Terms

The rules for using Pagemates, in plain English, because that's how we'd want to read them. Last updated 30 September 2026: Pagemates is now for readers aged thirteen and up.

Who we are

Pagemates is made in the Netherlands by Merlijn Andriessen, trading as Pagemates. These terms apply to the Pagemates app and to pagemates.app. By using either, you agree to them and to our privacy page, which says what we keep and why. Questions go to hello@pagemates.app.

Who can use it

• Pagemates is for readers aged thirteen and up. If you're under sixteen, you need the permission of a parent or guardian.
• One account per person. Keep access to your email to yourself: it's how you sign in, so what happens on your account is up to you.

What you put in stays yours

Your beats, closings, circle messages, your name, the line under it and your photo belong to you. You give us permission to store them and to show them to other readers in the places you chose: on the book, in the circle, on your profile, and on your profile on the web if it's open. This permission is free, worldwide and only for running Pagemates. It ends when you delete the thing or your account.

Only put in what you may share: your own words, and photos you took or have the right to use. A short quote from the book you're reading is fine.

House rules

Pagemates is a place to read with your people. There is no room here for objectionable content, or for people who abuse others. So:

• Be kind to other readers. No harassment, threats, hate or bullying.
• No nudity or sexual images, and nothing sexual involving anyone under eighteen, ever.
• No spam, no selling, no pretending to be someone else.
• Keep the ending for the people who got there. Don't put spoilers where Pagemates can't hide them, such as your name, the line under it or a circle name.
• Don't try to break Pagemates, copy it in bulk, get around its limits, or see what isn't yours to see.

Text other readers see passes a word filter, and profile photos pass a check first. You can report anything and block anyone. If something breaks these rules, we may remove it, and if it's serious or keeps happening, close the account. We'll tell you what we did and why. If you think we got it wrong, write to hello@pagemates.app and a person will look at it again.

Books and covers

Book titles, covers and descriptions come from Open Library and from publishers, and belong to their owners. We show them so you can find and recognise your books. If you own a cover or a text and want it taken down, write to hello@pagemates.app and we'll remove it within a day.

The name Pagemates, the mark, the bookplates and the rest of the design are ours. The bookplate you made is yours to share wherever you like.

Free, with no ads

Everything you need to read with your people is free, and so are all your statistics and years. Pagemates shows no advertising, and there never will be. What is free stays free.

Supporter

Supporter is an optional subscription. It adds beautiful things, like the bookcase, more reading rooms and your own covers. It never locks away anything you need to read with your people.

• Where you buy it: in the App Store or on Google Play, by the month or by the year. Apple or Google sells it for us and takes the payment from your account when you confirm.
• The price is the one the store shows you before you buy, including VAT.
• It renews by itself at the end of each month or year, unless you turn renewal off at least 24 hours before the period ends. The store charges your account in the 24 hours before the new period starts.
• Stopping is done in the subscription settings of your Apple or Google account. You keep Supporter until the end of the period you paid for.
• Refunds go through Apple or Google, under their rules. We can't give them ourselves. Your rights as a consumer, including any right to withdraw from the purchase, stay yours.
• If the price goes up, the store tells you first and asks you where the rules require it.
• Deleting your account doesn't stop the subscription. Stop it in the store as well.
• Founding Pagemates and Early Supporters were given Supporter at no cost. Nothing renews and there is nothing to stop.

If you got the app from Apple

Apple's Standard End User License Agreement applies to the app, together with these terms. Also:

• These terms are between you and Pagemates, not Apple. Apple isn't responsible for the app or what is in it, and doesn't have to give support for it.
• If the app doesn't do what the law says it should, you can tell Apple, and Apple will refund what you paid for the app, if anything. Apple has no other duty about the app.
• Apple isn't responsible for claims about the app, such as product liability, a law it doesn't meet, or consumer protection. If someone says the app infringes their rights, we deal with it, not Apple.
• You confirm that you're not in a country under a United States embargo and not on a United States list of restricted parties.
• Apple and its subsidiaries may enforce these terms against you.

If you got the app from Google Play, Google Play's terms apply to buying Supporter there.

Leaving

You can delete your account yourself at any time, in Settings in the app or on the site. Deleting removes everything you put in, straight away. To take your things with you first, use Export in Settings on the site. The privacy page says exactly what goes.

Pagemates as it is

We work to keep Pagemates running and your things safe. It's small and made by hand, so sometimes it will be down, slow or wrong, a page count included. We offer it as it is, without promises that it will always be there or always be right, and we may change or stop parts of it. If we ever stop Pagemates, we'll tell you in advance, give you time to take your things with you, and stop charging for Supporter.

We aren't liable for indirect loss, and our liability to you is at most what you paid us in the twelve months before. None of this limits what the law doesn't let us limit, such as liability for intent or gross negligence, or your rights as a consumer.

Changes

If these terms change in a way that matters, we say so at the top with the date, and in the app, before the change starts. If you don't agree, you can stop using Pagemates and delete your account.

Law

Dutch law applies, and disputes go to the court in the Netherlands that has jurisdiction. If you live elsewhere in the European Union, you keep the protection of the law where you live and may go to your own court. But write to us first: hello@pagemates.app. Most things are easier to fix than to argue about.