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Bible App Adds Condensed View for Bookmarks, Highlights, Notes

The latest version of the Bible App has a handy new feature, Condensed View, that lets you see more of what you want on the screen. Previously, your Bookmarks, Highlights, and Notes all displayed on their respective screens as a list, the same way they appear in your Home view, showing you the Likes and Comments for each.

But now, you can tap the icon in the top right corner of any of these screens—Bookmarks, Highlights, or Notes—and your list toggles to “condensed” mode, showing you more of them at a time. If you want to see them in expanded view again, tap the icon again, and it toggles back. And this new Condensed View is smart, too: the Bible App remembers the last view you selected and defaults to it when you come back.

To see Condensed View in action, first make sure you have the latest version of the Bible App for your device. Then check each of your Bookmarks, Highlights, and Notes screens for the new icon in the top right corner.

Condensed view

 

 

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Top Questions About Bible App Friends

The latest version of the Bible App is designed specifically to help you explore God’s Word together with your most trusted friends. When you use the Bible App’s community features, you’re strengthening your relationships, putting the Bible at the center of your friendships… and drawing closer to God.

Friends settings inside the Bible App

We’ve answered the questions we’re hearing to help you decide how you want to bring Friends into your Bible experience:

1. What happens if I decline a Friend request?

When you tap Decline for a Friend request, that specific request is simply removed. The requester does not receive a notification that you declined. However, once the Bible App has removed that request, that also means that the requester can send you another Friend request in the future if they choose to.

2. Can I “Unfriend” someone?

Yes. Friendships are mutual. You always control who shares your Bible App experience with you.

  • Tap the main menu button. The main menu displays.
  • Tap Friends. Your current Friends list displays.
  • Tap the user you would like to Unfriend.
  • Tap Friend. The Bible App asks if you’re sure you wish to Unfriend this user.
  • Tap Unfriend. You no longer have a Friend connection with this user in the Bible App. (The requester does not receive a notification that you declined.)
    Note: This means that this user may request Friendship with you again—and also that you may request Friendship with them again, if you change your mind later.

3. How many Friends can I have in the Bible App?

Up to 150. Studies suggest most people only have the capacity to maintain about that many significant relationships. Limiting your Friends to people you know well makes the Bible App an environment for honest conversations and shared discoveries centered around Scripture.

4. Will my Friends be able to see all my Bible App activity?

By default, yes. But you can customize most Bible App activities as you go, choosing who can see what.

  • Likes and Comments. You can Like and Comment on Friends’ activities, as well as on your own. Your Likes and Comments show up in your Friends’ feeds, as well as underneath the activity you Liked or Commented on. To un-Like something, simply tap the heart again. To delete one of your Comments:
    • iOS: Swipe left across your Comment, then Delete.
    • Android: Long press on your Comment, then Delete.
    • Web: Click the “x” on the right side of your Comment.
  • Highlights. Your Highlights display in your Friends’ feeds as you create them. To change or remove one of your Highlights: Go to main menu > Highlights. Find the Highlight you want to change, tap the settings icon, and select what you want.
  • Bookmarks. When you Bookmark a passage, your Friends’ feeds show what you Bookmarked, but does not show the Bookmark Title or Labels. To change or remove one of your Bookmarks: Go to main menu > Bookmarks. Find the Bookmark you want to change, tap the settings icon, and select what you want.
  • Bible Plans. When you start a Plan, the Bible App asks if you want your Friends to see your Plan activity. If you say No, that Plan is tagged as Private, and none of your Plan activity will display in your Friends’ feeds. If you say Yes, then your Friends’ feeds will show that you started that Plan. They’ll also see each time you complete a day of the Plan, and when you finish the Plan. To change these settings at any time, simply go to the Plan’s settings, scroll to the Privacy section, and select Private or Friends Only.
  • Notes. When you create a Note, you can set it as Public, Friends, Private, or Save as Draft. To change or remove one of your Notes: Go to main menu > Notes. Find the Note you want to change, tap the settings icon, and select what you want.

5. What do Friends bring to my Bible App experience?

  • Trust. You and each Friend agree to be connected, so you can shape your experience around the people you’re closest to. And if you’d like to make any adjustments along the way, you can add or Unfriend at any time.
  • Encouragement. See your Friends’ Bible Plan progress and encourage each other to stick with it. Share what you learn from a day’s reading, or simply which part of that day’s reading you liked best.
  • Conversation. Like and comment on each other’s Bookmarks, Highlights, Notes, and other activity. Discuss what you’re reading, ask questions, share insights, and pray for one another.
  • Growth. People from all over the world have been telling us that connecting with their Friends through the Bible App has helped grow their understanding of the Bible. And just as many say that sharing the Bible with their friends is drawing them closer together.

Want to Know More?

This series of blog posts can help you understand everything about the Bible App:

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The Bible + Friendships = Amazing!

Ever since Bible App 5 launched, the YouVersion community has been sharing how much you enjoy interacting with friends right inside the app. Bible App 5 helps you engage with God’s Word more than ever before—through your relationships.

 

Invite Contacts

The latest Bible App update on Android and iOS lets you add friends straight from your device. Just tap “Friends” from the main menu, then [Find Friends]. The Bible App automatically suggests friends who already have YouVersion accounts. You can also tap “Contacts” to invite anyone in your contact list to download the Bible App.

Closer to God & Each Other

From all across the YouVersion community, stories are pouring in: people telling us how much they love and appreciate Bible App 5. But they’re not talking about icons or menus or features. No, what they’re excited about is what’s happening in their relationships—with God and with each other.

“This is the first time we’re reading the Bible together, so it’s bringing us closer, helping me to understand my husband better… helping make our marriage stronger.”
—Petal

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“My husband and I have more accountability to be in the word on a daily basis. We use the Bible app to encourage one another and to grow together in our marriage in new ways. It’s hard to argue with someone or put them down when you know that they know what you have been reading in the Bible and have you are being challenged.”

—Heather

“My unborn daughter was recently diagnosed with Spina-Bifida. We’ve been through a lot…Between the concern for our daughter, the constant moving around from house to house and hospital to hospital, and the financial strain, the Bible has been essential to our sanity. I have been sharing notes and highlights with my wife through this app…that has helped us stay together in our spiritual journey through these difficult times.”

—Seth

 

Pro Tips

Here are three quick, easy ways the Bible App can help you connect with the Bible:

  • Subscribe to Verse of the Day. Let the Bible App bring God’s Word to you every day. Just specify what time, which Bible version you prefer, and whether you’d prefer a push notification or email.
  • Comment on Bookmarks and Highlights. Add your thoughts, questions, and discoveries to your own Bookmarks and Highlights, as well as to your Friends’ posts.
  • See Related Moments. Tap a verse to jump quickly to your previous Bookmarks, Highlights, Notes—and even other people’s Public Notes for that passage.
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Bible App 5 Update Connects Friends, Ideas

The latest updates to the Bible App for Android and iOS make it faster and easier to join your Friends in conversation, to see activity about what you’re reading, and to capture your thoughts, wherever they happen to come to you:

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Find Friends

Expanding your circle of Friends in the app has never been easier. Tap the main menu and select “Friends.” With just a few more taps, you can invite select friends from your contacts to join you in the Bible App, by email or SMS (text message). Of course, you can still share the Bible App on Facebook and Twitter, like always, but asking your friends directly gives a more personal touch to your invitation. Friends make your time in the Bible even richer—grab your phone and invite your favorite people!

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Comment on Bookmarks, Highlights

For the first time ever, the Bible App now lets you add Comments to Bookmarks and Highlights (on Android, iOS, and at bible.com). “Writing in the margins” of your Bible is easier than ever. And, even better, Comments let you open up your thoughts, questions, and discoveries for discussion with Friends.

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Related Moments

When you tap a verse, now the Bible App offers you the choice to see Related Moments. View your previous Bookmarks, Highlights, and Notes with the selected passage, as well as what other people are saying about it in Public Notes. Related Moments help you reflect on what God has spoken to you in the past, and to spark new conversations with Friends around your favorite verses.

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Get the Verse of the Day, Every Day

People ask us all the time if the Bible App can send them the Verse of the Day, so they’ll never miss one. And now it can! If you’re new to the Bible App, the Verse of the Day is a select daily passage intended to encourage you, refresh your perspective, and help you focus your thoughts on God. Of course, you’ll want to read more of the Bible than just one verse a day, but the Verse of the Day is a quick, easy way you can remind yourself what’s important.

Available now on iOS (newest 5.1.1 release), this handy feature is also coming soon to the Bible App for Android and to bible.com. Maybe you like thinking about the Bible first thing when you wake up. Or meditating on it as a midday reminder. Or perhaps at bedtime, so you can think about it as you’re drifting to sleep. Whatever your preference, just tell the Bible App when and how you want your Verse of the Day delivered…and we’ll do the rest!

Verse of the Day

Here’s how you can get the Verse of the Day, every day:

  1. Home View: Find any Verse of the Day moment

  2. Tap the gear icon (see below)

  3. Select email or push notification
    (push notification means it will pop up on your device screen)

  4. Specify what time you want to receive your Verse of the Day

  5. Select the Bible version you prefer

Download the YouVersion App

Update: You can now subscribe to the Verse of the Day on the Bible App for Android as well as at bible.com