Help
Copy-protected books
Book2Life opens EPUBs that aren’t copy-protected. If a book you bought or borrowed was sold with DRM, it stays in the store’s own reading app, and Book2Life will tell you so instead of showing scrambled pages.
What DRM is
DRM (digital rights management) is copy protection that a store or library adds to an ebook. It encrypts the book’s pages so they only open in that store’s or library’s reading app, on the account that bought or borrowed it. Common kinds are Adobe DRM, Readium LCP and the protection on books bought in Apple Books.
Why Book2Life can’t open them
Only the store’s app has the key to a protected book. Book2Life doesn’t have that key and doesn’t try to get around the protection, so it checks each file when you add it. A protected book is never added to your library, uploaded or synced. You can keep reading it in the app you got it from.
How to find DRM-free books
Before you buy, check the format details on the store page for “DRM-free” or “no DRM”. Many publishers and independent authors sell their EPUBs without DRM, and some stores let you filter for it. A DRM-free EPUB opens in Book2Life like any other book.
Or start with the classics: hundreds of public-domain books are free to read in Book2Life, each one illustrated and narrated as you read.
Questions
Why can’t Book2Life open my ebook?
Some ebooks are sold or lent with DRM (digital rights management), which encrypts the book so that only the store’s or library’s own reading app can open it. Book2Life can only open books without DRM, so it tells you when a file is protected instead of showing scrambled pages.
How do I know if an ebook is DRM-free?
Look on the store page before you buy. DRM-free books usually say “DRM-free” or “no DRM” in the format details. Many publishers and independent authors sell their EPUBs without DRM, and some stores let you filter for it.
What is an .acsm file?
An .acsm file is a download ticket from a store or library, not the book itself. Open it in the store’s or library’s reading app, which uses it to download the book.
Can I import Kindle books?
No. Kindle books use Amazon’s own formats (AZW, AZW3, KFX and MOBI), which Book2Life can’t open. Book2Life reads EPUB files, and PDFs in the iPhone and iPad app.
What about password-protected PDFs?
Book2Life can’t import a PDF that needs a password to open, or one whose publisher doesn’t allow its text to be copied, because it needs the text to build the book.
Read the classics free
Book2Life is free on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android and the web.
