Privacy Policy

1. Who we are and what this policy covers

Books Pointer provides a website, mobile application, and related services for authors, readers, and book lovers. The Website and the Mobile applications are parts of the same service and use the same application programming interface and account system. In this policy, “Mobile Application,” “Website,” “we,” “our,” and “the Service” refer to those connected services.

This policy explains what information we collect, why we use it, when it may be disclosed, and the choices available to you. It applies to visitors, registered readers, authors, and other users of the Service.

2. Information we collect

2.1 Account and profile information

Depending on the features you use, we collect information such as:

• first name, last name, email address, password hash, account identifier, role, and registration method;
• optional phone number, birth date, profile and cover images, biography or “about” description, interests, social links, language preference, and series information;
• Google profile information such as name, email address, profile image, and Google account identifier when you choose Google sign-in; and
• account status, creation date, password-reset records, last activity, and security information.

Passwords are stored as password hashes, not readable plain-text passwords. If you use Google sign-in, Google handles your Google credentials and provides us the account information needed to sign you in.

2.2 Public profile and publishing information

We collect content and information you submit, including:

• books, chapters, drafts, titles, introductions, tags, categories, language, cover images, series, and publication status;
• author attribution, copyright declarations, source or permission notes, and records of later corrections or reviews of those declarations;
• reviews, ratings, replies, reactions, saved books, follows, reading lists, reports, and other community activity; and
• profile descriptions, profile images, published books, author pages, follower information, and other information intended for public display.

Published books, author names, public profiles, reviews, replies, and similar contributions are public and may be indexed by search engines, shared by other users, or viewed without an account. Do not place private or sensitive information in a public field or publication.

2.3 Messages, reports, and support

We collect private conversation messages and delivery/read status when you use messaging, as well as reports, complaint reasons, copyright communications, support requests, and emails you send us. Private messages are not displayed publicly, but we may access them when reasonably necessary to provide the feature, investigate a report, protect users, enforce our Terms, or comply with law.

2.4 Reading, usage, and analytics information

We and our analytics tools collect information about use of the Service, including:

• pages and books opened, searches, impressions, clicks, shares, referrals, and navigation source;
• reading page or chapter, progress, completion, engagement time, reviews prompted or submitted, and saved-book activity;
• creator-promotion impressions and journeys, author-profile visits, promoted-book opens, and aggregate author performance;
• anonymous visitor ID, session ID, account ID when signed in, event time, platform, browser or device information, user agent, and bot/internal-user indicators; and
• IP address and approximate country, region, or city inferred from it for language selection, security, analytics, and country-relevant affiliate placement.

Books Pointer uses first-party analytics and Google Analytics. First-party analytics may be linked to an account when you are signed in and may otherwise use an anonymous visitor identifier.

2.5 Device, notification, and local-storage information

If you enable notifications, we collect a device or Firebase Cloud Messaging token, an anonymous device identifier, notification content and status, and the associated account when signed in. The website and app also use cookies, local storage, session storage, and similar technologies to keep you signed in, remember language and theme preferences, preserve reading progress, operate real-time features, queue analytics events, measure sessions, and remember referral or promotion context.

2.6 Files and technical information

We collect files you upload, such as profile images, cover images, book content, and supported document files, together with file names, formats, and processing status. Our servers may also record ordinary request, error, security, and network logs, including IP address, date and time, requested URL, and device or browser information.

2.7 Payment and earning information when paid features launch

Paid book unlocking and author earnings are not yet generally available. If we introduce them, we may collect purchase records, product or book identifiers, price, currency, tax and refund status, payout balance, transaction identifiers, and information needed to verify an author or make a payout. Payment-card or mobile-wallet credentials will normally be collected directly by the applicable payment processor or app store rather than stored by Books Pointer. We will update this policy and provide any required payment or seller terms before those features are enabled.

3. How we use information

We use information to:

• create, authenticate, secure, and administer accounts;
• publish and deliver books, profiles, messages, reviews, follows, libraries, recommendations, and notifications;
• remember reading progress and personalize language, discovery, and reading experiences;
• measure readership and engagement, provide author analytics, evaluate creator promotion, and improve the Service;
• operate search, file processing, customer support, email, infrastructure, backups, and error diagnosis;
• detect bots, spam, fraud, security incidents, copyright infringement, false publishing declarations, and other misuse;
• display and measure advertisements, sponsorships, and affiliate recommendations when enabled;
• process purchases, refunds, author earnings, and payouts if paid features are introduced; and
• enforce our Terms, resolve disputes, comply with legal obligations, and protect users and the public.

4. When information is disclosed

We do not sell your personal information. We may disclose limited information in the following situations:

• Public activity: information you publish or place on a public profile is available to visitors, users, search engines, and people who share it.
• Service providers: vendors may process information for hosting, infrastructure, email delivery, search, analytics, authentication, notifications, content processing, security, advertising, affiliate measurement, or—when launched—payments and payouts.
• Current integrations: these may include Google for sign-in and Google Analytics, Firebase Cloud Messaging for notifications, and an email delivery provider. Each provider processes information under its own terms and privacy practices.
• Advertising and affiliate partners: when an ad, sponsored placement, or affiliate link is loaded or clicked, the relevant provider or merchant may receive technical information such as IP address, browser or device information, referrer, page, and click or conversion information. We may earn revenue from impressions, clicks, purchases, or other qualifying activity.
• Legal and safety reasons: we may disclose information when reasonably necessary to comply with law or valid legal process, investigate fraud or rights complaints, enforce agreements, or protect the rights, safety, and security of Books Pointer, users, or others.
• Business change: information may be transferred as part of a merger, financing, reorganization, sale of assets, or transfer of the Service, subject to appropriate confidentiality and notice where required.

Your personal profile information is not provided to an advertiser merely because the advertiser has a placement on the Service. However, third-party scripts and destination sites may collect technical information directly as described above.

5. Advertising, affiliate links, and choices

Books Pointer displays or may display sponsored recommendations and affiliate links. We identify affiliate placements where appropriate. Affiliate links do not increase the price solely because they are affiliate links, but we may receive a commission or other benefit from qualifying activity.

Where consent or an opt-out is required, we will provide the relevant notice or control before using non-essential advertising or analytics technologies. Browser controls can also block or remove cookies and local storage, although doing so may affect sign-in, preferences, reading progress, and other features.

6. Retention and deletion

We retain account and content information while an account is active and for as long as reasonably necessary to provide the Service. Retention can vary based on the type of record and the reason it is held. For example, security logs, complaint records, copyright declarations and audit history, transaction records, fraud-prevention records, and records needed for legal claims may be retained after other account data is deleted.

When a verified account-deletion request is completed, we delete the account and personal data directly associated with it from active account systems, subject to the limited exceptions above. Published content and dependent community records may be deleted, anonymized, or made unavailable. Analytics records and aggregate statistics may remain when they no longer identify an active account. Backup copies may persist for a limited operational period until overwritten under our backup cycle.

Deleting Books Pointer does not delete information independently held by another user, a search engine, an app store, an analytics provider, a payment provider, or a site you reached through an affiliate link. We will send deletion instructions to processors where required and reasonably applicable.

7. Your choices and rights

You may, subject to applicable law:

• review and correct available profile information through your account;
• choose what optional profile information to provide and whether to enable notifications;
• request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information;
• withdraw consent where processing relies on consent, without affecting earlier lawful processing;
• object to or request restriction of certain processing where applicable; and
• contact us with a privacy complaint or question.

To delete your account, use the deletion option in the app where available or visit https://bookspointer.com/delete/account. We may need to verify your identity before completing a request. If the automated route does not work for your registration method, email us for assistance.

8. International processing

The Service is operated from Bangladesh. Some service providers, including Google, Firebase, email, advertising, affiliate, app-store, and future payment providers, may process information in other countries. Those countries may have different data-protection rules. We use providers and safeguards appropriate to the service and applicable law.

9. Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational measures intended to protect information, including password hashing, access controls, and encrypted network transport in production. No internet service or storage system can guarantee absolute security. You are responsible for protecting your password, device, and authentication token and for notifying us if you believe your account has been compromised.

10. Children and minors

The Service is not intended for children under 13, and they may not create an account. If you are at least 13 but are a minor where you live, you may use the Service only with permission and supervision from a parent or legal guardian. We do not knowingly collect personal information from a child who is not permitted to use the Service. A parent or guardian who believes a child provided information contrary to this section should contact us.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when the Service, our data practices, or legal requirements change. We will post the revised version with a new “Last updated” date and provide additional notice when a change is material or when consent is required. We will update this policy before generally launching paid-book, author-payout, or materially different advertising features.

12. Contact us

For privacy questions, rights requests, or complaints, contact Books Pointer at contact.bookspointer@gmail.com.