Questions and answers
Everything people ask before installing and after, on one page.
not a question but a “how do I”?GuidesWhat people ask before installing
Where do the books come from?
From your files: folders, archives, iCloud Drive, any Files provider, AirDrop, Share. Akoue does not sell or download books.
Is this like Audible?
No. Audible sells you books and lets you listen to them; Akoue puts the ones you already own in order. Audible files (AAX) are protected, and Akoue does not open them.
One book has two narrations and a text edition. Are those duplicates?
No, they are editions of one book. They live in one card, each with its own progress and its own storage state: you can listen to one narration and read the text of the same book. Deleting an edition does not delete the book.
Titles from the internet are all garbled. Can you help?
Yes. Akoue guesses the broken encoding and shows the possible readings with a preview before anything changes. Apply it to one field, the whole book or the whole batch; the original can always be restored.
Why is there a subscription if you have no servers?
The yearly plan does not pay for servers — there are none. It pays for development: the updates it is renewed for. If you do not want a subscription, buy Pro for good — that option comes first and is not going away.
What happens when the subscription ends?
Pro features close, your data does not: books moved to iCloud come back to the device for free and play; the catalog, bookmarks, statistics and edits stay. Renew or buy for good and everything opens up where you left it.
Everything else
What if I never buy Pro?
Everything you need to listen to books and keep them in order stays: unlimited import, catalog, player, reader, search, widgets. Pro is for when the collection no longer fits on the phone, or you have more than one device.
Which is better value: for good, or yearly?
Buying for good costs a little over three years of the yearly plan. If you listen constantly and the collection is large, for good is cheaper; if you want to try a year, take the year — you can still buy for good later, and the year was not wasted: Pro worked the whole time.
How many books can I add?
As many as you like. There is no limit in the free version or in Pro, and there will not be one.
Do catalog edits change my files?
No. The original tags are kept separately from your edits, the files on disk are left alone, and “Restore original” sits next to every field. Tags are never written back into the files.
Does it work without the internet?
Yes, entirely. The network is only needed for your iCloud: to move a book out, bring it back, or hand the position to another device.
Where do my files go when they are moved out?
Into the Akoue folder in your own iCloud Drive; you can see it in Files. The local file is deleted only after the cloud has confirmed the copy. Bringing a book back is one tap — it plays right away, downloading chapter by chapter.
Will my iCloud be big enough?
The free 5 GB will not hold a collection; moving books out is a deliberate choice and is off by default. The app shows the size before it starts and tells you if iCloud ran out of room — the files stay on the device in that case.
What do you know about me?
Nothing. No accounts, no analytics, no advertising or third-party SDKs. A diagnostic report is sent only at your request, and you see it before it goes.
The title shows on the lock screen. Can I hide it?
Yes. Settings → “Privacy” → “Hide the title on the lock screen”: the system player shows “Audiobook” instead of the title. “Index in system search” is switched off in the same place, if your books should not turn up in Spotlight.
How do I take my data with me?
The catalog exports to JSON and CSV, a backup is a single file, and the audio always sits there as ordinary files.
Is there Family Sharing?
Yes, on both purchases: one for the family group.
I am in Russia. How do I buy Pro?
The app is available in the Russian App Store, and everything you need to listen to books works free and without a time limit. But from 1 April 2026 Apple no longer accepts payment there: Pro for good and yearly renewals can only be paid from an Apple Account balance or with a code bought earlier. We have no other way to take payment and will not have one — those are the App Store rules.
Is there an Android or Mac version?
No. iPhone and iPad; Mac is in the queue, with no promises about dates.
Why not look covers up on the internet?
Because that would mean going online, and we promised not to. The cover comes from the file, the folder, or Akoue draws one; you can set your own from Photos or the camera.