Onboarding and Account on BookGroup
How do I create an account and sign in to BookGroup?
BookGroup does not use passwords. On the sign-in screen, type your email in the "Email" field and tap "Continue with Email". You receive a 6-digit code by email and enter it in the "Verification code" field to confirm. After confirming, if this is your first access, BookGroup asks for your date of birth and country before unlocking the rest of the platform. You can also sign in directly by tapping "Sign in with Google" or "Sign in with Facebook" on the same screen, without needing the email code. There is no separate "create account" step: your first successful sign-in creates your account automatically.
Can I sign in to BookGroup with my Google or Facebook account?
Yes. On the sign-in screen, tap "Sign in with Google" or "Sign in with Facebook". You are taken to the chosen provider's authorization screen; once you confirm, you return to BookGroup already signed in. If this is your first time, an account is created automatically using the basic information provided by the provider, and you move on to the date of birth and country step like any new user. If you use Facebook and do not grant email permission during authorization, BookGroup cannot complete sign-in and shows a notice asking you to grant email access on Facebook or use another sign-in method.
What is the verification code BookGroup sends by email?
After typing your email and tapping "Continue with Email", BookGroup sends a 6-digit code to that inbox. That code must be entered in the "Verification code" field on the next screen and confirmed with the "Verify code" button — this is how BookGroup confirms you have access to that email, without needing a password. The code has limited validity: if you take too long to use it, it expires and BookGroup shows the message "Code expired. Request a new one." If you want to try a different email before receiving the code, tap "Change email" to go back to the previous screen.
What is biometric sign-in on BookGroup?
On some Android devices, after a successful sign-in BookGroup may offer to enable the device's own biometrics (fingerprint or face recognition) so you can sign in faster next time, without typing your email and code again. This offer only appears on supported devices, usually when BookGroup is installed as an app on the phone. Anyone who enables this can later sign in by tapping "Sign in with biometrics" on the initial sign-in screen, directly with their fingerprint or face — skipping the email step. You can enable or disable this option at any time in account settings.
Why does BookGroup ask for my date of birth and country?
On first access, BookGroup asks you to fill in "Date of Birth" and "Country" before unlocking the rest of the platform. BookGroup is a global reading platform, and this information helps adjust the content shown according to each country's age rating rules and protect underage readers. This step does not set the platform's language — the initial language comes from your browser or device, and you can change it later in settings. Without completing date of birth and country, you cannot move on to the rest of BookGroup, even if you already signed in successfully.
I'm the guardian of an underage BookGroup user — how does that work?
If, when filling in the date of birth and country, BookGroup determines the person is a minor under the rules of the country provided, the form also requires a "Guardian email (18+)" field — which must be different from the email used to create the minor's account. That guardian will be able to sign in to their own account with their email to follow the minor's reading and conversations, but only one session stays active at a time between the two accounts. Once validated, signing in again with the guardian's email shows a screen to choose between "My account" and the supervised minor's account before entering.
What is BookGroup's waitlist and what happens while I'm on it?
When there are no available slots at the time of sign-up, BookGroup places the given email on a waitlist instead of granting immediate access. The waitlist screen shows your position in the queue and, when available, the estimated wait time. You receive an email when it's your turn. While you're in the queue, there's nothing else to do but wait — no purchase action is required at this time, and if you already had a previous free account, it keeps working normally.
How do I leave BookGroup's waitlist?
On the waitlist screen itself, check the box "I do not want to stay in the waitlist and want to remove my email." and tap the "Remove from waitlist" button. After removal, BookGroup confirms with the message "Email removed" and takes you back to the sign-in screen. This removes the email from the queue; if you want access to BookGroup later, you'll need to sign in again through the sign-in screen and, depending on slot availability at that time, you may need to join the waitlist again.
I received a BookGroup invite link — what happens when I tap it?
An invite link (in the format bookgroup.social/invite/...) signs you in automatically to the account associated with that invite, without needing to type an email or code. If the link has already expired or is invalid, BookGroup shows an invalid-invite notice and takes you back to the sign-in screen within a few seconds. If the invite is accepted successfully and you haven't yet completed date of birth and country, that step appears before anything else; after that, BookGroup finishes linking the invite and takes you to the pending invitations screen, from which you can access the related group.
I was referred by another BookGroup user (referral link) — what happens?
A referral link takes you to a screen showing the group you were invited to and, when available, the name of the person who referred you. If you don't have an account yet, you'll see "Create account to join" and "I already have an account" buttons — both lead to the same sign-in screen, since your first sign-in with that email creates the account automatically. If you try to use your own referral link, BookGroup lets you know you cannot use your own link. If the group is no longer accepting new members, BookGroup shows that instead of trying to complete sign-in. Depending on the group's rules, entering through the link may take you straight to the group, create an access request for the group's manager to approve, or lead to a payment screen if the group has paid access.
What are the interest tags I get asked to pick when I first join BookGroup?
After your first sign-in (and completing date of birth and country), readers see the "Where do you want to start?" screen, with reading-topic tags to choose from. Picking tags doesn't limit what you can read later — it only helps BookGroup show book suggestions that fit you from your very first visit. You can select several tags, clear your selection with "Clear choices", or skip this choice by tapping "See what is trending in each tag" to see general suggestions instead of personalized ones. When you're done, tap "Continue to BookGroup" to enter the platform.
I want to publish my book on BookGroup — what's the first step?
Authors who sign up with that intent see the "You're here to publish" screen, which explains the path in four steps: publishing the manuscript through the MakePub tool (at no cost), getting a reading group on the platform once approved, sharing that group's link with readers, and only then deciding whether and how to sell access to that content. The "Publish my book" button leads straight to MakePub to submit the manuscript. If you'd rather explore BookGroup first, "Keep exploring the platform" leads to the home screen, and "I also want to discover books to read" leads to the reader interest-tags screen.
What's the difference between publishing for free and having BookGroup Premium?
Publishing a book through MakePub costs nothing and already guarantees a reading group on the platform, which the author manages with author permissions — but that group belongs to BookGroup's platform account, and the author acts by delegation. Features like full billing, advanced reader-relationship tools, and creating your own commercial group (which the author owns) require BookGroup Premium. In short: publishing and building a reader community is free by default; selling access to your own content with full commercial tools is what Premium unlocks. To learn about plans, tap "Learn about Premium" on the publisher welcome screen.
I received an access link to a specific BookGroup group — what do I do?
A link like this (received, for example, from an author or a specific group) signs you in automatically and shows "Access confirmed!" before taking you straight to the related group. If the link has already expired, BookGroup shows "Link expired" and suggests requesting new access on the author's publishing page. If BookGroup identifies the access as an author joining the platform (rather than a reader joining a group), the notice instead confirms that publisher access is already enabled before moving on to the next onboarding steps.