The most honest way to build an app is to live in it like a real user. So that's exactly what we did: we opened two separate accounts, read and wrote books on Arwy, matched, messaged, built libraries. Every snag, every "this feels a bit off" moment, we wrote down.
A long list came out of it. In this round we closed all of it. Below are the most important changes, with the why behind each.
In short: we perfected the front door, made the home screen entirely your own, and enriched libraries.
The front door: no one left outside
A user's first contact with the app is the sign-in screen. The slightest friction here drives people away. So we overhauled the sign-in, sign-up, password reset and profile completion screens from end to end.
- No one with no phone gets locked out. Someone who hadn't entered a phone number used to be unable to reset their password — meaning they could never get back into their account. Now you can skip that step.
- The back button no longer erases your effort. If you accidentally hit back midway through the long sign-up flow, everything no longer resets; you just go one step back.
- The keyboard is in sync with you. You can move from one field to the next with the keyboard's own key, and start typing the moment the screen opens.
- A help door for those who can't get in. Even if you can't sign in at all, the help button on the sign-in screen lets you reach us directly.
- Those who come via Google can set a password too. If you signed in with Google, you can add a password and later sign in with email as well.
We removed the cluttered tutorials
The bubbles that introduced screens to new users piled on top of each other over time, tiring people instead of helping. We removed them. Arwy now sets you free on first open; exploring is up to you.
The home screen: now entirely yours
We rebuilt Arwy's home screen from scratch. Our goal was clear: the screen should not be a showcase that shows everyone the same thing, but a feed that belongs to you. It now consists only of sections relevant to you — Continue Writing, Continue Reading, For You, Friends Are Reading, and New Books From Those You Follow. Lists common to everyone, like trending and new releases, moved to the Discover tab.
"Friends are reading" — but with respect for privacy
You see how many of your friends are reading a book, via a small badge on top of it. But we don't show who is reading it. So it says "3 friends reading," with no names. And the book the most friends are reading moves to the front of the list.
Libraries got the place they deserve
We added a separate Libraries section to the home screen. Both your own libraries and the ones you follow appear as rich cards — showing the cover or a collage of the books inside, the number of books, their genres and average rating, total reads and views, the creator and follower count, and any sensitive-content warnings. So now you understand what a collection holds without even stepping inside.
We keep going
This round is part of our effort to take Arwy from "an app that works" to "an app that's a joy to use." If something snags while you use Arwy, you can reach us at info@arwy.life.
To read, to write, and to run into someone on the same page — that's what Arwy is for. We keep building.