Privacy policy

Who we are

reads.city (“we”, “us”) runs this website and app. You can reach us at [email protected] for anything in this policy.

Google user data

reads.city uses Google Sign-In so you can sign in without a password. This section explains exactly what we do with the information we receive from Google.

What we access: when you choose “Continue with Google”, we ask Google for your basic profile only, which is your name, your email address and your profile picture (the openid, email and profile permissions). We do not ask for, and cannot see, anything else in your Google account, such as your Gmail, Drive, Calendar, Contacts, location or password.

How we use it:

• your name is your display name in the app. It is shown to other readers only next to books you offer to lend or are looking for, and on books you recommend
• your email address identifies your account, and lets us reply if you write to us. It is never shown to other readers
• your profile picture is stored with your profile
• we use this information only to provide and improve reads.city’s features for you. We do not use it for advertising, we do not sell it, and we do not use it to make decisions about credit or lending

Who we share it with: only the service providers described below, who process it for us to run reads.city, and anyone the law requires us to disclose it to. We do not share or transfer it for any other reason.

How we protect it: information travels between your device and reads.city over encrypted HTTPS connections. Our database uses access rules so that readers can change only their own information, and administrative access is limited to the reads.city team.

How long we keep it, and how to delete it: we keep your Google profile information while your account exists. To delete it, email [email protected] from the address on your Google account, and we will delete your account and everything in it. You can also stop reads.city from signing you in at any time at myaccount.google.com/permissions; this does not delete what we hold, so email us if you want that too.

reads.city’s use and transfer of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. We do not use Google user data to develop, improve or train artificial intelligence or machine learning models.

What we collect

When you sign in with Google, we receive:

• your name
• your email address
• your profile picture

We never see your Google password.

When you use the app, you can add:

• check-ins: the book, author and genre you are reading at a meetup
• books on your shelf: title, author, and whether you own, want, have read or can lend them
• quotes you share with your club: the line, the book and the author
• a short bio (up to 500 characters)
• the city and club you choose, and the clubs you join

You choose what to add. Nothing here is required beyond signing in.

What other readers can see

Reading stats show numbers only: how many readers came, and which genres and books are being read. They never show who is reading what.

Quotes are shown without names.

Your name is shown in two places: next to books you offer to lend or are looking for, and on books you recommend. Your email address is never shown to other readers, and the app does not show your bio to anyone else.

Club organizers see the same numbers as everyone else. They do not get a list of the people who came.

How we use your information

We use it only to run reads.city:

• to sign you in and keep you signed in
• to show your check-ins, shelf and quotes to you, and the shared numbers and lists to your club
• to keep the service secure and working
• to reply when you write to us

We do not sell your information. We do not show advertising and we do not use your information to build advertising profiles. We do not run analytics or tracking tools on the site.

Cookies and storage on your device

We do not use advertising or tracking cookies. The site stores a few things in your browser so it works properly:

• your sign-in session, so you stay signed in
• the last city and club you opened
• an offline copy of your check-in and books, and a saved list of cities, so pages load quickly
• cached copies of the app’s files, so it opens fast and works as an installable app

You can clear all of this at any time in your browser settings. If you do, you will be signed out.

Who we share it with

We use a few services to run reads.city. They process information for us and only for that purpose:

• a database and sign-in provider, which stores your account and what you add
• a hosting provider, which delivers the website and sees your IP address and browser details when you load a page
• Google handles “Continue with Google”, and supplies the fonts the site uses, which means Google receives your IP address and browser details when a page loads

These services may store information on servers outside India. We may also share information if the law requires it, or to protect the safety of our readers or our service. Links to Instagram and other sites are governed by those sites’ own policies.

How long we keep it

We keep your information while your account exists. If you ask us to delete your account, we delete your profile, check-ins, books, quotes and club memberships. Copies may remain in backups for a short while before they are overwritten.

Your choices

You can:

• edit your check-in, books and bio in the app
• delete your own books and quotes in the app
• ask to see the information we hold about you
• ask us to correct it, or to delete your account and everything in it
• withdraw your consent by signing out and asking us to delete your account

To use any of these choices, email [email protected] from the address on your Google account and we will help you. If you are not happy with how we handled something, write to us at the same address and we will respond as soon as we can.

Children

reads.city is for people aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If you think a child has signed up, email us and we will delete the account.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we will update the date at the top of this page. If a change is significant, we will say so on the site.

Contact

Questions or requests about your information: [email protected].