Readmill

Epilogue

March 28, 2014

Three years ago, we set out to create an open, independent reading platform. We believed that the reading experience could be beautiful and that it was meant to be shared.

Along the way, we created a reading app for iOS and Android that proved these things to be true. We’re proud of the product we built, but even more so, we’re grateful for the community of readers that made it grow.

At every turn, your feedback shaped Readmill’s development, and your passion signaled a new chapter for reading. Together we wrote in the margins of ebooks and discussed our favorite passages from across the world. Thank you for helping to bring this reality into view.

Readmill’s story ends here. Many challenges in the world of ebooks remain unsolved, and we failed to create a sustainable platform for reading. For this, we’re deeply sorry. We considered every option before making the difficult decision to end the product that brought us together.

As of today, it is no longer possible to create a new account, and on July 1, 2014, the Readmill app will no longer be available. For the next three months, our first priority is to help you transition to other services and get back to reading. All of your books and reading data are available for export in multiple formats.

Our team will be joining Dropbox, where our expertise in reading, collaboration and syncing across devices finds a fitting home. Millions of people use Dropbox to store and share their digital lives, and we believe it’s a strong foundation on which to build the future of reading. We’re delighted to work alongside this talented team and imagine new ways to read together.

Thank you for the time and attention you’ve contributed to this community. It has been a privilege to read together, and we look forward to meeting again, in new ways, in the margins.

Sincerely,
Henrik, David & the Readmill team

FAQ

How long will my books and reading data be available?

Your books and reading data will be available until July 1, 2014. Until then, you can download your books and export your reading data.

What can I export?

Export data includes books, followers, followings, readings, highlights, reviews, comments and likes on your highlights and reviews, and highlights you liked. View the export options.

What happens to my reading data? Will my privacy be protected?

All of your books, reading data and account information will be permanently deleted after July 1, 2014. User information will not be archived, shared or saved in any way.

Can I continue using the Readmill app?

You can, but we do not recommend it. The app will not be updated or supported after July 1, 2014, and we’d like to help you transition to another service now.

Have you considered selling books, offering subscriptions, charging for the app, charging for premium features, etc.?

Yes, we carefully considered these and other possibilities. Unfortunately, it is not possible to sell books on Apple’s platform at a competitive price. We also considered the book subscription model but did not find it to be a viable option for us. Finally, even if all users paid for the app, it would not provide the necessary resources to sustain and develop it.

Can I still upload books to my Readmill library?

Yes. You can upload books to your Readmill library until July 1, 2014.

Is Dropbox creating a reading app similar to Readmill?

No. But since reading on screens of all sizes is essential to work and life for so many, we’ll be approaching similar challenges in new ways at Dropbox.

Where should I read my ebooks now?

This will depend on your device and preferences. We’ve provided recommendations for you at the bottom of our export page.

Is there a reading app that can import my highlights?

Unfortunately not at the moment. We’ve provided ways to download all of your highlights and comments in a computer-readable format, so that other reading apps can build tools to import them.

Help! I still have questions.

We’re still here to answer your questions until July 1, 2014. Please write us at support@readmill.com, or find us on Twitter or Facebook.

This is our history

Readmill is not only a reading app, but a team and a community too. It was founded in February 2011 by Henrik Berggren and David Kjelkerud.

These are the milestones we reached

Over the past three years, we’ve celebrated many milestones. This graph illustrates our milestones across time, with each bar representing new signups over a three-day period.

november 2010 february 2014

560,797

Total hours read

1,252,192

Total highlights created

1,503

Most hours read by one reader

22h, 40min

Longest single reading session

These are the books we read together

These are the twelve most popular books in the Readmill community. It’s based upon the number of readers and highlights.

1. Metamorphosis Franz Kafka
3. Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy
5. Orlando Virginia Woolf
9. Dubliners James Joyce
10. The Nose Nikolai Gogol
11. Persuasion Jane Austen
12. The Trial Franz Kafka

These are the people behind Readmill

Hailing from Sweden, Slovenia, Switzerland, the US and France, the Readmill team is based in Berlin. We’ve loved working alongside Berlin’s many startups, artists and entrepreneurs.

Christoffer Klang Android Engineer
Martin Hwasser iOS Engineer
Christof Dorner Android Engineer
Alex Miles Design
Robert Kajić Backend Engineer
Tomaz Nedeljko iOS Engineer
Lisa Sanchez Community
Sane Lebrun Marketing

These are the people we’d like to thank

Many people contributed to Readmill as team members, investors and champions of the reading experience. We’d like to thank a few of them here.