ShelfScan — Privacy Policy

Effective date: 4 November 2026 Publisher: High Peak Software ("we", "us") Contact: chandrika.rao@highpeaksw.com Public URL of this policy: https://highpeak-games.web.app/shelf-scan/privacy/ Applies to: ShelfScan for Android (com.highpeaksw.shelf_scan) and iOS (com.highpeaksw.shelfScan)

This policy explains what information ShelfScan ("the app") handles, why, where it goes, and the choices you have.

1. Summary

• ShelfScan reads book covers and spines from a photo on your device. Your photos are never uploaded to us or to anyone else.
• To identify a book, only the words and ISBN numbers read from the photo (or typed by you) are sent to Open Library, and to Google Books if that option is on.
• Your catalog is stored only on your phone. There is no account and no sign-in, and we have no server that receives your catalog.
• The app uses Firebase Remote Config to force an update when needed: it checks the minimum supported version and asks you to update if your version is too old. No catalog data or photos are sent for this.
• The app has no ads, no analytics, no tracking and no in-app purchases.
• We do not sell or share personal information.

2. Camera and photos

The app asks for camera or photo library access only when you choose Take a photo, Choose from library or Scan a whole shelf. It uses that access only to get the picture you take or pick.

Text in the photo is recognised on your device with Google ML Kit's on-device text recognition, which works offline. The photo is not sent anywhere. If Keep scan photos is on in Settings, a copy of your photo is saved in the app's private storage on your phone, next to the book it belongs to. If it is off, the photo is not kept.

3. Looking up book details

After your device reads the text, the app looks the book up so you can confirm the title, author, year, ISBN and cover:

• Open Library (openlibrary.org, run by the Internet Archive) always. It receives the recognised title and author words or the ISBN, and serves cover images. See the Internet Archive privacy policy.
• Google Books (googleapis.com) only if Also try Google Books is on in Settings, and only when Open Library has no confident match. It receives the same search words or ISBN. See the Google privacy policy.

These requests are sent over encrypted (HTTPS) connections. Like any web request, they include your device's IP address and basic technical details, which these services handle under their own policies. They do not include your photo, your name or anything else in your catalog. You always review the result before a book is saved.

If you have set your own Google Books API key, it is stored only on your device and sent only to Google Books with those lookups.

4. Where your data is stored

Your catalog (book titles, authors, years, ISBNs, tags, notes, cover links and any kept photos) and your settings are stored only on your device, in the app's private storage. We do not run a server for the app, and the catalog is never uploaded or synced by us.

App version checks (Firebase Remote Config)

The app uses Google Firebase Remote Config to check whether your version of the app is still supported, so we can ask you to install an important update (a "force update") when needed. When the app starts, it fetches a small set of settings from Firebase, such as the minimum supported version. To do this, Firebase receives technical information: a Firebase installation identifier, the app version, your device's operating system and platform, language/country setting and IP address. Remote Config does not receive your photos, your catalog or any personal details, and we do not use it for advertising or tracking. Google processes this data on our behalf under the Firebase privacy information.

5. What we do not do

• No account, sign-in, email address or phone number.
• No advertising and no advertising identifiers.
• No analytics, crash reporting or tracking.
• No in-app purchases or payments.
• No selling or sharing of personal information.

6. Retention and deletion

Your data stays on your device until you delete it:

• Delete a single book from its detail screen.
• Settings → Clear catalog deletes every book and every kept photo.
• Uninstalling the app removes all of its data from your device.

Because we never receive your catalog or photos, there is nothing for us to delete on our side. You can still email us with any question.

7. Children

The app is not directed at children under 13 (or the minimum age in your country). It does not knowingly collect personal information from anyone, including children.

8. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct or delete your personal information. All of your ShelfScan data is on your device, where you can view, edit and delete it at any time.

9. Changes

If this policy changes, the new version will be posted at the URL above with a new effective date.

10. Contact

High Peak Software — chandrika.rao@highpeaksw.com