Support

Antilibrary shows you one idea at a time from a library of books worth reading, plus your own Kindle highlights if you connect them. It's a small app, so this is a short page — but if something isn't working, write in and a person will answer.

Get the app

Antilibrary is on the App Store: Get Antilibrary.

Getting in touch

Email bk2022@gmail.com. It reaches me directly — there is no support desk and no ticket number. I usually reply within a few days.

Useful to include: which iPhone and iOS version you're on, and the title of the card you were looking at if it's about a specific one.

How it works

Why do I see the same idea all day? That's deliberate. The card of the day is chosen by the date, so it stays put however often you open the app, and the morning notification always matches what you'll find inside. Tomorrow brings a different one. If you want another right now, tap Shuffle.

Where do the ideas come from? A personal library — books actually read and actually owned, not a bestseller list. Each card is one idea from one book, in about forty words, with the author credited underneath.

They aren't summaries, and they aren't meant to stand in for reading anything. A book gives up four or five cards at most, which is nowhere near a book. The point is to remind you why a book was worth reading, or to make you want one you haven't.

Can I see the other ideas from the same book? Yes — tap the book's name under any card. Every card that book produced appears together, along with a link to find the book itself.

What does "Find this book" do? Opens that book on Amazon, in your browser or the Amazon app. It goes to your own regional Amazon where we can tell which one that is. We earn no commission — the link is there because a card that makes you want a book should tell you where to get it.

Saving cards. Tap the bookmark at the top right to keep a card. Tap Saved to read what you've kept, newest first, and swipe left or right to move through them. Tap Today to come back to the day's idea.

Your account

Do I need one? No. Everything works without an account — saving cards, connecting a Kindle, Today's idea. Sign in with Apple if you want your library to follow you to a new phone.

Deleting it. Settings → Delete account removes everything of yours from our server — cards, highlights, settings, your Interesting / Not for me marks — and the account itself, right away. The privacy policy has the full account.

What does "Not for me" do? Mark a card or an answer Not for me and it drops out of your shuffles. Clear those marks any time in Settings → Hidden.

The daily reminder

Turning it on or off. The app asks permission the first time you open it. To change your mind later, go to Settings → Notifications → Antilibrary on your iPhone and turn Allow Notifications on or off.

Can I change the time? Tap the bell at the top of the screen and pick a time; it saves as you set it, and the reminders reschedule on the spot. It arrives at 9:00 am until you change it.

It stopped arriving. Three things to check, in order:

• Permission. Settings → Notifications → Antilibrary → Allow Notifications.
• A Focus mode. Sleep or Do Not Disturb will hold the notification silently.
• Open the app. Reminders are scheduled about two months ahead and topped up each time you open it. If the app has gone unopened for a long stretch, opening it once refills the schedule.

Your highlights

How do I connect my Kindle? Tap the gear at the top of the screen, then Connect Kindle. You sign in on Amazon's own page, inside the app. When your notebook appears, the app closes the page and fetches your highlights — a minute or two the first time, a moment every time after.

Your password goes to Amazon and only to Amazon. The app never sees it. If you're signed in, your highlights are stored with your account; if not, they stay on your phone. The privacy policy spells this out.

Where do my highlights show up? On Today, swipe left from the day's idea. You'll get one of your own highlights for the day, with the book, the author, and any note you made. Swipe left again for another — none repeats until you've seen them all. Swipe right to come back. Tap the book's name to see everything you highlighted in it. Bookmark and share work the same as for any card.

Which highlights does it get? Everything in your Amazon notebook — highlights made on a Kindle device or in the Kindle app, for books bought from Amazon. Highlights in personal documents you sideloaded don't reach Amazon's notebook, so they don't reach the app either.

Some of a book's highlights are missing. Publishers set a limit on how much of some books can be exported, and Amazon applies it to the notebook. Past the limit, highlights exist on your Kindle but aren't handed over. Nothing in the app can change that.

It says Amazon signed me out. Amazon sessions expire now and then, or end when you change your password. Your highlights are still in the app; tap the gear, then Sign in again to keep them current.

Removing it. Tap the gear, then Disconnect. That removes your highlights and the Amazon session from your phone (and, if you're signed in, from your account). Deleting the app does the same on this phone.

Ask

What does Ask do? Puts a question to the shelf and gives you an answer with its sources. Antilibrary's own questions are pre-written and answer instantly. A question answered from your own highlights needs sign-in, and is capped to keep it sustainable — ten a day, fifty a month.

Content and updates

Do I need to update the app to get new books? No. The library refreshes itself when you open the app, so books added since you installed it turn up on their own. App updates are only for changes to the app itself.

Does it work offline? Yes, completely. The app carries a full copy of the library and only reaches the network to see whether there's a newer one. On a plane or with no signal it behaves exactly as usual.

Something in a card is wrong. It happens — a misattributed idea, a wrong year, an author's name mangled. Email me the card's title and what's wrong with it and I'll fix it at the source. Corrections reach everyone without an app update.

Your data

Without an account, your bookmarks and your Kindle highlights stay on your phone and are never sent anywhere; deleting the app removes everything it kept. The privacy policy has the full account, including what an account adds and how to delete one.

Requirements

Antilibrary needs iOS 17 or later. It has no in-app purchases and no subscription.