Privacy Policy

1. Overview

Mount TBR is a personal reading tracker. Your library is stored on your device, can sync through your private iCloud account, and is separate from any public shelf you choose to share. You do not need a Mount TBR account.

2. Your library and private iCloud sync

Your library includes books, reading progress and sessions, ratings, reviews, notes, quotes, reading history, lists and reading-queue choices. The app keeps a local copy. Sync with iCloud is on by default when iCloud is available, and uses Apple's private CloudKit database to sync library data between your devices signed in to the same iCloud account. We do not receive that private library through our sharing service.

You can change Settings → Sync with iCloud; completely close and reopen Mount TBR for the change to take effect. Settings reports whether sync is active for the current session. Turning sync off does not delete an existing iCloud copy. Goals, reminder choices and other app preferences are stored on your device.

3. Ads, analytics and permissions

The app has no advertising or tracking, and does not include an analytics or crash-reporting service. Apple may process diagnostics according to your system settings. Camera access is used for barcode and printed-text scanning on your device; camera images are not uploaded by Mount TBR. A scanned ISBN is sent to Open Library for a book lookup. Captured quote text becomes part of your library, and a favorite quote can be included if you publish your shelf.

Reading reminders are local notifications. The app asks for notification permission when you turn reminders on. An enabled reminder repeats daily at your chosen time.

4. Book data and covers (Open Library)

When you search or look up an ISBN, that query is sent to Open Library, a project of the Internet Archive. Book descriptions and cover images are also requested from Open Library. Requests identify Mount TBR by name. Open Library's terms and privacy policy apply. Covers may be cached on your device. As with other internet requests, the receiving service can see your IP address and basic request information.

5. Sharing your shelf (optional)

Opening Share my shelf does not publish your library. Choosing Submit for review or Submit update for review sends a snapshot to our Vercel-hosted sharing service for moderator review. It contains your chosen name (or “A reader” if left blank), book titles and authors, Open Library identifiers and cover links, shelves, ratings, summit notes, favorite quote text, series names and positions, book lengths and tracking units, and the submission time. Private notes, full reviews and reading sessions are not included in this snapshot.

New or changed snapshots must be approved before they are publicly available. While an updated snapshot is waiting for review, the previous version is also unavailable. Moderators can review the submitted content, reject it or restrict an abusive sharing identity. Approval of a shelf is not a grant of rights to third-party content.

Anyone with the link can view the shelf and forward the link. It is a public link, not an invitation restricted to selected recipients. The name and shared content are stored together with a stable sharing code so the same link can be updated. A random ownership identifier and key are kept on your device and synced through Apple's iCloud key-value storage; the service uses the derived code and a hashed key to recognize updates and removal requests. These sharing details are separate from the library-sync setting.

We use the shared name, sharing identifier and content to operate and safeguard this feature, not for advertising or tracking. An approved snapshot remains available until you submit a changed version, successfully remove it with Stop sharing, or it is restricted through moderation. Changes to your private library do not automatically update an already published snapshot.

6. Reports, moderation and blocking

You can report a shared shelf by selecting a reason. A report identifies the shelf code and content revision, your selected reason, a randomly generated report identifier and the time of submission. We retain a copy of the reported snapshot and record its review outcome. The report form does not ask for your name, email address or a written description. To limit abusive requests, the service derives a pseudonymous, keyed digest from the request's IP address, date and type of request. It stores rate-limit timestamps under that digest rather than storing the raw IP address in these records. Our hosting provider receives the normal IP address and request information needed to handle an internet request.

Reports, copies of reported snapshots and submitted content are held in encrypted moderation records for authorized review; reports are not published on the shelf. A report can temporarily hide the reported shelf while it is reviewed. Keep the report identifier if you want to follow up by emailing support. The receipt confirms that the report was received, not that a decision has been made. If you contact support separately, we receive the contact information and message you choose to send.

Block reader hides that reader's stable shelf code on the device or browser where you block it. Blocked codes are stored locally and are separate from private iCloud library sync. Blocking does not remove the shelf for other people or delete books you already added. You can manage blocked readers in the app's Settings. Moderators can separately prevent further publishing with a restricted sharing identity; there is no Mount TBR account ban.

7. Removing data

To remove your submitted or public shelf, open Settings → Share my shelf → Stop sharing and wait for confirmation. If removal fails, retry when connected. After successful removal the shelf page and app link no longer return that snapshot. Provider caches can briefly retain previously obtained data (up to 60 seconds), and we cannot remove copies someone has already saved or forwarded. The app retains its ownership details so you can submit again using the same link; any moderation restriction on that identity remains.

Stopping sharing or deleting your library does not automatically erase reports, copies of reported snapshots, moderation history or the identifiers needed to enforce safety restrictions. These are separate safety records, retained for review and abuse prevention. Resolved reports and their evidence, and old rate-limit records, are removed through operator action rather than an automatic expiry. Contact support with your shelf code or report identifier for a request concerning those records; do not send your sharing ownership key.

Settings → Delete all data first tries to remove your public shelf, then deletes the library in the app. If public removal fails, the library is kept so you can retry. Library deletions sync to your other devices when iCloud sync is active and connected. If sync is off, this action does not delete a separate existing iCloud copy; check Settings and enable sync before deleting a synced library. This action does not reset every preference or the saved sharing ownership details.

Uninstalling Mount TBR is not a request to delete your iCloud library or a public shelf. Remove the public shelf and delete a synced library before uninstalling if that is your intention. Apple manages iCloud storage and backups under your Apple account. Files you exported and copies shared through other apps must be managed separately.

8. Summit cards and exports

Reading cards and library exports are created on your device and handed to the system share sheet. Exports can contain your full library, including notes and history. You choose their destination; the receiving app or service handles those copies under its own terms.

9. Widgets

Widgets read a summary of your book and reading progress from a shared app container on your device. The timer's Live Activity and widgets may show that information on your Home Screen or Lock Screen. You control their visibility in your device settings.

10. Changes

If this policy changes, the new version is published here with a new effective date.

11. Contact

Questions: support@caissonhq.com, or see the support page.