Privacy Policy

The short version

• You do not need an account to use Rousd.
• Your reading history, book records, session details, and reflections are stored locally on your device.
• Rousd does not sell personal information, show third-party ads, or use reading data for advertising.
• Rousd uses PostHog for limited, pseudonymous product analytics, Google Books for book search, and Sentry for crash and error diagnostics.
• Rousd does not intentionally send book titles, authors, search queries, notes, reflections, ISBNs, or cover URLs to PostHog.

Information stored on your device

Rousd stores the information needed to provide the app’s reading features locally on your device. Depending on how you use Rousd, this may include:

• reading-session dates, times, and durations;
• book titles, authors, Google Books identifiers, ISBNs, and cover-image URLs;
• notes and reflections;
• finished-book records and optional reviews;
• manual reading logs; and
• app preferences and temporary post-session recovery data.

Rousd does not currently require an account or operate a Rousd server that uploads or synchronizes this reading library. Information stored locally may also be included in device backups controlled by you and your device or backup provider.

Limited product analytics through PostHog

Rousd uses PostHog to understand whether the app’s core reading flow works and where it may need improvement. PostHog assigns a randomly generated device identifier. Rousd does not use PostHog to identify you by name or email, and it does not call PostHog’s user-identification or aliasing features.

Rousd sends only the following product events and coarse properties:

• Reading session started: whether a current book was already associated with the reading flow.
• Reading session ended: a broad duration range.
• Reading session saved: whether the session was timed or manually logged, whether it was attributed to a book, the attribution method, a broad duration range, and whether a reflection was added.
• Book attribution skipped: that attribution was skipped and a broad duration range.
• Completed book saved: whether an optional review was added and a broad session-count range.

PostHog may also receive standard technical context supplied by its mobile SDK, such as the random device identifier, event timestamp, app version, operating system, device type, and network information such as IP address.

Rousd has disabled PostHog autocapture, screen and touch capture, session replay, surveys, automatic app-lifecycle events, and PostHog error tracking. Rousd does not intentionally send PostHog book titles, authors, ISBNs, cover URLs, search queries, notes, reflections, feedback text, URLs, or other user-entered reading content.

Learn more in PostHog’s Privacy Policy.

Book search through Google Books

When you use Rousd’s book-search feature, the search words you enter are sent directly from the app to the Google Books API so Google can return matching books. Google may receive the search query, IP address, request time, and other standard device or network information. Book-cover images supplied in the results may also be loaded from Google-hosted services.

Rousd receives book metadata from Google Books, which may include titles, authors, Google Books identifiers, ISBNs, and cover-image URLs. If you select a result, Rousd stores that book metadata locally on your device. Rousd does not send your Google Books search query to PostHog.

Google processes information under Google’s Privacy Policy.

Crash and error diagnostics through Sentry

Rousd uses Sentry to detect crashes and technical errors. Sentry may receive information such as:

• error messages and stack traces;
• app version, operating system, device model, and technical state;
• diagnostic breadcrumbs and network-request metadata associated with an error; and
• IP address inferred from the network request.

Rousd has disabled Sentry’s default personally identifiable information collection and does not intentionally attach your name, email address, book titles, reading history, notes, or reflections to error reports. Because diagnostic reports describe the circumstances surrounding an error, technical context may occasionally contain information present when the error occurred.

Learn more in Sentry’s Privacy Policy.

Support and feedback

If you choose to contact Rousd, the app opens your device’s email application. Nothing is sent until you choose to send the message. Rousd may then receive the email address, message, and any other information you voluntarily include. Your email provider processes that communication under its own privacy terms.

How information is used and shared

Rousd uses information only to:

• provide and maintain the app;
• return book-search results;
• understand the core reading flow in aggregate;
• diagnose crashes and technical problems;
• respond to support requests; and
• comply with legal obligations or protect the security and integrity of Rousd.

Information is shared only with the service providers described above when needed for these purposes, or when required by law. These providers may process information in the United States or other countries where they operate.

Rousd does not sell or rent personal information, use third-party advertising systems, use reading data for ad targeting, or track your activity across other companies’ apps and websites.

Retention and deletion

Reading information stored by Rousd remains on your device until you delete it through available in-app controls, clear the app’s data, or uninstall the app. Copies may remain in device backups according to your backup settings.

PostHog and Sentry retain service data according to Rousd’s service configuration and their applicable terms. Support emails are retained only as reasonably needed to respond, maintain support records, protect Rousd, or comply with law.

Because Rousd does not require an account and PostHog events use a random device identifier, Rousd may not be able to connect a particular analytics record to your name or email. You may contact Rousd with a privacy or deletion question at the address below.

Security

Rousd uses reasonable safeguards and limits the information sent to third parties. No method of electronic storage or transmission is completely secure, so absolute security cannot be guaranteed.

Changes to this policy

This policy may be updated when Rousd’s features or service providers change. The effective date at the top will be revised when material changes are made.

Contact

For privacy questions or requests, contact support@rousd.app.