Raf

What Raf does

Raf is a Turkish-language social platform for tracking movies, TV series, and books, operated as a sole proprietorship by Mert Günay out of Şile, Istanbul. The product is built mobile-first, distributed through Apple's App Store and Google Play, with an additional TestFlight early-access beta program and a web surface under construction. Core functionality lets individual users catalog what they have watched or read, rate and review titles, organize personal shelves, and follow other users — positioning Raf as a social layer over media consumption tracking for a consumer audience.

The technical stack is composed of third-party infrastructure rather than proprietary systems: Firebase for backend services, Cloudflare for CDN, and external metadata sources including TMDB and IMDb for film/TV data and Open Library and Google Books for book data. This dependency on third-party catalogs means Raf's value is concentrated in its social and personalization layer rather than in its content database. The company is bootstrapped with no external funding and operates with a small team of approximately six employees.

Raf monetizes through a freemium model, with Raf Premium positioned as the paid subscription tier. There is no disclosed subscriber count, ARR, or pricing detail in the available evidence. The business has no enterprise customers, no strategic partnerships beyond technology integrations, and no disclosed M&A activity; strategic activity since founding has centered on iterative product launches, platform expansion, and the introduction of the Premium tier.

Name

Raf

Legal name

Raf (Mert Günay — sole proprietorship)

Website

https://appraf.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Raf is a Turkish-language mobile social platform that lets individual users track, rate, and review movies, TV series, and books, monetized via a freemium Raf Premium subscription, operated by a small bootstrapped team out of Istanbul.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Şile, Istanbul

HQ country

Türkiye

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Premium Subscription (Raf Premium): Auto-renewable paid subscription offering premium features including: seeing non-followers who view your profile, hiding shelves, unlimited shelf management, and personal notes on content. Available in monthly and yearly tiers through iOS and Android platforms.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Raf is a social entertainment tracking platform available as a mobile application (iOS and Android) and a web platform that lets individual users catalog, rate, and review movies, TV series, and books. Users build personalized shelves/lists, follow other users, and discover new content through social recommendations and reviews. The platform is monetized via a freemium model, with Raf Premium offered as a paid subscription that removes ads and unlocks additional features.

Product overview

Raf is a social entertainment tracking platform structured as a mobile application with web presence. The core product enables users to track and organize movies, TV series, and books through personal 'shelves' (lists), write reviews and ratings, follow other users, and discover content through exploration feeds. Raf Premium is a paid subscription add-on that provides enhanced features including visibility into who has added specific content, improved shelf management tools, tagging capabilities, and an early access program for new iOS features. The service operates on iOS and Android platforms with a web application under development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Raf

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Apple Inc.coreTechnology or IntegrationApple provides Sign in with Apple authentication, App Store subscription processing and billing, and APNs (Apple Push Notification service) for delivering push notifications to iOS users. All payment data is processed by Apple; Raf does not collect credit card information from iOS users.
• Google LLCcoreTechnology or IntegrationGoogle provides Sign in with Google authentication, Google Play subscription processing and billing, and Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) infrastructure for push notifications. All payment data is processed by Google for Android users.
• Firebase / Google LLCcoreTechnology or IntegrationFirebase provides Crashlytics for crash analysis and reporting, Analytics for usage analysis and improvement of user experience, and FCM for push notification infrastructure. Data processed includes device model, OS version, app version, crash stack traces, and anonymized interaction events. Data stored in EU (Frankfurt) and USA.
• Cloudflare, Inc.coreTechnology or IntegrationCloudflare provides Content Delivery Network (CDN) for fast content delivery, R2 object storage for images (profile photos, post photos), and bot mitigation services. Operates on global edge network with primary storage in USA.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Letterboxd: Social platform for tracking, rating, and reviewing movies with personal lists and a follower graph. Most direct global comparable to Raf's movie-shelf and social-feed mechanics.
• Goodreads: Amazon-owned social reading platform for tracking books, writing reviews, and joining reading groups. Direct comparable to Raf's book-tracking shelves and review community features.
• The StoryGraph: Independent, subscription-based book tracking and social reading app with personal lists, reviews, and community recommendations. Closely mirrors Raf's indie subscription + shelves model for the book category.
• Trakt: Cross-platform service for tracking watched movies and TV series, with lists, stats, and community feeds. Comparable to Raf's combined movie/series tracking and social discovery functionality.
• Simkl: Tracking platform for movies, TV, and anime with watchlists, history, and discovery features. Comparable multi-vertical tracking and community-driven recommendation set to Raf.

Emerging players

• Serializd: Social tracking and review app focused specifically on TV series. Adjacent vertical overlap with Raf's series shelf and review features, serving a similar media-enthusiast persona.
• MyAnimeList: Long-running social platform for tracking anime and manga with lists, reviews, and community forums. Comparable social-tracking and shelves model for an enthusiast media niche adjacent to Raf's audience.
• Stash (Apple TV app): Mobile app for tracking movies and TV shows with personal watchlists and recommendations. Similar consumer-only indie tracking app with overlapping movie/series shelf functionality.

Broad incumbents

• Last.fm: Large-scale scrobbling and social discovery service primarily for music, with follower feeds and stats. Shares Raf's pattern of social media-consumption tracking and community graphs, but for audio rather than video/print.
• Mubi: Curated film streaming and social platform with reviews, lists, and community for cinephiles. Comparable premium subscription + cinephile audience targeting, though it adds a streaming component Raf lacks.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/raf_app
• Instagraminstagram.com/appraf

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Raf