Lesson 4 of 9 · Buying
How to read an App Store listing before you download a reading app
Six parts of a store listing that tell you more than the screenshots do.
Best Book Tracker Apps editors · 28 August 2026 · 4 min read
Before you download a reading app, check six things on its store listing: who the seller is, the list of in-app purchases, which devices it supports, the App Privacy section, the version history and what the description says the app does not do. Most of the facts on this site come from exactly these parts of the listing.
Contents
Why read the listing at all?
Screenshots show an app at its best. The rest of the listing is where the developer states the facts: what it costs, what it collects, what it runs on and how often it changes. Those facts are also what we score. The prices, privacy labels and platform notes on our review pages come from the US App Store listing for each app, checked September 27, 2026, with Google Play or the app's own site where the App Store did not cover a point.
Who is the seller?
The seller line names the company behind the app, which is not always the name on the icon. The StoryGraph is sold by The StoryGraph Limited, Literal by Literal GmbH, Hardcover by Hardcover LLC and BookBuddy by Kimico, Ltd. Fable's Google Play listing names Scribd, Inc. as the developer, and Goodreads, Inc. describes itself as an Amazon company. The seller matters because it is the company whose privacy policy and data practices apply to your reading history.
What do the in-app purchases tell you?
A price line that says Free often sits next to the words In-App Purchases. The list further down the listing shows what those purchases are. It is the best single place to see how an app makes money, and it can be more detailed than the app's own marketing.
Some lists are short. Hardcover lists its Supporter tier at $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year, and Literal lists no in-app purchases at all, with membership sold on its website. Others are long. Bookly lists several overlapping Pro options, from $4.99 for one month to $29.99 for one year, plus a $79.99 Pro option. Magic Bookmark lists credit packs instead of a subscription: 1 credit for $4.99 up to 50 for $69.99, one credit per book.
Will it run on your devices?
The compatibility section lists the minimum system version and the devices supported. Magic Bookmark, for example, requires iOS 16.4 or later and is listed as only for iPhone, not verified for macOS. Check the platforms too: BookBuddy runs on iPhone and iPad, Literal lists Android as coming soon, and Magic Bookmark lists Android on its roadmap. If you read on an Android phone or want a web version, that can settle the choice before anything else.
What does the App Privacy section say?
The App Privacy section has up to three headings: data used to track you, data linked to you and data not linked to you. Read the first one first. Hardcover's label lists only usage data and diagnostics, not linked to you, while Bookly, Basmo and Magic Bookmark list identifiers under data used to track you. The labels are written by the developers, so read them as the app's own account. Our article on reading app privacy labels goes through all nine apps.
What does the version history show?
The version history lists each update with its date and notes. It tells you whether the app is maintained and what is changing. In 2026, Literal's version 1.22.0 on August 7 was described as rebuilt from the ground up, Goodreads 4.36.0 on August 17 added a US-only option for finding physical copies, and Magic Bookmark's history starts at version 1.0 on August 18. A long gap between updates is worth a second look; a stream of fixes is normal. Our News page lists the dated changes we track.
What is a five-minute listing check?
- Read the seller line and note the company.
- Scroll to In-App Purchases and write down the price of the tier you would actually use.
- Check compatibility against every device you read on.
- Read the App Privacy section, starting with data used to track you.
- Open the version history and look at the last three dates.
- Read the description for what the app says it does not do. Bookly, for example, states that the reading itself is not done in the app.
Then compare what you found with our review of the app. If our page and the listing disagree, the listing is newer: tell us at editors@bestbooktrackerapps.com and we will check it.