Transparent data. You stay in control.
The short version in plain language – you can find all the details below.
- Only what's necessary: Bokvia only processes data that is needed for the app's features – your email address (for your account) and the content you create yourself: your books, ratings, comments, and reading preferences.
- Servers in the EU: Your data is stored on servers located in the EU.
- No ads, no selling: Bokvia never uses your data for advertising, never sells it, and only shares it with the technical service providers listed below – with no one else.
- AI can make mistakes: Your reading profile and the assessments of whether you will like a book are generated by AI. Please keep in mind that AI can be wrong! In the end, only you can say where your reading interests lie and whether the book you are reading feels right for you.
- AI only at your request: AI features never start on their own. When you request a reading profile or a book assessment, the AI service receives only the essentials: your book ratings, non-private comments, and your reading profile – never your email or IP address. The AI service therefore has no way of linking this information to you as a person.
- Book search via Google: When you search for books online, the app connects to Google Books. As with any internet connection, your IP address is technically transmitted in the process.
- Your data belongs to you: You can completely delete or export your account and all its data at any time, directly in the app.
This privacy policy explains which personal data is processed when you use the iOS app Bokvia (hereinafter the "App"), for what purposes this happens, and what rights you have.
1. Controller
The controller within the meaning of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is:
Alexander Volkov
Kreueslkamp 39
41169 Mönchengladbach, Germany
Email: [email protected]
2. Overview of Processing
The App processes personal data in particular in the following cases:
- when you register and sign in (user account),
- when you create and maintain your personal book list, including ratings and comments,
- when you search for books online and load book covers,
- when your reading profile is created and new books are assessed with the help of AI,
- when you use the barcode scanner (camera).
3. User Account and Data Storage (Supabase)
A user account is required to use the App. When you register, we process your email address and your password (stored in encrypted form). To confirm your registration and to reset your password, you will receive a one-time code (OTP) by email.
In addition, we store the content you create in the App:
- your book list (title, author, ISBN, and other book details),
- your ratings (stars) and optional comments,
- your onboarding answers about your reading preferences,
- your generated reading profile and app settings (e.g. language).
The data is stored with our processor Supabase Inc. Data is hosted on servers in the EU region (Central EU, Frankfurt am Main, Germany). A data processing agreement pursuant to Art. 28 GDPR is in place with Supabase.
Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (performance of the user agreement).
4. Book Search and Book Covers (Google Books API)
The online book search (by keyword or barcode/ISBN) ist performed directly from our servers through ISBNdb API. For this purpose we send only your search query to the search database. Your account data or personal information stays safe: For ISBNdb the search query remains anonymous. In terms of content, the App only transmits the search term or the ISBN – no account data and no ratings.The app can load book covers directly from ISBNdb database through the weblink that is contained in the search results of ISBNdb API by ESTELAR SOFTWARE UNIPESSOAL LDA ZFM Alfandega 10 4A SE, 9000-056 Funchal, Madeira, Portugal. For technical reasons, your IP address as well as device and connection data are transmitted to ISBNdb website to load the provided url with the book cover.
Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (provision of the search feature as part of the user agreement).
5. AI-Powered Reading Profile and Book Assessment (Anthropic)
At your request, the App can create a personal reading profile and assess whether you are likely to enjoy a new book. For this purpose, the following data is transmitted via our server infrastructure to the AI service Claude, operated by Anthropic PBC, San Francisco, USA:
- titles and authors of the books you have rated,
- your star ratings,
- your comments – excluding comments you have marked as "private",
- your self-reported reading preferences from onboarding.
The request to Anthropic is made from our servers – not from your device. Your IP address and your account data (e.g. email address) are not shared with Anthropic. As a result, Anthropic has no way of attributing the transmitted content to you as a person. The data is processed exclusively to create your reading profile or the book assessment and is not used by Anthropic to train AI models. For more information, see the page Is my data used for modell training? the and the Anthropic Commercial Terms of Use.
The transfer to the USA is based on the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and, where applicable, the EU Standard Contractual Clauses (Art. 46 GDPR).
Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (provision of the profile and recommendation feature). The feature only runs when you actively trigger it in the App.
6. Camera / Barcode Scanner
To capture book barcodes (ISBN), the App can access your device's camera. Access only takes place after you explicitly grant it via the iOS permission prompt. Camera images are processed locally on your device for barcode recognition only; no photos or videos are stored or transmitted to us or to third parties. Only the recognized ISBN is passed to the book search (see Section 4).
Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR (consent via the iOS permission); you can revoke this permission at any time in your iOS settings.
7. Local Storage on Your Device
For faster display and offline use, the App stores book data, your profile, and cover images locally on your device (cache). This data remains on your device and is removed when you sign out or delete the App.
8. Storage Period and Account Deletion
Your data is stored for as long as your user account exists. You can delete your account at any time directly in the App (Settings → Delete Account). When you do, your account and all associated data (book list, ratings, comments, reading profile, settings) are permanently and irreversibly deleted. Please note that this deletes all of your data: after deleting your account, we have no way of restoring it. At any time, you can export your book list, including your ratings and comments, as a machine-readable file (JSON format) and continue to use it as you wish. Note: AI-generated content such as your reading profile and book assessments cannot be exported.
9. Your Rights
Under the GDPR, you have the following rights:
- Access to your stored data (Art. 15 GDPR): No data is stored other than the data visible to you in the App. This includes your book list with your comments and ratings, as well as – optionally – your reading profile and the App's assessments of whether certain books match your reading interests.
- Rectification of inaccurate data (Art. 16 GDPR): You can edit the details of individual books in the App at any time. AI-generated content such as your reading profile and book assessments can be deleted.
- Erasure (Art. 17 GDPR): see Section 8.
- Restriction of processing (Art. 18 GDPR): You can mark comments as private so that they are not used to create your reading profile. You can also decide at any time for which books you want the App's assessments and for which you do not.
- Data portability (Art. 20 GDPR): see Section 8.
- Objection to processing (Art. 21 GDPR).
- Withdrawal of consent with effect for the future (Art. 7(3) GDPR): If you do not want your data to be processed in the future, simply stop using the App or the specific App features. Alternatively, you can uninstall the App and delete your account entirely.
To exercise your rights, an informal email to the address given above is sufficient.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority (Art. 77 GDPR).
10. Data Security
All data transmissions between the App and our servers, as well as to third parties, are encrypted via TLS/HTTPS. Passwords are stored exclusively in hashed form.
11. No Advertising, No Tracking
The App does not use any advertising networks, analytics, or tracking services, and does not create usage profiles for advertising purposes.
12. Anonymized Statistics (planned)
To allow a smooth app development we can carry out anonymized statistics analyses of app activity (e.g. which features are used and how often). This analysis is carried out exclusively on the basis of anonymized or anonymous data that does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about your identity. In particular, your reading profile, your book assessments, and your email address will not be analyzed.
Since anonymous data contains no personal reference, it is not subject to the GDPR. To the extent that personal data is processed for the anonymization process itself, the legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest in improving the app).
13. Bokis and Payments (Apple Pay)
The app uses an in-app coin called "Boki". Your Boki transactions (e.g. acquiring and spending Bokis) are stored in your user account for billing purposes. This data is stored – like the rest of your account data – with our data processor Supabase (see Section 3). Where we are legally required to retain transaction data for a certain period, this data is stored separately and then deleted. Its retention and deletion are governed by statutory time limits and remain independent of the deletion of your profile.
Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (performance of contract and billing).
Purchasing Bokis via Apple Pay is not yet available in the current beta version. Once this feature is introduced, payment processing will be handled by Apple Inc., One Apple Park Way, Cupertino, CA 95014, USA. Apple processes the payment data as an independent controller; we do not receive full payment details (e.g. no credit card numbers), only a confirmation of the transaction. Further information: Apple's Privacy Policy.
14. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We will update this privacy policy if the App or the legal situation changes. You can always find the current version at bokvia.app/en/privacy. In case of discrepancies the German version of this document prevails. bokvia.app/datenschutz