Effective Date: 11 February 2025
This Privacy Policy explains how BookBeam ("we", "us", "our"), accessible at bookbeam.app, collects, uses, and protects your personal data. It applies to all users of the service, including authors (account holders) and readers (people who download books).
| Data | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Name and email address | Account creation, login, and communication |
| Password | Authentication (stored as a bcrypt hash, never in plain text) |
| Two-factor authentication secrets | Stored encrypted if you enable 2FA |
| Team name | Team workspace management |
| IP address and user agent | Session management, rate limiting, and security |
| Book files (EPUB, MOBI, PDF) | Distribution to your readers |
| Cover images | Display on download pages |
| Book metadata (title, description) | Display on download pages |
| Newsletter webhook URL | Sending reader data to your chosen newsletter service |
We do not store your credit card details. Payment information is collected and processed directly by LemonSqueezy (see Section 5).
| Data | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Email address | Magic link authentication to access downloads |
| IP address and user agent | Session management and rate limiting |
| Download activity | Tracking which files were downloaded and when |
Readers do not create accounts. Access is granted via temporary signed email links that expire after 24 hours.
We do not use cookies for advertising or tracking. We do not embed third-party analytics (no Google Analytics, no tracking pixels). We do not collect demographic data, location data, or device fingerprints beyond what is stored in the session.
We use personal data only to operate and improve the service:
We do not use your data for advertising, profiling, or automated decision-making.
BookBeam uses a single essential session cookie (bookbeam-session) to maintain your login state and protect against cross-site request forgery (CSRF). This cookie:
We do not use advertising cookies, analytics cookies, or any third-party tracking cookies.
When a reader provides their email address to download a book, that email address is shared with the author (team) who created the book project. Authors can:
Authors are the data controllers for reader email addresses they collect. BookBeam acts as a data processor. Authors are responsible for complying with applicable privacy laws when using reader data.
We share data with the following third-party services to operate BookBeam:
| Data | Retention |
|---|---|
| User accounts | Until you delete your account |
| Book files and metadata | Until deleted by you or upon team deletion |
| Reader email addresses | Retained indefinitely (not deleted when an author deletes their account) |
| Download records | Deleted when the associated signup link or book project is deleted |
| Signup events and webhook logs | Deleted when the associated signup link is deleted |
| Payment and subscription data | Retained for legal and accounting purposes, even after account deletion |
| Sessions | Expired sessions are periodically purged |
| Password reset tokens | Expire after use or after the configured timeout |
You can delete your account at any time from your profile settings. When you delete your account:
What is not deleted: Reader records (email addresses) collected through your signup links are retained, as readers may have relationships with other authors on the platform. LemonSqueezy retains its own records of your payment history independently.
We implement the following measures to protect your data:
No system is perfectly secure. We cannot guarantee the absolute security of your data.
If you are in the European Economic Area (EEA) or United Kingdom, you have the following rights:
To exercise these rights, contact us at hello@bookbeam.app. We will respond within 30 days.
For readers: If you wish to exercise your rights regarding email data held by a specific author, you should contact the author directly, as they are the data controller. If you wish to have your email address removed from BookBeam's systems entirely, contact us at the address above.
BookBeam is hosted on infrastructure that may be located outside your country of residence. Book files are stored on Amazon Web Services. Payments are processed by LemonSqueezy. By using the service, you consent to the transfer of your data to these jurisdictions. We ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place for any international transfers.
BookBeam is not directed at children under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, contact us and we will delete it.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by email or by posting a notice on the service. The "Effective Date" at the top of this page indicates when the policy was last revised.
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your data rights, contact us at hello@bookbeam.app.