Is libbyapp.com Legit?

Book "The Turn of the Key" expressly a nanny of a child murderer is a disturbed rendition acclaimed as best seller but is in fact dreadful and highly distasteful unworthy a review at all. Disgraceful filth. Shame on you.

Love this app - easy to use, easy to understand - can browse multiple libraries where I have cards in my area, all the notifications you could want (but you can cut them back). what more could you want than free, easy and functional?

Gave this site a bad first review as couldnt log in my library card. It now appears that libraries in Nottingham were updating their systems so not the fault of Libby. Have now got excellent magazines through the site so happy to amend the review.Nigel Mackinnon

I HATE YOU LIBBY APP !! I’d almost finished reading the latest novel I borrowed, then found it’s been returned ‘on my behalf’….without any warning to hurry up and read. Ah !! I’m now on a waiting list- of 26 people - in order to finish it.

Dreadful, don't know why libraries switched from overdrive, which worked perfectly to this amateur libby. Just the look of it is for 10 year old, with giant graphics and comic words. I does not allow you to download to an audio device. I do not like to listen on my phone, I use a device, smaller and easier. It is poor quality, there is no user support and it is very poorly designed. Not sure who made this decision, but a really bad one.

I love this app!! It’s been a lifesaver for me. Had a few issues with app logging on at first but since then it really is a great tool for anyone who has a library card. There isn’t a huge variety of books but if you call your local library and ask them to add a book they will help as much as they can. It is also linked to borrow box and overdrive which was a little tricky to work out but the actual Libby app is brilliant.It does seem that most people who comes to review are those that have had bad experiences but it would be good if those who use the service and love it would come on and give it a good review!! Mind you it’s only taken me 4years 🤣5 stars for me and I get through an audiobook every 2-3days- so, thank you Libby 🙌🙏

I don't know if I have anything else to offer than all the other 1 star reviews. Everything about it is awful. Extremely difficult to log in each and every time you want to use it, and unlike every other site and app, it doesn't work with saved information. Someone is clearly taking advantage of libraries with this sh*tshow.

Hate it! If you ever used Overdrive before, you know what I mean.Libby is a horrible alternative that can't be used offline with nearly impossible highlight function which I need for translation, you just try and try and try to highlight a text and to no avail. Too many buttons to push for context translation and so much more. When they will listen to us?????,

The old browser version allowed me to download books to read offline. This one doesn't.With the old browser version I could open up more than one book at a time so I could switch between then with a single click. This one doesn't.The old browser showed me the number of a book in a series on the loans page so I could easily track down the next one to download. This piece of rubbish doesn't. It allows me to find that out if I click on the (...) icon. Once again clumsy development.The old one allowed automatic update of reading position when changing between devices (I used phone, tablet and desktop depending on where I am). I don't have to shut anything down to be able to do this. This "new, improved" version does something, sometimes but seldom takes me to the correct position. And, yes, I could use bookmarks. That is clumsy, requires me to shutdown the app each time to get the bookmarks updated. Actually, clumsy is too polite a word.The only value I can see in the updated app is that it serves to give people something new and updated. Unfortunately the new and updated is comparable to a 1910 Model T Ford rather and a Tesla Model S.

The designers made this look pretty but I don't know if there is a more widely used low functionality app, I guess it's free and that's why libraries have latched onto it but it's hard to understand how a function app (overdrive) morphed into a completely useless app. it's still cool to be able to take books out from the library from home, but it's disappointing that it used to be MORE functional before, now that I've experienced a well functioning app it's hard to go backwards with this terrible embarrassment of a junior developers hopefully side project, and if it is someones' full time job they should consider switching careers. Don't know where to start, nothing is in an intuitive place, the help section is rarely helpful (you'd think people who are somewhat process oriented in that sort of department would actually walk through the instructions to see if they were usable or worked, and many of the times, they don't). I really hope a better app comes soon.

Terrible app, always crashing, can't find books after selecting a book, poor QA on new releases. When you file a tech support complaint, they just say it's your fault and tell you to delete the app and re-install it, which is a sign of poor coding and QA. The user experience is dreadful!!

The Libby app is so incredibly frustrating! I was notified that a book I was waiting for was now available. When I tried to borrow the book, I was asked to confirm my credentials by entering my library card info. I tried but received a message that the system was down for maintenance. By the time I was finally able to log in, the book was no longer available. Now I have to wait four weeks for the opportunity to borrow that book again.

latest version downloaded, but this library reading app never offers to remember my sign-in details, so I have to always have my library card number and pin number to hand. Then 4 more hoops to jump through.Never remembers previous borrowings. Always 'automatically synchronises to' last page in magazine, no way to change it, take 3 minutes to get back to first page.etcetera, feels like an app under development but rates itself as superb!

I read a lot of books, both on my Kindle Paperwhite and regular books. I get about half of my reading material at my local library. A few months ago, I tried borrowing things on my Kindle. For the past few days I've been trying to connect to Libby via my Paperwhite, which I've been able to do before, but today it keeps giving me a cute "TRY AGAIN" button. Well, why would I? Most of what's available isn't the kind of literature I read. This app is garbage.

The Libby app is so glitchy, so unreliable, that it is impossible to use. After reinstalling the app on my Kindle Fire several times over a period of weeks and have it work for only a short period, I have given up. Readers and supporters of public libraries deserve better.

Less than one star it’s a scamI used it for the first time because borrow box didn’t have a book I was wanting to listen to Got 20 minutes in and it said my internet connection was down so I returned the book and reborrowed (yes while my internet is apparently down) I started again and same thing won’t play because my internet is down

It's not very good. So many options for improvement. I suggest you show the remaining borrow time specifically (I was just trying to finish the last 40mins of a book that was to be returned 'today' only to find it cut out half way through a sentence. Or - how about having the option of a 24 hr extension, rather than 3 weeks? I will now have to wait several weeks to finish a book because other people have requested it. It's maddening.

Not at all a friendly user interface. Overdrive was much easier and without the hitches Libby has.The search facility is useless -example - I searched for an author and the search delivered 11 audio books and 17 books by this particular author. However when I clicked on the 17 books none of them were by the selected author! They were a random hodge podge of mystery/ thrillers . Dreadful app

Such a dreadful app I've stopped using it. The problem being that that the county library service uses it as it's vehicle for downloads. Not so much a public service as a publicly funded pain in the proverbial.

I have no issues with Libby. Preferred overdrive but..... now going to be forced to use borrowbox soon. Gave it a try today. Awful! Can't transfer book to my kobo without plugging into a computer or suchlike. Useless to me.

“Libby has stolen good audiobook players”

I use Libby on an android 8 phone. The quality of sound from the default Libby is TERRIBLE. Previously I listened to audio books on an old MP3 player. It worked well. I also have used several good audio book players on my smart phone. All included a graphic equalizer which made it possible To improve the quality of the sound. By eliminating the download of MP3s, LIbby has effectively stolen my old mp3 player and the good audio book players that have been put together by some young programmers. Bad all around.

“Terrible APP, awful user experience”

Terrible user experience, no logic to where nav takes you, you click back it takes you to a main page as opposed to the previous search results. The app frequently crashes, must be terrible coding practices and poor QA. On some devices (iPad and iPhone) the apps syncs a book (where you are in the book) most of the time you have to manually find where you were in other devices. Tech support just says delete and re-install, customer is always wrong I suppose Service Value Shipping Returns Quality

“Read books? Not while you're young.”

Anything popular you have to wait months for. Finally got still life, after waiting 8 weeks, only to find it had been returned 9 days early (not by me). Now I'd have to wait 13/weeks! Forget that, totally useless. Barnes and Noble, here I come. Now they threaten to filter out my review because I won't submit proof of purchase. It's a free app, idiots! Tip for consumers:Better off at a paid site. Products used:Books I had to wait months to borrow Quality

“Reduced functionality”

Many public libraries swithed from Overdrive to Libby, apparently written by the same authors as Overdrive. Unfortunately, Libby suffers from such reduced functionality (search and filter functions) it has been rendered useless. My reading lists are quite broad, but unless the author or title is on some commercial "Top 100 Bestsellers" list, it doesn't even appear, whether it's available or not. Please, go back to Overdrive, or else get a better search and checkout engine. Service Value Quality

“Libby overheats my iphone”

In March 2023 Libby started running hot. My iPhone got very hot and battery power level was declining rapidly after 10 minutes of reading. Before March I had used Libby on the same iPhone for years with no problems. Something changed in March. My IOS is 12.5 and will not update as it is an old iPhone. Now I have to go to the library to get a paper book. Very disappointing!

“This totally misses the point.”

I used overdrive so that I could listen to audiobooks while driving and/or exercising. Without a WiFi connection it is worthless. I can only listen to these downloads in my home via the internet. Again, useless. AND very clunky. It lost all of my history of titles I've "read" that were easy to search on Overdrive. I could say more, but it would insult the web developers

“I knew Overdrive, and your no Overdrive!”

Atrociously complex method of viewing books, One at a time! Seriously? Some IT factotum and group think thought ths would be better. It is not. Very hard to choose limited options for book searches, tedious borrowing and folks then remember to back to app choose "manage" download for example for kindle, return to app etc.etc. How does one choose reading level or sort available from wait list? ( by using panes which light up or go dark at random. And, I am just getting standard. This is e library for those who read a book a book a year. Bring back overdrive. Gave this app a good try - three months of pain. Products used:App Service Value Quality

“Bad move”

After having used Overdrive since it was first introduced to borrow audiobooks from my local digital library and having listened to literally hundreds of them I can unequivocally say that Libby is horrible! It's clunky and totally unintuitive from a user's standpoint. The search engine when compared to Overdrive is a piece of junk. The attempt to create a cute website with cute icons looks like it was created for either 10 year olds or idiots. You people need to hire someone who knows who your target users are and what they want. Whoever made the decision to abandon Overdrive and promote Libby needs to find a new line of work!

“If I could give Libby Zero Stars I would”

Loved Overdrive. Please bring it back. Simple to Use. Straightforward. Extremely adjustable reading pane, fonts, margins. Libby is messy and needlessly complicated and not very adjustable. It's missing a lot of the things I loved about Overdrive. I don't enjoy reading on Libby. Also Overdrive always worked. Not sure why Libby is not working right now for searching out a new book. It must be down? Overdrive was never down. Bring back Overdrive! Service Value Quality

“Libby is not Overdrive”

If I download a book it should be available whether or not I'm connected to a Wi-Fi source. Not the case with Libby…it is not as efficient as Overdrive nor as easy to use as Overdrive. I'm really frustrated. The app freezes as you turn a page, accessing my library's is confusing. I am an avid reader and enjoyed having the books at my disposal. I am not a fan of Libby

“Libby uses too much power compared to Overdrive”

I used Overdrive on my ipad and it was great to take on trips and I could read for hours on one battery charge. Libby drains my battery in less than 2 hours. Other little disadvantages are that I could see the time and battery charge left at the top of the page in Overdrive but this doesn't show up in Libby until you back out of the reading pane.

“Not a good replacement.”

Granted, Adobe Digital Editions was frustrating with it not being serviced and all but Libby is awful. Overdrive was great so I don't see why the push to change the app since all you really needed to do is replace ADE with an app that works consistantly. But no, you have to make a whole new system that's clunky, looses some functionality and made me cry. I'm disabled great-grandmother and I'm really hate the fact that I can no longer load a book onto my older iPad 4 and read it. Sitting for any length of time on my PC is painful so that's out. I'm just going to close my brower and see if I feel any better about this tomorrow but I'm guessing that will be a no and that you all really don't care. Quality

“Need to find an alternative to Libby”

I tried Libby when it was first released. Unlike Overdrive I now need WiFi. I find the structure clunky. Reading a book on Overdrive I can see the number of pages in one corner and the number left to go in the chapter in the other. Useful when my wife wants to turn the light off. Not sure why Libby couldn't keep this feature. I contacted support and was told how I could do it, essentially leave the book. As a former IT guy it's rare to see a revamped app that is so much worse than the original. Why? Can't stand that the libraries are all endorsing this. They are like the Apple apologists in the past who could never accept any criticism of Apple. BTW I'm Apple all the way and they listened to consumers, unlike Overdrive. Service Value Quality

“Very dissatisfied and disappointed”

Libby is infantile and a sub par experience to Overdrive. After years of Overdrive use I'm now looking for an alternative to Libby. I could go on for days about the experience but all I will say now is bring Overdrive back or align Libby more closely to it. What a waste of my time. Service Value Quality

“Libby requires VoiceOver on IOS. Blocked my PW and froze the iphone”

Worst app ever. I've loved Overdrive for years. On ebooks, I always used accessability on my IOS, as a reader, but now Libby says must use voiceover instead. Unfortunately voiceover completely took over my iphone and shrouded my password so even after I finally figured out how to enter it, it won't accept it without first turning voiceover off, but now it does a 30 min lockout from even trying to log on whenever I put in my password. After hours of trying all the usual fixes for both iphone log in and turn off voiceover, Apple Care says probably the only way now is to wipe and restore. Thanks Libby guys, won't you please either keep Overdrive. Otherwise can anyone suggest an alternate Library app with a text reader that doesn't use voiceover? Quality

“Shocking app”

New iPad, downloaded app, logged in and tells me my card is invalid, yet I used the card and pin in a local library just 2 days ago! On previous iPad (uninstalled app), the app was frustrating to use at best. How I loathe Libby Products used:None Service Value Shipping Returns Quality

“Not a fan, bring back Overdrive”

The books freeze, audio books require wifi so I have purchased audio books through audible to listen to in the car. I was told this was better than borrow box but there number of books is very limited

“Libby sucks”

Libby is a simpler version of the excellent Overdrive app. It doesn't do everything that it should and it looks like a kindergarten created it. It also behaves that way. It's extremely disappointing after having the excellent Overdrive app! Service Value Shipping Returns Quality

“Big downgrade from overdrive”

I actually tried Libby before I switched to Overdrive. Libby is unintuitive, clunky and less functional than Overdrive. I understand that at some point Overdrive won't work anymore but then and only then will i downgrade from Overdrive to Libby. I wish i could rate this app less than 1 star.

“It's crap at downloading over wi-fi”

It's crap at downloading over wi-fi. It fails often, takes many times, chapters are missing, etc. What poor programming! Products used:Libby

“Voting NO for Libby”

I am a believer in giving a new system a chance to show it's 'worth'. For me, Libby has not. In my opinion, Neflin Overdrive was the nearest to perfect that a system can be. Every time I try to use Libby, it comes up short. The last was today when I borrowed a book and it did not appear on Kindle. I went back to Libby an found that the title was not available for Kindle. Why couldn't I know that before I Borrowed. I don't do Epub. Another, the book I searched for came up, Then I see the book is not even in the system for my library. But they will let me know if becomes available. Then I had to go to loans and cancel. Just another of the aggravations in this system. That's enough for now. Please go back to the Neflin overdrive we enjoyed before. Progress is good. If it is good progress, but this is definitely not good. Carmen Templeton Flagler County, FL Products used:No Products. Libby is app for checking out e-books at Public library.

“This app sucks!”

This app sucks as it continually crashes, it is just crashed while I'm actually writing this review and listening to a book. I don't think it could be much worse than this pure junk.

“Huge Advocate of Libby”

I've been using Libby's mobile app for some time now. I am able to borrow books through my library for FREE. It is amazing because I used to pay so much for subscription fees since I go through a lot of audio books on my long commute.

“Horrible”

My public library runs on the Libby app so I have no choice but to use it. They switched from Overdrive to Libby. Overdrive was better. I most certainly would never buy this app.

“Time to upgrade”

Your service is still clunky. I should be able to filter out previously read books. Having to scroll through page after page of available books that I've already read is tedious. And, I've used Overdrive then Libby for many many years now. I should be able to merge all previously read books between the two apps together and I should Not need to export the data to a file! Hire some programmers!