Readhouse privacy policy

Effective date: 2026-09-13

Readhouse is a free Android book and document reader provided by NebuCoreTech, operated by Louis Wong. Contact us at support@readhouse.app for support, privacy questions or deletion requests. You do not need a Readhouse account. Readhouse does not sell books, show advertisements, sell personal information or add an advertising analytics service.

This policy describes the current pre-release app and its website. Current builds include the free Bookshop and the reader-age controls described below. Earlier versions have the differences identified in this policy. The public launch is still being prepared. The closed test will recruit adults; the intended broader audience includes children and family co-reading. That broader audience review is not yet complete.

Books and reading data on your device

Readhouse copies imported documents into its private app storage. Your shelf, reading position, bookmarks, highlights, notes, unfinished comments and preferences remain on your device. Reading, searching within imported books and using the bundled English dictionary do not upload your library or notes to a Readhouse server.

You choose files through Android's file picker. If you choose a cloud document provider, that provider handles its files under its own policy. Shelf backups and exported notes are written to the location you select. Readhouse does not automatically upload those exports.

Reader setup in version 0.12.2 and later

On first use, Readhouse asks for the current reader's age range without preselecting an answer. You can choose not to say. The range is stored only in app preferences; we do not ask for a birth date or send this setting to our server.

Readers under 18 and those who have not supplied an age can use imported books, reading progress, notes, bookmarks and the bundled English dictionary. Readhouse disables the general Bookshop, online dictionary fallback, ML Kit definition translation, speech engine, external search and assistant actions for these readers. A parent or guardian can choose suitable local books and read together. The public privacy link remains available and opens this website in a browser, which creates an ordinary website request.

For readers who select 18 and over, the optional tools below are available. Change Reader setup in Settings before sharing the app with a child. Changing readers stops Readhouse speech and new translation/service requests, but does not erase books, cached information, or information already sent to a provider. A request started by a previous adult reader may already be in progress. These controls are not present in version 0.12.1 or earlier.

The free Bookshop in newer previews

Opening Bookshop or choosing Refresh requests a catalog from NebuCoreTech's service. Displaying artwork may request a cover when it is not already cached, including covers on your saved shelf. Choosing Add to shelf requests the selected EPUB edition. The service uses our existing server and Cloudflare. They receive the IP address and connection information needed to serve requests, as well as the requested catalog, cover or book path. We use this information to deliver files, diagnose failures and protect the service.

The catalog, samples and viewed covers are cached on your device for offline browsing. Downloaded books remain in app storage for offline reading. Saved-book choices remain on the device; the app does not upload a saved list. There is no Bookshop account, payment processing or purchase history. Historical books can include mature themes or dated language; parents should choose suitable books for children.

Dictionary and translation

The bundled English dictionary works locally. When online lookup is enabled and a word is missing locally, Readhouse sends that word over HTTPS to FreeDictionaryAPI.com. Its provider receives the word and connection information, including your IP address. This request does not include the whole book or your notes. Successful definitions are cached locally. Online lookup is off by default for new installations of version 0.11.32 and later; older versions used a different default, and saved preferences are preserved. You can turn it off in Dictionary settings.

Definition translation uses Google ML Kit. Translation text is processed on your device. Downloading a language model connects to Google. ML Kit also sends Google SDK usage and diagnostic information, including device/app information, installation identifiers, performance/error information and configured languages. Its supporting Firebase configuration services can process country, language, time zone and app/platform information. Versions 0.11.32 and later defer translation setup until a non-English language is prepared; a saved language choice can cause this on a later launch. Older builds can initialize the SDK at startup. Returning to English stops Readhouse translation requests but does not reverse information already sent or guarantee that all SDK background processing stops.

See ML Kit's terms and privacy information and Google's SDK data disclosures. Each external provider controls its own processing and retention.

Speech, search and assistant actions

Pronunciation and read-aloud pass text to your installed Android text-to-speech engine. An online voice may send that text to its provider. An available offline voice can process speech locally, although the engine may handle its own diagnostic information. Temporary speech audio is stored in the app cache and cleaned up by playback controls.

Choosing Google search opens a search with the selected text. Choosing an assistant shares the selected passage and any included book context or comment with ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude. If direct sharing is unavailable, Readhouse may copy the prepared text to the clipboard and open the selected app or website. It does not automatically submit a chat message. Those services apply their own policies and age requirements. Avoid these actions when you do not want to share the selected material.

Website and technical logs

The Readhouse website uses no Readhouse account, signup form, advertising cookies, analytics script, external fonts or client-side tracking script. Our server receives connection information when it serves a page. Website and Bookshop logs can include IP address, requested path/query, time, response status, referrer and user agent. We use logs for service operation, troubleshooting and security, not advertising profiles.

The server rotates logs daily when nonempty and keeps up to 14 rotated files plus the current file. Because empty logs are skipped, this is not a promise to delete every request exactly 14 days later. We have not configured a separate Readhouse application-data backup on this server. Hosting and delivery providers may process infrastructure/security records under their own policies; their retention is separate from our active server logs. The Bookshop uses Cloudflare's delivery/security service; the Readhouse website currently uses Cloudflare for DNS and receives web requests directly at our existing server.

Support and test participation

Mail to support@readhouse.app passes through Cloudflare Email Routing to our existing Gmail inbox. Replies normally come from our Gmail address. We receive the sender's address, message and any attachments they choose to include. Louis and authorized assistance tools, including AI-assisted tools, may help handle requests and prepare replies. Please send steps, app version and device details instead of private books, selected passages, personal notes, passwords or other sensitive material.

Support messages are used to respond and resolve issues. We keep ordinary support conversations for up to 90 days after the last support activity, then remove them from the active inbox unless a longer period is needed for an unresolved request, security incident or legal obligation. Email-provider trash and backup processing may retain a removed copy for a further period. We keep non-identifying bug summaries separately when useful for improving the app.

If you volunteer for the closed test, we privately request the Google-account email needed for Play enrollment, participation consent, device/Android version, country and test feedback. These records are used for enrollment and test follow-ups, not marketing. We remove contact records within 30 days after participation ends unless you agree to continue testing or an unresolved issue or legal obligation requires longer retention. Google separately processes Play enrollment and testing feedback under its policies. Do not post your account email or book files publicly.

Families

Parents and guardians should choose age-appropriate reading material. Version 0.12.2 introduces the local reader controls above; older internal/preview builds do not separate online features by age. Imported books and dictionary entries can contain mature vocabulary or themes. We are completing the content-rating and age-suitability review before submitting an all-ages public launch. A child does not need a Readhouse account, a Discord account or public contact profile to read a locally imported book.

Parents and guardians can contact support@readhouse.app about their child's information. We do not ask children to join the adult volunteer study or send private book content. If a child sends support information, we use the minimum needed to respond, ask for guardian involvement where appropriate and remove unnecessary information. If you believe a child has supplied information that should be removed, contact us.

Your choices and deletion

You can disable online dictionary lookup, use English definitions, select an available offline voice and avoid external search or assistant actions. You can remove books and edit/delete notes. Android's Clear storage or uninstall removes Readhouse's local library, preferences and caches. Original documents and exported backups remain wherever you saved them until you remove those copies.

To request removal of support or tester records, email support@readhouse.app from the address involved where possible. We may ask for limited information to locate the request and avoid deleting someone else's records. Information already sent to an external provider is subject to that provider's controls and policies. There is no Readhouse account to delete.

Security and changes

We limit operational access, use HTTPS for Readhouse web and app service requests, and keep signing credentials and private test records outside the source repository. No storage or transmission method is perfectly secure. We may update this policy when Readhouse or its services change; the effective date above identifies the current policy. Changes that affect app behavior will also be reflected in the app's privacy information and required Play declarations.

Relevant provider information: Cloudflare, Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, and FreeDictionaryAPI.com. These links explain independent providers; they do not mean that all of them receive data whenever you read.