What is Magic Bookmark and how does it work?

02How does Magic Bookmark find your place?

You tell it where you are in one of three ways:

1. Snap a photo of the page you are on. The website says this works with "any edition, paperback or hardcover".
2. Type the page number instead.
3. For audiobooks, enter the last phrase you heard. The website calls this CatchPhrase.

The App Store listing says it "syncs to your exact place, not just the chapter, so every recap, character profile, and conversation stays spoiler-free." Everything below is tied to that bookmark, and you move the same bookmark forward as you read.

03What does it do once it knows your place?

• Recap. "A recap that stops exactly where you are."
• Cast list. Who's who and how they are connected, "built only from what you've actually read". The website says new characters appear only once you have met them, and nothing from later chapters leaks into a description.
• Questions about the story so far. You can ask things like "wait, are they together yet?" and get an answer that stays within your pages.
• Chat with characters. Type @ to summon a character. They answer in character and, in the website's words, "know the story exactly as far as you do, so asking about page 400 gets you nothing but a shrug."

The website's FAQ puts the design plainly: "Magic Bookmark only knows the story up to your exact page and cannot see ahead." How that kind of lock works in general is drawn in How page-locked recaps work; the character side is in Chatting with book characters.

04Which formats and books does it cover?

The website calls the model BYOB: bring, buy or borrow your own book. "Hardcover, paperback, audio book, ebook or library loan. However you read, your bookmark works." The App Store listing says it "does not contain the book itself".

Audiobook support arrived in version 1.1.1 on 27 October 2026: "Now with audiobook support: get spoiler-free recaps for any book format."

It covers supported titles only. The website says it is launching with "the romance, fantasy, romantasy, YA, sci-fi, and historical fiction titles blowing up on BookTok", and its page for authors says it launched with "several hundred" books and that adding each one is "a pretty intensive process". Titles shown on the website include Fourth Wing, A Court of Thorns and Roses, Throne of Glass, The Hunger Games, Mistborn, Dune, The Hobbit, The Housemaid, Circe and Pride and Prejudice. If your book is not there, you can request it in the app. Check the app for your exact title before you buy credits.

05How much does Magic Bookmark cost?

The download is free. The App Store listing says "Your first credit is free"; the website's FAQ, read the same day, describes "a two-week free trial: unlimited books, no credit card, and nothing auto-renews". We report both because they differ; check the app for the offer you get. After that, one credit covers one book: the bookmark moves with you through that book, so you do not spend a credit each time you open it. Credits never expire, and there is no subscription.

06Which devices does it run on?

iPhone, with iOS 16.4 or later. The App Store listing also shows Mac with an Apple M1 chip or later (macOS 12 or later), while its header says "Designed for iPhone. Not verified for macOS." The website says Android is "on the roadmap for later". There is no web version.

07What does the privacy label say?

The App Store privacy label, which Apple notes "has not been verified by Apple", lists:

• Data used to track you: identifiers.
• Data linked to you: purchases, contact info, user content, search history, identifiers, usage data and diagnostics. The detailed label shows the user content is "Photos or Videos", used for app functionality, and that an email address is used for the developer's advertising or marketing.
• Data not linked to you: diagnostics.

Page photos are how the app finds your place, which is why photos appear under user content. Compare it with the other apps in Reading app privacy labels.

08How has it changed?

The US App Store version history starts with version 1.0.1 on 20 August 2026. Version 1.0.10 arrived on 19 October, version 1.1 on 21 October added a flow for finishing a book and moving to your next one, and version 1.1.1 on 27 October 2026 added audiobook support. Our journal note has the detail.

09What does it say to authors?

Its page for authors says it is "not a replacement for reading", that recaps "make very little sense to anyone who isn't" reading along, and that authors can email to ask for their books to be removed. It does not say it licenses books or pays authors. The wider debate is in Are AI reading companions fair to authors?

10What are its limits?

• Supported titles only. The book you are reading may not be covered yet.
• iPhone only today. No Android app and no web version.
• Pay per book. After the free start, each book uses a credit. Kindle's similar features cost nothing extra if your book is a supported Kindle ebook.
• English only.
• Tracking identifiers. The privacy label lists identifiers used to track you.
• Young app, few ratings. Version history starts in August 2026, and the 4.8 rating comes from 25 ratings.

11Who is it for?

It suits readers who read print books or audiobooks, or who move between formats, and who pick books up again after a break. It is also the only option we cover that offers character chat locked to your page. If you only read Kindle ebooks in the US, compare it with Kindle's Story So Far and Ask this Book first. If your book is not supported, see general chatbots as reading companions.