Privacy Policy
- Your books, reading progress, highlights and notes stay on your device.
- If you sign in with Google, a backup of your reading data is saved in your own Google Drive, in a hidden folder only this app can open. We, the developers, never receive it.
- There are no ads, no analytics, no tracking and no developer server.
- A few optional features contact other services (for example Wikipedia or an AI provider you choose). They are described below.
1. Who we are
The Sticky Reader is an e-reader app for Android and iOS, with an optional companion mode for the Seeed Studio reTerminal “Sticky” e-ink device. It is developed by an independent developer (“we”, “us”). Contact details are at the end of this policy.
2. Data that stays on your device
The app stores the following only on your phone or tablet, in the app's private storage:
- The book files you import or download, and cover thumbnails made from them.
- Your library: titles, authors, reading positions and progress.
- Highlights, notes, saved vocabulary words and bookmarks, including the text you highlighted.
- Reading statistics: reading sessions (date, duration, estimated words read), streaks and your daily goal.
- Your settings: reader appearance, AI provider choice, and voice settings for read-aloud characters.
- If you signed in: your Google account name, email address, profile picture link and account ID, so the app can show who is signed in and sync to the right account.
- If you entered a Google Gemini API key: the key, kept in the device's secure storage (Android Keystore / iOS Keychain).
This data is not sent to us. It is removed when you uninstall the app or clear its data.
3. Google Sign-In and Google Drive sync (optional)
You can use the app without an account. If you choose to sign in with Google:
- What the app asks Google for: your basic profile (name, email address, profile picture) and access to the app's own hidden data folder in your Google Drive (the
drive.appdatapermission). The app cannot see, open or change any other file in your Drive. - What is stored in that folder: one compressed file containing your reading positions, highlights and notes (including the highlighted book text), saved vocabulary words, reading sessions, and character voice settings. Book files, bookmarks and your reader settings are not uploaded.
- Why: only to keep your reading data in step between your own devices and to back it up.
- Who can read it: the file lives in your Google account and is handled by Google under Google's Privacy Policy. We have no server and no access to it.
Limited Use disclosure. The Sticky Reader's use and transfer to any other app of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. Google user data is used only to provide the sync feature you turned on. It is never sold, never used for advertising, and never read by people, except with your explicit permission or where required by law.
4. Optional features that contact other services
These only run when you use them. Each sends the minimum needed to that service, which handles it under its own privacy policy.
| Feature | Sent to | What is sent |
|---|---|---|
| AI Oracle, Book Club and recaps, with your own Gemini key | Google (Gemini API) | Your API key; the words you selected or your Book Club answer; the book title and chapter number; for recaps, a short excerpt (up to about 2,000 characters) of the chapter. Governed by Google's Gemini API terms for your key. |
| AI Oracle with Ollama | A server you set up (for example a computer on your home network) | The same kind of text as above, sent only to the address you enter. |
| Book & author info | Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation) | The book title or author name being looked up. |
| Free book store | Project Gutenberg | Requests to download the book you pick and to show cover pictures. No account or personal details. |
| Sticky e-ink companion (off by default) | Your own Sticky device on your local network | Books you send to it, reading positions and statistics, and remote page-turn commands. Nothing leaves your network. |
By default the AI Oracle uses built-in text analysis on your device and sends nothing anywhere.
Like any internet request, these requests reveal your device's IP address to the service being contacted.
Read-aloud
Read-aloud uses the text-to-speech engine already on your device (Android's speech service or Apple's speech synthesizer). The app does not send the text to us. If you have chosen an online voice in your device's settings, your device's speech provider may process the text under its own policy.
Ambient soundscapes
Soundscapes are generated on your device. No audio is downloaded or uploaded.
5. What we do not do
- No advertising and no advertising identifiers.
- No analytics, crash reporting or tracking tools.
- No selling or sharing of your data.
- No developer servers: we never receive your books, notes or account details.
6. Device permissions
- Internet and network state: for sign-in, Drive sync and the optional features above, and to find a Sticky device on your Wi-Fi.
- Files: the app only opens files you pick yourself in the system file picker. It keeps its own copy so the book stays available.
7. Your choices and deleting your data
- Stop syncing: sign out in Settings. Your local data and the Drive backup are kept.
- Delete the Drive backup: in Google Drive on the web, open Settings → Manage apps, find The Sticky Reader and choose “Delete hidden app data”. You can also remove the app's access to your account at myaccount.google.com/permissions.
- Delete local data: delete individual books, highlights and bookmarks in the app, or uninstall the app (or clear its storage) to remove everything on the device.
- Remove your Gemini key: clear the key field in Settings.
Because we hold no copy of your data, we cannot view, export or delete it for you. The steps above put you in full control.
8. Security
Data on your device is protected by your device's own security and the app's private storage. Your Gemini key is kept in the platform's secure storage. Connections to Google, Wikipedia and Project Gutenberg use encrypted HTTPS. Connections to a Sticky device or an Ollama server on your own network may be unencrypted, so use them only on networks you trust.
9. Children
The app is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect personal information from them. It collects no personal information unless you sign in with Google.
10. Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, the new version will be posted at this address with a new effective date. Significant changes will also be mentioned in the app's release notes.
11. Contact
Questions about this policy or your data: jarod@volatileapps.com
Developer: Volatile Apps (https://www.volatileapps.com)