Support
A real person reads everything sent here. If you are signed in, your request gets a case number and appears here, so you never have to wonder whether it arrived.
Signing in for the first time—or coming back
Use the same method you chose when you first opened OBN. If you used Continue with Apple or Continue with Google, you did not need to create an OBN password. Open the OBN app and choose that same button again. Your Apple Account password belongs in Apple’s sign-in screen, not an OBN email-and-password form.
If you created an account with email and a password, use those details. Check your inbox for the confirmation email first. If you forgot that password, choose Forgot password. You do not need to create a second account to get back in.
Joining your friend’s club
Open the invitation your friend sent. If you need to sign in, use your original sign-in method, then review the club invitation and choose Join. Opening an invitation does not join the club or share your private journal.
Installed OBN after receiving the invitation? Reopen that original link after installation. You can also choose I have a club invitation on Home, or Join a club in Clubs, and paste the entire invitation link. If it has expired, ask your friend for a new one.
Your first few minutes
Using OBN 1.1? Open How OBN works on your first Home screen, or Getting started guide in Settings. The guide is included in the iPhone app and works without an internet connection.
Joining a club? Start with its current book and next gathering. You can explore before contributing. A club without a book or meeting yet is waiting for its organizer to add one.
Reading on your own? Choose Find my book, pick your title and edition, then keep a thought in your private journal. OBN helps you remember your reading; it does not supply an ebook or require you to buy the book again. Personal journal entries stay private unless you choose to share.
Books, covers, and interrupted imports
In Books, Other sources lets you bring in books and highlights you already have. Choose only the books you want to keep in OBN. Kindle, Goodreads, and StoryGraph captures are snapshots; open the source again when you want to bring in newer material.
If Google Play Books offers Finish while you’re away, you can separately allow background completion. Wait for Books to confirm it is safe to close the app. Otherwise, keep OBN open until the selected books arrive. If an import is waiting or needs attention, return to Books to see what arrived and continue its saved work. A missing cover does not remove your notes: OBN looks up cover art separately, and some editions do not have an available image.
For notes or page marks waiting to send, open Cloud status in Settings and choose Try sending now when you are connected. If you need help, include the book title and what the screen says, but never a password or sign-in code.
Get in Touch
Sign in to send a tracked request, or email [email protected] if signing in is the problem. If something is broken, telling us what you were doing when it broke — the club, the book, the screen — is usually enough to find it.
Reporting Something Someone Wrote
On a note on the road, a reply, a message in the margin, or a reflection — on iPhone, press and hold it; on the website, press the Report button on the row. Two things are offered, and they are not the same act:
- Report sends the note to us with a reference so we can find it without you having to describe it. A person reads every report and removes anything that breaks the rules, along with the account behind it when that is warranted.
- Hide stops that person's writing appearing on your device. It is a preference, not an accusation — nothing is sent, and they are never told. You can undo it the same way.
You can also report by email. Send it to [email protected] and say where you saw it.
Your Account
You can delete your account at any time from Settings, which removes your captures, your recordings and your sign-in. If you would rather we did it, email us from the address on the account.
Privacy
What we collect and who processes it is written out in the Privacy Policy. Questions about it go to [email protected]. What is and is not allowed here — and what happens when somebody breaks that — is in the Terms of Use.