Effective date: 2 October 2026
App: Shelf’d
Developer: NkeiStudios (nkeistudios.com)
SUMMARY
Shelf’d is a book-tracking app for people who read physical books. You can use
every feature without an account: your library is stored on your device and the
app works offline.
Shelf’d Premium is optional and needs an account. It unlocks sharing and custom
book covers. When you create an account we store your email address on our
authentication provider so we can sign you in.
We do not sell your data, we have no advertising, and we do not track what you
read.
DATA STORED ON YOUR DEVICE
Your books, shelves, tags, notes, ratings, preferences, custom book covers and
avatar are stored locally on your device in a private app database. If you
never create an account, none of this is ever transmitted.
Android device backup is switched off for Shelf’d, so this local library is not
copied to Google Drive or transferred to a new phone by the operating system.
This is a deliberate choice: your library does not move off the device unless
you choose to enable cloud sync.
ACCOUNTS AND EMAIL
Shelf’d accounts are provided by Supabase, our authentication and hosting
provider, with servers in the United Kingdom (London).
If you create a Shelf’d Premium account we store:
- your email address, as the account key
- a securely hashed password. We never see or store your actual password.
- your subscription entitlement, which records which product you bought and
when it expires.
We use your email only to sign you in, to send a password-reset link when you
ask for one, and to confirm your subscription. There is no marketing email.
BOOK LOOKUPS
When you scan a barcode or search for a book, Shelf’d sends that ISBN or search
term to Google Books and to Open Library to retrieve the title, author, cover
image and description. These requests contain no personal information and are
not linked to you or to an account. Our own servers do not store or log your
search terms.
PHOTOS
Shelf’d requests camera access for two things:
- scanning ISBN barcodes in a live preview. Frames are processed on your
device in real time and are never stored or uploaded. - choosing a photo from your library or camera to use as a custom book cover
or avatar. The photo you choose is copied into private app storage on your
device and is never uploaded.
CRASH REPORTS
Shelf’d sends anonymous crash and diagnostic reports so we can find and fix
bugs. These include your device model, operating system version, app version
and the error itself. They do not include your email address, your library, or
a device identifier. You can turn crash reporting off in Settings, which stops
all further transmission.
Crash reports are handled by Sentry (sentry.io). See their privacy policy at
https://sentry.io/privacy/
PURCHASES AND BILLING
Premium is sold through Google Play. Payments are processed and handled
entirely by Google — we never receive your card details. We receive only a
purchase token, which we use to confirm with Google Play that your purchase is
valid and to record which Premium features to unlock. You can cancel any time
from your Google Play account.
CLOUD SYNC (COMING SOON)
We plan to offer optional cloud sync for Premium subscribers, which will store
your library on our servers so it can follow you across devices. It is not
available yet. This policy will be updated before it launches, and it will not
launch until we have verified that restoring a library works.
Retention and deletion policy:
- Local data on your device is removed when you delete the book, shelf or
tag, or when you uninstall the app. - Account and cloud data, once cloud sync exists, will be deleted when you
request deletion (see below) or when your subscription lapses. - We do not keep your library after you delete your account.
DELETING YOUR ACCOUNT AND DATA
If you have a Shelf’d account you can delete it and all associated data:
- Email admin@nkeistudios.com, or use the contact form on this page. Tell us
which account you want closed and we will delete it and everything
associated with it.
A deletion request removes your account and its associated data from our
servers. We action it immediately and there is no recovery, so please make a
note of anything you want to keep first.
If you have not created an account, your data lives only on your device and is
removed by deleting it in the app or uninstalling Shelf’d.
CHILDREN
Shelf’d is not directed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect
personal information from them.
YOUR RIGHTS
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, export
or delete your personal data, or object to its processing. Contact us at the
address below and we will respond. Because your library is local to your device
by default, in most cases you can simply see, export by sharing, or delete it
in the app yourself.
CHANGES TO THIS POLICY
We may update this policy as features change. The effective date at the top
reflects the current version.
CONTACT
Questions, or a data request: admin@nkeistudios.com