Privacy Policy

Introduction

Parch Tech LLC ("Parch," "we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our mobile application and web application (collectively, the "App"). Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. If you do not agree with the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not access the App.

1. Information We Collect

We collect information that you provide directly to us and information that is automatically collected when you use our App.

1.1 Account Information

When you create an account, we collect:

• Email address (required for account creation and authentication)
• Display name (optional)
• Username (optional, must be unique)
• Password (stored by our authentication provider using industry-standard hashing; we do not store your password in plain text)
• Avatar image URL (optional, if you upload a profile picture)

1.2 Reading Activity Data

To provide our core reading tracking services, we collect:

• Library & Books: Books you add to your library, including title, author, cover images (from catalog metadata or custom covers you upload), ISBN, ratings, optional detailed rating categories, tags, and optional reading-coach plan data associated with a book
• Reading Activity: Your reading progress, sessions with optional session context (such as mood or other metadata), and reading statistics
• Your Content: Notes, quotes, collections, and other content you create. Note text and related fields (such as page or chapter references) may be encrypted on your device before they are saved locally or backed up to the cloud (see Section 4.2)
• Custom Covers: If you are signed in and choose a photo for a book or collection cover, we upload a resized JPEG to our cloud file storage (Supabase Storage) so your cover can sync across your devices. Replacing or removing a custom cover deletes the prior file from storage when applicable. Custom cover URLs may be publicly accessible to anyone who has the link, similar to other unlisted file URLs
• Share Card Media: Photos or videos you choose to use as share-card backgrounds or visual templates. These files are processed on your device to create previews or exports and may be cached locally on your device as recent selections unless you remove them or clear App/browser storage.
• Goals & Achievements: Reading goals you set and achievements you earn
• Imports: If you use Goodreads import, you choose a CSV file from your device; we process it on your device to merge into your library. We do not upload your CSV file to Goodreads. Optional cover enrichment may call the same public book metadata services we use for search (see Section 3.2).

1.3 Usage and Technical Data

We automatically collect certain information when you use the App:

• Device Information: Platform type (iOS, Android, or web)
• Feature Usage and Limits: For signed-in users, we record counts of AI requests, voice notes, and OCR-related usage as needed to enforce free-tier limits (stored in our database). If you are not signed in or cloud services are unavailable, similar counters may be kept only on your device.
• First-Party Product Analytics: When you are signed in, we may log product analytics events in our database (for example, share templates, text scan, ISBN scan, Reading Guide, or subscription paywall flows). These events are tied to your user ID, are used to improve the product, and are not sold or used for third-party advertising. We avoid logging sensitive identifiers in these events (for example, raw ISBN or barcode text from scans).
• Error and Diagnostic Data: Crash reports, error logs, and performance data (collected via our error tracking service in production environments only)
• App Preferences: Settings you configure within the App to customize your experience (stored locally when you are not signed in; synced to our cloud for signed-in users)

1.4 Information We Do NOT Collect

We do NOT collect:

• Precise location data or GPS coordinates
• Payment card details (payments are handled by the app stores and our subscription partners as described in Section 4.5)
• Contacts or address book information
• Access to your full photo library without an action you take (we only access photos or the camera when you initiate a feature, such as OCR, barcode scan, custom cover upload, or share-card media)
• General-purpose photo albums stored by us unrelated to the App (images used for OCR or barcode scanning are processed for that purpose and are not kept after text extraction; custom covers you upload are stored only as described in Section 1.2). Photos or videos you choose for share-card backgrounds may remain in local App/browser storage on your device until removed or cleared.
• Raw audio recordings (voice notes may be processed by your device/platform speech-recognition service; only the text transcription is stored by us)
• Browsing history outside of our App
• Information from other apps on your device

We do not read the contents of your clipboard; the App may support copy to clipboard when you explicitly choose to copy text.

1.5 Device Permissions

Our App may request the following device permissions:

• Microphone: Required for voice notes feature. Audio is processed for speech-to-text conversion by your device/platform speech-recognition service; we store only the resulting transcription text (not raw audio recordings).
• Camera: Used to scan text from book pages (OCR), scan book barcodes or ISBNs when you add a book, or capture a custom cover image when you choose that option. For cloud OCR, images are resized/compressed and temporarily processed (via our Supabase Edge Function) to extract text using Google Vision and (optionally) Gemini; those OCR images are not stored by us after extraction.
• Notifications: Where we offer push or local notifications for reading reminders, goal updates, or Reading Guide reminders, you can control them in the App or device settings. Availability may depend on platform and version.
• Storage/Photos: Accessed when you choose to save or share reading cards, pick an image or video from your library for share cards or custom book/collection covers, or similar actions you initiate. Custom covers you upload while signed in are stored in our cloud as described in Section 1.2. We may store resized copies or references locally on your device for recent share-card selections. We do not access your photo library without explicit action.

You can manage these permissions at any time through your device settings. Denying permissions may limit certain features but will not affect core app functionality.

1.6 Future Features

As we develop new features, we may collect additional information necessary to provide those features. When we introduce features that collect new categories of personal information, we will update this Privacy Policy and notify you through the App or via email before such collection begins. Your continued use of new features constitutes consent to the associated data collection.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

2.1 Provide and Improve Our Services

• Create and manage your account
• Track your reading progress across print, ebook, and audiobook formats
• Back up and sync signed-in users' library data across devices
• Generate reading statistics, insights, and visualizations
• Enable AI-assisted features (premium feature)
• Enable voice notes and OCR text scanning
• Create and manage collections and reading goals
• Store and sync custom book and collection covers you upload
• Generate shareable reading cards

2.2 Feature Management

• Track usage of premium features (AI requests, voice notes, OCR scans) to enforce free tier limits
• Manage subscription status and premium feature access
• Personalize your experience based on your preferences and reading history

2.3 App Maintenance and Support

• Monitor app performance and identify errors
• Fix bugs and improve app stability
• Respond to your support requests
• Send service-related and onboarding communications (see Section 5.3)
• Send important service updates and notifications (if you opt in, where available)

2.4 Legal Compliance

• Comply with applicable laws and regulations
• Respond to legal requests and prevent harm

We do NOT:

• Sell your personal information to third parties
• Use your data for advertising purposes
• Share your reading data with other users without your explicit consent
• Use your content to train our own machine learning models. AI-assisted features (including OCR) may send content to third-party AI services for real-time processing; those providers handle inputs under their own terms and privacy policies—we do not use your reading data or notes to train models we operate.

3. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We share your information only in the following circumstances:

3.1 Service Providers

We use third-party service providers to help us operate our App and provide services to you:

We may engage additional service providers from time to time to support our operations. Any new service providers will only receive data necessary to perform their specific function and will be bound by contractual obligations to protect your information.

3.2 Book Metadata Services

We use various publicly available APIs and services to fetch book information. We send search queries or identifiers (such as title, author, or ISBN), not your personal reading history, to providers that may include Open Library, Google Books, iTunes Search, and similar services. Some requests may be routed through our backend (for example, our Supabase Edge Function for book search) for caching, rate limiting, or security. The specific services used may change as we improve our book search functionality.

3.3 Authentication Providers

If you choose to sign in with a third-party provider:

• Google Sign-In: We receive your email address and name from Google
• Apple Sign-In: We receive your email address and name from Apple (if you choose to share)

These providers have their own privacy policies governing the use of your information.

3.4 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g., a court or government agency).

3.5 Business Transfers

If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction.

We do NOT sell your personal information. We do not share your reading data with advertisers or data brokers.

4. Data Storage and Security

4.1 Storage Location

• Anonymous users: If you use the App without signing in, your reading library and related content are stored on your device (for example, local storage in the browser or app) and are not backed up to your account. Custom cover upload to our cloud requires sign-in.
• Signing in: When you create or sign in to an account, library data you created on that device while not signed in may be merged and uploaded to your account so it can back up and sync. We clear unscoped on-device copies after a successful merge where applicable.
• All signed-in users: Regardless of plan, your reading library, notes, sessions, collections, goals, custom covers, and related content may be stored in our cloud (database and, for custom covers, file storage) so they can be backed up to your account and available across your devices. Certain settings may also sync to the cloud as described in Section 1.3.
• Premium users: We store subscription-related flags and usage information needed to provide Premium features and enforce feature access.
• Local media cache: Share-card photos or videos you choose may be resized, previewed, exported, or cached locally on your device to make editing and reuse faster. This local cache is not intended as a permanent backup and may be removed by using in-App controls where available, clearing App/browser storage, uninstalling the App, or using your device settings.

4.2 Security Measures

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your information:

• Encryption in transit: All data transmitted between your device and our servers is encrypted using HTTPS/TLS
• Note encryption on device: Sensitive note fields may be encrypted on your device before local storage and cloud backup. We retain the encrypted form in backup; decryption depends on your account and device context. Notes encrypted under a prior sign-in or after an account reset may not be recoverable on a new device or sign-in
• Authentication: Passwords are hashed using industry-standard algorithms
• Access Controls: Row Level Security (RLS) and storage policies help ensure users can only access or manage their own data, including custom cover files under their account prefix
• Secure APIs: API keys for third-party services are stored securely and not exposed to clients

4.3 Data Retention

• We retain your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you services
• Custom covers remain in cloud storage until you replace or remove them, or until your account is deleted
• If you delete your account, we will delete your personal information and reading data (including custom cover files associated with your account) within a reasonable timeframe
• Error logs are anonymized by removing user IDs, email addresses, and personal identifiers before long-term retention. These anonymized logs (containing only technical data such as error messages, stack traces, and device type) may be retained for a limited period for debugging and app improvement purposes
• Some information may be retained longer if required by law or for legitimate business purposes (such as tax compliance, dispute resolution, or fraud prevention)

4.4 Data Breach Notification

In the event of a data breach that compromises your personal information, we will:

• Notify affected users as soon as reasonably practicable, and in any event within the timeframe required by applicable law
• Provide details about what information was affected
• Describe the steps we are taking to address the breach
• Offer guidance on steps you can take to protect yourself

We maintain incident response procedures and will cooperate with law enforcement as required.

4.5 Subscription and Payment Data

• Payment Processing: On iOS and Android, payment transactions are handled by RevenueCat and the respective app stores (Apple App Store, Google Play). We never receive or store your credit card number, bank account, or other payment credentials.
• Subscription Records: RevenueCat maintains records of your subscription status and purchase history for transaction verification and refund processing. These records are retained according to RevenueCat's data retention policy.
• Subscription Cancellation: If you cancel your premium subscription, your signed-in library data remains available with your account. You can continue using the free tier, or request complete data deletion.
• Account Deletion: When you delete your account, we delete your account data as described in Section 5.2, notify RevenueCat to delete associated subscription records where applicable, and request deletion of your contact record from Loops where configured. Note that app stores may retain purchase records for their own compliance requirements.

5. Your Rights and Choices

5.1 Access and Portability

You have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you
• Request a copy of your data in a portable format
• View and update your account information through the App settings

5.2 Deletion

You can delete your account and all associated data at any time:

• Through your account settings in the App
• By contacting us: admin@readparch.com
• Request account deletion (web): Account Deletion page — for detailed instructions and to submit a deletion request if you cannot access the app

Upon account deletion, we will delete your personal information and reading data (including library content, custom covers in cloud storage, and related backups), except where we are required to retain it by law. Where our Loops integration is enabled, we also request removal of your email contact from Loops so automated emails stop.

5.3 Opt-Out Rights

• Email: We use Loops (and similar tools we may adopt) to send service-related and onboarding emails (for example, welcome messages and tips for using the App). We may also send transactional emails such as account verification and password reset. Marketing or promotional emails, if any, will include a way to unsubscribe or you may contact us at admin@readparch.com to opt out. You cannot opt out of strictly necessary transactional messages (e.g. security or legal notices) while maintaining an account.
• Push Notifications: Where push notifications are available, you can disable them through your device or App settings.
• Data Sale: We do not sell your personal information, so there is no opt-out needed for “sale” of data.

5.4 State Privacy Rights

To exercise these rights, please contact us at admin@readparch.com. We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law.

5.5 Rights for Users in the European Union and United Kingdom

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom, or Switzerland, you have additional rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and similar laws:

• Right to Access: You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Right to Rectification: You can request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data
• Right to Erasure: You can request deletion of your personal data (subject to legal retention requirements)
• Right to Restriction: You can request that we limit how we use your data
• Right to Data Portability: You can request your data in a structured, machine-readable format
• Right to Object: You can object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Right to Withdraw Consent: Where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw it at any time
• Right to Lodge a Complaint: You have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority

Data Transfers: Your information is transferred to and processed in the United States. We rely on Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission to ensure appropriate safeguards for international data transfers.

To exercise these rights, contact us at admin@readparch.com. We will respond within 30 days (or sooner if required by applicable law).

5.6 Request Verification and Authorized Agents

For privacy or deletion requests, we may need to verify your identity before processing the request. Verification may require you to contact us from the email address associated with your account or provide information reasonably necessary to confirm that you are the account holder. You may also use an authorized agent where permitted by law, but we may require proof of authorization and may still ask you to verify your identity directly.

6. Children's Privacy

Our App is not intended for children under the age of 13. By using this App, you represent and warrant that you are at least 13 years of age. If you are under 18, you represent that you have your parent or guardian's permission to use the App.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under 13, we will take steps to delete such information promptly.

7. International Users

Our App is available to users worldwide. Your information is transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States where our servers are located.

For users outside the United States:

• By using the App, you consent to the transfer of your information to the United States
• We implement appropriate safeguards for international data transfers, including Standard Contractual Clauses for transfers from the EEA/UK
• You may have additional rights under your local laws (see Section 5.5 for EU/UK users)

We are committed to protecting your privacy regardless of where you are located.

8. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our web application may use cookies and similar technologies to:

• Remember your preferences (e.g. theme settings)
• Maintain your session

Product analytics described in Section 1.3 are stored in our backend when you use the App while signed in; we do not use third-party advertising cookies.

We do not use cookies for advertising purposes. You can control cookies through your browser settings.

Fonts. The App loads some typefaces, including those used in share-card designs, from Google Fonts. When a font loads, your device connects to Google's servers, which receive your IP address and basic browser or device information, as with any web request. We do not send Google your account details or reading data, and Google Fonts does not set cookies. Our marketing website (readparch.com) serves its fonts from our own servers and does not contact Google Fonts.

8.1 Our Marketing Website (readparch.com)

Our marketing website uses Vercel Web Analytics, provided by our hosting provider, to understand which pages people find useful. It is cookieless: it sets no cookies, uses no device fingerprinting, and does not create a persistent identifier that would let us recognise you across visits or across other websites. For this reason the website shows no cookie consent banner.

What is recorded is aggregate and not personally identifying:

• The page visited and the referring site (for example, a search engine or Pinterest)
• Approximate country, browser, operating system, and device type
• Whether a visitor clicked through to the App Store or Google Play
• Whether a visitor signed up for a download such as the Reading Journal Kit
• Reading quiz activity (started, completed, or shared, and the reader type shown), recorded anonymously in our own database without any IP address or device identifier

We do not receive your name or email address alongside this data, your browsing on other websites, or anything you type into the page. This website data is never sold, never used for advertising, and is not linked to your Parch account. Vercel processes it as our service provider; their own privacy documentation describes how they handle it.

If you give us your email address to receive a download or newsletter, that is separate from analytics and is handled by our email provider as described in Section 3. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in any email.

Any content or ad blocker that blocks analytics scripts prevents this collection entirely, and the website works normally either way.

9. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by:

• Posting the new Privacy Policy on this page
• Updating the "Last Updated" date
• Sending you an email notification (if you have provided an email address)
• Displaying a notice in the App

Your continued use of the App after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the new Privacy Policy.

10. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:

Email: admin@readparch.com
Address: 130 Boon Street Apt A Narragansett, RI 02882

For help and support resources, please visit readparch.com/support.

Additional Information

Third-Party Links

Our App may contain links to third-party websites or services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third parties. We encourage you to read their privacy policies.

Do Not Track Signals

Our App does not currently respond to "Do Not Track" signals from browsers. However, we do not track your activity across other websites or apps.

Global Privacy Control

Some browsers and extensions support Global Privacy Control ("GPC") signals. Because we do not sell personal information or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, GPC signals do not change how we process your information at this time. If our practices change in a way that makes GPC applicable, we will update this Policy and honor applicable legal requirements.

Data Processing Legal Basis

We process your personal information based on the following legal grounds:

• Contractual Necessity: Processing necessary to provide the services you requested (account management, reading tracking, data sync)
• Legitimate Interests: Processing necessary for our legitimate business interests (app improvement, security, fraud prevention, first-party analytics), where these interests are not overridden by your rights
• Consent: Where you have provided explicit consent for optional features (voice notes, OCR, notifications where consent is required). You can withdraw consent at any time through your account or device settings
• Legal Obligations: Processing necessary to comply with applicable laws (tax records, legal requests)

For users in the EU/UK, we only process your data when we have a valid legal basis under GDPR.

This Privacy Policy is effective as of the date listed above and applies to all users of the Parch Tech LLC app.