1. Who We Are
ReadHive is operated by Naseema / ReadHive ("we", "us", "our"), based in Canada. You can contact us at readhive.ca@gmail.com.
2. Who This Policy Applies To
This policy applies to anyone who uses the ReadHive iOS app. ReadHive is intended for users aged 13 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.
3. What Information We Collect
Account information: When you create an account, we collect your email address, first name, last name, and username (handle).
Reading verdicts: When you vote on a book (Own It, Borrow It, Skip It), we store your vote along with the book identifier and timestamp.
Reading status: Whether you've read a book or saved it for later.
Usage data: We collect standard app usage information such as which screens you visit and how you interact with the app. This is used only to improve the app.
Device data: Basic device information such as iOS version and device type, used for debugging and compatibility.
We use your approximate location, derived from your IP address, to show relevant book retailers in your region. This information is not stored on our servers or shared with third parties.
4. What We Do Not Collect
- We do not collect payment information (we have no in-app purchases)
- We do not collect your precise GPS location. We use your approximate location derived from your IP address only to show relevant book retailers in your region.
- We do not access your contacts, camera (except barcode scanning), or photos
- We do not collect any information from your device outside of the ReadHive app
5. How We Use Your Information
- To create and manage your account
- To display community verdict data (aggregated, not individual)
- To personalise your profile (tier, stats, verdict history)
- To improve app features and fix bugs
- To generate AI-powered book verdicts and insights (see Section 6)
We do not use your data for advertising. We do not sell your data to any third party.
6. AI Features
ReadHive uses AI to generate book verdicts and insights when community votes are not yet available. These features are powered by Anthropic's Claude AI (via a secure server-side proxy). We send book metadata (title, author, genre) to the AI — we never send your personal information or account details to the AI service.
AI-generated verdicts are cached and may be shown to multiple users. They are labelled clearly as "The Internet Says" to distinguish them from community votes.
7. Third-Party Services
ReadHive uses the following third-party services to operate:
- Firebase (Google) — authentication, database, and file storage. Firebase Privacy Policy
- Anthropic — AI-generated book verdicts and insights. Anthropic Privacy Policy
- Google Books API — book search and metadata
- Open Library (Internet Archive) — book descriptions and ISBN lookup
- New York Times Books API — weekly trending book lists
- Vercel — secure API proxy server
These services may collect data as described in their own privacy policies. We do not control their data practices.
8. Affiliate Links
ReadHive includes links to book retailers and borrowing services relevant to your region. These are provided for your convenience. If you click an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no cost to you. Affiliate relationships do not influence community verdicts or AI recommendations. Clicking these links may subject you to the retailer's own privacy policy.
9. Data Retention
- Your account and verdict data is retained while your account is active
- AI verdict cache is stored for up to 3 months
- AI insights cache is stored for up to 1 year
- If you delete your account, we will delete your personal data within 30 days
10. Your Rights
Depending on where you live, you may have rights including:
- Access to the personal data we hold about you
- Correction of inaccurate data
- Deletion of your account and associated data
- Withdrawal of consent
To exercise any of these rights, email us at readhive.ca@gmail.com and we'll respond within 30 days.
11. Security
We take reasonable steps to protect your information. All data is transmitted over HTTPS. API keys are stored server-side and never exposed to the client app. Firebase security rules restrict data access so users can only access their own records.
No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security but we take it seriously.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. For significant changes, we will notify you within the app. Continued use of ReadHive after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.
13. Contact
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, please contact us at readhive.ca@gmail.com.