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JW Library
What it is
JW Library is a free app produced by Jehovah’s Witnesses to support Bible reading and personal study. It offers Bible-based publications in over 1,000 languages, including more than 100 sign languages. Readers can compare Bible translations and search for verses, content, and topics. The app includes videos, audio programs, and music; users can also make playlists that include pictures. Study tools let readers highlight text, add notes, and organize notes with tags. The app provides a daily Bible text and materials for midweek and weekend meetings. Users can save notes, tags, highlights, favorites, and bookmarks to a backup file and restore them on the same or a different device, but these items do not synchronize across devices. The privacy page says personal choices and data such as notes, highlights, and playlists stay in the app and are not sent to the publisher. Sharing diagnostic and usage data is optional and controlled in Settings. Offline mode can prevent requests to jw.org, though the publisher says this greatly limits app functionality. JW Library is available on Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows.
For and against
For
- Bible-based publications in over 1,000 languages
- Compare translations and search verses and topics
- Highlights, notes, and tags for personal study
- Available on Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows
Against
- Study data cannot synchronize across devices
- Offline mode severely limits functionality
The verdict
JW Library combines Bible reading, publications, media, and personal study tools at no cost. Readers should account for the lack of cross-device synchronization and reduced offline functionality.
Who it suits
JW Library suits readers looking for Bible translations, publications, and personal study tools in one app. It may also suit users who want meeting materials and Bible-based media, with the caveat that offline mode limits functionality.
Plans and prices
JW Library
Bible translations · publications · videos · audio
Read 15 Oct 2026 · jw.org
On the record
- Backup
- Notes, tags, highlights, favorites and bookmarks can be exported to a backup file and restored on another device.jw.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- Backups
- Users can back up notes, tags, highlights, favorites, and bookmarks to a file and restore it on the same or a different device.jw.org · read 7 Oct 2026
- Bible study
- Readers can compare Bible translations and search for Bible verses, content, and topics.jw.org · read 7 Oct 2026
- Bible translations
- The app lets users compare Bible translations in hundreds of languages.play.google.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Company founded
- LinkedIn lists the organization as founded in 1884.linkedin.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Company headquarters
- LinkedIn lists headquarters in Tuxedo Park, New York.linkedin.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Company type and size
- LinkedIn lists Watchtower as a nonprofit religious institution with 10,001-plus employees.linkedin.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Daily Text
- A Daily Text section presents a Bible verse with accompanying comments.play.google.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Data storage
- The maker says personal notes, highlights, playlists, favorites and similar choices stay on the device and are not sent to it.jw.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- Developer restrictions
- The terms prohibit redistribution, reverse engineering and derivative applications unless Watchtower grants permission through [email protected].jw.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- Diagnostics
- Sharing diagnostic and usage data is optional and can be controlled in the app’s Settings; the publisher says it does not sell this data or use it for marketing.jw.org · read 7 Oct 2026
- Documentation
- Official help provides step-by-step tutorials and FAQs for Android, Apple and Windows, including Bible, publication, bookmark, history, search and highlighting guides.jw.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- Download channels
- Official download links cover Apple App Store, Google Play, Microsoft Store and Amazon.jw.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- Independent API project
- The community JW API project exposes REST endpoints for Bible data, publications, media, languages and daily texts, plus an MCP server; it is not presented as an official Watchtower API.github.com · read 15 Oct 2026
- Independent backup finding
- JW Sync describes the app as having no built-in cross-device sync and recommends using backup files to keep devices aligned.jwsync.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- Independent file format finding
- JW Fusion documents .jwlibrary backups as ZIP archives containing a manifest and SQLite user-data database with notes, highlights, bookmarks, tags and playlists.jwfusion.org · read 15 Oct 2026
- Languages
- The app offers Bible-based publications in over 1,000 languages, including more than 100 sign languages.jw.org · read 7 Oct 2026
- Legal maker
- The app terms identify Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. as the contracting New York not-for-profit corporation.jw.org · read 15 Oct 2026