Frequently asked questions

What is Peony?

An iPhone app for reading EPUB and PDF files that you add yourself, with highlights, notes and bookmarks.

Which formats does it open?

EPUB and PDF. Highlights and bookmarks work in EPUB books. PDFs open for reading, but highlights and bookmarks for PDFs are not available yet.

Where are my highlights, notes and bookmarks stored?

Only on your device, in a local database. They are not uploaded anywhere. See the privacy policy.

Do I need an account?

No. Reading needs no account, and neither does PDF conversion: the app makes a random ID for itself the first time it converts a PDF, and that ID is not linked to your name, email or phone number.

Does it work offline?

Yes, for books already on your device. Reading, highlighting and bookmarks need no connection. PDF conversion (below) needs one.

Can Peony read a book aloud?

Yes, for EPUB books. Tap the speaker button at the top of the page to start from where you are. The sentence being read is underlined and the page turns with it. Tap again to pause. Choose Slow, Normal, Fast or Faster in the Aa settings. It uses the voices that come with your iPhone, works offline, and sends nothing anywhere. It keeps reading with the screen locked, and the lock screen shows play and pause. PDFs that open as pages are not read aloud; once a PDF is converted to an EPUB it can be.

Why are the margins of my PDF cut off?

When a PDF opens as pages, Peony trims the empty white space at the left and right so the text is larger. It only changes how the page is shown; your file is not changed. Turn off "Trim page margins" in the Aa settings to see the full page.

How do I copy my highlights to Obsidian or Anki?

Open a highlight and use Copy to get it as a Markdown block with the book and location, then paste it into Obsidian, Anki or any other app. You can also copy all highlights of a book at once.

How does PDF conversion work?

PDFs are fixed-layout pages, which can be hard to read on a phone. When conversion is enabled in Settings, the app sends each PDF you add to this site's server, which turns it into a reflowable EPUB. The book in your library then switches to the EPUB, and the original PDF stays on your device. It is on by default; you can switch it off in the app's Settings. Each request carries the random ID the app made on your phone, which the server uses only to count conversions and to stop abuse.

What happens if I switch conversion off?

Nothing is ever sent anywhere. PDFs simply open as pages. EPUB files you add are never sent anywhere, whether conversion is on or off.

Can scanned PDFs be converted?

Yes, up to 600 pages. A scan is only a set of page images, so the server first recognises the text on each page (English, on the server, with open-source software) and then converts it like any other PDF. It takes longer, about a second or two a page, and the result is only as good as the scan: a crooked, faint or very noisy scan may read poorly. The page pictures themselves are not kept in the EPUB. A scan that cannot be recognised opens as pages instead.

How long do my files stay on the server?

The PDF and the EPUB are deleted after the app has downloaded the EPUB, or within 24 hours at the latest. The 24 hours count from when the conversion finishes (a conversion that is waiting or running comes first). The server also keeps a numbers-only record of each conversion (status, file sizes and outcome, never file names or contents), which can stay up to 30 days.

Can I convert a PDF in a web browser instead?

Signed-in users of this site can also convert a PDF in the browser. The same deletion rules apply.

Something is wrong. Who do I ask?

Write to support.