing to me because of how much I love this app. I’ll Probubly make a new account so I really hope i don’t get logged out again. ### 1/5 — Great Idea, Poor Execution / AI & Moneygrabbing *2026-04-22* Fairly certain this app is coded with AI or the assets are AI generated. The idea is good. It could use more features, but genuinely this could have replaced Goodreads for me. However they introduced 3 popups for the paid version every time you open the app, even in the middle of reading sessions; I joined the Dev’s discord to point out this bug. Multiple people did. Lo and behold, the Dev turned it back on due to a “dramatic drop in revenue” and then told me to stop asking about it (despite the fact it had been a while since I even asked and that I wasn’t the only one having issues). I deleted the app after that because what’s the point if the dev won’t listen to community feedback? Now after a bit I downloaded it again to see if maybe it’s been updated, and now it’s completely unusable. Big screen roping me into a free trial with no way to cancel, and a weird gif with a buggy popup. Can’t even program an app right but begging for money. What absolute money-grabbing garbage. ### 5/5 — Great read *2026-04-15* A great way to read with friends and keep track with each other and hold each other accountable! ### 2/5 — Just getting worse and worse *2026-04-14* I really liked this app in the beginning and still use it almost daily. But the Pop-Ups at the start when you open the app get more and more obnoxious. They’re even more annoying than at the beginning. You have to klick though them every single time before you can deny their offers. It takes time and is just damn unnecessary. Makes me not even want to track my time anymore. Other than that, if you have „too many“ books in your TBR list, they’ll just randomly erase some of your books so when you want to switch, it’s not entirely impossible the next book you want to read isn’t in your list anymore. Just these dann adds in the beginning man, so incredibly annoying and just ruining the whole app. ### 4/5 — Pop up ads *2026-04-12* The ads that pop up when I open the app are really annoying. It happens every time and takes at least a minute each time to get through them all. Otherwise I love the app and being able to grow my reading streak as I record my reading time. It’s fun to do with friends. ### 1/5 — The constant popup for upgrade was a turn off. *2026-04-11* Saw this app and truly wanted to give it a try, but constantly getting the popup for upgrade with no option to close. Good thing I didn’t recommend to people. ### 1/5 — absurd amount of ads *2026-04-02, version 1.0.35* there is actually no reason there should be five full screen ads to click through every time the app is opened. also, found out that the devs are asking influencers to do undisclosed ads which is completely illegal. ### 2/5 — To many pop up adds *2026-04-01, version 1.0.35* I’m enjoying the app, but then a pop up add opens every time I open the app. I do not enjoy this. Especially when I am constantly selecting the x. The same add shows up Every time I open. It’s very repetitive. ### 3/5 — Only for apple *2026-03-24, version 1.0.33* My friends cant use this ### 1/5 — Cannot get past the buy now ads *2026-03-18* I wanted to try this as another group reading app, but every time I open the app- ad that I’m only supposed to see once. Then I click anything and - ad I’m only supposed to see once that I can’t exit out of. I love the idea of this app, but I can’t even attempt to use the free side of it because the ads won’t stop. ## Frequently asked questions about BookBuds ### What does BookBuds do? BookBuds is a social reading app that allows you to read with friends virtually. It features a virtual bonfire for shared reading sessions, automatic tracking of reading time, and leaderboards to compete with friends. The app aims to make reading more fun and motivating by turning it into a shared experience. ### What are the key features of BookBuds? Key features include virtual bonfire reading sessions, automatic reading time tracking via a built-in timer, social leaderboards to see who's reading the most, and the ability to invite friends to form reading circles. You can also build reading streaks and compare progress with your group. ### Is BookBuds free to use? Yes, all core social reading features, including reading with friends, bonfire sessions, leaderboards, profiles, and chats, are free to use. The app also offers optional auto-renewing subscriptions for premium features like advanced analytics and enhanced customization. ### Who is BookBuds for? This app is perfect for anyone who wants to read more books, build a consistent reading habit, or simply make reading a more social and accountable activity. It's ideal for friends who want to motivate each other and achieve their reading goals together. ### How does BookBuds help with reading goals? BookBuds helps you achieve your reading goals by making the process more engaging and less solitary. The social aspect, competition on leaderboards, and streak building provide motivation, while automatic tracking ensures you can easily monitor your progress towards finishing your TBR list or developing a daily reading habit. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 1.0.38 — 2026-06-18 We've been hard at work improving BookBuds. Here's what's new: NEW FEATURES • Custom Shelves — Organize your library your way. Create your own shelves, add and remove books, and arrange them in any order. • Dark Mode, now free for everyone — No paywall, no sign-in. Turn it on in Settings and it applies across the entire app and remembers your choice. • Profile & Avatars — Your finished books now appear in the order you finished them, and members without a profile photo get a clean, colorful initial avatar. READING TIMER & LIVE ACTIVITY • The session timer and the lock screen / Dynamic Island Live Activity are far more reliable when you switch apps, lose connection, or close the app. • The lock-screen timer now stays perfectly in sync with the in-app timer after you pause and resume. • New gap detection — if your phone dies or the app closes mid-session, you can choose how much of the missed time to count. FRIENDS & PRESENCE • Friends who are online or actively reading now stay visible around the Campfire without flickering or disappearing when your connection drops. ACCOUNTS & NOTIFICATIONS • A smoother, more reliable sign-up with Apple and phone/SMS, plus better international phone number support. • Fixed an issue where a brief network hiccup could log you out and bounce you back to onboarding. • More reliable push notifications that open the right screen when tapped. Plus lots of behind-the-scenes work to make BookBuds faster and more stable. Happy reading! ### 1.0.35 — 2026-04-01 bug fixes & performance improvements ### 1.0.34 — 2026-03-25 bug fixes & performance improvements ### 1.0.33 — 2026-03-18 bug fixes & performance improvements ### 1.0.32 — 2026-03-06 bug fixes & performance improvements ## Apps similar to BookBuds | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Reading Journey: Book Tracker](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/reading-journey-book-tracker/id6749302195) | 4.7 (232) | Free | Books | | [Bookship: a virtual book club](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookship-a-virtual-book-club/id1249506408) | 4.1 (30) | Free | Books | | [StoryStack: TBR Book Tracker](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/storystack-tbr-book-tracker/id6745990061) | 4.1 (54) | Free | Books | | [Phictly - Book & TV Clubs](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/phictly-book-and-tv-clubs/id6753308823) | 5.0 (5) | Free | Books | | [Bindery Books](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bindery-books/id6747425349) | 5.0 (33) | Free | Books | | [Shelfy: Book Tracker & TBR](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shelfy-book-tracker-and-tbr/id6755626127) | 4.5 (730) | Free | Books | ## Related topics [booksy for customers](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/booksy-for-customers) --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-17.*