Privacy

The short version

• You can read without an account. We keep your sessions so your history and streak work.
• While you read, people in the hall see your avatar, the name you chose and the book you're reading. Your country only if you turn it on.
• The chat is public for a day and kept for 30 days for moderation, then deleted.
• We never store your IP address. We use it, coarsely, to suggest your country and to find the weather, and then let it go.
• No ads, no selling data, no tracking you across other sites. Analytics only if you allow them.

Who we are

Readery is run by [operator's name], [operator's address]. We decide what Readery collects and why. You can reach us at [contact email].

If you read without an account

The first time you visit, we put a cookie called readery_guest on your device. It holds a random identifier, signed so it can't be guessed or forged, and lasts a year. It is how we know your sessions are yours. It is necessary for the service, so we don't ask before setting it.

Linked to that identifier we keep: the name you choose (if any), a random value that decides how your avatar looks, and your sessions — the book you entered, the seat, the goal you picked, when the session started and ended (by our clock), and the pages you logged. From those we work out your streak.

If you clear the cookie, we can no longer connect you to that history. If you later sign in on the same device, we move your guest history into your account.

If you sign in

Signing in keeps your history across devices. We store your email address. If you sign in with a link by email, we send that email through our authentication provider. If you sign in with Google, Google tells us your email address and the basic profile details it shares when you choose it; we use the email address and nothing else.

Everything kept for guests is kept for accounts too.

What other readers see

• In the hall: your avatar, your chosen name, the book you're reading and your seat, for as long as you're reading. The number of people reading is a real count.
• Your country, as a small flag over your chair and next to your chat messages — only if you turn it on in settings. It's off unless you do.
• In the chat: what you write, your chosen name and (if shown) your country. Anyone visiting can read messages from the last 24 hours, with or without an account.
• On a shared session page, if you choose to share one: your chosen name, the book and how long you read. Anyone with the link can see it.

Your approximate location

Our host works out roughly where a request comes from, from its IP address. We use that in two ways, and store neither.

Country suggestion: we pre-fill the country picker in settings with your likely country. Nothing is saved, and nothing is shown to anyone, unless you choose to show a country.

Weather: when you arrive in the hall, we round your approximate position to about 10 km and ask Open-Meteo for the current weather there, so rain can switch the lamps on. Open-Meteo receives only the rounded position, not your IP address. We keep the answer in memory for up to 15 minutes so that people near each other don't each trigger a request, and never write it down.

Chat

Only signed-in readers can write in the chat. Messages are public for 24 hours. We keep each message for up to 30 days, together with a private record of which account wrote it, so that we can deal with reports and abuse. After 30 days the message and that record are deleted.

If you report a message, we record that you reported it. When enough readers report a message it is hidden until we look at it. Hiding someone in the chat only affects your device and is stored there.

What we store on your device

Besides the readery_guest cookie, and the cookies our authentication provider sets to keep you signed in, Readery keeps a few things in your browser's local storage so they work without asking our server: your name and avatar, the last book you read, your sound and time-of-day settings, whether the chat is folded, people you have hidden in the chat, and your choice about analytics. They stay on your device and you can clear them in your browser at any time.

Analytics

Only if you choose "Allow" in the cookie notice. We then use PostHog to count four things: someone took a seat, a session ended, pages were logged, an account was created. That is how we know whether people come back to read. If you choose "Only essential", none of this happens. You can change your mind at any time from "Cookie settings" at the bottom of every page.

Who else handles your data

We use these services to run Readery. Each only gets what it needs for its part:

• Supabase — our database, sign-in and live presence. Stores everything described above.
• Vercel — hosts the site. Like any web host, it keeps short-lived request logs including IP addresses.
• Google — only if you choose to sign in with Google.
• Open-Meteo — the weather, from a rounded position. No personal data.
• Open Library — book search. Your search goes through our server, so Open Library doesn't see who searched; book covers load straight from Open Library, so it sees your browser's IP address when a cover is shown.
• PostHog — analytics, only if you allow them.

What we don't do

• We don't show ads or sell or rent your data.
• We don't follow you to other sites or build an advertising profile.
• We don't store your IP address or your location.
• We don't read your books, only the title and author you type.

How long we keep it

• Sessions, streak, name and account details: for as long as your account or guest identifier exists, or until you ask us to delete them.
• Chat messages: 30 days at most.
• Weather and location: not kept.
• Analytics (if allowed): as long as PostHog keeps event data for our project.

Your choices and rights

You can change your name, hide your country and stop sharing at any time in the app. To get a copy of your data, correct it, or have it all deleted — sessions, streak, chat messages and your sign-in — write to [contact email]. We'll answer within a month.

Where data protection laws such as the GDPR apply, we rely on: providing the service you asked for (your sessions, account and the hall); our legitimate interest in keeping the room safe (chat moderation, request logs); and your consent (analytics, showing your country), which you can withdraw at any time. You also have the right to complain to your local data protection authority.

Children

Readery is not meant for anyone under [minimum age]. If you think a child has given us their details, tell us at [contact email] and we'll delete them.

Changes

If we change what we collect or why, we'll update this page and the date at the top before the change takes effect.