Privacy Policy

Effective November 3, 2026 · Last updated November 6, 2026

The short version

• Your library lives on your device. You don't need an account to use Bound & Byte.
• If you sign in with Google, a copy of your library is kept in your private cloud space so it can sync between your devices.
• Your photos stay on your device unless you choose to share your shelf with friends.
• To fill in book details, the app sends the barcode, ISBN or title you're looking up to public book databases. Nothing about you is sent with it.
• We don't sell your information, show ads, or use analytics or tracking tools.
• You can delete everything at any time. See Deleting your data.

This policy explains what information the Bound & Byte app ("Bound & Byte," "we," "us") handles, why, and the choices you have. It applies to the Bound & Byte Android app and the Bound & Byte web app.

Information that stays on your device

Everything you add to Bound & Byte is stored on your phone, tablet or computer. That includes your books and digital reads, along with your ratings, notes, reading progress, loans, shelf arrangement and settings. It also includes:

• Photos you take or choose: covers, spine photos and shelf decor.
• Saved cover pictures: the app keeps a small copy of each book cover so it doesn't need to download it again.
• Backups: backup files are saved wherever you choose. If you turn on automatic backups, they go to a folder on your device.

We can't see this information. It stays on your device until you delete it, uninstall the app or clear its data.

If you sign in with Google

Signing in is optional. It lets you sync your library between devices, share your shelf, and send or receive book recommendations. Sign-in is provided by Google through Firebase Authentication, a Google service.

What we receive

• Your Google account's name, email address and an account ID. We use your first name to label your library and recommendations. Your email appears only in the app, to show which account you're signed in with.

What is stored in the cloud

• Your library: a copy of the details of each item you add, such as title, author, format, series, notes, ratings, reading status and the web address of its cover. It's stored in Google Cloud Firestore, under an area that only your account can read or change.
• Not your photos: photos you take, and the saved cover copies, are not uploaded to sync.

If you sign out, your library stays on your device and syncing stops.

You can also open your library on our website at boundandbyte.com/app. It only shows after you sign in with the same Google account, and it reads and saves the same private cloud copy as the app. While you're signed in, the website keeps a working copy in your browser. Signing out on the website removes it from that browser.

Sharing with friends

Sharing your library

If you turn on library sharing, the app creates a random share code and a link that contains it. Anyone with that code or link can see what you've chosen to share. The code sits after the "#" in the link, so it is never sent to our website:

• your display name;
• the details of the items in your library, such as title, author, format and cover link;
• your spine and fore-edge photos, so your shelf looks the same for them;
• the reading badges you've earned.

Your notes, reviews and other photos are not shared. Only share the code with people you trust. When you stop sharing, the shared copy is deleted, the code and link stop working, and your friends' apps remove your library the next time they check in.

Recommendations

When you recommend a book to a friend in the app, their Bound & Byte receives your first name, your account ID, and the book's title, author and cover link. Only the person you sent it to can read it, and they can delete it. If you choose to send by text or email instead, your phone's own messaging app sends it, and we don't receive a copy.

Looking up book details

When you scan a barcode, type an ISBN or search for a title, the app asks public databases for details such as the title, author, summary and cover. Only what you're looking up is sent: the ISBN or barcode, the title or author you typed, or the title and author of a book you own. Your name, email, library or photos are never included.

Like any website, these services can see your device's IP address when the app contacts them. Each service handles that under its own privacy policy:

Some buttons open other websites in your browser, such as Google Lens, eBay or WorldCat. What happens there is covered by that site's privacy policy.

Camera

The camera is used only while you're scanning a barcode or taking a photo. Barcodes are read on your device. Photos are saved in the app on your device and are only shared as described in Sharing with friends. The app doesn't use your location, contacts or microphone.

Purchases

If you upgrade to a paid plan, the payment is handled by Google Play, and we never see your card or payment details. We use RevenueCat to check which plan you have. RevenueCat receives an anonymous app ID and your purchase status from Google Play. See RevenueCat's privacy policy and Google's privacy policy.

What we don't do

• We don't sell or rent your information, and we don't share it for advertising.
• We don't show ads.
• We don't use analytics, crash-reporting or tracking tools.
• We don't collect your location, contacts or browsing activity.

Keeping and deleting your data

We keep your cloud copy for as long as you use sync, and your shared library for as long as sharing is on. You're in control:

• On your device: open Me → Back up and restore and choose Erase everything on this device, or uninstall the app.
• Stop sharing: open Me → Share my library and tap Stop sharing to delete your shared copy right away.
• Delete your account and cloud data: email [email protected] from the Google account you sign in with, with the subject "Delete my account". We'll delete your sign-in account, synced library, shared library and recommendations within 30 days and confirm by email. You don't need the app installed to ask.

You can also email us to ask for a copy of the information we hold about you or to correct it. Depending on where you live, you may have other privacy rights. We'll honor requests from anyone, wherever they live.

Security

Data sent between the app and Google's cloud is encrypted in transit. Your cloud data is protected by access rules, so only your signed-in account can read or change it. Shared libraries can be read by anyone with the code. No system is perfectly secure, so keep your own backups, and don't store sensitive personal information in notes.

Children

Bound & Byte is not directed to children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has signed in, contact us and we'll delete the account.

Changes to this policy

If we change how the app handles information, for example by adding new services, we'll update this page and the date at the top. For significant changes, we'll also let you know in the app.

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