Introduction

Welcome to Book Nova's privacy policy. Protecting your privacy is essential to us. The app keeps most of your data on your device and syncs a minimal copy to Firebase (Google Cloud) once a week to power reading recommendations.

Data stored locally on your device

The following information stays available offline on your device:

Personal library: titles, authors, page counts, cover images, descriptions, and reading progress (a copy of titles, authors, ISBNs, and covers is synced for anonymous recommendations).
Personal settings: height (optional, used only for playful stack visualization, never synced), display unit (cm/m), measurement system (metric/imperial), avatar, preferred reading languages, favourite genres, audiobook preference
Challenges & badges: selected challenge (solar/galaxy/universe), unlocked badges, and completion status
Book loans: books you lend or borrow, including dates and contacts
Interface preferences: app language (FR/EN/ES), theme (light/dark), library view type
Device identifier: randomly generated UUID stored locally

Synced data never includes personally identifiable information (name or email address).

Storage & processing

Local storage: data saved in AsyncStorage and SecureStore to guarantee offline access.
Secure synchronisation: once a week the app sends to Firebase the books, categories, ratings (stars), and anonymous identifier required for reading recommendations.
Aggregation: statistics produced in Firebase are anonymised before powering the recommendations you see in the app.

Firebase synchronisation

Data sent to Firebase is limited to:

An anonymous identifier generated locally (UUID)
Books in your library: title, author, ISBN, cover image
Categories you use and ratings you assign (stars)

Purpose of the processing:

Create recommendations of the most read, most popular, and best-rated books

Suggestions are published in an aggregated form and never expose your personal library.

External API: ISBNdb

Book Nova calls ISBNdb only to fetch public book metadata when you:

Scan an ISBN barcode
Search by title or author
Enter an ISBN manually

Data sent to ISBNdb: ISBN, searched title, searched author, and search language.

Free users: up to 4 enriched books per day and maximum 150 books added in total. Premium users: no limit.

ISBNdb never receives personal information about you.

Local notifications

Notifications are scheduled locally to:

Remind you of loaned books (30 days after lending)
Encourage reading (optional monthly reminder)

No Internet connection is required.

Premium tier – RevenueCat

For in-app purchases, RevenueCat manages subscriptions. We only share:

Your device UUID (anonymous identifier)
Subscription status (active/inactive)
Purchase transaction details handled by the App Store or Google Play

Book Nova never accesses your payment information.

Data sharing

We never sell or trade your data, except to:

Firebase (Google Cloud): host the weekly sync of your library
ISBNdb: fetch public book metadata when you search
RevenueCat: manage the premium tier
Legal obligations: when required by law

Security & storage

SecureStore encrypts your height and UUID using native iOS/Android security
Firebase encrypts synced data in transit and at rest (Google Cloud)
Books, loans, and settings remain available offline on your device
Automatic backups rely on iCloud or Google Drive according to your OS settings

Important: deleting the app without a system backup permanently erases your data.

Your rights

You can always:

View your data directly in the app
Edit information through the interface
Disable notifications via your device settings
Turn off “Contribute to anonymous stats” in settings to stop synchronisation
Request deletion of your synced copy by emailing book-nova@outlook.fr (include your UUID)

Requested permissions

Camera: scan ISBN barcodes
Notifications: schedule local reminders
Local storage: save books and preferences
Network access: sync your library through Firebase for recommendations

Permissions are never used to collect data without your knowledge.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy at any time. Please review it regularly.

Contact

Questions about your data or this policy? Reach us at:

book-nova@outlook.fr

Quick summary

Your library stays available offline and a minimal copy syncs through Firebase for recommendations
No personally identifiable data is collected
Firebase is used solely to generate anonymous reading recommendations
ISBNdb is used only for public metadata
RevenueCat handles premium (anonymised data)
You can request deletion of the synced copy or disable contribution in settings at any time