Privacy Policy
Last updated October 1, 2026
The short version
Spinefolk helps you keep track of the books you own and read, and share them with people you choose. We collect what we need to do that, we don’t sell your information, and we don’t show ads. You can download or delete your data at any time in Settings.
What we collect
Your account: your email address, a password (stored in scrambled form, never as plain text), the name and handle you choose, and optionally a bio, profile photo, favorite genres, and your privacy setting.
Your reading life: the books you add to your library, the locations and formats you assign, reading status, progress and finish dates, ratings, reviews and comments you write, favorite books, reading goals, and the time you log reading.
Your private collection details: condition, edition, purchase date, price and notes for your copies; books you’ve lent and the names you type for borrowers; lists you make; your wishlist; series you set; authors you follow; and the notes and quotes in your reading journal. These are for you alone (see “Who can see what”).
Your connections: who you follow and who follows you, readers you block, groups you join, and what you post, like, or comment on inside groups.
Your app preferences, such as theme, text size, and library view, so they follow you to a new device.
Reports you send us about content or people.
We don’t collect your contacts, your location, or advertising identifiers, and we don’t use analytics or tracking tools in the app today.
Camera, photos, and notifications
If you allow camera access, the camera is used only on your device to read the barcode on a book, and only while the Scan screen is open. Nothing is recorded or saved. If you choose a profile photo, only the photo you pick is uploaded.
If you turn on reminders (for lent books, book club meetups, or daily reading), your device schedules them itself. They are created on your phone, and nothing about them is sent to a server. You can turn them off in Settings or in your phone’s notification settings.
When you share an image of your year or a review, the picture is created on your device and handed to the app you choose. It isn’t uploaded to us.
Who can see what
Your name, handle, bio, photo, and the reviews and comments you write are visible to other signed-in readers. Your reading stats, favorites, recent reads, and activity are visible only to the people you allow, according to your setting in Edit profile: Everyone, Followers, or Only me. You can also choose whether your public groups are listed on your profile.
Your private collection details, lending records, wishlist, reading journal, reading log, followed authors, and series are visible only to you. Not even people in your household can see them. A list you make is private unless you choose to make it public; a public list is visible to the people your privacy setting allows.
Locations you share with your household are visible to its members at the level you choose. Posts in a public group can be read by any signed-in reader; posts in a private group are visible only to its members. Being a member of a public group is visible on that group’s member list.
Blocking someone hides your content from each other and removes any follows between you.
Who we share data with
Supabase hosts our database, sign-in, photo storage, and the small service that looks up books. They process your data on our behalf.
To find books, the app sends search words, an ISBN, or a title and author to book information services: Open Library (run by the Internet Archive), Google Books, Hardcover, and Apple Books. Some of these requests come from our server and some directly from your device, so those services may see your device’s IP address. Cover images load from their servers. We don’t send your name, email, or library to them.
Links in the app, such as stores, library lending, or Open Library, open in your browser, and those sites have their own privacy practices.
We don’t sell your personal information and we don’t share it with advertisers. We may disclose information if the law requires it or to protect people from harm.
Other people’s names
If you type another person’s name, for example to record who you lent a book to, that note is stored privately for you and is deleted with your account. Please only record what you need to remember who has your books.
How long we keep it
We keep your information until you delete your account. Deleting your account in Settings, Account and security removes your profile, library, reviews, comments, follows, journal, lending records, and photo. Copies in our backups may remain for a limited time before they’re overwritten. Reports about content may be kept so we can enforce our rules.
Your choices
You can edit your profile, change who sees your reading, block readers, download a copy of your data, change your email or password, and delete your account, all inside the app.
If you have a question about your data, or live somewhere with additional privacy rights, contact us and we’ll help.
Children
Spinefolk isn’t meant for children under 13, and we don’t knowingly collect their information. If you think a child has created an account, contact us and we’ll remove it.
Security
We use industry-standard protections, including encrypted connections and database rules that limit what each person can read. No service is perfectly secure, so please use a strong, unique password.
Changes and contact
If we make meaningful changes to this policy, we’ll tell you in the app before they take effect.
Questions? Contact SpineFolk LLC at support@spinefolk.app.