Privacy Policy

Overview

Nightstand is a simple reading-list app for keeping track of books you want to read and books you have finished. This Privacy Policy explains what information Nightstand handles, why it is used, and the choices you have.

Who We Are

Nightstand is provided by Octopus Consulting Co.

Contact: privacy@nightstand-app.com

Policy URL: nightstand-app.com/privacypolicy

Information Nightstand Handles

Book Library Information

Nightstand stores the book information you add to the app, such as:

• Book title and author
• Shelf status, such as TBR or Books I've Read
• Cover image URL
• Notes and reviews
• Star rating
• Reading formats and genres
• Finished-date information
• Read-history entries used to identify re-reads

This information is used to provide the core app experience: saving, editing, sorting, syncing, and displaying your book lists.

Book Lookup Information

When you search for a book, paste a book link, or share a link to Nightstand, the app may send the search text or URL to Nightstand's book lookup service so it can return likely book matches, cover art, authors, and related metadata.

Search text may be stored for a limited time to improve search performance and the quality of book lookup results. This stored search text is not tied to a user.

Nightstand does not intend to store this lookup information in a way that identifies you personally. However, Nightstand may retain book import information that is not associated with a user, such as book titles, authors, source links, cover metadata, ISBN, or lookup results, to improve the backend book database and make future imports more accurate.

The lookup service may also process technical information that is normally sent with web requests, such as IP address, request time, and basic request metadata. This information is used to operate, secure, troubleshoot, and improve the lookup service.

Photos

If you choose to add or change a custom cover image for a book, Nightstand may ask you to select a photo from your photo library. The app uses the selected image only to create and display the custom book cover you chose.

Nightstand does not need access to your full photo library. The app only receives the photos you choose to share with Nightstand. In version 1, Nightstand does not use photos to search for or identify books, and the app does not access your camera.

iCloud Sync

If iCloud is available on your device, Nightstand uses Apple's private CloudKit database to sync your book library across your devices. Your synced app data is stored in your private iCloud account and handled by Apple under Apple's terms and privacy policy.

If iCloud is not available, Nightstand uses a local-only store on your device.

App Authentication and Security

Nightstand may use Apple's App Attest and a short-lived session token to help protect the book lookup service from abuse. This may involve storing a device-generated App Attest key identifier and session token in the device keychain. These values are used for service security and are not used for advertising or tracking.

Purchases and Subscription Status

If Nightstand offers paid access, free trials, monthly subscriptions, annual subscriptions, or other in-app purchases, purchases are handled by Apple through the App Store. Nightstand does not receive or store your payment card information.

Nightstand may use your App Store purchase or subscription status to determine which features are available in the app. Your book library is your data. If a trial or subscription ends, Nightstand may turn off ongoing paid features such as adding new books, importing books, or using sharing features, while still allowing you to keep the app installed, view books you already added, and export your book data.

Share Extension

If you share a web link to Nightstand from another app, Nightstand uses that link to look up possible book details and help you add the book to your library. Pending shared-link information may be stored temporarily in the app group container so the main Nightstand app can finish the import.

What Nightstand Does Not Do

Nightstand does not:

• Sell your personal information
• Share your personal information for advertising, marketing, or cross-app tracking
• Use third-party advertising SDKs
• Track you across apps or websites owned by other companies
• Access your camera, location, contacts, health data, or microphone
• Require you to create a Nightstand account
• Intentionally store your personal reading library on Nightstand's backend

How Information Is Used

Nightstand uses information to:

• Save and display your book lists
• Let you add, edit, delete, sort, and mark books as read
• Sync your library with iCloud when available
• Look up book metadata from searches or URLs
• Load cover images
• Display custom cover images you choose from your photo library
• Check purchase or subscription status to unlock paid features
• Protect and operate the lookup service
• Diagnose errors and maintain reliability

How Information Is Shared

Nightstand does not sell your information and does not share your information for advertising, marketing, or cross-app tracking.

Nightstand may disclose or process information only as needed to operate the app and provide features you choose to use, such as:

• Apple, when iCloud/CloudKit is used for private database sync or when Apple platform services process permissions, photos, App Attest, App Store distribution, or diagnostics
• Nightstand's lookup service provider and hosting infrastructure, when you use book lookup features
• External book metadata sources used by the lookup service, when needed to find book information from a title, author, or URL

These service providers are not permitted to use Nightstand information for their own advertising or marketing purposes.

Data Retention

Book library information remains in the app until you edit or delete it. If iCloud sync is enabled, deleting app data from one synced device may sync that deletion through iCloud. Nightstand does not intend to store your personal book library on its own backend.

Lookup service logs, stored search text, and security records are retained only as long as needed to operate, secure, debug, improve, and tune the performance of the lookup service, unless a longer period is required by law. Book import metadata that is not associated with a user may be retained to improve Nightstand's backend book database.

Your Choices

You can:

• Add books manually instead of using lookup
• Choose whether to add a custom cover image from your photo library
• Choose individual photos to share with Nightstand instead of granting broad photo access
• Disable iCloud for Nightstand in iOS settings if you do not want iCloud sync
• Manage or cancel App Store subscriptions through your Apple Account subscription settings
• Delete books, notes, reviews, ratings, and read-history entries in the app
• Contact us at privacy@nightstand-app.com to ask privacy questions or request help with data access or deletion

Children and Families

Nightstand is a general audience reading-list app. It is not directed specifically to children under 13, but it may be used by younger readers with a parent or guardian's supervision.

Nightstand does not require users to create an account, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Book lookup features may send search text, shared links, or book import information to Nightstand's lookup service to help identify books. We do not intend to associate this information with a child or any other individual.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe a child has provided personal information to Nightstand, contact us at privacy@nightstand-app.com so we can help review or delete it.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will update the effective date above and publish the revised policy at nightstand-app.com/privacypolicy.