Privacy Policy

1. Our "Local-First" Philosophy

Garden Reads is designed as a zen private place for your thoughts and reading habits. Unlike traditional AI apps, we use a local LLM (Gemma 4) that runs completely on your device with no data being sent off for profit.

• Your Books: We do not upload your EPUBs/PDFs to our servers.
• Your Chats: AI conversations are processed locally. We do not have access to your questions or the AI's responses, and they are just for your eyes.
• Your Privacy: Your reading data is never sent to us, and never used to train AI models.

The only time your data leaves your device is when you choose to enable an optional feature — such as Cloud Sync to your own Google Drive, or connecting your own book server (see Sections 3 and 5). In those cases your data goes to your account/server, not to us. Of course you can choose to create your own file containing all your annotations and handle it offline. Google Drive is more for convenience.

2. Information We Collect

To provide a high-quality experience and support our development, we collect limited data:

• Purchase Data: We use Google Play Billing to manage Pro upgrades. We do not see your credit card details; this is handled securely by Google.
• Advertising Data: The free version of the app uses Google AdMob. AdMob may collect your Advertising ID to show relevant ads. You can reset this in your Android settings.

We do not operate any server that stores your books, notes, highlights, or AI chats.

3. Cloud Sync (Optional — Your Google Drive)

Garden Reads offers an optional sync feature that you must explicitly enable by connecting a Google account.

• Where it goes: Your data is stored in your own Google Drive, in a visible folder named Garden_Reads_Sync. We never receive or have access to its contents.
• Scope: We use Google's restricted drive.file permission, which lets the app access only the files it creates in that folder. The app cannot see any of your other Drive files!
• What syncs: Your highlights, notes, bookmarks, reading progress, reading statistics, saved dictionary words, and app/reader settings. Book and audiobook files sync only if you turn that option on (it is off by default to save space).
• What does NOT sync: Your AI chat history is never synced — it stays on the device where it was created.
• It's an open folder, not a black box: The Garden_Reads_Sync folder lives in plain sight in your Drive, and the backup is split into ordinary files (your settings, library, notes, and — if enabled — book and cover files). You are free to open it, browse it, download individual files, or delete the ones you no longer want by hand. Nothing is hidden or locked away from you.
• Control: You can disconnect at any time in Settings, and you can permanently remove the data by deleting the Garden_Reads_Sync folder from your Google Drive.

4. Permissions

• Storage/Media: Required to find and open your books on your device.
• Internet: Required for downloading the AI model, loading ads (Free version), verifying Pro status, optional Google Drive sync, and the optional online features in Section 5.
• Notifications: Used to show progress while the AI model downloads, while a sync is running and, if toggled, reminders for missed daily reading goals.
• Biometrics (Pro Feature): If you use the "Secure Library," we use Android's native biometric prompt. We never store or see your fingerprint or face data.

5. Third-Party & Optional Online Features

Some features connect to third parties. Where noted, only minimal data (such as a single word or a book's title/author) is sent, and only when you use that feature:

• Google Play Services / Licensing: App distribution and Pro licensing.
• Google Play Billing: Processing the Pro upgrade.
• Google AdMob: Displaying advertisements in the free version.
• Google Drive: Optional sync/backup to your own account (see Section 3).
• Hugging Face: The on-device AI model (Gemma 4) is downloaded from Hugging Face. If a model requires it, you may optionally sign in with your Hugging Face account to authorize the download.
• Open Library: When you refresh a book's cover or metadata, its title/author are sent to Open Library to find a match. This only applies to the books you download using the built-in book browser, otherwise the books would have no cover. Your local books are not affected.
• Wiktionary (or a custom dictionary): When you look up a word, that word is opened on Wiktionary — or on a custom dictionary URL you configure.
• Downloading free ebooks: When you choose to download a free or public-domain ebook from a web link.
• Your own servers (Calibre / Audiobookshelf): If you connect a Calibre content server or an Audiobookshelf server, the app communicates directly with your server using the address and credentials you provide. This data is not sent to us.

6. Data Retention & Export

Your reading data, notes, and AI chats are stored locally, so deleting the app deletes all of your local history and notes. If you enabled Cloud Sync, a copy also exists in your own Google Drive until you delete the Garden_Reads_Sync folder. We recommend using the "Export" feature to back up your notes manually before uninstalling.

I believe a proper export feature is essential for any app that actually cares about privacy and isn't in the business of selling your data. It's your data — your highlights, your notes, your reading history — so you should be able to take it with you and do whatever you want with it. Export a file, keep it offline, move it to another device, or hand it to another app. No lock-in, no strings attached.

7. Your Rights

Under GDPR and other privacy laws, you have the right to access or delete your data. Since we do not store your personal data on our servers, you can exercise these rights by:

• Clearing the app's data or uninstalling the app (removes local data), and
• Disconnecting sync and deleting the Garden_Reads_Sync folder from your Google Drive (removes the synced copy).

8. Contact

For questions regarding this policy, contact: mihainidelea.developer@gmail.com