Privacy Policy

Email address

Account login, verification, and match/service notifications

Password (stored as a salted hash, never in plain text)

Account authentication

Pseudonym (display name)

Shown to other users instead of your email

Books you've added, their status, and whether you're seeking a match

Core matching functionality. Your shelf is shown to a bookmate while a conversation with them is live, including which books you're seeking a match on, unless you turn that off in your profile. On Discover, whether you're seeking a match is shown without your name.

Messages you send in a conversation

Delivering your conversation to the other participant

Timestamps (when you read messages, when a conversation was last active)

Unread indicators, auto-ending inactive conversations

Sign-in sessions (one record per device you're signed in on, with the day you last used it)

Keeping you signed in without asking for your password on every visit. The record is what lets logging out, resetting your password, or closing your account end a session for good

We don't collect payment information (the Service is currently free), and we don't run analytics or advertising trackers — there's no tracking cookie or third-party script on the site beyond what's listed in section 3.

Most of what we collect is processed because it's necessary to provide the Service you signed up for (performance of a contract, GDPR Art. 6(1)(b)) — we can't run a book-matching chat without an account, a book list, and message delivery. Where that doesn't apply (e.g. basic abuse prevention), we rely on legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f)).

• Resend (email delivery provider) — receives your email address, and for match-notification emails, the other participant's pseudonym and the book title, solely to send you transactional emails (verification, match notifications). Resend is based in the United States.
• Open Library (book search/catalog data) — we send search queries to look up books; no personal or account data is included in these requests.

We don't sell your data, and we don't share it with anyone else.

Your data is stored on servers located within the European Economic Area (EEA).

We keep your account data for as long as your account is active. If you remove a book from your shelf or delete a conversation, it's hidden from your view but may be retained to prevent duplicate matching and for abuse investigation. If you delete your account (see section 7), we anonymize the personal data that identifies you (email, pseudonym, password) rather than deleting the underlying records outright — this is so conversations you were part of remain intact for the other participant, the way most messaging products handle a deleted user (“[deleted user]”), while you're no longer personally identifiable.

Depending on your location, you may have the right to:

• access the personal data we hold about you;
• correct inaccurate data;
• request erasure of your data;
• restrict or object to certain processing;
• receive your data in a portable format;
• lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

Email [email protected]. We'll respond within a reasonable time (no more than one month). Account deletion is self-service: use the “Delete account” option in your profile settings, which emails you a confirmation link before anything happens — nothing is deleted until you click it.

We use a single cookie to keep you signed in. It holds a random value that means nothing on its own. It only works while the matching sign-in record on our side exists, which is what section 1 lists. It's strictly necessary for the Service to function — we don't use it for tracking or analytics, and we don't use any other cookies or similar technologies. Because it's strictly necessary, no cookie-consent banner is required for it.

The Service isn't intended for anyone under 16. We don't knowingly collect data from children under this age.

If we make a material change to this policy, we'll make a reasonable effort to notify active users before it takes effect.

[email protected]