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Researchly is a private reference and publication manager for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It helps you add papers, attach PDFs, format citations, track citation counts, organize reading, connect ORCID or Zotero, and optionally sync your library across devices.

No for core local library use. An account is needed for signed-in cloud library sync, encrypted PDF cloud sync, entitlement sync, ORCID, Zotero, and quota-backed online features. Researchly supports Apple, Google, and email/password sign-in through account service providers.

Local library browsing, local metadata edits, local PDF access, and many organization features can work offline once the data is on your device. Online search, citation refresh, author recovery, account sync, ORCID, Zotero, cloud summaries, translation, purchase restoration, and cloud PDF sync require network access.

Use Researchly search with a DOI, title, author, or keywords. You can also import PDFs, BibTeX, BibLaTeX, Zotero entries, and ORCID DOI lists where available. Researchly fills metadata from scholarly providers and lets you edit the result before or after saving.

Paste a DOI such as 10.xxxx/example or a DOI URL first. Signed-in online search can broaden coverage to title, author, and keyword searches when the backend is available and your quota allows it.

Metadata providers sometimes return initials or partial contributor records. Pro and Max can use author recovery, which checks provider records, ORCID-backed hints, and selected preprint sources. Cached recoveries do not need to charge quota again, but not every paper has enough trustworthy data to recover full names.

Yes. Researchly supports ownership labels such as published and preprint, plus sorting, filtering, citation counts, PDF status, sharing, and local statistics so your library can reflect both what you read and what you authored.

When signed in, Researchly can mirror library item records through Researchly cloud services and reconcile changes between devices. The app tracks document IDs, timestamps, PDF flags, and local changes so it can merge remote and local libraries without repeatedly uploading unchanged items.

Local PDFs are saved as encrypted PDF boxes. Paid cloud PDF sync encrypts PDF data before uploading it to Researchly cloud storage and stores metadata needed for signed-in app instances to decrypt it. If a downloaded PDF cannot decrypt, make sure the same Researchly account is signed in and that your device/account Keychain state is healthy, then sync again.

Pro includes 1 GB of encrypted cloud PDF storage and Max includes 5 GB, with individual PDFs up to 100 MB. Free does not include cloud PDF storage. You can check current usage on the account usage screen in the app.

Yes. Pro and Max can link an external folder, such as an iCloud Drive folder, and Researchly keeps an encrypted replica of your library, DOI metadata, and PDF boxes there. The files are encrypted with keys held in your Keychain, and the folder stays under your control.

Check that you are signed into the same Researchly account, your plan includes cloud PDF sync, PDF sync is enabled, the file is below current plan limits, and both devices have network access. If you use external folder sync, confirm the folder is still linked and available to both devices.

The app attempts to delete your cloud library documents, encrypted cloud PDFs, and user document for the signed-in account. Local encrypted data on the device is not automatically deleted, so remove local data separately if you want a full device cleanup.

Free focuses on local encrypted library workflows and limited metadata usage. Pro adds more online metadata, author recovery, cloud intelligence, translation, ORCID import, and encrypted PDF sync. Max raises limits for larger libraries and heavier cloud intelligence usage. Exact prices, limits, and billing terms are shown by the App Store before purchase.

Open your Apple account subscription settings, find Researchly, and choose the plan or cancellation option you need. Cancellation takes effect according to Apple's subscription rules. Refund requests are handled through Apple.

Quota-backed features are counted per signed-in Researchly account, not just per device. Metadata, citation refreshes, author recovery, AI summaries, translation, and ORCID fetches can have daily and monthly limits. Wait for the relevant period to reset or move to a plan with higher limits.

First, confirm the App Store account used for purchase. Then open Researchly while online and use the restore or refresh entitlement flow. If it still fails, contact support with your device model, OS version, Researchly version, selected plan, and whether you are signed into a Researchly account.

Researchly tries the most private capable path first. Supported devices can use on-device Apple Intelligence for summaries. Where supported, Private Cloud Compute may be used for compatible requests. Eligible paid plans can use Researchly cloud summaries when a request needs cloud processing.

Researchly sends bounded paper metadata needed to generate the result: title, authors, venue, year, DOI, and abstract. The service is designed to use cautious academic language and avoid unsupported claims, but you should still verify output against the paper.

Translation requires a supported language target, network access, backend availability, and available translation quota. It is charged in 1,000-character units for quota accounting, so long summaries can consume more than one unit.

Use summaries as reading aids, not sources. Cite the original paper, verify quotations and claims yourself, and follow your institution's rules for AI-assisted research workflows.

Researchly opens ORCID authorization in an ephemeral browser session, receives a short-lived ticket through the Researchly backend, stores tokens in Keychain, and can fetch DOI lists from your ORCID record. ORCID fetches are quota-backed for paid plans.

The current Zotero flow requests library access, not notes access, write access, or all-group access. Researchly stores the resulting Zotero API details in Keychain locally and can mirror connection state for your signed-in Researchly account.

Researchly can combine provider results from OpenAlex, Crossref, and Semantic Scholar. Providers count citations differently, update on different schedules, and may be temporarily unavailable. Researchly avoids replacing a known count with incomplete zero results when a provider lookup is transient.

You can refresh a paper manually at any time within your quota and hourly limits. Researchly can also refresh automatically at most once per day after noon in your local time zone. Both kinds count toward your metadata quota.

Researchly includes widgets for repository and statistics views, with app group data used to publish current library and theme snapshots to WidgetKit. Widget availability can vary by platform, OS version, and entitlement tier.

Open Researchly once, let it finish loading the local library, and wait for WidgetKit to refresh. If a theme or plan changed, Researchly publishes a new widget snapshot, but the operating system controls exact refresh timing.

Researchly indexes library items into Spotlight where supported, including deduplicated searchable metadata. If Spotlight results are stale, open the app and let the library re-index after sync or import.

No. Researchly does not sell personal data, show ads, or build advertising profiles. See the Privacy Policy for the full data-processing explanation.

Researchly stores the local library and local PDF boxes with platform encryption and Keychain-managed keys. Paid cloud PDF sync encrypts PDFs before upload. Cloud library metadata is stored under your signed-in account to support sync.

Check your connection, sign-in state, quota, and service availability. Try a DOI first, then title or author. Provider outages and rate limits can affect scholarly metadata sources independently.

Confirm the PDF still exists in Researchly, then try replacing it from the original file. If the issue appeared after syncing, make sure the device can decrypt the file and that you are signed into the expected Researchly account.

Include your device model, OS version, Researchly version, plan tier, whether you are signed in, the feature you were using, the exact error text, and safe reproduction steps. For privacy, remove sensitive paper PDFs, unpublished drafts, credentials, or provider tokens unless support truly needs them for a specific case.