This Privacy Policy explains how White Pigeon Solution ("White Pigeon Solution", "we", "us", or "our") collects, uses, discloses, and protects information when you use SwapBooks (the "Platform"). It should be read together with our Terms and Conditions. By using the Platform you consent to the practices described here.
1. Information we collect
We collect:
- Account information — name, email address and/or phone number, a hashed password (for accounts not using Google sign-in), and preferred currency.
- Profile information — city, state, and country, if you choose to add them, shown on your listings so other users can weigh distance before requesting a book.
- Verification data — one-time codes sent to your email or phone to verify ownership of that email or phone number.
- Listing content — books you register, their condition, photos you upload, tags, notes, and the resulting ownership and transfer history.
- Communications — comments on listings, messages attached to transfer requests, and feature-board submissions and comments.
- Technical data — session and authentication cookies, and basic request metadata (such as IP address) used for rate-limiting and abuse prevention.
2. How we use this information
- To create and secure your account, and authenticate you;
- To operate the Platform's core features — listings, swaps, sales, loans, gifts, ownership history, comments, and the feature-request board;
- To send transactional notifications — verification codes, transfer and gift notifications, and account-related emails or WhatsApp messages;
- To prevent fraud, abuse, and violations of our Terms; and
- To maintain and improve the Platform.
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for third-party advertising.
3. What other users can see
Your name (or email/phone, if no name is set), city/state/country (if provided), and any book you list publicly are visible to other users. When you propose, accept, or complete a Transaction with another user, that user can see relevant contact details necessary to complete the exchange. Comments you post on a listing are visible to anyone viewing that listing.
4. Third-party service providers
We share information with the following categories of service providers, solely to operate the Platform:
- Authentication — Google, if you choose to sign in with Google.
- Email — a transactional email provider, to send verification codes and notifications.
- SMS / WhatsApp — a messaging provider, to send phone verification codes and WhatsApp notifications, if you register or verify a phone number.
- Book data — the Google Books API, to look up title, author, cover, and related metadata when you register a book.
- File storage — cloud object storage, to host photos you upload.
- Database and hosting — infrastructure providers that host the Platform and its database.
Each provider processes data under its own privacy policy and terms; we are not responsible for their independent practices. We may also disclose information if required by law, or to protect the rights, safety, or property of White Pigeon Solution, our users, or the public.
5. Data retention and account deletion
We retain your information for as long as your account is active. When you delete your account or a book copy, we mark it as deleted and remove it from public view and your dashboard, but retain the underlying record for a period — including ownership and transaction history — to preserve the integrity of other users' ownership records, resolve disputes, and meet legal obligations. Uploaded photos are not deleted from storage when removed from a listing, to preserve the photo history log.
6. Security
We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information, including password hashing and rate-limited authentication. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. You are responsible for keeping your password confidential.
7. Your choices and rights
You can review and update your profile information from Settings at any time, and can request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information by contacting us at the address below. You can delete your account from Settings, which stops your listings and profile from being shown to other users.
8. Children's privacy
The Platform is not directed to, and is not intended for use by, anyone under 18. We do not knowingly collect information from children.
9. Changes to this Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be reflected by updating the "Last updated" date above. Continued use of the Platform after a change takes effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Policy.
10. Contact
Questions about this Privacy Policy, or requests regarding your data, can be sent to [email protected].