Privacy policy
Booklog is a reading log made by Jack Crook ("we") in Queensland, Australia. This policy explains what happens to your information. The short version: your library lives on your phone, you don't need an account, if you sign in it's backed up privately to your account, and the only things anyone else can see are community reviews you choose to post, if you turn on Friends, what you choose to share with friends you've accepted, and anonymous totals made from readers' accounts, which you can opt out of.
Your books stay on your phone
Your books, shelves, ratings, reading dates, reading format, progress and reading sessions, notes, and your settings (rating scale, which features are on, colours and theme, haptics, layout) are stored in a database on your device. Streaks, pages per day, the reading calendar and the stats screen are all worked out on your phone from that data. Without an account, none of it is sent to us, and deleting the app deletes it.
If you sign in, your library is saved to your account, so every device you sign in on shows the same books (see Sync and Backup).
What leaves your phone, and why
Open Library (book details and covers)
Book details and cover images come from Open Library, a free service run by the Internet Archive. We don't run it, and it doesn't receive your name, email or account. Like any website, it sees your IP address. The app sends it:
- What you search for, and the ISBN of a barcode you scan.
- Goodreads import: the export file you choose is read on your phone. Only each book's title, author and ISBN are sent to Open Library to look the book up. Your Goodreads ratings, dates and notes stay on your phone.
- The Search screen: before you type, it asks Open Library for this week's popular books. For the "Because you read…" and "Recommended for you" rows, it asks for the subjects of up to five books you've finished and rated highly (identified by their Open Library ID), then searches for books on one of those subjects. Your ratings, notes and the rest of your library are not sent.
- Book pages: the description, average rating and other details of the book you open, by its Open Library ID.
- Cover images for books Apple Books has no cover for (see below). Your phone downloads each cover and keeps a copy so it doesn't ask again.
Open Library's terms and privacy policy: archive.org/about/terms.php
Apple Books (cover images)
Covers come from Apple Books where it has the book, because those are the publisher's own artwork. For each book you see, the app sends its title and first author to Apple's public book search, once, with the country your phone is set to (so it searches your country's store), and remembers the answer on your phone. Nothing else is sent: no account, no ratings, and nothing that identifies you, though like any website Apple sees your IP address. This happens whether or not you have an Apple account or an iPhone. Apple's privacy policy: apple.com/legal/privacy
Audiobook lengths (only if you tap "Find length online")
For an audiobook, the book page can look up how long it is. Only when you tap "Find length online", the app sends the book's title and first author to Audible's public catalogue (run by Amazon), which lists the recordings so you can pick yours. When you pick one, it asks Audnexus, a community-run service, for that recording's chapter list by its Audible ID. Neither receives your name, email or account, though like any website they see your IP address. Nothing is sent unless you tap, and the length and chapters can always be typed in instead. This isn't available in the web version. Both are independent services with their own policies.
Barcode scanning
When you scan a book's barcode, your phone reads it; the camera picture never leaves your phone. Only the ISBN from the barcode is sent, to Open Library, to look the book up (see above).
Our server and its logs
Our server runs on Supabase, in Singapore. Like most hosting, it keeps routine request logs that include IP addresses, for up to 7 days. We use them only to keep the service working and secure.
The web version (app.booklog.org)
While Booklog is in testing, you can also use it in a web browser at app.booklog.org. It works the same way: your library is stored in your browser, on your device, not on our servers. It's sent nowhere unless you sign in and back it up. Clearing your browser's data for the site deletes it, and Safari on iPhone and iPad may clear it after about a week without a visit, unless you've added Booklog to your Home Screen. The page itself is served by Cloudflare, which sees your IP address and the page requested, like any web host. The web version has no barcode scanning on iPhone and no reminders. It uses no cookies, and like this website it has privacy-friendly visitor statistics (see Website statistics).
Website statistics (this website and the web version)
This website (booklog.org) and the web version of the app (app.booklog.org) use Cloudflare Web Analytics to count visits and see how quickly pages load. When you open a page, a small script sends Cloudflare which page it was, the site that linked you there, your country, your browser, operating system and type of device (phone, tablet or computer), and how long the page took to load. It uses no cookies or other storage on your device, doesn't fingerprint you, and isn't used to follow you across other websites. We see only totals, not individual visitors. Cloudflare keeps the detailed records for 7 days, then only as summaries.
Nothing in the web version's statistics comes from inside the app: not your books, ratings, notes, searches or account. The iPhone and Android apps have no statistics or analytics at all.
Accounts (optional)
You can use the app without an account. You can create one with an email address and password, or sign in with Apple or Google. Supabase stores what identifies your account: your email address (with Apple you can hide it behind a relay address), your name if Apple or Google shares it, the profile details Google includes in sign-in such as a profile picture link, an account ID, sign-in times, and for each device you're signed in on, the IP address it signed in from and its browser or app, device type and system version (for example "iPhone, iOS 18"). If you use a password, Supabase stores it only as a salted hash; we never see it. To confirm an email address or reset a password, we email you a 6-digit code. Your phone keeps a sign-in token so you stay signed in, in its secure storage (the iOS Keychain or Android Keystore) where other apps can't read it. The web version keeps it in your browser's storage.
What an account is for: backing up your library (below), posting community reviews and using Friends if you turn them on.
Backup (when you're signed in)
While you're signed in, the app backs up your library to your account: your books and shelves, ratings, reading dates, formats, page progress, notes, reading sessions, and your app settings. It backs up when you tap "Back up now", and by itself about twice a day. Each backup replaces the last one.
Only you can read your backup. It's used for one thing: putting your books back when you sign in on a new device or after reinstalling the app, or when you choose to restore. Your notes stay private: they're in your backup, and never shown to anyone.
Sync between your devices (when you're signed in)
While you're signed in, the app keeps a copy of your library in your account, one book at a time, so every device signed in to your account shows the same books. Signing in is what turns this on; without an account, nothing is sent. That copy holds the same things as a backup (your books and shelves, ratings, reading dates, formats, page progress, notes, tags, quotes, past reads, reading sessions, lists and series) and your app settings. Each change goes up within seconds while the app is open; a book you remove is marked as removed, so your other devices remove it too.
Only you can read it. It's used to keep your devices the same and, unless you opt out, to work out the anonymous totals below. Signing out stops that device syncing; what's already in your account stays until you delete your account.
Booklog's numbers (when you're signed in, unless you opt out)
Book pages show an average rating and how many readers have a book on each shelf, and Discover shows what readers are reading now. These come only from people using Booklog. Our server works them out from the ratings, shelves and reading days in signed-in readers' synced libraries.
What others see. Only totals for a book: for example "4.2 stars from 12 readers", or that it's popular this week. Your name, username, account, notes, dates and the rest of your library are never shown, and nothing shows for a book until at least two people count towards it. In a very small group of readers, someone could still work out what another person rated by comparing the total with their own rating.
Your choice. Turn off "Count my books in Booklog's numbers" in Settings → Community and your books leave every total straight away, since totals are worked out each time they're asked for and aren't stored. Deleting your account does the same. Without an account, nothing of yours is ever counted. Anyone can read the totals, signed in or not; to show them, the app sends our server the Open Library ID of the book you are looking at.
Community reviews (optional, off by default)
You can turn on community reviews in Settings. With them on, the book page shows other readers' reviews. To show them, the app asks our server for the reviews of the book you are looking at, by its Open Library ID. You don't need an account to read them.
To post a review you need an account, a display name, and to agree to the community terms. We record when you agreed.
What's public. Anyone using the app, signed in or not, can see your display name, your review text, the star rating you gave the book (if you rated it), which book it is, and when you posted it. Each review is also tied to a random account ID. Your email, real name, notes, shelves, reading dates, and when you agreed to the terms are never shown.
Moderation.
- When you post or edit a review or choose a display name, our server checks it against a list of words that aren't allowed. If it matches, it isn't saved and you can edit it.
- You can report a review. We store who reported it, the reason and when. Other users can't see who reported what. A review reported by three different people is hidden until we have looked at it. We check reports within 24 hours, and may delete reviews, or the accounts that post them, if they break the terms.
- You can block someone, and their reviews disappear for you. Your block list is stored on our server so it works on every book. Only you can see it, and you can unblock in Settings.
Changing or removing them. You can edit or delete any of your reviews at any time, and a deleted review is removed for everyone straight away. You can change your display name on any book page, under Community reviews (Posting as … → Change); it changes on all your reviews. It is removed when you delete your account.
Friends (optional, off by default)
You can turn on Friends in Settings. It needs an account.
Your username. The first time, you choose a username and a display name, and agree to the community terms if you haven't already for reviews. Usernames go through the same word check as display names. Nobody can browse or search the list of usernames: someone finds you only by typing your exact username. A display name you use only for Friends is shown only to people you have a friend request or friendship with, and to people who have blocked you (in their block list). If you also post reviews, the name on them is public, as described above.
Your picture. You can pick one of the app's built-in pictures (a drawing on a colour); it's shown wherever your name is. Or you can choose a photo from your phone: only the photo you pick reaches the app, which shrinks it to a small square before uploading it. We store it privately, and it's shown only to you and to people you have a friend request or friendship with; anyone else who finds your username sees your built-in picture instead. Removing or changing the photo deletes the old one, and it's deleted with your account.
Requests and friendships. We store who asked whom, whether it has been accepted, and when. Only the two of you can see it. Declining, cancelling or removing a friend deletes it. Your friend list is never shown to anyone else, and there are no follower counts.
What friends see. Nothing, until you switch it on. You can share each of these separately: books you start, books you finish, and the ratings you give. For each, the app sends our server the book's Open Library ID, title, first author and cover ID, the rating (for a rating), and the time. Only friends you've accepted can see it, including things you shared before they became your friend; nobody else can, signed in or not. Your notes, reviews, reading dates, shelves, progress and the rest of your library are never shared this way. A new rating of a book replaces the one you shared before, and clearing a rating removes it. Switching sharing off stops it from then on; what you've already shared stays until you delete it, which you can do any time in Friends ("Delete what I've shared"), or until you remove the friend.
Reporting and blocking. You can report a friend (their username, name, picture or what they share) from their page. We store who reported whom, the reason and when; nobody else can see it, and we check reports within 24 hours. Blocking someone ends your friendship or request, and from then on neither of you can find the other or see the other's activity or reviews. Your block list works the same way as for reviews.
Feedback (if you send it)
Settings → Send feedback sends us your message, the app version and whether you're on iPhone, Android or the web. If you're signed in, it's linked to your account. Only we can read it, and it's used only to improve Booklog. Sent while signed out, it isn't linked to you, so if you put your email in it and want it deleted, ask us.
Deleting your account
In the app: Settings → Account → Delete account. You can also ask by email (see Delete your account). This permanently deletes, from our servers:
- your account (email, name and sign-in details),
- your library backup, and your synced library if you used sync,
- your display name, your username, your picture and photo, and every review you posted,
- your friends and friend requests, and everything you shared with friends,
- reports you made, and reports others made about you or your reviews,
- your block list, and other people's blocks of you,
- feedback you sent while signed in.
If you signed in with Apple, the app first asks you to confirm with Apple. Our server uses that to revoke Booklog's access to your Apple ID, then deletes the account. If Apple can't be reached, nothing is deleted and you can try again. We never store Apple sign-in tokens.
Not removed by this: books on your phone (delete the app to remove them), server logs until they expire (up to 7 days), and Supabase's own copies of the database, which are kept for up to 7 days for disaster recovery.
Who else handles your data
- Supabase hosts our database, sign-in and server code, in Singapore.
- Cloudflare serves this website and the web version of the app, and provides their visitor statistics. It sees IP addresses and the pages requested, to deliver them and protect against attacks.
- Apple and Google handle sign-in, if you choose to sign in with them. Apple's book search also provides covers, as described above.
- Resend sends the 6-digit codes for email accounts. It sees your email address and the message.
- Audible (Amazon) and Audnexus provide audiobook lengths and chapter lists, only when you ask, as described above.
- Open Library provides book details and covers, as described above. It is an independent service with its own policy.
Some of these are outside Australia, so information you send through them may be stored or processed overseas, including in Singapore and the United States.
What we don't do
No advertising. No tracking across other apps or websites. No analytics in the app; the website's statistics are described above. We don't sell your information or share it with anyone except as described above.
Children
The app is not directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect their data. Community reviews are public, so don't post if you are under 13, and don't use Friends either. If you think a child has posted or set up Friends, contact us and we will delete it.
Your rights
We handle personal information in line with the Australian Privacy Principles. You can ask to see, correct or delete the information we hold about you. Most of it is only on your phone, where you control it. For anything on our servers, delete your account in the app or email us at [email protected], and we will reply within 30 days. If you live in the EU or UK, you also have the rights the GDPR gives you, including to object to how your data is used.
If you're unhappy with how we've handled a privacy complaint, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, or the data protection authority where you live.
Changes
If this policy changes, we'll update the date at the top. If a change means we collect something new, we'll say so in the app before it happens.
Contact
Jack Crook, [email protected]