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Bookyo 1.5.0 brings the ad-free reading app to iPad – with a shelf of its own for manga and comics

The update adds a comic reader, fair points for picture pages and new story tools. And as the year winds down, “Your reading year” shows what it all added up to.

Ravensburg, Germany, 3 November 2026 – Bookyo, the free reading app, is out in version 1.5.0 and runs on iPad for the first time. The update also gives manga and comics their own book type, adds a reader for comic files and brings new tools for stories. Bookyo has no ads, no tracking and no in-app purchases. It is available for iPhone, iPad and Android and in the browser at bookyo.org, in eight languages.

Manga and comics: same reading time, same reward

Manga and comics now have their own book type and their own shelf in the library. Because a picture page reads faster than a page of prose, it counts as a quarter page for points, coins and challenges – so the same time spent reading earns the same reward, novel or manga. Series can be added in one go, say volumes 1 to 12; gaps get filled, several volumes can be marked as read at once, and the next volume shows up right on the card. Comic files in CBZ format open in the built-in reader page by page, right to left if you like, and as a two-page spread on wide screens. The files stay on your own device.

Now on iPad

On iPad, Bookyo makes use of the space with a sidebar; tablets and foldable phones get more room as well.

More tools for stories

Sharing what you're reading now comes with question stickers, an emoji slider and animated stickers, photos you can zoom and rotate, and Undo. Stories can be hidden from individual people, and highlights can be grouped into titled collections. Friends' stories now also appear on the “Reading” home screen.

Also new

A shelf shop with eight new pieces for your bookshelf, paid for with coins you earn by reading and taking part – coins can't be bought. “Read with friends” invites friends with one tap. A single notifications screen lets you choose what Bookyo tells you about; after a reading break, a gentle nudge if you want one. A short tour shows where everything is.

As the year ends: Your reading year

December is when many readers look back. In Bookyo, “Your reading year” under Stats sums up the year as a series of cards: time spent reading, books finished and pages read, the longest book, the favourite genre, the strongest month and the time of day you read most. Cards without data simply don't appear. The review can be shared and keeps growing until 31 December. Coming from Goodreads or StoryGraph? A CSV import brings titles, ratings and reading dates along.

“I wanted an app that's happy with five minutes of reading a day,” says Yusuf Öz, founder of Bookyo. “With manga, it bothered me that a picture page you read in seconds counted the same as a page of a novel. Now it's the reading time that counts – whatever you read.”

About Bookyo

Bookyo (“Your books. Your story.”) is a free reading app built to turn a few minutes a day into a reading habit – without guilt: breaks are explicitly fine. Books go on the shelf by search or barcode scan, a reading timer tracks minutes and pages, and goals, streaks and reading levels make progress visible. More than 130 reading paths (written in German and English), a literary atlas and “Read like …” help find the next book. Reading together works through stories, posts, book clubs and challenges – including team challenges with an invite code for friends, colleagues or a class. An e-book reader opens your own EPUB, PDF and CBZ files. Bookyo shows no ads, uses no analytics tools and needs no cookie banner; coins are earned by reading and taking part and can't be bought. The app is for ages 13 and up (under 16 with parental consent) and available in Deutsch, English, Türkçe, Español, Français, Italiano, 日本語 and العربية. Bookyo is developed and run independently by Yusuf Öz in Ravensburg, Germany.

Availability

• iPhone and iPad (iOS/iPadOS 16.4 or later): https://apps.apple.com/app/id6818030196
• Android (Android 7.0 or later): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.bookyo.app
• Browser: https://bookyo.org – including “Look around without an account”