Bogdan Nikishin
← Bookpather

Privacy Policy

Bookpather · Effective Date: October 5, 2026

Bogdan Nikishin, an independent developer ("we", "our", or "us"), built Bookpather ("the App") as a commercial application. This Privacy Policy explains what information the App handles, where it is stored, and what leaves your device — and what never does.

Overview

Bookpather is designed to be private by default. The App requires no account, login, or registration, and contains no advertising and no third-party analytics or tracking SDKs. Your library — books, covers, notes, reading statuses, reading sessions, Key ideas, and Paths — is stored on your device and, if available, in your personal iCloud. Optional AI features send only the limited data described below to our server, and only after your explicit consent.

Data Stored on Your Device and in Your iCloud

The App stores the following data locally on your device:

  • Your library — titles, authors, covers, topics, ISBNs, and reading statuses (Want to Read, Reading, Finished, Dropped).
  • Personal notes you attach to books.
  • Key ideas and Paths you have created and saved, and your reading sessions and streak.
  • App preferences and a cached indicator of your subscription status.

If iCloud is available on your device, this data syncs through your personal iCloud account (Apple CloudKit private database) so it is available on your other devices. We do not operate our own user database and have no access to your iCloud data. You can export your books, notes, Key ideas, and Paths as a JSON file at any time, and delete everything by removing the App and its iCloud data.

Camera and Photos

The App uses your camera and photo library only to recognize books — from a cover, a barcode, or a photo of a shelf. Recognition happens on your device. Your photos and camera frames are never uploaded to us or to any AI provider, and the App does not store them after recognition is complete.

AI Features and What They Send

Key ideas and suggested Paths are optional AI features and run only after you explicitly agree to use AI features. When you request them, the App sends the following to our server (an AI proxy we operate on Cloudflare):

  • For Key ideas: the book's title, author, and, where available, a public description of the book.
  • For Paths: the title, author, topics, and difficulty of up to 120 books from your library, whether you have read them, and the skill or goal you choose.
  • Your interface language, so the answer is written in it.
  • A random installation identifier and technical request data used for quota management and abuse prevention.

Our server forwards this data to an AI provider (currently DeepSeek) to generate the result. Your personal notes, your photos, your name, and your contact details are never sent to us or to the AI provider. AI requests are not used to build a profile of you, and we do not sell or share this data. DeepSeek processes these requests on servers located in the People's Republic of China.

Book Search (Open Library and Google Books)

When you search for a book by title, author, or ISBN, the App queries the Open Library API (run by the Internet Archive) and, if Open Library finds no match, the Google Books API, to find matching editions, covers, and descriptions. Only the search query itself is sent. Open Library requests are governed by the Internet Archive's terms and privacy policy (archive.org/about/terms.php); Google Books requests by Google's Privacy Policy (policies.google.com/privacy).

Subscriptions and Purchases

Bookpather Pro is optional: an auto-renewable subscription (monthly or annual) or Lifetime, a one-time purchase. All transactions are processed entirely by Apple through the App Store using StoreKit. We do not receive or store your payment information, Apple ID, or billing details. To verify your subscription and enforce fair-use limits, our server may validate an App Store transaction signature; this does not include any personal or payment information beyond what Apple includes in the signed transaction. Apple's handling of your data is governed by Apple's Privacy Policy (www.apple.com/legal/privacy).

No Advertising, No Tracking

The App contains no ads and integrates no third-party analytics, advertising, crash-reporting, or social media SDKs. We do not use Firebase, Google Analytics, Facebook SDK, ad networks, or similar services, and we do not track you across apps or websites.

Children's Privacy

The App is not directed at children and does not knowingly collect personal information from anyone, including children. AI features require explicit consent before any data leaves the device.

Data Security

Your library remains on your device and in your personal iCloud, protected by Apple's encryption. Communication with our AI proxy and with Apple and Google services uses encrypted HTTPS connections. Because we do not maintain user accounts or store your library on our servers, there is no central database of your personal data that could be breached on our side.

Your Rights

You are in control of your data:

  • All library data can be exported as JSON at any time from the App's settings.
  • Deleting the App (and its iCloud data via iOS settings) removes your library completely.
  • You can decline or revoke AI consent at any time; the App remains fully usable without AI features.
  • Since we do not store personal data on our servers, there is no personal profile for us to provide, correct, or delete — quota counters are tied only to a random installation identifier.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be reflected on this page with an updated effective date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:

B.S.NikishinG@gmail.com