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Following Users and Stores

Following lets you build a personalized reading network by connecting with other readers and local bookstores.

Following Users​

Why Follow Users?​

Following other readers lets you:

  • See their Lines and Reviews in your feed
  • Discover books through their recommendations
  • Engage with like-minded readers
  • Build a reading community
  • Track what friends are reading

How to Follow​

From Search:

  1. Tap Search in the bottom navigation
  2. Switch to the "Users" tab
  3. Browse or search for users
  4. Tap "Follow" on their profile card

From a Profile:

  1. Tap any username to view their profile
  2. Tap the "Follow" button
  3. You're now following them

From a Line or Review:

  1. Tap the username on any Line or Review
  2. View their profile
  3. Tap "Follow"

Unfollowing​

  1. Go to the user's profile
  2. Tap "Following" button
  3. It changes to "Follow" and you're unfollowed

Or from your Following list:

  1. Tap your profile avatar
  2. Select "Following"
  3. Tap "Following" button next to any user to unfollow

Following Stores​

Why Follow Stores?​

Following bookstores gives you:

  • Updates on new inventory
  • Notifications about wishlisted books in stock
  • Store events and announcements
  • Support for local businesses
  • Access to store-exclusive content

How to Follow a Store​

From Search:

  1. Search for stores in the Shop tab
  2. View a store's profile
  3. Tap "Follow"

From Store Page:

  1. Visit any store page
  2. Tap the "Follow" button at the top

From Your Local Store:

  1. Set your home store in settings
  2. You'll automatically follow it (optional)

Unfollow a Store​

  1. Visit the store's page
  2. Tap "Following" to unfollow

Managing Your Network​

View Who You Follow​

  1. Tap your profile avatar or photo
  2. Select "Following"
  3. See your complete list of followed users and stores
  4. Tap any entry to visit their profile
  5. Unfollow directly from this list

View Your Followers​

  1. Tap your profile avatar
  2. Select "Followers"
  3. See who follows you
  4. Tap to visit their profiles
  5. Follow them back if desired

Feed Filtering​

The Share tab feed can be filtered by who you follow:

  • All: Everything from everyone
  • Following: Only Lines and Reviews from people you follow
  • Local: Posts from users near you or your local store
  • Reviews: Only review posts (all users)
  • Challenges: Posts from reading challenges

Switch filters using the chips at the top of the Share tab.

Privacy Settings​

Your Following List​

By default, your Following and Followers lists are:

  • Visible to all BookWish users
  • Displayed on your profile

To change this:

  1. Go to Settings
  2. Navigate to Privacy
  3. Toggle "Public Following List"

Follow Notifications​

Control whether users are notified when you follow them:

  1. Settings → Notifications
  2. Toggle "Notify on New Follower"

Following Etiquette​

Be genuine: Follow users whose content genuinely interests you.

Engage authentically: Don't just follow - like and reply to their posts.

No follow spam: Don't follow/unfollow repeatedly.

Respect privacy: If someone doesn't follow back, that's okay.

Support stores: Following local stores helps them reach more readers.

Discovery Features​

Suggested Users​

BookWish suggests users to follow based on:

  • Books on your wishlist
  • Your reading history
  • Users in your book clubs
  • Local readers in your area
  • Popular users in genres you enjoy

Find suggestions in:

  • The Share tab when your feed is empty
  • Your profile sidebar
  • After joining a book club

Suggested Stores​

Store suggestions are based on:

  • Your location
  • Stores with books on your wishlist
  • Stores in your area
  • Popular independent bookstores

Following Limits​

  • Free accounts: Follow up to 500 users and 100 stores
  • Premium accounts: No limits on following

Notifications​

You'll receive notifications when:

  • Someone you follow posts a new Line or Review
  • A followed store adds a wishlisted book to inventory
  • A followed user joins one of your book clubs
  • Someone you follow mentions you (future feature)

Customize notification settings in Settings → Notifications.

Author Following​

While you can't directly "follow" authors like you follow users, you can:

  • Search for books by specific authors
  • Add all their books to your wishlist
  • Set up alerts when new books are published (Premium feature)

Following and Book Clubs​

Following and book clubs interact:

  • You automatically see posts from club members in the club feed
  • Following club members also shows their posts in your main Following feed
  • Club membership doesn't automatically create follow relationships
  • You can follow club members outside the club context
Building Your Feed

Start by following 10-15 users whose reading tastes match yours. As you engage with their posts and discover new voices, gradually expand your network. A curated feed is better than a huge one!

Best Practices​

Follow intentionally: Quality over quantity creates a better feed experience.

Diversify: Follow users with different perspectives to discover varied books.

Support local: Follow your local bookstores to stay connected to your community.

Engage actively: Like and reply to create real connections, not just follower counts.

Unfollow when needed: It's okay to unfollow if someone's posts no longer interest you.

Check regularly: Review your Following list occasionally to keep it relevant.