1. Information We Collect
Account Information
When you create an account, we collect:
- Email address
- Name (optional)
- Password (salted and hashed — we never store or transmit it in a recoverable form)
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
What Other Users Can See
There is currently no way to make a profile private. Other users can see:
- Your name
- Your ratings, including which books you rated and what you scored them
- Your public lists and Top 10s
- Whether you are a member of their reading tribe
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 up to your 25 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
- Share your reading history with publishers or authors
What Is Visible to Others
- PublicYour individual book ratings: Visible to anyone who visits your profile page. There is currently no way to hide them.
- PublicYour display name, avatar, and aggregate stats: Always shown on your profile page.
- PrivateYour reading status (want to read, currently reading, finished, did not finish): Never shown to other users.
- PrivateYour reading tribe: Your closest taste matches are anonymized even to you — no one, including you, can see the identities of the people in your tribe.
- PublicCustom book lists: Public by default when created; you can switch a list to private.
- PublicTop 10 lists: Always public. There is currently no way to make a Top 10 private.
- Anyone with the linkTaste comparisons and picker rooms: Anyone with the link can view them — they are not restricted to the people who created or joined them.
- PublicForum posts: Visible to everyone.
BookTribes does not accept paid placement in personalised rankings. Affiliate links (e.g. Amazon) may be present but do not influence recommendation order.
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)
4. Data Security
We implement security measures including:
- Passwords salted and hashed with bcrypt — never stored in plain text or encrypted form
- 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, reading statuses, and lists as JSON from your account settings
- Delete your data: Delete your account yourself from your account settings, at any time
- Opt out of emails: Unsubscribe from weekly picks at any time
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 only essential cookies, required for authentication and basic site functionality. These cannot be disabled. Vercel Analytics, which we use for usage insights, 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. 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. For data deletion or to exercise your rights, contact us at: privacy@booktribes.app