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Fix for Bug in Bible App for iPhone/iPad

Good News: You are following a YouVersion Bible reading plan. Bad News: Some of you are having trouble accessing it.

If you are an iPhone/iPad user, you may be experiencing a problem when you try to access your reading plans from the app. This same bug is also affecting those of you that use the app to share Bible verses on Twitter and Facebook. We are very sorry and are working to make sure this does not happen again.

BUT, the good news is that we have a quick fix that can help get your Bible App working properly right now.

Simple instructions: Go to settings, sign out, and then sign in.

Detailed instructions:

  1. Open the Bible App on your iPhone/iPad
  2. iPhone users: Tap on the “More” button in the menu bar and then tap on “Settings”. iPad users: Tap on the gear icon next to the search box
  3. Tap on “Account”
  4. Tap “Sign-out” (this will sign out of your YouVersion account)
  5. Tap “Sign-in” (this will ask you for your YouVersion username and password)
  6. Sign-in and the problem will be fixed.

We are very sorry about any disruption you may have experienced. We want to be sure you know about the fix right away so that you can continue to make the Bible a part of your daily life.

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Bookmarks for BlackBerrys

With version 2.5 of the YouVersion Bible app for BlackBerry, we’ve added the ability to bookmark verses for quick access later. Bookmarking is a popular feature on iPhone, iPad, Android and our other mobile apps, and we’re excited to deliver this feature to more than 2 million BlackBerry users.

Bookmarking a verse is simple. Just select a verse, hit the menu button, and choose “Bookmark Verse” from the menu. Now that verse will be listed among your bookmarks, which you can reach from the app dashboard.

And, since many of our mobile app users also enjoy engaging Scripture on their computer at YouVersion.com, your bookmarks will also sync with your YouVersion account so you’ll have them anywhere you use YouVersion to read the Bible.

Coming Soon
We have lots of new features coming down the pipeline for all of our mobile apps, so keep an eye out for great updates rolling out fast and furious. You’ll see things like the ability to share Bible verses via SMS (text message) and inside BlackBerry Messenger as well as faster load times and an updated dashboard design.

Also on the horizon is a revamp of YouVersion Contributions and Journals. We have big plans for them and can’t wait roll those changes out to you. Of course, that’s all we can say right now, but we know you’ll love the changes and what you’ll be able to do within your Bible app in the coming weeks.

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New Update for iPhone/iPad & More Coming Soon

Apple recently approved version 2.4 of the Bible app for iPhone/iPad. This release includes better search, additional support for high-resolution Retina displays, better Chinese localization, bug fixes, and a lot of under the hood updates that prepare us for future features. [Notice: this release also seems to have a bug effecting some users. If you experience the app crashing when attempting to access your reading plan, a quick fix is go to Settings and sign-out and then sign-in again.]

Coming Soon
We’re especially excited about some great features we’ll be rolling out in the next couple releases. Soon, you can expect to be able to sync your bookmarks between your Bible app and your YouVersion account . That means you’ll have access to the same bookmarks on your iPhone, iPad, and online at YouVersion.com.

Also on the horizon is a major update to Contributions and Journals. We can’t spill all the beans just yet, but we can say that you’ll love the changes and you’ll love what you’ll be able to do through your Bible app in the coming weeks.

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YouVersion’s Amazing Growth & Challenges

September has been a challenging month for YouVersion’s awesome users and our team. Over the past few weeks we have seen more downtime than we would want. YouVersion’s reliability is very important to us and we are working hard to make sure you can always access God’s Word through YouVersion.com or any of its mobile apps.

We’re passionate about Scripture engagement and our dream is to see YouVersion grow exponentially as people around the world gain access to the Bible. That kind of growth is accompanied by technical hurdles, and they often come in waves.

When YouVersion experienced a large spike in growth earlier this year, we gathered all of our resources to make sure YouVersion could handle the increase. We’re doing the same now, dedicating our development team to strengthen our infrastructure and handle the masses of new people discovering YouVersion for the first time.

As you may remember, our growing pains in January were the result of hitting a milestone of 4 million YouVersion users, which we celebrated in February. Just 8 months later, YouVersion is now up to almost 9 million users and we’re beginning to see the strain on our infrastructure once again. And with a growth rate of about 900,000 new users each month, fortifying YouVersion is going to be an ongoing task.

YouVersion is blessed with an amazing community of passionate users. We’re thankful for your patience and your prayers as we aim to reach the world with God’s Word. With a global population of about 6.9 billion people, we have a long way to go, but we serve a big God!

What is impossible with men is possible with God. Luke 18:23

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Bible App for Android gets updated!

We’re extremely excited to share all the details of the new Android Bible app with you today. This release (2.2) represents two months of re-imagining, redesigning, and development by our entire team and we think the investment has paid off with a one-of-a-kind Bible reading experience. In this release, you’ll find:

  • a complete redesign of the entire interface of the app
  • a brand new dashboard for quick navigation of key areas
  • dozens of small enhancements that make a big difference
Let’s jump into the fun details and take a look at some screenshots along the way.

Complete Redesign
Two months ago, we went back to the drawing board with the Android Bible app design to make reading the Bible an even more pleasing experience on your Android device. We thought through every element, menu item, and button to make sure you you could get around in the app easily and focus on Scripture.

The redesign is too extensive to detail here, so take a peek at a couple screenshots and download the 2.2 release to experience the real thing. The biggest enhancements can be found in the Bible reader and reading plans.


New Dashboard
When we released the Palm webOS Bible app, we saw the benefit for our users to have a dashboard to act as a central hub for the main components of the app. The Android Bible app’s dashboard now includes a news section where you’ll find announcements about YouVersion, warnings about scheduled server maintenance, ways to connect with the YouVersion team on Twitter and Facebook, and a few splashes of color for your visual enjoyment.

Lots of Small Tweaks
We love to enhance the little things that make your experience the best it can be. Our team made over 70 changes to the Android Bible app for this release (some seen and some unseen) including tweaks that will improve the speed of the app, better communication with the user, and small design adjustments. Here are a few samples:

  • double-tap the header to scroll to the top
  • progress bars in the reading plans list for plans you’ve started
  • sharing multiple verses at one time
  • your bookmarks sync automatically with YouVersion.com
  • donate to YouVersion inside the app
  • more helpful error messages when something goes wrong
  • lots of little bug fixes

We know you’ll enjoy the changes in release 2.2 of the Android Bible app, so download it now and engage with Scripture like never before.