Privacy Policy for LitShelf

Welcome to LitShelf, a mobile application developed by Kangogo Joel & Co ("we," "us," or "our"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and share your information when you use LitShelf. By using LitShelf, you agree to the terms outlined in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the app.

1. Information We Collect

We collect the following types of information to provide and improve LitShelf’s functionality:

• Personal Information:

  • Email Address: Collected during account creation and login via Firebase Authentication to identify and authenticate users.

  • User ID: A unique identifier generated by Firebase Authentication to manage your account and favorites.

  • Favorites: Information about books you mark as favorites, stored in Firestore under your user ID.

• Non-Personal Information:

  • Usage Data: We may collect data about how you interact with LitShelf, such as search queries, books viewed, and app navigation, using Firebase Analytics.

  • Device Information: Device type, operating system version, and unique device identifiers may be collected to ensure app compatibility and performance.

• Third-Party Data:

  • LitShelf uses Glide to load book cover images. Glide may collect data as per its privacy policy (see Section 5).

  • Firebase services (Authentication, Firestore, Analytics) collect data as described in Google’s Privacy Policy (see Section 5).

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information for the following purposes:

• To authenticate users and manage accounts via Firebase Authentication.

• To store and retrieve your favorite books in Firestore.

• To provide search functionality, allowing you to find books by title or author.

• To display books in an alphabetically sorted order (A-Z) in the app’s RecyclerView.

• To analyze app usage and improve LitShelf’s functionality using Firebase Analytics.

• To ensure compatibility and troubleshoot issues by collecting device information.

3. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We may share your information in the following circumstances:

• With Service Providers: We use third-party services like Firebase (Google) and Glide to operate LitShelf. These providers may access your data to provide their services, subject to their privacy policies.

• For Legal Reasons: We may disclose your information if required by law, to comply with legal processes, or to protect our rights, safety, or property, or that of our users.

• With Your Consent: We may share your information with other parties if you provide explicit consent.

4. Data Retention and Deletion

• We retain your personal information (e.g., email, user ID, favorites) as long as your account is active or as needed to provide LitShelf’s services.

• Usage and device data may be retained for analytics purposes as long as necessary to improve the app.

• You can delete your account by signing out and contacting us at kangogojoel25@gmail.com. Upon account deletion, we will remove your personal information from our systems, except for data we are required to retain for legal purposes.

5. Third-Party Services

LitShelf integrates with the following third-party services, which have their own privacy policies:

• Firebase (Google): Used for authentication, data storage (Firestore), and analytics. See Google’s Privacy Policy.

• Glide: Used for loading book cover images. Glide may collect usage data as per its policies (refer to Glide’s documentation for details).

6. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights under privacy laws like GDPR (EU) or CCPA (California):

• Access: Request a copy of your personal data.

• Correction: Request correction of inaccurate data.

• Deletion: Request deletion of your data (e.g., by deleting your account).

• Opt-Out: Opt out of data collection by uninstalling LitShelf. You can use standard uninstall processes on your device or via Google Play Store.

To exercise these rights, contact us at kangogojoel25@gmail.com.

7. Security

We implement reasonable security measures to protect your data, such as secure authentication via Firebase and encrypted storage in Firestore. However, no system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

8. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. We will notify you of significant changes via an in-app notification or email. The updated policy will be effective as of the “Last Updated” date at the top of this page.

9. Contact Us

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

• Email: kangogojoel25@gmail.com