Why I built Annex

There is a moment every reader knows: the one where you go looking for a book you loved, and you cannot find the title, or where you shelved it, or who you lent it to. My reading lived a little everywhere: notes in my phone, a pile on the nightstand, a few photos of covers, a list started and then forgotten. I wanted one quiet place for all of it. Annex grew out of that simple wish.

What I did not want

I have tried a lot of reading apps. Most of them eventually want to become something else: a social network that demands your attention, a shop window full of ads, or worse, a service that quietly sells what you read. Reading is an intimate thing. The idea of my books being used to profile me made me uneasy.

I also did not want an algorithm deciding for me. Recommendations, yes, when I ask for them. A feed that keeps pushing me toward the next thing, no.

What I wanted instead

• A place of my own. My library, my lists, my notes. Private by default.
• Quiet. No ads, no guilt-tripping notifications, no score to keep climbing.
• The choice. Social features exist, but they are entirely optional. You can keep Annex completely private.

I wanted an app that behaves like a good library: it shelves your books and stays quiet.

What Annex actually is

You add a book and track it as To read, Reading, or Read. You build lists: a summer stack, a genre to explore, a shelf to lend. When you feel like it, you discover books close to your taste, or share a favourite with a few readers. Nothing more, and nothing watching you.

A word, from one person to another

I build Annex on my own. Every decision, from the choice of colours to how your data is handled, passes through my hands. That means the app moves slowly, but also that there is no one behind it turning your attention into revenue.

You can read exactly how I handle your data before you even create an account. And if you write to me, I am the one who will reply. A real person reads every message.

Happy reading, Eliot