Privacy Policy
Last Updated: November 29, 2025
Introduction
Welcome to Echo Reads (“we,” “our,” or “us”). We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring you have a positive experience on our platform. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our book tracking and social reading application.
Echo Reads is operated by Aerio, Aiken Tine Ahac s.p., a sole proprietorship registered in Slovenia.
Legal Entity Information
Legal Entity: Aerio, Aiken Tine Ahac s.p.
Address: Štihova ulica 13, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Contact: [email protected]
Information We Collect
Information You Provide to Us
- Account Information: When you create an account, we collect your email address and username.
- Profile Information: Optional biographical information and profile customization data.
- Reading Data: Information about books you add to your library, reading status, progress, ratings, and reviews.
- User-Generated Content: Reviews, comments, and other content you create on our platform.
Automatically Collected Information
Usage Data: We collect anonymous analytics data through our self-hosted Plausible Analytics instance (hosted in the EU). This includes:
- Pages you visit
- Time spent on pages
- Referral sources
- Device type and browser information
- Geographic location (country level only)
Important: Our Plausible instance does not use cookies, does not track you across websites, and does not collect any personally identifiable information. Learn more at Plausible's Data Policy.
Third-Party Authentication (Clerk)
We use Clerk for authentication and user management. Clerk collects and processes certain information independently:
- Email addresses
- Authentication credentials
- Session data
- Device and browser information
For details on how Clerk handles your data, please review Clerk's Privacy Policy.
How We Use Your Information
We use your information to:
- Provide, maintain, and improve our services
- Create and manage your account
- Track your reading progress and preferences
- Enable social features (following users, viewing public reading activity)
- Communicate with you about your account and service updates
- Analyze usage patterns to improve user experience (via anonymous analytics)
- Prevent fraud and ensure platform security
Data Sharing and Disclosure
Public Information
The following information is publicly visible to other users:
- Your username
- Public reviews and ratings
- Public reading activity (books marked as reading or finished, if you choose to share)
- Profile information you've made public
We Do Not Sell Your Data
We will never sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes.
Service Providers
We share data with trusted service providers who assist us in operating our platform:
- Clerk: Authentication and user management
- Hosting Provider: Application and database hosting
- Plausible Analytics: Self-hosted, privacy-focused analytics (EU-based)
Legal Requirements
We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities.
Data Storage and Security
Data Location
- Application Data: Stored in secure databases with encryption at rest
- Analytics Data: Stored on our self-hosted Plausible instance in the European Union
- Authentication Data: Managed by Clerk (see their privacy policy for details)
Security Measures
We implement industry-standard security measures including:
- Encryption of data in transit (HTTPS/TLS)
- Encryption of data at rest
- Regular security updates and patches
- Access controls and authentication
- Regular backups
However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Your Rights and Choices
Access and Control
You have the right to:
- Access your personal information
- Update or correct your information
- Delete your account and associated data
- Export your data
- Opt out of optional features
Data Retention
We retain your data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide services. You may request deletion of your account at any time through your account settings or by contacting us.
Cookie Policy
- First-Party Cookies: We use essential cookies for authentication and session management
- Analytics Cookies: Our Plausible Analytics does not use cookies
- Third-Party Cookies: Clerk may use cookies for authentication (see their policy)
Children's Privacy
Our service is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have collected information from a child under 13, please contact us immediately.
International Users
If you are accessing our service from outside the European Union, please note that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the EU or other countries where our service providers operate.
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 (for significant changes)
Your continued use of our service after changes become effective constitutes acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy.
Contact Us
If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:
Data Protection Rights (GDPR)
If you are a resident of the European Economic Area (EEA), you have certain data protection rights:
- Right to Access: Request copies of your personal data
- Right to Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate data
- Right to Erasure: Request deletion of your data
- Right to Restrict Processing: Request restriction of processing your data
- Right to Data Portability: Request transfer of your data
- Right to Object: Object to our processing of your data
- Rights Related to Automated Decision-Making: We do not use automated decision-making or profiling
To exercise these rights, please contact us at [email protected].
Additional Information
Open Library API
We use the Open Library API to search for and retrieve book information. When you search for books, your device sends your search query directly to Open Library, so Open Library receives your search terms and your IP address. We keep the books and result lists that come back, along with which account reported them (to prevent abuse). Please review the Internet Archive's Terms of Use (which cover Open Library) for more information.
Third-Party Links
Our service may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these external sites. We encourage you to read their privacy policies.