Legal

Privacy Policy

Effective October 14, 2026 · Updated for paid plans

Shelf & Spice (“Shelf & Spice,” “we,” “us”) is a reading tracker operated by Gravitt Digital LLC, a Colorado limited liability company doing business as Shelf & Spice. This policy explains what we collect when you use the Shelf & Spice website and web app (the “Service”), how we use it, and the choices you have.

The short version: we collect what's needed to run your shelf — your Google sign-in basics and the books you add. We don't sell your information, we don't run ads, and you can delete your account and data from inside the app at any time.

1. Information we collect

Account information. You sign in with Google. Google shares your name, email address, profile photo and a unique account ID with us. We don't receive your Google password.

Profile. The display name and unique @username you choose, whether to show your Google photo, your reading mode (Romance or All Genres), and the color theme you pick.

Content you add. Books, authors, series, reading status, star and spice ratings, trope tags (including custom tags), content warnings, reading source (for example, Kindle Unlimited), dates, notes, comments, reactions, reading progress, recommendations, who you share books with, and your yearly reading goal.

Book clubs. If you create or join a club: the club's name and description, its members, invite code, current and past picks, nominations and votes, and meeting details (date, place and notes) that the organizer enters.

Settings. Content filters you choose, which clubs your new books are shared with automatically, and whether you're a Founding Reader.

Subscriptions. If you buy a paid plan, we store your plan, its status and renewal date, and the customer and subscription IDs that our payment processor, Stripe, gives us. Stripe collects your card details and billing address directly; we never receive or store your full card number.

Email signups. If you sign up for updates on our website, we store your email address and the date you signed up.

Basic usage information. The time you last opened the app. Our hosting and database providers may also log technical details such as IP address, browser type and device type to keep the Service secure and running.

Stored on your device. The app saves a small record in your browser's local storage to remember which badges you've already been shown. We don't use advertising cookies or cross-site tracking.

2. How we use it

To create your account and keep you signed in.
To store, show and sync your shelf across your devices.
To let you share books, recommendations and comments with people you choose, and to run book clubs you create or join.
To hide comments that might spoil a book you're still reading, and to hide books with content warnings you've chosen to filter.
To send occasional emails if you signed up for them on our website. Every email has an unsubscribe link.
To calculate reading stats, goals, badges and leaderboards.
To provide paid plans you choose, and to keep records of payments as the law requires.
To respond when you contact us, and to keep the Service secure and working.

We don't sell or rent your personal information, and we don't use it for targeted advertising.

3. What other members can see

Your email address is never shown to other members.
Members of your book clubs see your display name, @username, profile photo (unless you hide it), the flair you pick for that club, Founding Reader status, your nominations and votes, and your points on the club leaderboard.
Staff: a small number of Shelf & Spice team members (shown with a staff tag, such as “Co-Founder”) can view club details (name, description, member names, picks, votes and meeting info) and remove content or members to handle reports and enforce our Guidelines. Staff can't see books that aren't shared with them, or anyone's email address.
A book you add is private unless you share it with a club or specific people. People it's shared with can see its details, your ratings, notes, content warnings, reading progress, reactions, comments and who recommended it. When someone joins a club, they can see books shared with that club. When someone leaves or is removed, they lose access the next time you open the app.
Club organizers and the admins they choose can rename the club, set picks and meetings, create new invite links and remove members. Admins are shown with an Admin tag.
Invite links let anyone who has the link join that club, so share them only with people you want in it. Organizers can turn an old link off at any time by making a new one.

4. Services we rely on

We use a small number of providers to run the Service. They process data on our behalf or as described in their own policies:

Google Firebase (Authentication and Cloud Firestore) — sign-in and storage of your account and shelf data. Data is stored on Google Cloud servers in the United States.
Stripe — processes payments for paid plans, under Stripe's Privacy Policy. We send Stripe your email address and account ID so it can match your payment to your account.
Google Fonts — loads the typefaces used on the site.
Open Library (Internet Archive) — when you search for a book, your search text is sent to Open Library (through our own website, which keeps a short-term copy of popular searches and covers so they load faster). We don't send your name or email with it.
Website hosting — our hosting provider serves the site's files and may keep standard server logs.

Links to other sites, such as Amazon or Goodreads, take you to services with their own privacy policies. Some book links may be affiliate links; see our disclosures.

5. How long we keep it

We keep your information for as long as your account is active. When you delete your account, we delete your profile, the books you added, your reading goal and any clubs you organize, and remove you from clubs you've joined, right away. Copies in provider backups are removed on their normal schedule. Comments, reactions and progress you left on another member's book, and nominations or votes in clubs, may remain as part of that book or club. Contact us and we'll remove them. Email signups are kept until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete them. If you had a paid plan, we and Stripe keep payment records (such as invoices and plan history, never card numbers) for as long as tax and accounting laws require.

6. Your choices and rights

Access and export: use “Export CSV” on your shelf to download your books at any time.
Correct: edit any book, rating or note directly in the app.
Delete: tap your name at the top of the app, then “Delete my account and data.”
Leave a club: open the club and tap “Leave club.” Stop sharing a book anytime from the book's Share with section.
Questions or requests: email us at the address below. Depending on where you live (for example, Colorado or California), you may have additional rights to access, correct, delete or obtain a copy of your personal data. We'll respond within 45 days.

7. Security

Data is sent over encrypted connections (HTTPS) and protected by Google sign-in and database access rules. No system is perfectly secure, so please let us know right away if you notice anything unusual with your account.

8. Age requirement

Shelf & Spice covers adult romance and is intended for people 18 and older. We don't knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has created an account, contact us and we'll delete it.

9. Changes to this policy

If we make meaningful changes, we'll update the date at the top and let you know in the app before the change takes effect.

10. Contact us

Gravitt Digital LLC, d/b/a Shelf & Spice
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Email: [email protected]