Help
Help and frequently asked questions
How to start listening, download chapters, use the sleep timer, install the player and move your library between browsers.
Starting from a collection
Open any collection, find a recording you like and choose Listen in MyVoxBox. The player opens with that book selected and paused; press play to start. Nothing starts playing on its own. The LibriVox link above it opens the recording's own catalogue entry, with the same audio and details of the volunteer readers.
You can also open the player directly and use its Search tab to find any LibriVox recording by title, author or keyword. A book found in Search opens without interrupting what is already playing.
Streaming and downloading chapters
Chapters stream over the network as you listen. The Download button next to a chapter saves its audio in your browser so that it also plays without a connection, for example on a flight or a commute. Download only the chapters you need, and remove them from the Library tab when you want the space back.
The sleep timer
The player's sleep timer stops playback after a number of minutes you choose, up to two hours, or at the end of the current chapter. Stopping at a chapter end makes it easy to find your place again the next evening.
Remembering your place
Your playback position in each book, your favourites and your listening history are stored in your browser and restored when you come back, even after closing the browser. They are not sent to a server. Clearing the browser's site data for the player removes them, so export your library first if you want to keep it (see below).
Adding the player to your home screen
MyVoxBox works as an ordinary website. On a supported browser you can also install it: use the browser's Install or Add to Home Screen command while the player is open. The installed copy starts faster and can open offline after its first visit. Installing is optional and changes nothing about how your data is stored.
Moving your library to another browser
On the player's Library tab, Export JSON saves your favourites, history, playback positions and settings to a file you keep. Import JSON in another browser or on another device reads that file back. Downloaded audio is not included in the export; download the chapters again on the new device.
"MyVoxBox is already open"
The player keeps your library consistent by running in one tab or window at a time. If you open it again, for example from a collection link while it is already open elsewhere, the new copy shows the message "MyVoxBox is already open in another tab or window" and does not start. Close the other copy, then choose Try again. Nothing is lost or changed when this happens.
Supported browsers
MyVoxBox works in current versions of Chrome and Firefox on a desktop or laptop, and in Safari on iPhone and iPad. Other modern browsers generally work but are not tested regularly, and Android browsers have not been tested. There is no app to install from an app store.
Frequently asked questions
- Is MyVoxBox really free?
- Yes. There is no subscription and no paid tier. It plays public-domain recordings from LibriVox, which are free for everyone.
- Do I need an account?
- No. Nothing on this site or in the player asks you to sign up or sign in.
- Do I need to install anything?
- No. The player runs in a modern browser. Installing it to your home screen is optional.
- Can I listen without an internet connection?
- Yes. Download the chapters you want first. The installed player can open offline after its first visit, and the downloaded chapters play without a connection.
- Where do the recordings come from?
- From LibriVox, whose volunteers read public-domain books and release the recordings into the public domain. The audio is hosted by the Internet Archive. See About.
- Why does a collection say "Ranking observed on" a date?
- The two popularity collections are observations of Archive.org download counts on that date. They are not live rankings and are not updated continuously.
- Can I move my listening data?
- Yes. Export JSON on the Library tab writes a file you can import in another browser or on another device.
- Is my listening tracked?
- Your audiobook titles, search text, positions, favourites and history never leave your browser. This homepage and the online player use limited, anonymous, cookie-free analytics; the privacy page says exactly what that includes.