Fanficly: an AO3 reader app for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Windows
Fanficly is a free, ad-free app for reading fanfiction from Archive of Our Own (AO3) on iPhone, iPhone Duo, iPad, Mac and Windows. Its source code is public. There are no Fanficly servers or accounts, no ads and no analytics: everything runs on your device and talks directly to AO3.
App Store (iPhone, iPhone Duo, iPad and Mac) · Microsoft Store (Windows) · fanficly.app
What it does
- Search that does what you typed. Keywords go to AO3's own search, and live tag suggestions turn words into exact filters with one tap.
teen wolf means Teen Wolf.
- A reader made for long stories. Scroll, swipe by chapter or turn pages like a book, with two-page spreads on wide screens, themes, fonts and named typography profiles.
- Your library, offline. Save stories, read them without a connection, sort them into folders, and pick up at the exact paragraph you left.
- New chapter alerts. Follow works and authors without an account and get a notification when something new is posted. Turn on alerts for a saved search to hear about new fics that match it.
- Listen. Stories read aloud with the device's own voices, nothing sent anywhere.
- Stats and a yearly wrap. Stories finished, time and words read, your streak and your top fandoms, all computed on your device.
- Optional AO3 account. Sign in for your AO3 subscriptions, bookmarks, comments and kudos. Your password is never stored.
Pick your platform
Every app has the same core features. Open a platform for its screenshots, extras and docs. The iPhone, iPhone Duo, iPad and Mac sections share one guide: features · build and run · accessibility · roadmap · privacy.
| Search | Reader | Library | Browse |
|---|
| | | |
Home-screen and lock-screen widgets, the Safari share sheet, and lock-screen controls while a story is read aloud.
Docs: the Apple app guide · all iPhone screenshots
| Folded: search | Folded: reader | Folded: library |
|---|
| | |
Unfolded, the reader becomes an open book with the fold as its spine. Folding or unfolding keeps your place in the story.
Docs: the Apple app guide · screenshots: folded, unfolded
| Search | Reader | Library | Browse |
|---|
| | | |
A sidebar beside every screen, two-page spreads in landscape, and page turns from a hardware keyboard or a Bluetooth page turner.
Docs: the Apple app guide · all iPad screenshots
A resizable window, ⌘1–9 for the tabs, ⌘+ / ⌘− for the story's text size, interface zoom from the View menu (⇧⌘+ / ⇧⌘−, ⌘0), and arrow keys, Page Up / Page Down or a Bluetooth page turner to turn pages.
Docs: the Apple app guide · all Mac screenshots
Widgets on Windows 11, taskbar jump lists, sync through OneDrive or any folder you already sync, keyboard, controller and Narrator support. The backup format matches the Apple app, so a PC and an iPhone can share one library.
Docs: features and setup · build and run · accessibility · roadmap · privacy · screenshots: desktop, tablet, narrow window
The screenshots come from each app's demo mode and are regenerated by the release tooling, so they track what shipped.
For developers
The two apps share behavior, not code: the Windows app is a port of the Swift app, which stays the reference implementation. Both are developed on main.
apple/ the iPhone, iPad and Mac app (Xcode project from project.yml)
windows/ the Windows app (Fanficly.Windows.slnx)
website/ fanficly.app (static site, deployed by Vercel)
CITATION.cff machine-readable summary of the app (GitHub's "Cite this repository")
.github/ CI: ci.yml for apple/, windows-*.yml for windows/; release.yml and
store-assets.yml release the Apple app (apple/docs/RELEASING.md);
scripts/roadmap.sh lists both roadmaps
CI is split by app: a change under apple/ runs the Apple workflow, a change under windows/ runs the Windows ones, and a pull request that touches both runs both.
FAQ
What is Fanficly?
Fanficly is an app for reading fanfiction from Archive of Our Own (AO3). It searches AO3 with live tag suggestions and every AO3 filter, keeps a library you can read offline, remembers your place in each story down to the paragraph, and reads stories aloud with your device's own voices.
Is Fanficly free?
Yes. Fanficly is free on the App Store and the Microsoft Store, and it has no ads.
Which devices does Fanficly run on?
iPhone and iPad with iOS 17 or later (including iPhone Duo, folded and unfolded), Macs with macOS 14 Sonoma or later, and PCs with Windows 10 (version 2004 or later) or Windows 11, on x64 and ARM64.
Does Fanficly work with Bluetooth page turners?
Yes. Page turners and scroll remotes that pair as a Bluetooth keyboard (arrow keys, Page Up and Page Down, or Space) turn the page in page-by-page mode and scroll a screenful in the scrolling modes, on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Windows. Ring and handheld scrollers in touch mode swipe and tap like a finger. Remotes that only send volume presses (a camera or volume mode) turn pages too once you switch on Volume buttons turn pages in the reader settings, on iPhone, iPad and Windows; the Mac has no volume buttons for them to press.
Do I need an AO3 account?
No. Searching, reading, saving works for offline reading, and following works and authors all work without an account. Signing in to AO3 is optional and adds your AO3 bookmarks, subscriptions, comments and kudos. Your password goes only to AO3 and is never stored.
Can I read AO3 fanfiction offline?
Yes. Download a work and its chapters are saved on your device. You can also export a work as EPUB, MOBI, AZW3, PDF or HTML.
Will Fanficly tell me when a story updates?
Yes. Follow a work or an author and Fanficly checks in the background, then sends a notification when a new chapter or a new work is posted. Turn on alerts for a saved search and it tells you when a new fic matching it is posted. This needs no account.
Does Fanficly collect my data?
No. There is no Fanficly account or server, no analytics, no ads and no tracking. Your library, reading progress and settings stay on your devices. On Apple devices, reader profiles and your last-read position sync through your own iCloud, and you can turn on a full library backup there too. On Windows, sync is off until you pick a folder, such as OneDrive or any folder you already sync.
How does Fanficly get stories from AO3?
AO3 has no public API, so Fanficly reads the same web pages the AO3 website serves, at most one request a second, with a User-Agent that names the app and links to this repository.
Is Fanficly affiliated with AO3?
No. Fanficly is an independent app, not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by AO3 or the Organization for Transformative Works. Every work is hosted and moderated by AO3.
Is Fanficly's source code available?
Yes. The source code for every app is public in this repository under the PolyForm Noncommercial License 1.0.0, which allows reading, changing and sharing it for any noncommercial purpose.
Privacy
We collect nothing. Each store listing links its own policy: PRIVACY.md for iPhone, iPad and Mac, and windows/PRIVACY.md for Windows.
Contributing
PRs welcome. Read CONTRIBUTING.md, then the guide for the app you're changing. Be kind, be patient with reviewers. See CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md.
Fanficly is not affiliated with AO3 or the Organization for Transformative Works.
License
PolyForm Noncommercial License 1.0.0.
