Crokes — Free Reading Tracker & Goodreads Alternative | Privacy-First Book Community, Australia

For Readers,
By a Reader.

A free reading tracker and privacy-first Goodreads alternative — built in Australia by someone who just wanted a simple way to log their books.

My Story
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Hi.

For those who might ask "why did you build this", I want to share the story.

I wanted to track my reading. That's it — that was the whole requirement. A simple log of what I'd read, what I was reading, and what I planned to read next. Something I could update in a few seconds and come back to without thinking too hard about it.

So I went looking. And what I found were platforms that were anything but simple. The big names — the ones everyone recommends — are sprawling sites that throw information at you from every direction. Dense interfaces built up over years, trying to be everything to everyone. Social features, recommendation engines, reading challenges, friend activity, publisher promotions. All of it competing for your attention the moment you log in.

I didn't want any of that. I just wanted to log my books.

And underneath all that complexity, there was something else that bothered me. These platforms knew a lot about what I was reading. And that data wasn't sitting quietly — it was being used. Profiled. Sold. My reading habits, which feel like one of the more private things about me, were someone else's product.

So I built Crokes. A reading tracker that does what it says — tracks your reading — without the noise, without the data harvesting, and without the feeling that the platform is working against you rather than for you.

It started as the simplest possible thing: a shelf for what you're reading, a shelf for what you've finished, a shelf for what you want to read next. Then a DNF shelf, because quitting a book is a completely normal part of reading and nobody should have to pretend otherwise. Then streaks, because it turns out keeping track of how many days in a row you've read is quietly motivating. Then medals, because finishing a book — or even getting halfway through one — is worth acknowledging.

It stayed simple because that was always the point: a place to log your books without being forced into places you don't want to go.

Independence

Staying true
to what matters

The focus here is, and always will be, on readers — people who actually read, and want an honest record of it.

I've made a deliberate decision to stay independent, without outside investment. That's not an accident — it's the reason the platform works the way it does. No investors means no growth targets handed down from above. No boardroom means no decision that puts engagement metrics ahead of the people using it. Every choice gets made with one question: is this good for readers?

Crokes is built and run from regional Victoria, Australia, by one person. It's free to use, it doesn't profile you, and it doesn't sell your reading habits to anyone. That's not a policy that may change — it's the whole point. You can read more about how I handle your data in the privacy policy.

Thank you

Every reader who uses Crokes — who tracks a book, shares an honest opinion, or just quietly keeps their reading streak going — is the reason this exists.

Here's to reading what you actually want to read, saying what you actually think, and never having to wade through a cluttered interface just to log a book.

— The person who built this

What guides every decision

The values of Crokes

These aren't marketing words. They're the reasons specific features exist and specific choices were made.

Your shelf,
your rules

Four shelves: TBR, Reading, Read, and DNF. Move books between them whenever you like. The DNF shelf exists because quitting a book shouldn't feel like failure — it should feel like the rational decision it usually is.

Private
by design

Your reading history is yours. I don't profile you, I don't sell your data. What you track here goes nowhere.

Chronological,
always

The activity feed shows the newest post first. Not the most engaging post. Not the sponsored post. The newest one. That's it. There's no algorithm.

Independent,
deliberately

No VC funding. No shareholders. No parent company with a different agenda. One person, accountable only to the people using the platform.

"The internet used to feel like a place where real people said real things. Crokes is a return to that."
SEE THE LIVE FEED →
The Tracker

Your reading life,
made visible.

Simple enough to use every day. Complete enough to mean something. Private, honest, and chronological — by design.

Shelf 01
📚

To Be Read

Every book you mean to get to. Add from search and never lose track of what's next.

Shelf 02
📖

Reading

Your current reads. Update progress and watch your medals grow as you go.

62% complete
Shelf 03
✅

Read

Every book you've finished. Your permanent record. Rate it, review it, share it.

Shelf 04
⛔

Did Not Finish

Quit without shame. Life is too short for books you're not enjoying — and Crokes treats that as a completely normal part of reading.

Progress Medals

Medals that actually mean something

Finish 25% of a book and earn bronze. Hit 75% and earn gold. Every book in your Reading shelf shows your progress at a glance — a small, honest reward for the act of reading.

🥉
🥈
🥇
🏆
25% 50% 75% 100%
Streaks & Stats

Reading that feels like a practice

How many days in a row have you read? What's your record? How many books this month versus last? Your stats page gives you a full, honest picture of your reading year — no engagement tricks, just data that means something to you.

14
day streak
🔥
keep going
8
books this month
How We're Different

Crokes vs
typical book platforms

Most reading apps were designed to benefit the platform. Crokes was designed to benefit the reader.

Feature Crokes Typical Platforms
Reading tracker with TBR, Reading, Read & DNF shelves ✓ Yes Basic shelves, no DNF
Progress medals at 25%, 50%, 75% & 100% ✓ Yes Absent or gamified for engagement
Daily reading streaks & monthly stats ✓ Yes Limited or paywalled
Algorithm-free, chronological feed ✓ Always Sorted to maximise retention
No user profiling or data sales ✓ Never Core business model
Honest reviews — no censorship or shadow-banning ✓ Always Visibility routinely managed
Independent — no investors, no board ✓ Always VC-funded or corporate

Comparison reflects common practices across major book-tracking and reading social platforms.

Common Questions

Everything
you might
want to know.

Yes, completely. There's no premium tier, no freemium model, and no features locked behind a paywall. Crokes is free to use.
Yes. If you're looking for a free Goodreads / Storygraph alternative that doesn't profile you or sell your reading data, Crokes was built for exactly that. You get shelves, a DNF shelf, reading streaks, progress medals, reviews, and a reading community — without the surveillance.
Yes. Crokes is a free book tracking app that lets you organise your reading across TBR, Reading, Read and DNF shelves. It includes progress medals, daily reading streaks, and monthly reading stats — all stored privately, with no data profiling or advertising targeting.
DNF stands for Did Not Finish. The DNF shelf is where you put books you started but stopped reading — without shame, without explanation required. Life is too short for books you're not enjoying, and Crokes treats that as a completely normal part of reading.
Crokes is independently owned and operated by its founder — a single person, based in regional Victoria, Australia. There are no investors, no parent company, and no shareholders. The platform exists because the founder wanted a simple book tracker, and found that there was not an existing service that suited their needs.
No. Crokes does not profile users, sell reading data, or share personal information with advertisers. That's not a policy that may change — it's the reason the platform was built.
The activity feed is a single, global, real-time, chronological stream of posts from all Crokes users. There's no algorithm deciding what you see — the newest post is always at the top. Find it at crokes.com/activity.
At the moment, Crokes is in its early stages and so Google ads are the only way at this stage to keep the platform sustainable. The motivation is to leave Google ads for good once Crokes has reached more users (or has recieved a generous donation). Crokes as a platform does not and will not collect your data. Any data collected by Google ads is held by Google, not Crokes.
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Super-simple book tracker.
Crokes does not profile you. Ever.
Built for readers, not data brokers.