Private by default
An offline ebook reader with no ads and no account
Everything in Lectern happens on your phone. Reading, the read-aloud voices, your highlights, the dictionary and your whole library work with no connection. There's no account to make and nothing watching what you read.
Lectern is an offline ebook and audiobook reader for Android. Its whole runtime works with no connection: reading, on-device read-aloud, highlights, the dictionary, reading stats and your library. It's a paid app with no ads, no account and no tracking.
What "offline" actually means here
Plenty of apps say "offline" and still phone home for analytics or ads. Lectern doesn't. The reader never needs the network to do its job. The only time it touches the internet is when you ask it to — to browse an OPDS catalog for public-domain books, or to run the sync you set up. Turn airplane mode on and nothing you rely on stops working.
- Reading, paging and scrolling — offline
- Read-aloud with on-device voices (system, Piper, Kokoro) — offline
- Highlights, notes, bookmarks and the WordNet dictionary — offline
- Reading statistics, streaks and goals — offline, on your device
No ads, no account, no tracking
There's no sign-up and no Lectern account. Your books, highlights and progress sit on your phone. There's no analytics SDK counting your taps and no ad network profiling your taste in books. Reading statistics are calculated and kept locally, for you alone.
Offline read-aloud
- Input
- EPUB, PDF, MOBI, FB2 and more
- Feature
- On-device text-to-speech
- Output
- Spoken audio with sentence highlighting
- Needs
- No internet, no account
Private sync
- Input
- Your reading position & highlights
- Feature
- Sync through a folder you own
- Output
- Devices in step, no server in between
- Needs
- Your own cloud folder (opt-in)
Sync stays yours, when you want it
Reading on more than one device is the one thing that benefits from a connection — and even then, it's on your terms. Lectern syncs your position, bookmarks, highlights and ratings through a folder you already own on Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive or Nextcloud. Each device writes its own snapshot and they merge automatically, with a clear picker when two devices disagree. No Lectern account, no Lectern server, nobody in the middle.
One quiet app for your whole shelf
Offline doesn't mean bare. Lectern opens EPUB, EPUB3, PDF, MOBI, KF8, FB2, TXT and CBZ / CBR / CB7 comics, reads them aloud, and keeps the author's typography intact. You can browse built-in OPDS catalogs from Standard Ebooks and Project Gutenberg for free public-domain books when you do go online, then read them for good, offline.
Offline reader FAQ
Does Lectern really work fully offline?
Yes. Reading, the read-aloud voices, highlights, the dictionary and your library all work with no connection. Lectern only goes online for an optional catalog or sync that you set up yourself.
Are there ads?
No. Lectern is a paid app with no ads and no in-app purchases pushed on you.
Do I need an account?
No. There is no Lectern account and no sign-up. Your books and reading data stay on your device.
Does it track what I read?
No. There is no analytics and no tracking. Reading statistics are calculated and stored on your device, for your eyes only.
Keep reading