Find your story
Return to a familiar world, or follow your curiosity somewhere new.
A quieter kind of evening
Stories to
drift off to
Leave the day on the last page. Settle into a timeless book, a gentle voice, and the sound of rain outside.
Start with the free shelf. Made for iPhone.
CLASSICS TO COME HOME TOVOICES TO WIND DOWN WITHA PLACE KEPT FOR TOMORROW
An old friend, or a new favorite
A whole world.
A softer landing.
Austen and adventure. Fairy tales and philosophy. Find a story for the kind of night you’re having, then pick up exactly where you left off.
Find your kind of story
Browse classic books, familiar tales, short listens, and AI-written Nightshelf Originals.
Keep a little something for later
Save a book to your shelf. Your reading place will be waiting when you return.
Let the story come to you
Read along or close your eyes. The on-device voice works offline; Pro adds AI narration.
Made for the last minutes of the day
Less to do.
More to drift into.
Choose a story. Make the room your own.
Let Nightshelf take it from there.
Inside Nightshelf · Real screens from Nightshelf.
A shelf that feels like yours
Keep favorites close and find something for tonight.
A closer look at every book
Explore the cover, read the synopsis, and save it for another night.
Your story. Your pace.
Read along, listen, and let the sleep timer fade out.
Find your evening voice
Mira and Rowan bring a different warmth to the page.
A little atmosphere
Rain, leaves, music, and more, beneath the story.
Something only for tonight
Choose an idea and mood. Pro writes a new story with AI.
Screens shown from versions 1.9.10–1.9.11. Tap a screen to see it up close. Some features require Nightshelf Pro. Availability follows your installed version.
The voices and sounds of Nightshelf
Find your evening voice.
Try a narrator. Choose a background sound. Hear them together, just as you can in the app.
Voice
Find the voice for your evening.
AI narrators
These previews are the OpenAI renditions of Mira and Rowan heard in Nightshelf 1.9.10, at the app’s default pace. Open the app’s voice picker for the narrators currently available to you. When available, ElevenLabs narrators read English stories; Automatic and the free welcome continue to use OpenAI Mira.
On-device voices
Nightshelf also reads with voices installed on your iPhone, for free and offline.
Music & sounds
Every sound plays offline in the app.
Sound off
Music
Nature
Noise
Short previews of all fourteen choices. In the app, a sound can play beneath your story or continue after it ends.
Your evening, unhurried
Three little steps.
Nowhere else to be.
Settle into the sound
Choose a voice, add a soundscape, and set a sleep timer.
Leave the rest for tomorrow
Let the narration fade. Your place stays, even when you drift.
A little more room to wander
Begin with the free shelf.
Keep it simple, or open up more
with Nightshelf Pro.
Included, from the first night
Your quiet essentials
Start with free classic books, selected tales, and Nightshelf Originals.
- On-device narration
- Every soundscape and piece of sleep music
- Sleep timer and screen dimming
- Saved places and a shelf for later
Nightshelf Pro
A wider world of goodnights
Explore more of the library and make the evening a little more your own.
- More classic books and selected tales
- A choice of AI narrators
- Personal AI-written bedtime stories
- Longer 90- and 120-minute sleep timers
Plans and current prices are shown in the app.
Common questions
A few things before you settle in.
Do I need an account?
No. There's nothing to sign up for and no password to remember. Your reading progress, saved shelf and supported reading settings can sync through your own private iCloud. Ambient sound choices and their volume stay on this device. Nightshelf keeps no server copy of your synced progress.
What's free, and what needs Nightshelf Pro?
The free shelf includes classic books, Nightshelf Originals and selected tales. The app labels which choices are free and which are included with Pro. You get the on-device voice, every sound and piece of sleep music, the sleep timer, and screen dimming, with no time limit and no ads. Nightshelf Pro opens more of the library, the AI narrators available in your version, 90- and 120-minute sleep timers, and Tonight's Story. Prices are shown in the app, and the annual plan includes a 7-day free trial if your Apple Account is eligible.
Does it work offline?
Yes, the whole shelf does. Every book ships inside the app, and the on-device voice reads any of them with the network off, ambient sound and sleep timer included. Only the AI narrators and Tonight's Story need a connection.
Which editions are included?
The library includes novels, collections, retellings and selected tales. Editions can omit illustrations, notes or other supporting material. In the player, open More options → About this book for a title’s format, source and credits.
Where do my words go?
Your own words go nowhere unless you say so. Reading, listening in your iPhone's voice, ambient sound, and the timer all happen on your phone. Tonight's Story, and an AI narrator reading a story you made, ask your permission before anything you chose or typed leaves; say no and they stay off while everything else keeps working. From Nightshelf 1.9.3, AI narrators can read the books that come with Nightshelf without asking, and they are on from the start. From 1.9.10, OpenAI Mira reads your first few minutes once on each iPhone, or your chosen available narrator reads with Nightshelf Pro; earlier versions use Nova for the welcome and Automatic. The paragraph being read and a small amount ahead go to Nightshelf's server, which sees your IP address as any website does and keeps a scrambled daily character count to limit use (with Pro, the request also carries the ID and receipt the privacy policy describes), and on to OpenAI or, when available for your chosen narrator, ElevenLabs. The selected provider gets that text, the voice choice, language and reading settings, with no Nightshelf device or subscription ID. ElevenLabs narration of stories you made requires separate permission on this iPhone; an earlier OpenAI permission does not authorize it. Settings → AI features → AI narrators for Nightshelf's books controls narration of the bundled books. Stories you made use separate permissions: review ElevenLabs narration under AI features, or turn off Tonight's Story & your stories there to withdraw permission for writing, covers and narration. Versions 1.9.2 and earlier ask before any cloud narration. Auditioning a narrator with ▶ doesn't ask first, because it sends a fixed sample sentence, never anything of yours. In versions with narrator discovery, opening the English voice picker checks Nightshelf’s server for available choices without sending story text, a device or subscription ID, or a receipt. The privacy policy names every stop your words make.
When can I get it?
Now. Nightshelf is on the App Store for iPhones running iOS 17 or later. The whole app stays dark, because it's made for the last minutes of the day.
The day can end here
A good story.
A softer goodnight.
Your next favorite evening ritual is waiting.
Get Nightshelf for iPhone