MiniShelf Privacy Policy#
Last updated: 8 October 2026
This policy says what MiniShelf collects, why, who else handles it, and what you can do about it.
Who we are#
MiniShelf is made by Kazim Gokhan Dogramaci ("we" in this policy). We decide how your data is used (the "controller"). Contact: info@gokhand.com.
What MiniShelf is#
An app for parents to use the children's books their family already owns: add the books, find one to read, rotate a basket, and share a wishlist with family. MiniShelf is for parents. Children have no accounts and never type anything into the app.
What we collect, and why#
Your account#
The first time your phone is online, the app creates an anonymous account in the background, so your shelf is backed up. You never have to sign in.
- A random account ID, which links your shelf to the account.
- Your email address, or an identifier from Sign in with Apple or Google, only if you choose to sign in. We use it only to sign you in and to send sign-in codes. No newsletters, no marketing.
Legal basis (GDPR): to provide the app you asked for (Art. 6(1)(b)).
Your shelf#
The books you add, their places, collections, notes, ratings and wishlist, library books and their due dates, books you rest, which child a book is for, and when you tap "Just read" (optional). Your phone keeps all of it so the app works offline, and it is backed up to our servers under your account. Sample books stay on your phone.
Legal basis: to provide the app (Art. 6(1)(b)).
Your children#
If you add a child, you choose a nickname, a birth month and year (to match books to age) and an emoji. We never ask for a child's real name or photo. A child's nickname can appear on your family's wishlist page (see below); the birth month never does.
Legal basis: our legitimate interest in giving you age-matched suggestions, which you start by adding the child (Art. 6(1)(f)).
Grown-ups who share a shelf#
If you invite another grown-up (a partner, a grandparent, a nanny) to use your shelf on their own phone, each of you gives a name - any name you like, up to 40 characters - so the shelf can show who is on it. Everyone on the shelf sees these names and the same books, children and reading. An invite link works once and stops working after 7 days; whoever opens it sees your name, your family name and the name you typed for them. The person you invite does not need to sign in. Any grown-up on the shelf can remove another (except the one who started it), and anyone can leave; whoever leaves keeps a copy of the books on their phone.
Photos#
- Cover photos you take or choose are stored with your shelf so we can show them back to you.
- Shelf photos (to add many books at once): the photo is sent to Google's AI service (Gemini) to read the book spines. We do not store it on our servers or in our logs, and the app deletes its copy when you close the review. Google keeps requests for a limited time to detect abuse and does not use them to train its models. Please photograph the books only.
Legal basis: to provide the feature you asked for (Art. 6(1)(b)).
Finding books#
To identify a book we send its barcode number (ISBN), or the title and author read from a photo or typed in a search, from our server to Open Library. When you import a Goodreads file, the file stays on your phone; only each book's ISBN, title and first author go to our server to find it in our catalogue, and they are not stored. Your Goodreads reviews, ratings and notes never leave the phone. The words you type in "I need a book about…" stay on your phone. If you type a book that is not in our catalogue and a second family later has the same book, its title, author and ISBN join our shared catalogue, with no link to you.
AI book summaries#
"What it's about" and "Its message" are written by Google's AI from book data (title, author, publisher text, topics). No personal data is sent. They are labelled "AI". When you tap "Is this right?" or correct a book, we keep the correction with your account ID until you delete your account, then without it.
Usage statistics#
We record which screens and features you use, with your account ID and device details (model, system version, language, time zone, screen size). Never book titles, children's names or anything you typed. In the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, the UK, Switzerland and Türkiye they stay off until you turn them on (Welcome or Settings). Elsewhere they are on until you turn them off in Settings.
Legal basis: your consent where they start off (Art. 6(1)(a)); elsewhere our legitimate interest in improving the app (Art. 6(1)(f)).
Crash reports#
When the app or a web page fails, a crash report goes to Sentry: what went wrong and the device and app version. It is not linked to your account and contains no book titles, nicknames, emails or typed text.
Legal basis: our legitimate interest in fixing problems (Art. 6(1)(f)).
Purchases (MiniShelf Plus)#
The App Store or Google Play takes the payment; we never see card details. RevenueCat manages the subscription. It receives your account ID, your device and app details, and what you bought.
Legal basis: to provide what you bought (Art. 6(1)(b)).
Limits and abuse#
To stop misuse, our server counts requests per account and per internet address each day. It stores the internet address only in a scrambled (hashed) form and deletes the counts after 35 days.
Legal basis: our legitimate interest in keeping the service working and its costs in check (Art. 6(1)(f)).
Reminders and settings#
The weekly basket reminder and library due-date reminders are scheduled on your phone, only after you say yes. We use no push service and send no messages from our servers. Settings such as the theme, text size and language stay on your phone.
Support emails#
If you write to us, we keep the email to answer it. The app adds its version, the phone's system and a random install number to the draft; you can see and change them before you send.
The family wishlist page#
When you make a family link, anyone with the link can open the page in a browser. It shows your family name (or your children's nicknames), each wished-for book with its cover, your note and the child it is for, whether someone is getting it, and, if "Already on our shelf" is on, the books you already have. It never shows birth months, places, photos or your notes on books. You can make a new link or turn it off at any time.
When the link is shared in a chat app, its preview shows only general words and our logo, never your family name. A visitor who taps "I'll get this" types a name, which your family sees. Their browser keeps that name and an undo code (local storage, no cookies). The web pages use no analytics; only crash reports go to Sentry.
Who else handles your data#
Each of these companies works for us under a contract that requires it to protect your data at least as well as this policy does.
| Company | What for | Data | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supabase | Database, sign-in and sign-in emails, file storage, sync | Account, your email if you sign in, shelf, cover photos | EU (Ireland) |
| Google (Gemini API) | Reading shelf photos; writing book summaries | Shelf photos; book data | Any country where Google has facilities |
| Google (ML Kit, Android only) | Barcode scanning | Device details, install IDs, performance data | Google's servers |
| Open Library (Internet Archive) | Book details and covers | ISBNs, titles, authors; your phone's internet address when it loads a cover | US |
| PostHog | Usage statistics, while they are on | Account ID, screens used, device details | EU |
| Sentry | Crash reports | Error details, device details | EU |
| RevenueCat | Subscriptions | Account ID, device details, purchases | US |
| Expo | App updates; hosting the web pages | A random device ID for updates; page requests | US |
| Apple, Google | Sign-in, if you choose it; the app stores | What you share with them | Their own policies apply |
If we change a provider, we update this list first.
Transfers outside the EU and UK: where a company is certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework (Google, PostHog, Sentry) we rely on it; otherwise we use the EU standard contractual clauses (Supabase, RevenueCat, and as a fallback for the others). Ask us for a copy.
When you tap a "Borrow" or "Buy" link, WorldCat or Bookshop.org receives the book's ISBN or title. "Buy" links are marked "Paid link": we may earn a commission.
How long we keep data#
- Your account and shelf: until you delete them.
- Anonymous shelves: deleted after 30 days if nothing real was ever added, or after 12 months without use. Signed-in accounts are deleted only when you ask.
- Items you remove: kept on the server until your shelf is deleted, so your other phones can remove them too.
- Removed cover photos: deleted 30 days later.
- Daily limit counts: 35 days.
- Usage statistics: up to 12 months.
- Crash reports: up to 90 days.
- After you delete your account: a record that the shelf was deleted (its ID only) stays, so another phone cannot bring it back. Corrections stay without your account ID.
Children#
MiniShelf is for parents. We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children. A parent can add a nickname, a birth month and year and an emoji for their own child. A child never creates an account, signs in, types anything or gets messages. In "Kid's Selection" a child can point at a cover on the parent's phone; nothing can be typed or bought there. If you believe a child gave us information directly, write to info@gokhand.com and we will delete it.
Your rights#
- See and export your data: everything you added is in the app. Settings > "Your data" > Export as CSV or JSON. For the rest (for example usage statistics), write to us.
- Correct it: edit any book, child or note in the app.
- Delete it: Settings > "Delete all our data" (no account) or "Delete account and data". Without the app: https://www.gokhand.com/minishelf/delete-account/. Deleting removes your shelf from our servers and from your phones, asks RevenueCat and PostHog to delete their records, and cannot be undone. It does not cancel a Plus subscription: cancel that in your store account.
- Withdraw consent: turn usage statistics off in Settings.
- Object or restrict: write to us.
- Complain: to the data protection authority where you live (in the UK the ICO, in Türkiye the KVKK).
We answer within one month. We make no decisions about you by automated means that have legal or similar effects. We do not sell or share personal information for advertising.
Security#
We encrypt data in transit, limit who can access it, and use providers with their own security programmes. No system is completely secure. If a breach puts your data at risk, we will tell you and the authorities as the law requires.
Changes#
If we change this policy in a significant way, we tell you in the app before the change takes effect. The date at the top shows the current version.