Privacy notice

Last updated: 13 November 2026 · Invitation-only beta

Books on the Loose is a free community book-sharing platform serving Malta and Gozo. This notice explains what personal information is used, why it is needed and what choices you have.

1. Who manages your information?

The platform is independently administered under the name Books on the Loose Management. This is the public-facing management and privacy contact for the service; it is not a claim that Books on the Loose is an incorporated company. The management team is responsible for the day-to-day handling of personal information and privacy requests.

2. Information we use

• Accounts: your email address, account identifier, authentication and account-confirmation information.
• Book-sharing activity: books added, taken, returned or checked, the public shelf involved, dates and related activity records.
• Private features: books in your personal library, saved book watches, followed shelves, alert preferences and notifications.
• Submissions and reports: suggested shelf details, optional photo links, descriptions, issue reports and moderation records.
• Technical and security data: information necessary for sign-in, website operation, anti-abuse checks and troubleshooting, which may include IP addresses and device/browser information handled by our service providers.

We ask you not to submit private home addresses, sensitive personal information or details about other people in public shelf descriptions, reports or book entries.

3. Why we use it and our legal bases

• Providing the service: to create and secure accounts, maintain personal book lists and enable book-sharing features. We rely on providing the service you request (contract) where applicable.
• Running and protecting the community: to review shelf suggestions, maintain reliable listings, respond to reports, prevent misuse and investigate technical problems. We rely on legitimate interests in keeping the service safe and useful.
• Essential account emails: to send sign-in, invitation, verification and password-recovery messages as part of account administration.
• Optional weekly emails: to send activity summaries from followed shelves only when you have enabled this preference. We rely on your consent, which you may withdraw at any time in Updates → Weekly email updates.
• Legal requirements: to respond to valid legal requests or comply with applicable obligations when necessary.

We do not sell personal data or use it for advertising, profiling for advertising or marketing mailing lists.

4. What other people can see

Approved public shelf locations, descriptions and community-reported book inventories are visible to visitors. Other users can see public book information and activity associated with a shelf, but we do not display your account email address on book listings. Your private library, followed shelves, saved book watches and individual notification preferences are intended to be accessible only to you and authorised administrators supporting the service.

Please remember that information you enter into a public shelf listing may become publicly visible after moderation.

5. Providers and external services

We use service providers to operate the platform. These include Supabase (accounts, database and authentication), Netlify (website hosting), Brevo (account emails and optional weekly summaries), Cloudflare Turnstile (bot protection) and OpenStreetMap (map tiles). The website also loads technical assets from providers such as Google Fonts, jsDelivr and unpkg.

When you choose to look up an ISBN, the number may be sent to Open Library or Google Books to retrieve book details. Choosing directions may open Google Maps. These services may receive technical information, including your IP address, and apply their own privacy policies. We do not give them your personal book catalogue for advertising.

Some providers may process data outside Malta or the European Economic Area. Where required, international transfers must be covered by appropriate data-protection safeguards, including adequacy decisions or contractual protections.

6. Camera and ISBN scanning

If you use the optional camera scanner, you control whether the browser can access your camera. Camera images and printed-text recognition are processed on your device; Books on the Loose does not upload or store the camera image. The scanner may load third-party software libraries to work. Once an ISBN is recognised, you can use it for a book-information lookup. You can also enter all book details manually without using your camera.

7. Cookies and local device storage

The platform uses browser storage needed to keep you signed in and maintain your session. Authentication, anti-bot services and other third-party features may use cookies or similar technical mechanisms. We do not currently operate an advertising-tracking system. You can clear browser storage through your browser settings, although doing so may sign you out.

8. How long information is kept

Account details, personal book lists, follows and preferences are generally kept while your account remains active or until you request their removal. Public book records and shelf activity may be kept for as long as needed to maintain an accurate community catalogue; where possible, personal links can be removed or anonymised when no longer necessary. Reports and security records are kept only as long as reasonably needed for moderation, safety, troubleshooting or legal obligations. Service providers may retain technical logs according to their own retention policies.

During the beta, deletion and correction requests are handled manually by Books on the Loose Management. You can contact us at any time to ask what is held about you or to request account deletion.

9. Your privacy rights

Subject to applicable law, you may request access to your personal data, correction of inaccuracies, deletion, restriction of processing, portability where applicable, or object to processing based on legitimate interests. You can withdraw consent to optional weekly emails at any time without affecting earlier processing. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling a request.

If you are unhappy with how your request is handled, you may complain to the Office of the Information and Data Protection Commissioner (Malta).

10. Changes to this notice

We may update this notice as the beta develops. The latest version will be published on this page with a revised date. If a change materially affects how your personal data is used, we will take appropriate steps to inform affected users.