What Tome does

Tome was a book-blogging social network operated by BingBong Inc. (a Delaware C-corp headquartered at 25 Kent Ave, Brooklyn) that targeted fantasy and romance readers across iOS, Android, and web. The platform differentiated from Goodreads and Storygraph by focusing on the reading journey rather than finished-book cataloging: users could post reactions, memes, quotes, fan art, and progress updates while reading, rather than only logging final ratings. At launch in January 2025 the app reached #1 in the Books category and #6 overall on the North American App Store, with 100,000+ downloads and 300,000 web visits on day one.

The core platform combined a crowdsourced book database (post-March 2025 backed by ISBNdb after migrating from Google Books for better indie author coverage) with social feed mechanics (Hot/New/Following), book-specific pages aggregating all posts about a title, Tome Communities (subreddit-like groups across genres and hobbies), Reading Buddies (pinning up to 8 accounts), and a virtual currency layer (Tome Tokens) powering a user-generated Badge Marketplace. Tome committed explicitly to never selling advertising or user data and relied on three revenue streams: a $10/month Tome Keeper subscription (1,400 monthly tokens plus exclusive adornments), direct Tome Token purchases transacted via a marketplace chest, and bookshop.org affiliate commissions on book purchases. Distribution was direct-to-consumer through the Apple App Store, Google Play, and tomebooks.com.

Despite rapid product cadence — international expansion to UK/Australia/New Zealand (August 2025), Android launch (July 2025), Book Tracking (September 2025), Communities/Reading Buddies/Book Pages (October 2025), and platform-wide Dark Mode (March 2026) — the company announced shutdown on May 6, 2026, citing that Tome was "not financially viable to keep running" despite a community the team loved. Operations ceased on May 29, 2026. The 4-person founding team (Nick, James, Roque, Olivia, with Nick Confrey attributed in product announcements) operated without disclosed external funding, making subscription/token economics the sole monetization engine.

Name

Tome

Legal name

BingBong Inc.

Website

https://company.tomebooks.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2025

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Tome was a book-blogging social network for fantasy and romance readers, letting users track reading progress, share memes and fan art, and connect through book pages and communities across iOS, Android, and web. Operated by BingBong Inc., the app launched January 2025 and shut down May 29, 2026.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Reading Platform

NAICS

Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192), Book Retailers and News Dealers (4592)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Literature & Book Clubs / Guided Reading Groups (EDAMAJAG)

Keywords

• Social reading platform
• Book tracking app
• Reading community network
• Book blogging social
• Creator badge marketplace

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Tome Keeper Subscription: Monthly subscription at $10/month providing exclusive features including: 1,400 monthly Tome Tokens, special pink diamond badge, exclusive profile adornments, early access to customizations, and rank number indicating early support. This is the primary revenue stream designed to replace advertising.
2. Tome Tokens Marketplace: Virtual currency system where users can purchase tokens (Tome Keeper stipend or direct purchase) to buy badges and award posts. Badge creators earn a share of tokens from badge sales. Token purchases are final and non-refundable.
3. Bookshop.org Affiliate: Affiliate revenue from bookshop.org integration where users can purchase books directly from book pages. Bookshop.org has a mission to support local bookstores.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Tome was a book blogging social network for readers, combining reading tracking, community discussion, and profile customization into a single iOS/Android/Web platform. Its primary offering was the free Tome app where users could share memes, fan art, reactions, and book recommendations while tracking reading progress on dedicated Book Pages, supported by a $10/month Tome Keeper subscription, a Tome Tokens virtual currency, and a Badge Marketplace.

Product overview

Tome was a book blogging social network that combined reading tracking, community engagement, and social media features into a unified platform. The core product was the Tome App (iOS, Android, Web), supported by premium features including the Tome Keeper Subscription ($10/month for ad-free access), Tome Tokens (virtual currency), and the Badge Marketplace (user-generated decorative badges). Community features included Tome Communities (subreddit-like groups), Reading Buddies, and Book Pages. Additional offerings like Dark Mode, Profile Decorations, the Book Tracking System, TikTok TBR Assistant, Tome Tarot, and the crowdsourced Tome Book Database extended functionality. The company operated on a no-ads, no-data-selling model with sustainability relying on Tome Keeper subscriptions. The app shut down on May 29, 2026.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tome App (iOS, Android, Web)

Quantifiable outcome

• 100,000+ downloads on day 1 of launch
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• bookshop.orgcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 6 March 2025Bookshop.org integration on Tome's book pages allows users to view summaries and purchase books directly. Bookshop.org has a mission to support local bookstores, aligning with Tome's community-first values. This partnership provides affiliate revenue and supports indie authors.
• ISBNdbcoreTechnology or IntegrationSwitched from Google Books to ISBNdb for book database provider in March 2025. ISBNdb supports more small authors and indie publishers with better selection and higher quality book cover images.
• Reading RhythmsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with Reading Rhythms for in-person Reading Parties. Recommended to users as an alternative community option after Tome's shutdown announcement.
• PageboundminorOthersRecommended as alternative for users who liked Tome's book pages feature. Pagebound offers book-specific forum discussions similar to Reddit with posting at progress % feature.
• FableminorOthersRecommended as alternative for users who liked posting photos and visual recaps. Fable offers monthly recaps and reading tracking features.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bookly: Reading tracker app with reading stats, timers, and progress tracking. Overlaps with Tome's book-tracking feature set (status, page numbers, progress percentages).
• Goodreads: Amazon-owned social reading platform for tracking books, writing reviews, and connecting with readers. Tome explicitly positioned against Goodreads, calling it out as the legacy incumbent whose 'finished-book ratings' model Tome set out to improve.
• Fable: Social reading app offering reading tracking, monthly recaps, and book-club features. Specifically recommended by Tome's team as an alternative for users who liked visual recaps and posting photos.
• StoryGraph: Indie book-tracking platform with strong social features, half-star ratings, reading journal, and content warnings. Explicitly named by Tome as a comparable, with both targeting readers dissatisfied with Goodreads.
• Pagebound: Book-specific forum platform with posting at progress percentage and Reddit-like discussion threads. Recommended by Tome as an alternative for users who liked Tome's per-book page format.
• Litsy: Instagram-style social network for readers with book reviews, photos, and community engagement. Comparable in mission to make book discussion social and visual rather than purely cataloging-focused.

Emerging players

• Readwise: Reading highlight and note management platform for books and articles. Comparable in the reading-journaling space and as a destination for power-reader workflows.

Broad incumbents

• BookBub: Large-scale book discovery and recommendation platform serving readers and authors. Comparable adjacent player in the book-engagement ecosystem with author promotion and affiliate purchasing.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/tome_app
• TikToktiktok.com/@tome_app
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tomebooks

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Tome