Who operates Our Library
Our Library is operated by insta.host in Australia. Questions, privacy requests, and account-deletion requests can be sent to [email protected].
Information we handle
Account and sign-in information
- Username, email address, account role, plan, and invitation or email-confirmation status.
- Your password is stored only as a salted cryptographic hash. The service cannot read the original password.
- Protected session identifiers, sign-in attempts, and security events needed to authenticate users and prevent abuse.
Your library information
- Books, ISBNs, authors, covers, publishers, reading status, wishlist status, dates, ratings, reviews, notes, and duplicate-book information.
- Suggestion preferences such as books wishlisted from Ideas and titles marked “Not interested”.
- Feedback you choose to send through the app or website.
- Purchase-history text or spreadsheet files only when you deliberately import them.
Camera, barcode, and shelf photos
The native app asks for camera or photo-library access only when you choose a scanning feature. Barcode scanning analyses the live camera image to read an ISBN; camera frames are not saved by Our Library.
For a shelf photo, the app first resizes the image. On a supported device, when on-device intelligence is enabled, the photo is read on the iPhone or iPad and is never uploaded. The app sends only the resulting title and author text to the server to look up book information.
When on-device processing is unavailable or disabled, the resized shelf photo is sent over HTTPS to the private Our Library server and its contracted vision-processing service. It is held in memory while the shelf is read and then discarded. Shelf photos are not stored in the library database. The resulting book candidates remain until you accept or clear them.
Information stored on your device
The native app stores its protected session in the Apple Keychain. It also caches library responses and book covers so the app opens quickly and can show recently viewed information offline. Cache files are excluded from device backups and can be cleared in Settings. Signing out clears cached library data such as books, statistics, series, suggestions, and feedback so another user cannot see the previous account’s library. Non-personal book-cover images may remain cached until you clear cached data in Settings, iOS removes them under storage pressure, or the app is removed.
Website usage analytics
With your choice, the signed-out website uses Microsoft Clarity to understand page use, navigation, clicks, scrolling, device and browser characteristics, and technical performance through usage analytics and session-replay features. Session replay can capture the page’s visible text and structure, pointer movements, and interactions; password fields and other designated sensitive fields are masked. Clarity is not loaded after you sign in, so private library titles, notes, reviews, account details, and administration screens are excluded.
Clarity is provided by Microsoft. It may process IP and network information and use cookies or similar browser storage, including Microsoft identifiers such as MUID, when you allow analytics. Analytics and advertising storage are denied by default; advertising storage remains denied even if you allow analytics. You can allow, decline, or change this choice from “Analytics choices” on the signed-out website. See the Microsoft Privacy Statement for information about Microsoft’s processing. This integration applies to the website, not the native iPhone/iPad app.
Payments and external links
Paid plans use Stripe-hosted checkout. Card numbers, security codes, and expiry dates are entered on Stripe’s service and never reach Our Library. Our Library keeps the Stripe customer or subscription reference, plan, payment status, and amount needed to provide and administer the plan.
Book-buying links may open external retailers. Amazon AU links may include an affiliate tag, as disclosed on the website. Those external services apply their own privacy policies.
How we use information
- Provide sign-in, account administration, subscriptions, and separate libraries for each reader.
- Catalogue books, detect duplicate purchases, track reading and wishlists, group series, and generate reading ideas.
- Look up covers, descriptions, editions, availability, and prices from book catalogues, libraries, and retailers.
- Send account-confirmation email when you register or request a new confirmation link.
- Protect the service, diagnose faults, respond to feedback, and maintain reliable operation.
Service providers and disclosure
We do not sell personal information or use Clarity to deliver advertising. The signed-out website offers optional Microsoft Clarity product analytics and session replay as described above. Microsoft may set or read identifiers used across Microsoft services when you consent. Information is otherwise disclosed only when needed to operate and improve the service, comply with law, or protect users and the service.
Depending on the feature you use, limited information may be processed by contracted infrastructure, email, payment, analytics, AI, book-catalogue, library-search, price-comparison, and retailer services. Only the information needed for the request is sent. For example, Clarity receives website interaction and device information; a metadata lookup may send an ISBN or book title; a server-processed shelf scan sends the resized photo; and Stripe receives payment and billing details directly from you.
The application and primary catalogue are hosted on privately managed, Australian-operated infrastructure. Some contracted providers may process information in other countries under their own legal and security obligations.
Family-library visibility
Our Library is designed for a household or other trusted private group. Each person has a separate login and library. To support duplicate-purchase warnings, another family member may be told that a matching book exists in the household and who owns it. Marking a book private hides it from other members’ duplicate-purchase results. Administrators can view every member’s complete library, including books marked private, notes, reviews, and ratings, to operate the shared service.
Retention and deletion
- Account and library information is kept while the account is active or as needed to provide the service.
- Unconfirmed sign-up records expire and are automatically removed after the configured confirmation and grace periods.
- Temporary processing jobs and security records are retained only for operational, security, and troubleshooting needs.
- Shelf photographs are processed transiently and are not retained, as described above.
- Payment and transaction records may be retained where required for accounting, dispute, fraud-prevention, or legal purposes.
An administrator can delete a reader’s sign-in account. That action removes access but does not automatically delete library entries, notes, reviews, ratings, shelf candidates, or past feedback associated with the username. To request removal of that content as well, email [email protected]. Records that must be retained for legal, security, backup-integrity, or financial obligations remain restricted until they can be removed.
Your choices
- Allow, decline, or change Microsoft Clarity analytics from “Analytics choices” on the signed-out website.
- Export your library as CSV or JSON from the website.
- Edit or remove books, ratings, reviews, notes, reading dates, and wishlist entries.
- Mark individual books private.
- Turn on-device intelligence on or off in the native app.
- Clear cached app data, sign out, change your password, or request account deletion.
- Contact us to ask for access to or correction of personal information we hold.
Security
Our Library uses HTTPS, protected session cookies, password hashing, rate limits, restricted administrative functions, and privately managed infrastructure. The native app stores the session in the Apple Keychain. No service can guarantee absolute security, so please use a unique password and report suspected unauthorised access promptly.
Children
Our Library is intended for private groups whose accounts are created or invited by an administrator. It is not directed to children under 13 acting independently. A parent or guardian who believes a child’s information has been provided without appropriate permission should contact us so it can be reviewed and deleted where required.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy when the app, service providers, or legal obligations change. The current version and its update date will remain available at this address.