# Princeton University Press — user reviews > 60 indexed App Store user reviews of Princeton University Press by Glassboxx Limited, rated 3.00/5 from 130 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/princeton-university-press/id1645831611/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/princeton-university-press/id1645831611.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 51 · 4★ 14 · 3★ 5 · 2★ 2 · 1★ 58 ## Newest reviews (16 of 60) ### 1/5 — It doesn't work *2025-12-04* Possibly the worst app Available it simply doesn't work, you cannot log in, when you do log in your books do not appear, this is made worse by tht fact this app is the only way to buy certain books, all it has to do is store and let you access your book it isn't complicated but they can't do it **Developer response:** We are very sorry for the inconvenience. If you would like to discuss this further, please reach out to our customer service team at puphelp@glassboxx.com and they will be able to assist you. ### 1/5 — Horrible *2025-12-03, version 2.3.2* I just want to access my book that I paid over 30 bucks for and i have to resort to unethical resources to complete what I need for class. Nice going dudes 👍🏼. ### 1/5 — Would give this a 0 if I could *2025-11-10, version 2.3.2* No app has ever made me as angry as this one, I don’t even recognize myself when I’m using it. This app makes me want to kms ### 1/5 — Atrocious !!!!! *2025-10-29* Normally I don’t do reviews but this app is so terrible that I felt I must do so, I purchased the book on “The Birds of Southern Africa” hoping I would be able to use the iPad app rather than carry the book in the field. The app is slow, crashes often, freezes on pages and seems to have no means to navigate, including incredibly for a PDF reader, any means of textual search. Basically it is useless and I would give zero stars if I could **Developer response:** We are very sorry for the frustration caused! If you could please reach out to the customer service team at puphelp@glassboxx.com, they can assist you with using the app and any questions you may have. ### 1/5 — Absolute trash app. Buy from Amazon NOT PUP!!! *2025-09-18, version 2.3.2* There is no ability to annotate, despite following the directions in the FAQ for the reader. According to an email from Princeton end user help: “annotating is not currently an accessible feature with the PUP IOS app.”This is a bare minimum requirement for a pdf reader. Fail! ### 1/5 — Absolute trash app *2025-09-06* There is no ability to search or even annotate, despite following the directions in the FAQ for the reader. These are bare minimum requirements for a pdf reader. Fail! ### 1/5 — Always impossible to access books online *2025-08-23* Every time the screen is blank, I was advised to delete the app and download it again, but it does not provide a link, it does not recognise the email and cannot access any book I bought. **Developer response:** We are sorry to hear that you have encountered this problem. The customer service team at puphelp@glassboxx.com can work through this with you and resolve the issue. Please let them know the details of the device you are using and they will happily investigate this further. ### 1/5 — Could not get the iPad app to work! *2025-08-21, version 2.3.2* Despite some back-and-forth with the PUP staff and multiple restarts and reinstalls, we could not get my book to show up on the iPad app :-( It is working with the Mac desktop app. ### 1/5 — Release your books *2025-08-12, version 2.3.1* Your awesome books are trapped in this horrible app. Please allow users to listen to your books in apps that actually work. ### 1/5 — Appalling development, stay away from *2025-08-12* This entire app reeks of minimal effort development. Reviews from a year ago with issues still unaddressed, useless responses asking them to reach out to a black box email. This is worse than an AI vibe coded pdf reader, if the developers actually used the product they made for even 10 minutes they would see all of the issues stated in these reviews immediately. **Developer response:** We apologise that your experience with our app and our support has felt this way. We've been listening to this feedback, and we're actively working to improve the user experience. The reason we ask users to email us is often to get specific technical details that help us pinpoint and fix the problem for everyone. We'd be grateful if you'd be willing to share more specifics about the issues you've encountered. Please feel free to email us directly at puphelp@glassboxx.com as we would like to learn more about your experience. ### 1/5 — Pants! *2025-08-05* Shocking app. Got my book and no navigation out of it or other tools such as print. (Text too small to read in phone) **Developer response:** eBooks purchased through Princeton University Press are copy and license protected. This means that they cannot be printed or accessed outside of the app. For more information regarding this and the features of the app, please reach out to the customer service team at puphelp@glassboxx.com and they will be happy to advise. ### 1/5 — Useless Birds of Costa Rica Purchase *2025-06-18* Out $25+ bucks for an unuseable digital book purchase on this horrible last century app. If your idea of fun is scrolling backwards from Vireos through 340 pages of the book to get back to the table of contents - I wish i had as much spare time as you. Have tried to get an analog book as a useable replacement but request ignored. Buyer beware! Authors of said book who theoretocally understand how book would be need to be used in the field - shame on you for participating in this scam. **Developer response:** We are very sorry to hear that you have had a frustrating experience when navigating your eBook. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your feedback with us as we are continuously looking to improve app features. If you would like to reach out to the customer service team at puphelp@glassboxx.com, they would be happy to advise you further. ### 1/5 — Princeton, this is shoddy. Your developers are not fixing bugs. I can’t search my books. Ridiculous! *2025-06-12* LATEST UPDATE I took advantage of the Princeton spring sale and wish I hadn’t. It’s very well priced for physical books but don’t even consider using this app for ebooks. I would advise spending a little more and buying them on Apple Books. Perhaps if I receive a refund I can do just that. 31 May - Hello, My recent orders from Princeton are not accessible on the Glassboxx app. Please can you help to resolve this. 05 June - I can confirm I have escalated this to the technical support team to investigate and we will be in touch with an update as soon as possible. 12 June - still waiting for a response from Glassboxx and I can’t access the purchase I made in May. What a letdown. No more purchases on this platform from me. - - - - - - - UPDATE Glad to see these issues have been resolved as you promised. I am enjoying using the new UX and search functionality which thankfully now works. Slightly slow on the load speed for some reason, but overall so much better than before. I will be taking advantage of Princeton’s spring sale to purchase more books now! Thanks for listening to feedback. - - - - - - - I have reported poor development on several occasions to Glassbox, who Princeton use for their ebooks. They seem apologetic and helpful when I emailed support, but nothing has changed. It is ridiculous that when I read the wonderful nature guides that Princeton University Press have published, I can’t use the search functionality. This feature is important for most ebooks, but for a nature guide it is imperative. (Please refund me Princeton, as I can’t wait another six months for this requirement). **Developer response:** Thank you very much for your feedback, we do appreciate it. We are constantly improving the site and I am pleased to say a new version of the app is coming out imminently which should bring many more features. It does take a while for new features to be implemented into the app and I am sorry for the frustration this has caused. Please be assured that the new version of the app has been built based on customer feedback. ### 1/5 — Horrible app *2025-05-14* The app does not open any of the books that I purchased. It’s just a blank white screen. When you buy a book from them, they force you to only use their application to read it and the application does not even open the pdf or epub book in the application. Total disappointment. Now I have books that I have purchased that I cannot read because the application doesn’t work. **Developer response:** Thanks for bringing this to our attention – we are so sorry that you're having trouble accessing your eBooks. To ensure we can assist you as quickly as possible, please drop an email to our customer service team at puphelp@glassboxx.com. If you could include details about your device and any specific error messages, that would be incredibly useful. ### 1/5 — AVOID *2025-04-26* Will never again buy an ebook from the Princeton website thanks to them only being usable on this truly terrible app. Virtually every time I go in, it displays a blank screen rather than showing my books. Finally I decide to delete and reinstall the app, and now it fails to recognise the email address I used for purchase, without sending a verification email. Guess that’s all my purchases just gone then. **Developer response:** I am very sorry that you have encountered this issue when trying to access your eBooks. If you could please reach out to our customer services team at puphelp@glassboxx.com with your email address and the details of your device, they will be able to resolve this for you. ### 1/5 — Garbage *2025-03-30, version 2.2.5* Can't, among other things, hide the progress indicator, that overlaps on the text at the bottom of the page. Buy anywhere else. Shame on Princeton Uni Press on forcing such awfull user experience on people purchasing ebooks. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Utterly worthless *2026-08-05* I have had the same problem with this app since downloading it a couple of years ago. Downloaded books become inaccessible, showing only a gray box, instead. I have to remove it and then redownload just to read purchased books. Until this app is properly maintained or until Princeton allows reading their books on other apps, I absolutely will not be buying from them again. **Developer response:** We are so sorry to hear this, and our Customer Service team will be happy to help. Please reach out to them at puphelp@glassboxx.com with your order number and device details. The team will investigate this for you. ### 1/5 — Awful *2026-05-04, version 2.3.2* I have never written a review before but I had to for this. I can’t believe I spent money on books that I can only use on this godawful app. ### 1/5 — Junk *2026-04-22* This is the most dysfunctional reading app I own. Even when it’s working, it can’t do something as simple as go to a particular page. Every time my iPad times out, I have to start from scratch. Buy from Kobo instead if you can. **Developer response:** Our Customer Service team will be happy to help with any queries you might have. If you would like to discuss this further, please reach out to the team at puphelp@glassboxx.com and include your device details. ### 1/5 — Great Books, Terrible APP *2026-03-28, version 2.3.2* I am so sick of this app. I need to reload it almost every time I don’t use it for a month or more as it will not register my books or my email. Then, when I try to log back in it will invariably say “email address is not recognized.” It’s a shame because the Princeton Press books are excellent and the app does a good job of rendering them when it works. Sadly, none of the PUP ebooks purchased on their website, which has excellent sales, will work without this app. The PUP books I’ve purchased for my Kindle work super well. This bloody app is just so inconsistent. Definitely one of the most infuriating out there. At this point, zero stars would be my choice if I could give the app that rating. ### 1/5 — Hideous app *2026-03-07, version 2.3.2* Terrible app and you only have access to ebooks and audiobooks for 2 years, then everything disappears—your notes, annotations, bookmarks, etc. Great books, horrible app. ### 1/5 — complete junk *2026-03-02* This app has almost zero functionality to begin with, not allowing you to perform basic e-reader tasks like highlight text or swipe to turn the page. Of course, that's when it's functional. Now that I've been running it for a few weeks it has decided to crash every time I open it. Unfortunately, PUP doesn't let you use any of the better-designed e-readers with its e-books, presumably in a craven defense of intellectual property, which I must say it has succeeded in, since even I myself cannot see the material I paid for, and presumably will not be able to accidentally disseminate it by word of mouth. The ivory tower remains secure. Do yourself a favor and find a PDF. **Developer response:** We are very sorry to hear this; please reach out to our Customer Service team at puphelp@glassboxx.com and they will be happy to help. Please include your device details and the team will investigate your queries. ### 1/5 — Worst app I’ve ever used *2026-01-29* The app will constantly crash so you can’t view any of your books. When you try to log out and log back in it will say your email address is unrecognized. Absolute garbage. Try to find another way to access textbooks. **Developer response:** We are very sorry to hear about this. Please could you reach out to the customer service team at puphelp@glassboxx.com and include your device details. The team will be able to investigate this for you. ### 1/5 — Horrible login interface *2026-01-11, version 2.3.2* I purchased a $32 ebook for this app. The app requires logging in with the email I used to purchase. I used my institutional email. But because of a combination of this app’s clunky interface and my institution’s overzealous security filters, the verification email to my account is automatically deleted before I can find the verification code. I have tried four times to log into the app and now I am locked out. I don’t know if I will ever be able to actually read the book I just purchased. If you are seeing this before you buy an ebook from PUP, just … don’t. ### 1/5 — Why is this app so bad? *2025-12-26* Besides things other people have mentioned, this app really struggles with being offline. Why would I want to read books on my phone if I’m not on a plane? But what happens is that it says it’s downloaded books and audiobooks, and then it hasn’t really, and that’s bogus. **Developer response:** Thank you for your feedback. If you would like to discuss this further, please email our customer service team at puphelp@glassboxx.com and they will be happy to help. ### 1/5 — Stopped working *2025-12-06, version 2.3.2* I installed this app for my audio book. It now stopped working after 2 months. I can’t access my purchase anymore. ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Princeton app *2026-03-14* The ebook and audiobook app is easy to use and the customer service is excellent. Princeton has a fantastic list of books and has many special e book and audiobook promotions. I recommend the app to everyone. **Developer response:** Thanks for the great review! We are happy to hear you are enjoying the app. We will make sure we pass on your feedback to our Customer Service team. ### 5/5 — Dragonflies of North America by Ed Lam *2025-07-29, version 2.3.1* The Best one all over. ### 5/5 — Love the shopping and reading experience *2025-07-01* Great, revised app which I love using for all my Princeton ebooks and audiobooks. **Developer response:** Thank you - very pleased you are enjoying discovering other great Princeton books. ### 5/5 — Brilliant to read Princeton’s ebooks *2024-05-28* I’ve bought several ebooks from Princeton and it’s so easy and nice to read them here! **Developer response:** It is great to hear you are enjoying the app! Thank you for your review ### 5/5 — Awesome app from the best academic publisher *2023-04-21* Loving reading and listening to my Princeton books on this app. **Developer response:** Thank you - very pleased you are enjoying discovering other great Princeton books. ### 4/5 — cant log in *2026-04-30* didn't recognise my email so reinstalled app and still doesn't! presumably my purchases are gone then?? certainly cannot access them! i see from reviews others have this issue too! not good. UPDATE: successfully resolved and purchases available again. Much better! **Developer response:** Please email our Customer Service team at puphelp@glassboxx.com and they will be happy to investigate this for you. We are very sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. ### 3/5 — Searching problems *2025-01-24, version 2.2.5* Virtually every search I try throws me out of the App. Makes use quit difficult!!!!! App does look good but …. ### 3/5 — Scrolling is Poorly Designed and No Highlighting *2023-05-26, version 2.2.0* The app does not let you choose between scrolling or tapping for page changes, as it uses both. This is a poor setup as it’s very easy to accidentally tap while scrolling and end up on the wrong page. There should be an option to use only one method, like every other reading app. Also, there’s no ability to highlight or save notes. This is a basic feature used in iBooks, Kindle, etc. it’s quite annoying not having that. I’d recommend buying from Amazon and reading on Kindle instead. ### 2/5 — What is this?? *2024-05-23* This app needs a hard refresh. Why this was every deployed for use is absolutely beyond me. Do yourself a favor and just get a hardcopy of what ever book you are trying to read. The app crashes, window resizing is impossible, sometimes the book won't even load. **Developer response:** If you reach out to our customer service team at puphelp@glassboxx.com, they would be very happy to help you with any technical issues you may be experiencing! ### 2/5 — This is a reader? *2023-11-27, version 2.2.4* It's hard to believe that such an august institution could allow a company to produce such a crappy ereader. The best one can say is that the font is nice; but surely one cannot read using this ereader. --- *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 2026-09-03.*