Goodbye, Tome

Announcing that Tome is shutting down

We have sad news to deliver: Tome is shutting down, and the last day that it will be online is May 29th, 2026. Even with a community we love, Tome wasn’t financially viable to keep running. Social apps with tons of memes, GIFs, and videos are expensive to operate, and the Tome Keeper model and badge marketplace, as much as it meant to us, didn’t reach the scale we needed to cover those costs.

I want to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who made Tome feel like home. It wouldn’t have been possible without the Tome Staff, sunny_shelves and lexnichole, who kept the community running day to day in the Discord and in the app. A shoutout to all our Community Moderators, who made delightful banners, started conversations through announcement posts, and welcomed new Tomies. And to everyone who reported bugs and suggested features: you made the app better every week.

We made countless memories over the past year and a half, read and supported so many indie authors, and sparked joy with a dozen profile contests from the whimsical to unhinged. Tome was a unique social network for readers, and the internet will feel emptier with it gone.

so many memes from our time together

Starting today, you will be able to download all of your data, including copies of all your posts with their images, and a spreadsheet containing your reading updates. When you update your app on iOS or Android, or visit tomebooks.com, you’ll see a new option in your profile settings to “Download your Data”.

There will be a final Townhall tonight, May 6th, at 6pm in Discord and on Tiktok to answer any additional questions you might have, and to talk through the process as it will unfold over the next couple weeks.

our inaugural Tome Keeper class!

A huge thank you to everyone who became a Tome Keeper and those who bought Tome Tokens: you kept the lights on and supported this journey of self expression. Even though there isn’t a sustainable financial path forward for the app, you all made it possible for over one hundred thousand readers to come together and get book recommendations from new friends. The badge marketplace shows there is another possible business model for the internet, one that doesn’t rely on advertising or data capture, and we hope that Tome’s model will be inspirational for those who come after.

As every reader knows, the end of one chapter is the beginning of another—and we implore you to proliferate the whimsical spirit that thrived on Tome to other corners of the internet. We have a couple of recommendations from our reading app friends:

• If you liked Tome’s book pages, you’ll enjoy Pagebound, where each book has a forum like Reddit—I love their “posting at progress %” feature, and their quests and badges are fun too.

• If you liked posting photos and visual recaps, we recommend Fable. They also have great monthly recaps and reading tracking features.

• Finally, if you want to meet readers in-person in your city, we’ve partnered with Reading Rhythms and their in-person Reading Parties. It’s a great way to make new friends and get more reading done.

Thank you again for all the joy that you poured into Tome. We will always remember that Tome was home.

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Q&A

• When is this happening?

  • The last day that Tome will be online is May 29th, 2026. After that point, tomebooks.com will redirect to a final blog post, and the Tome app will be removed from the Android and iOS appstores. The app won’t be automatically deleted from your phone, but the servers will be offline then.

• How can I save my reading history and post data?

  • There is a download your data tool, located in your profile. Go to your profile settings and choose “Download your Data”, and you’ll be emailed a zip file of all of your posts, media, and a separate CSV for your reading history.

  • Data download will also go offline alongside the app after May 29th.

• What about my Tome Keeper subscription?

  • Web (Stripe) and Android: All Tome Keepers will be refunded their most recent subscription, and your subscription will automatically be cancelled. No action is required on your part.

  • iOS: Apple doesn’t let developers automatically issue refunds (or cancel subscriptions), so you’ll have to go to Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions to cancel and request a refund.

• What about badges in the marketplace?

  • Badges were a really fun way to build community and decorate your profile. Badges will also be turned off alongside the rest of the Tome app.

• What will happen with Tome Tokens?

  • Tome Tokens will cease their functionality alongside the app on 5/29.

• What about the Tome Discord?

  • Starting today, the channels for the app development (#bugs, #tome-testing-room, #suggestions) will be locked. On the day of the shutdown and going forward, all channels except for #announcements will be locked.

• How do I get more information?

  • Until 5/29, you can email hello@tomebooks.com . After that date, we won’t be able to monitor the inbox.

• Where is the Tome Gnome going next?

  • You’ll find him frolicking in the fields, reading a novel in a babbling brook, and maybe catch him sipping tea while crunching on some pickles.