1. Information We Collect
Account Information
When you create an account, we collect:
- Email address
- Name (optional)
- Password (encrypted)
- Profile image (if using social login)
Reading Data
To provide personalized recommendations, we collect:
- Book ratings (1-5 stars)
- Anti-recommendations (books marked as "overhyped for your tribe")
- Books marked as "not interested"
- Reading preferences and favorite genres
Usage Data
We automatically collect:
- Pages visited and features used
- Search queries
- Books viewed and clicked
- Device and browser information
- IP address (for security purposes)
2. How We Use Your Information
We use your information to:
- Generate recommendations: Match you with readers who have similar taste
- Calculate your reading tribe: Find your top 100 most similar readers
- Personalize your experience: Show books your tribe loved (or didn't)
- Send notifications: Weekly recommendation emails (if you opt in)
- Improve the Service: Analyze usage patterns and fix issues
- Prevent abuse: Detect and prevent spam, harassment, and manipulation
3. How We Share Your Information
What We DON'T Share
We never:
- Sell your data to third parties
- Share your email with marketers or advertisers
- Make your individual ratings publicly visible (unless you explicitly share them)
- Share your reading history with publishers or authors
What Is Visible to Others
By default:
- Your profile name and image are visible on your profile page
- Your aggregate reading stats (e.g., "rated 50 books") are visible
- Your ratings and tribe membership are used in algorithms but not individually displayed
- Content you post in forums is publicly visible
Service Providers
We use third-party services to operate BookTribes. Your data is stored and processed by:
- Hosting: Vercel (US + global CDN edge locations)
- Database: Neon PostgreSQL (AWS US-East-1, Virginia, USA)
- Caching: Upstash Redis (US region)
- Email: Resend (US-based email infrastructure)
- Book data: Google Books API (for book metadata only)
- Analytics: Vercel Analytics (privacy-focused, first-party, no third-party tracking); Google Analytics (if you consent to cookies)
4. Data Security
We implement security measures including:
- Encrypted passwords (bcrypt hashing)
- HTTPS encryption for all data transmission
- Rate limiting to prevent abuse
- Regular security audits
- Secure database access controls
However, no method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.
5. Your Rights and Choices
You have the right to:
- Access your data: View all ratings and preferences in your profile
- Export your data: Download your ratings as CSV
- Delete your data: Request account deletion (contact us)
- Opt out of emails: Unsubscribe from weekly picks at any time
- Control visibility: Make your profile private
6. Data Retention
We retain your data as long as your account is active. If you delete your account:
- Personal information is deleted immediately
- Ratings and reviews are anonymized
- Aggregate statistics may be retained for analytics
7. Children's Privacy
BookTribes is not intended for users under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us.
8. International Data Transfers
BookTribes is operated from Ireland and our infrastructure is primarily located in the United States. If you are accessing BookTribes from outside the US (including the EU/UK), your data will be transferred to and processed in the US by our service providers listed above.
We rely on the standard contractual clauses and data processing agreements provided by our infrastructure partners (Vercel, Neon, Upstash, Resend) to ensure appropriate safeguards for international data transfers in compliance with GDPR and other applicable data protection laws.
9. Cookies
BookTribes uses the following types of cookies:
- Essential cookies: Required for authentication and basic site functionality. These cannot be disabled.
- Analytics cookies: Used by Google Analytics to understand how visitors use the site. These are only set if you consent via our cookie banner.
Vercel Analytics, which we also use, does not use cookies and collects only anonymous performance data.
10. Data Controller
BookTribes is operated by Mark Greville, based in Ireland. For questions about how your data is handled, please visit our Feedback & Support forum. For GDPR data deletion requests, email us at: privacy@booktribes.app
11. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes via email or a notice on the Service.
12. Contact Us
For questions about this Privacy Policy, please visit our Feedback & Support forum. For data deletion or to exercise your rights, contact us at: privacy@booktribes.app