Help and support

Tap + Add at the bottom of the screen and choose how:

• Scan the barcode: point the camera at the barcode on the back. Keep scanning; each book is added once.
• Use a Bluetooth barcode scanner: scan books straight into your library. See below.
• Search by title or ISBN: search and pick the right edition.
• Read title from a photo: take a photo of the cover and the app reads the title.
• Type it in myself: enter the details by hand.

Yes, and it's the quickest way to add a big stack. Most Bluetooth barcode scanners work like a keyboard:

1. Pair the scanner with your phone in your phone's Bluetooth settings.
2. Open Bound & Byte to your Library.
3. Scan a book. The barcode goes straight into the scan box and the book is looked up, with no need to tap anything first.
4. Keep scanning to add one book after another.

You can also scan into the search box at the top to find a book you already own.

Yes. In Goodreads, export your library from My Books → Import and export. Then in Bound & Byte, tap + Add → Import a file and choose it. You can also import e-book lists from Kindle, Libby and Kobo. Books you already have aren't added twice.

Some books, especially older or self-published ones, aren't in the public book databases. Try Search by title or ISBN, or Type it in myself. Later you can open the book and tap Look up info to try again.

Open the book and tap its cover to open the photo screen (Cover, spine & fore-edge). Tap Take all: cover, spine, then fore-edge, or take each one separately. On the Free plan this is Take both: cover, then spine, because fore-edge photos come with Plus. To use a published cover instead, tap Find cover online and pick the one that matches your edition. Line the book up in the frame; the app straightens the photo and trims the background. Your photos then appear on your bookshelf, and under On your shelf you can show the book spine-out, cover-out, edges-out (Fore-edge) or lying flat.

When you add a book you already have, the app asks what's different about this one, such as signed, special edition or first edition. It's kept as its own copy, with a badge on the cover. The same book is never added twice.

That's on purpose. Open any series to see every book in order, including the ones you're missing. Tap + Want to add one to your Want to read list. The list comes from Google Books.

Publishers sometimes list upcoming books before the title is announced. Bound & Byte uses the real title as soon as Google Books has it.

Discover checks once a day for upcoming books from the authors and series in your library and shows their release dates.

In Shelf view, hold a book until it lifts, then drag it anywhere, even onto another shelf. Tap Library order to sort by author, then series, then title. Tap Use sort order to undo your arrangement.

For books with fore-edge paintings, sprayed edges or gilded pages: open the book and tap its cover to open the photo screen. Under Fore-edge painting, tap Take photo and photograph the edge of the pages with the book closed. Then choose Fore-edge under On your shelf, and the book turns edges-out on your bookshelf. Fore-edge photos are part of Bound & Byte Plus.

Open the book, tap More, and choose Show cover on shelf. You can also take a photo of a book's real spine from its Cover & spine screen.

Tap + Decor and choose Book stack to lay books flat, or Shelf break to end a shelf where you drop it. Tap any decor piece to change or remove it.

Tap Shelf style to pick the wood, the color inside, and an arched or square top. Theme changes the colors of the whole app.

On your phone. You don't need an account. To keep a copy safe, open Me → Back up and restore and save a backup file, or turn on automatic backups.

Either sign in with Google on both phones to sync your library, or save a backup on the old phone and restore it on the new one. Syncing carries your books and details. Your photos and shelf decorations stay on the phone where you made them, so use a backup file to move those.

Open Me → Share my library. You get a code to send; your friend enters it to see your library and shelf, and it stays up to date. Tap Stop sharing at any time to turn it off.

See Delete my account.

Yes, you can start a library on the Free plan, which holds a limited number of books. Plus adds unlimited books and digital reads, the lending tracker, the series view, imports and color themes. Plus is available monthly or as a one-time lifetime purchase, and nothing you've added is ever deleted if you change plans.

Purchases are handled by Google Play. Monthly plans renew automatically until you cancel. To cancel, open the Play Store, tap your profile picture, then Payments & subscriptions → Subscriptions. Refunds follow Google Play's refund policy.