Yonder—the Wattpad spin off app—announced it will be shutting down later this year. Here's what we know about what happens now.
Well, folks, it’s the end of an era—kind of. If you count Yonder's less-than-3-year run as an era. Yonder, Wattpad’s premium bookish sibling, is officially closing its virtual doors later this year. If you haven’t heard of Yonder, it's a fancy, ad-free reading app from South Korean tech giant Naver, the parent company of Wattpad and Webtoon. Yonder launched in October 2022 to lots of excited fanfare on its sister platforms followed by, well... not much. The promotional efforts fizzled out soon after its launch. Sadly, though perhaps unsurprisingly, as of 2025, it’s peace out, Yonder.
What is Yonder, Anyway?What Was Yonder, Anyway?
Yonder started strong with a curated lineup of Wattpad’s top paid stories, translated Korean novels (K-novels for the cool kids), and even some exclusive releases from big-name authors like Ruby Dixon and Ivy Smoak. The concept? A smooth, ad-free reading experience where you’d get a few free chapters and then unlock more using virtual coins—pretty much the same system Webtoon has been using forever, but for books.
At first, Yonder featured a lot of Wattpad’s hottest paid stories, but over time, it pivoted hard toward K-novels and Webtoon novelizations (like The Remarried Empress). They also threw in some traditionally published paranormal romance for good measure, pushing most of their Wattpad books to the backburner.
Yonder Officially Bites the Dust
On January 30, 2025, Yonder dropped the bombshell on Instagram: they’re shutting down.
The post read, in part:
As we look ahead, we’ve decided to focus our efforts and investments on Wattpad where they will have a larger impact on our creators and reach more readers. As part of this decision, we will be discontinuing the YONDER app later this year.
The TL;DR was this: They loved building Yonder, but it didn't work out, and they’re now shutting it down and focusing on Wattpad instead. Specifically, they highlighted two key dates:
February 12, 2025 – No more coin purchases, but you can still use whatever you have left to unlock stories.
July 31, 2025 – The app officially shuts down, and any unused coins or unlocked chapters go poof.
No word on whether users will still have access to the content they paid for in some form or another, but it doesn't sound promising.
So What Does This Mean for Wattpad & Webtoon?
So, what’s the deal? Is this a sign that the pay-to-read model isn’t working, or is Naver just tired of juggling multiple platforms? Wattpad has been leaning into the same microtransaction model with its “Ongoing Stories” over the past year, so this could be a move to consolidate everything in one place rather than splitting their audience.
For anyone who loved Yonder, this is a bit of a bummer. But maybe their most popular books will be diverted to Wattpad?
In the meantime, if you’ve got coins left in Yonder, now’s the time to use ‘em. And if you’re feeling sentimental, maybe snap a few screenshots before it’s all gone. RIP, Yonder—you had a good (okay, surprisingly short) run.
Are you sad to see Yonder go? Tell us your thoughts in the comments...
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