Privacy Policy
Updated September 27, 2026 · MyBookAngel ("MyBookAngel", "we", "us")
This policy describes what information MyBookAngel collects, how we use it, and the choices you have. We built MyBookAngel to help you catalog your personal book collection, and we collect only what's needed to do that. We do not sell your personal information.
1. Information we collect
| Data | When | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Email address | If you create an account or join the launch list | To sign you in, sync your data, and (if opted in) send one launch email |
| Password | If you create an account | Stored only as a salted bcrypt hash — never in plain text |
| Your books | As you add them | Titles, authors, ISBNs, cover URLs, ratings, notes, reading status, shelves, wishlists, series, owner-entered values, price targets and copy movement details, including dates, destinations and optional sale or other movement amounts — so we can store and sync your collection |
| Account and session identifiers | When you sign in on a device | To keep you signed in, sync across your devices, and let you review or revoke sessions. The service stores token hashes, session labels and creation, last-use and expiry times. |
| App installation identifier | When a signed-in app acknowledges items in your cloud inbox | A random identifier stored by the app is sent with those acknowledgements and associated with your account, so the service can record which installation received them. This applies to iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android and Windows. It is separate from an advertising identifier and from device-local loan reminders. |
| Book searches and network requests | When you look up a book, load an online cover or use an online feature | To retrieve the requested book information. The receiving service also receives normal connection information such as your IP address. |
| Service connection and usage records | When the app or your browser contacts our hosted service | Web-server logs record IP addresses, requested URLs, time, response status, referring pages and browser/app user-agent information. Hosting statistics use these records to measure traffic, including approximate country derived from IP address, and to help operate and protect the service. |
The app requests camera access only to scan barcodes and capture cover photos, and photo access only if you pick a cover image. Captured local cover photos remain on your device and are not uploaded.
MyBookAngel does not request GPS/location permission or your address book, or use an advertising identifier to personalize ads. Approximate country may nevertheless be inferred from IP addresses in hosting statistics, as described above. Operational records include request timing, fixed error codes, release identifiers and security rate limits. Rate limits use hashed network/account identifiers; hashing does not make those records anonymous. Book notes, borrower names and credentials are not included in routine application diagnostic messages. Web-server logs are separate and can include URL query parameters.
Android barcode scanning
The Android scanner includes Google's on-device ML Kit barcode library. In addition to processing camera images on your device, that library sends Google technical information for diagnostics and usage analytics: device model and operating system, app/package version, per-installation identifiers, performance measurements, scanner configuration and feature/error events. Google uses these metrics to maintain, improve and protect its APIs, as described in its ML Kit privacy terms. Google documents HTTPS transmission and the collected data in the ML Kit Android data disclosure. The app does not offer a separate setting to disable this SDK technical collection. It is separate from uploading your camera images or local cover photos.
The iPhone, iPad and Mac scanner uses Apple's camera and Vision frameworks; the Android ML Kit disclosure above describes the Android version. You can add a book manually or search by title or ISBN without scanning it with a camera.
Optional loan reminders
App versions with loan reminders can schedule device-local notifications on Android, iPhone, iPad and Mac after you enable them for a library and allow notification permission. The device stores your reminder preference and opaque scheduling identifiers; the reminder scheduler does not send these to our server. Notifications use generic loan-due text, without book titles, borrower details, notes or account information. Loan records still follow your separate cloud-sync choice. Device settings control notification display and sound, and may delay delivery. You can turn reminders off in Shelf tracking. Windows shows due dates inside the app without background loan notifications.
2. How we use your information
- To provide the core service: cataloging and cross-device sync of your collection. Cloud sync is not a substitute for a complete backup of device-local cover photos.
- To look up book details — title/author queries and ISBNs go to Google Books or Open Library. Online cover images are requested from their image hosts. These services receive normal network request information.
- To maintain and protect the service, diagnose errors, and understand service usage through request counts, timings and hosting statistics, including approximate countries.
- To recommend books and check for series releases when you use online discovery. The service uses your synced collection's authors, categories and series information to request relevant book metadata; it does not send your private notes or borrower details for these requests.
- To manage password recovery, email verification and account security when you use those features. Account emails are sent through the configured hosting mail service.
- To send a single launch notification, only if you asked to be notified.
- To provide customer support when you contact us.
3. Affiliate links
"Where to buy" and audiobook links may be affiliate links. If you purchase through them, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. These links open in your browser and may include a book query and referral tag. Retailers apply their own privacy practices; MyBookAngel does not receive your payment-card details or purchase confirmation through these links.
4. Sharing your information
We don't sell or rent your data. We share information only:
- Wishlist links you create — anyone with the link can see the shared book titles, authors, online covers and claim status. The page does not display your account email or private notes. A title or other text you enter can itself reveal personal information, so review what you share.
- Hosting and online services — the hosting provider stores synced records, operates request logs and traffic statistics, and processes account mail. Book-data/image services and the Android scanning library handle the requests and technical data described above. Google Books and Internet Archive describe retaining request/log information in their Books privacy policy and Internet Archive privacy policy. Native book lookups do not send those providers your MyBookAngel email or sign-in token. Website pages that load Google Fonts also send normal font requests to Google; native app fonts are bundled.
- Optional offer checks — when a compatible offer provider is configured, the service can send an ISBN, edition format and market/currency to retrieve offers. It does not send your private book notes or borrower details for that lookup. Automatic price availability depends on provider access and coverage.
- Legal — if required by law.
5. Data retention
We keep your account data until you delete it. Deleting an individual book hides it from your library and syncs that change; it does not erase the stored book fields. Deleted-book records, their copy history and earlier synced results can remain in local and server storage while your account exists to coordinate updates, deletion and retries across devices. When you delete your account, the server permanently removes your account, synced books, devices, share links, alerts and account-owned movement records. Device-local library copies, cover photos and your exported files remain under your control. Operational backups may retain prior copies until their normal rotation; account deletion does not promise immediate erasure from every backup.
Application maintenance removes aggregate operational metrics older than 90 days when the background worker runs. Hosting access logs, traffic statistics, mail logs, security rate-limit records and backups have separate retention from your account records and can remain after account deletion. Their retention depends on the hosting and service configuration; the short enforcement window of a rate limit is not a deletion deadline. Third-party providers apply their own retention policies to their request and SDK records.
6. Your choices and rights
- Access & export — export a spreadsheet CSV from the app. CSV does not preserve every field or local image; use a full backup when offered by your installed version, and check the restore contents before removing local data. App-exported backups contain private library data and local cover files and are not password-encrypted by the app. Store and share them carefully.
- Edit or remove a book — change a book or hide it from your library using Delete. Individual removal retains stored fields as described above; it is not permanent erasure.
- Delete your account — use Delete account in the app's Account screen and confirm with your password; this permanently removes your synced account data from our server. Books stored only on your device are not affected.
- Use without an account — the app works locally without signing in; cloud sync is optional.
7. Security
The hosted account and sync service uses HTTPS. Passwords are hashed with bcrypt and sync uses revocable tokens. No method of storage or transmission is 100% secure, but we take reasonable measures to protect your data.
8. Children
MyBookAngel is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect data from them.
9. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy; we'll revise the effective date above and, for significant changes, provide notice in the app or by email.
10. Contact
Questions or requests: privacy@mybookangel.com.