Bookplate is run by Leonardo Phithak, Killick Street, London, UK. Questions or requests: privacy@bookplate.eu.
What we keep, and why
- Your account: your name and email address, which you need to have an account. Your password is stored scrambled, in a way that nobody, including us, can read. We email you only when needed, to confirm your address, to reset your password and to tell you if someone tries to sign up with an address that already has an account, and send you our newsletter only if you ask for it.
- Your library: the books, notes, words and pictures you add. They're private to your account. We also note when you first used an import, to count how many readers use it.
- The newsletter, if you ask for it: if you tick the newsletter box when you sign up or in Settings, we keep that choice and when you made it, and send you our occasional newsletter. Untick it in Settings, or use the unsubscribe link in any newsletter, and it stops.
- An old showcase, if you made one: showcases have been replaced by profiles and are no longer shown. We keep only the link's address and its year, so that the link can lead to your profile while you show your reading to everyone. Otherwise the link doesn't work.
- Your profile: every account has one, at an address with your username (@name), which we make from your name and you can change. Anyone, signed in or not, can see your name, photo (or initials on a colour you can change), username, the line about yourself if you add one, your bookplate (with the month and year you joined), how many books you've finished and how many friends you have. The rest of your profile (which books you've read, are reading and want to read, with their covers, dates, ratings and how far along you are, your other numbers, the genres on your shelves, your yearly goal if you set one, and who your friends are) depends on your choice in Settings → Profile. If your profile is private (the starting choice), only your friends see it. If it's public, anyone can. Never your notes, vocabulary, where your books came from, whether you own them, books you gave up on, or your email address. Search engines are asked not to list it. Signed-in readers can find you by your name or username, unless one of you has blocked the other.
- Friends, if you add any: who your friends are (shown to whoever can see the whole of your profile, and you to whoever can see the whole of theirs), friend requests, and anyone you block. When you look at someone's profile, Bookplate compares your read books and ratings with theirs to show the books you've both read and how well your tastes match; only you see that.
- Recommendations: a book you suggest to a friend, with any note you add, and whether they added it to their shelf. If they say it's not for them, you aren't told.
- Messages you send us: if you write to us by email or through the contact form on bookplate.eu, your name, email address and message, so we can answer you.
- Records that keep Bookplate safe: when you use Bookplate, we note the time, the page, your device's internet address (IP address) and which browser you use. One cookie keeps you signed in; there are no others.
We use this only to run Bookplate for you and to keep it safe from misuse and faults (legally: to provide the service you signed up for, and our legitimate interest in keeping it secure), and to send the newsletter to people who asked for it (legally: your consent, which you can take back at any time). Your profile is part of the service; who sees your reading on it is up to you, and friends and recommendations are there only if you use them. No adverts, no tracking, and we never sell your information or share it for marketing.
Who else handles it
Two companies help run Bookplate and may use your information only for that:
- Scaleway (Paris, France): the servers where everything is stored, and the emails Bookplate sends.
- Proton (Switzerland): our email inbox, where your messages to us arrive, and the newsletter, which we send from it.
The UK recognises both countries as protecting personal data to UK standards. We share information with authorities only if the law requires it.
Other Bookplate readers, and anyone who opens your profile, see your name, photo, username, the line about yourself, your bookplate, and how many books you've finished and friends you have, and the rest of your profile if you've made it public or they're your friend (as described above). Friends also see the recommendations you send them.
How long we keep it
- Your account and library: until you delete your account.
- Accounts whose email address is never confirmed: deleted after 7 days.
- Your newsletter choice: until you unsubscribe or delete your account.
- An old showcase link: until you delete your account, or ask us to remove it.
- Your profile: until you delete your account.
- Friendships and blocks: until you or the other reader end them, or either of you deletes your account.
- Friend requests nobody answers: 30 days.
- Recommendations: until the sender or the recipient deletes their account; ones still waiting go if you stop being friends.
- Notifications you've seen: 90 days.
- Messages you send us: as long as needed to answer you.
- Safety records: 30 days.
- Backups: 14 days. Pictures you replace or delete: 30 days.
Your rights
At any time you can download everything you've added (Settings → Import & export; it includes your profile, friends and recommendations), stop the newsletter (Settings → Preferences), change your profile and whether it's private or public (Settings → Profile), unfriend or block someone (Friends, on your profile), unblock them (Settings → Profile) and delete your account (Settings → Delete account). Deleting removes your account and library straight away; copies in backups and records go within the times above.
You can also ask us for a copy of your information, or to correct it, delete it or stop using it: write to privacy@bookplate.eu and we'll reply within a month. If you're unhappy with how we've handled your data, please tell us; you can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk) or, in the EU, your local data protection authority.