What is Thus Far and how does its chapter lock work?

02How does the chapter lock work?

The listing describes it simply: "Every post carries the chapter it was written at. Finish chapter 12 and everything people wrote about chapter 12 opens up. Chapter 13 stays hidden until you finish that one too." So the lock is applied to what other readers wrote, not to an AI's knowledge of the book.

A chapter lock is coarser than a page lock: a lot can happen inside one chapter, and a chapter's posts only open up once you finish it. The difference is drawn in How page-locked recaps work.

03How does it find your place?

"Photograph the page, screenshot your Kindle or Audible screen, scan the barcode, or tap the chapter. Paper, ebook, and audio land on the same bookmark." Widgets and an Apple Watch app carry your place.

04What are the Book Buddies?

Thus Far adds "Eight Book Buddies with real points of view" that "post at every chapter of a live feed, so the room is full from your first chapter." The listing says they "are generated by Thus Far and labelled as Book Buddies on every post and profile", that "A post by a reader is marked as a reader and is human", and that "Turning the Book Buddies off is one switch." They are AI readers, not characters from the book.

05What is PageKeeper?

The listing says "PageKeeper checks shared posts for spoilers and community safety", and that you can report a post or reply, block a reader, or ask for a human review from inside the app.

06Does it give you recaps?

Not as its main feature. The release notes for version 1.0.4 (1 October) say a club host can "turn on Book Buddies and chapter recaps" when setting up a club. The listing does not describe how those recaps are made. If you mainly want a recap rather than a conversation, compare Magic Bookmark and Kindle's Story So Far.

07Do you need to own the book?

"For a copyrighted book, one tap confirms you own a copy. Thus Far does not sell or provide books."

08How much does it cost?

The listing says "Every book, every feed, your bookmark, your shelf, and your streak are free without limit, and so is joining a club." Hosting a club uses the Thus Far Hosts+ subscription, monthly or annual; the in-app purchase list shows several Hosts+ prices, from $9.99 to $199.00, without saying which period each covers.

09How new is it?

The US version history begins with version 1.0.1 on 19 September. Book clubs arrived in version 1.0.3 on 29 September, club setup with Book Buddies and chapter recaps in 1.0.4 on 1 October, and version 1.0.6 on 6 October said "Every edition of your book now finds its feed". See our journal note.

10What does the privacy label say?

• Data used to track you: purchases, identifiers, usage data.
• Data linked to you: purchases, location, contact info, contacts, user content, search history, identifiers, usage data.
• Data not linked to you: diagnostics.

It is the only app we cover whose label lists purchases and usage data as used to track you. Compare in Reading app privacy labels.

11What are its limits?

• iOS 26 or later. Older iPhones that cannot run iOS 26 are left out, and there is no Android version.
• Chapter-level, not page-level. You see posts for a chapter only after you finish it.
• Social first. The value depends on other readers being at your chapter; the Book Buddies fill gaps with AI posts.
• Tracking. The label lists three categories of data used to track you.
• Very new, very few ratings. Five ratings on the US App Store.