Bible.is
Bible.is combines Scripture text, narrated Bibles and video with listening plans and playlists.
For People seeking Scripture in their language through reading, listening and video.
App StoreOfficial websiteAudience source
- Platform
- iOS
- Category
- Reference
- First release
- 28 June 2010
- Store ratings
- 132,245 (US)
- Research captures
- 19
Design review
Observed choices, what they mean, and what still needs checking.
Access & cost
As a guest, My Account says logging in lets users create playlists, plans, notes, highlights and bookmarks and download content for offline use.
Captured flow · 28 October 2026Attention & control
Account settings show Receive Plan Reminders switched off, followed by Theme, About, FAQs, Chat, Reset Cache and Close App rows.
Scoped review · 28 October 2026Trust & care
Source boundaries, privacy and safeguards need further review. No app-wide assurance is implied.
Evidence incompleteOffers are dated iOS observations in USD where captured. Eligibility, country and platform can differ. Existing settings are not installation defaults.
Where the observed choices sit
Each row is one scoped observation of a specific flow, not a grade for the whole app.
No practice has been placed on the scale yet.
2 areas reviewed, not yet placed6 areas not reviewed yetReview notes
Works against: a choice subverts the person’s agency. Respects: it respects people and safeguards. Restores: a practice restores at a cost freely borne by the builder. Price, Christian branding or a free tier alone do not place an area. How we review.
Screens
19 reviewed screensCaptured app states, distinct from the publisher’s promotional images. Dates and versions belong to each screen; this is not a complete app walkthrough.
Features and patterns
What the reviewed screens show this app doing. A missing entry does not mean a feature is absent.
Bible audio
Publisher welcome image backs sign-up, sign-in and later-account options. Plan cards and Bible versions fill the discovery page above a compact audio bar. Bible list uses text, audio and video capability icons. New Testament list combines book navigation with download and media icons. Matthew genealogy text sits above a paused chapter audio player. One settings page combines playback options with reading appearance. An underlined Matthew verse anchors a six-icon action toolbar. Bible.is plays the ESV audio of Matthew 5 with the text on screen, including the section headings "The Sermon on the Mount" and "The Beatitudes" (0:47 of 6:04). Settings, previous, play/pause, next and more sit below; a video icon is in the header.
Bible audioOther apps with bible audio (20)9 supporting screens
Finding a passage
New Testament list combines book navigation with download and media icons. A five-column grid presents Matthew’s 28 chapters.
Finding a passageOther apps with finding a passage (26)2 supporting screens
First use
Publisher welcome image backs sign-up, sign-in and later-account options. A tutorial card explains browsing content above a dimmed Discover page. Second tutorial card explains choosing a Bible and language. A sign-in prompt lists saving features over the selected verse. Social sign-in buttons precede empty email and password fields. A modal asks whether to receive ministry updates over the empty sign-in form. As a guest, My Account says logging in lets users create playlists, plans, notes, highlights and bookmarks and download content for offline use. Offline Mode is off and a mini player shows Matthew 1, ESV.
First useOther apps with first use (89)8 supporting screens
Giving and offerings
The bottom of My Account lists About Bible.is, Rate Bible.is, FAQs, Chat, Reset Cache and Close App, then a card "Share the Bible.is App with Family and friends." There is no donation item in this menu, although the publisher is donor-funded.
Giving and offeringsOther apps with giving and offerings (26)
Highlights and notes
An underlined Matthew verse anchors a six-icon action toolbar. A sign-in prompt lists saving features over the selected verse.
Highlights and notesOther apps with highlights and notes (22)2 supporting screens
How much text at once
One settings page combines playback options with reading appearance.
How much text at onceOther apps with how much text at once (31)
Also observed
- Download
- Free download · US store
- Access
- Access requirements unverified
Cost, access & publisher model Sources and details
Practical facts, separate from the design assessment. Checked 25 October 2026. A free download does not establish free access to all content.
- App download
- Free download · US · Store source
- Subscriptions
- Subscription status unverified
- Store in-app products
- None declared on the retrieved listing; other payment routes remain unverified
- Donations
- Donations mentioned · Source
- Advertising
- Not verified
What access does payment cover?
The retrieved sources do not establish which capabilities require payment. This is unknown, rather than a claim that the app is free or paid throughout.
Free samples, a free tier and the complete library are different scopes. Store and publisher evidence is separate from the dated captured-flow review in Design review. Coverage varies by offer and platform.
Publisher funding and business model
No source-backed funding or business-model summary is available in this profile yet.
The organization’s complete current funding mix and revenue are not established here. App payments, donations and capital raised describe different things; they do not determine an ethical assessment.
Organization profile and funding sourcesStore facts checked 25 October 2026 (version 3.14.12). Ratings are not downloads or active users. App-specific revenue and active users have not been verified; see the organization profile for separately scoped figures.
Store reviews
Store reviews offer useful questions to investigate. These retrieved samples are self-selected, vary by platform and do not establish the experience of every user.
Illustrative reading
Scripture access is appreciated; a selected account reports difficulty downloading for offline use.
Based on 2 selected review excerpts, which may be historical; not a full thematic analysis. Review source
Review samples, reading and sources
- Google PlayEnglish / US requested
50 written reviews within the 180 days ending 25 October 2026.
4–5 stars: 443 stars: 21–2 stars: 4
View Google Play listing- Google PlayGerman / DE requested
No written reviews in this retrieved sample fall within the recent window.
View Google Play listing- Apple App StorePublic review page · default order
10 selected excerpts returned; these may be older and are not a recent or random sample.
Returned dates: 21 December 2017 – 28 July 2026.
View Apple reviews
Collected 28 October 2026. Up to 50 newest Play reviews per requested language/storefront before the date filter. Requested locale does not establish residence; streams may overlap and must not be added together. Star counts describe ratings, not text sentiment or ethical quality. Methods and limitations.
App Store screenshots
View the store listingPublisher-supplied images from the US App Store, checked 25 October 2026. Promotional artwork may include captions or composites; it shows how the publisher presents the app.
Show all 8 publisher imagesHide publisher gallery
Scroll to browse all 8 images. Select an image to open it at its sourced size.
Review notes
Reviewed, not yet placed
Evidence was gathered for these areas, but it does not yet support placing a choice on the frame.
Money and access
As a guest, My Account says logging in lets users create playlists, plans, notes, highlights and bookmarks and download content for offline use. Offline Mode is off and a mini player shows Matthew 1, ESV.
Still to check:Activate an approved Apple in-app trial only with owner authentication; record entitlement, cancellation and expiring state. Distinguish the displayed quote from the Apple confirmation sheet and from actual charges.
Attention and agency
Account settings show Receive Plan Reminders switched off, followed by Theme, About, FAQs, Chat, Reset Cache and Close App rows. The frame does not show OS-level notification permission.
Still to check:Distinguish existing account settings from first-install defaults. Observe delivered notifications over time; verify pause, refusal and recovery behavior without manufacturing personal activity.
Not reviewed yet: Truth and spiritual authority, Privacy and dignity, Formation and relationships, Care and inclusion, Craft and repair, Stewardship and accountability.
The ten principle questions For your own design review
These questions guide discernment; they are not ten scores for this app.
- Keep the Word distinct, and teach it truly
- Can a reader always tell Scripture from our words, and our words from a machine’s?
- Never speak for God
- Would we put our own name under this sentence, or are we borrowing God’s?
- Design for the most vulnerable first
- Who is the most vulnerable person likely to use this today, and what will they see?
- Welcome before you ask, and guard what is told in confidence
- If a friend read everything we keep about this person, would the person be glad?
- Feed the flock, not on it
- Does this serve growth in faith, or only the usage numbers?
- Make room for rest, and say when it is enough
- Where does our product stop, and does it ever tell someone they have done enough?
- Send people to God and to one another
- When someone closes what we built, are they closer to God and to other people?
- Plant and water; leave the growth to God
- What would we stop measuring if we believed growth is God’s?
- Make it well, as an offering
- Would we offer this to God as it is, and could the person with the least sight, time or reading ease use it?
- Hold it with joy and trembling, before God and others
- Who outside the team holds us to account, and who prays for the people who use this?
Use this in your own work
Start with the observed choice, then ask how your own implementation serves people. The evidence is a design example, rather than an app-wide recommendation.