Privacy Policy

1. Our Privacy Commitment

This Privacy Policy describes how Dad Mode LLC, doing business as Shelf Checkout ("Dad Mode LLC," "we," "us," or "our"), a North Carolina limited liability company, collects, uses, and protects information when you use the Shelf Checkout mobile application (the "App") or the Shelf Checkout website (the "Site").

We believe your family's reading habits are private. We designed the App with a deliberate privacy-first architecture: collect as little as possible, process on-device whenever feasible, store data securely, and never sell it.

2. Your Family Information

Here is how we handle family information and limit the data we collect:

On-Device Family Information and Optional Encrypted Sharing

• Reader profiles: your children's names, ages, and birth dates
• Content preferences: what content flags you've set for each child
• Reading lists: which books you've scanned for which kids
• Personal notes: any notes you add to books
• Reading history: what books your family has read or is planning to read

Reader profiles, content preferences, library entries and private notes are stored on your device. If you choose Family Sharing, encrypted copies of the shared family data pass through our servers to the devices you invite. The decryption keys stay on participating devices, so our servers cannot read the shared content.

Information We Never Collect

• No App user accounts: no App email, password, or login
• No required personal identifiers in the App: no name, address, phone number, or email is required to use the App, unless you voluntarily provide an email for support or feedback
• No App advertising identifier. The App does not send an Apple or Google advertising ID to our servers or to Google Analytics
• No family data in website measurement. Reader profiles, content preferences, reading lists, and App scan history are not available to Google Analytics

3. What We DO Collect

We collect a limited amount of data to operate the App and Site, respond to requests, and improve the service over time:

Book Scan Data

Device Tokens

The App generates a random, anonymous UUID (universally unique identifier) for API authentication. This token:

• Is randomly generated by the App and is not derived from your Apple device ID, IDFA, or any Apple identifier
• Cannot be used to identify you, your device, or your Apple account
• Is used solely to authenticate API requests and manage subscription status
• Is not shared with any third party

Subscription Status

Apple processes subscription payments on iPhone and iPad. Google Play processes subscription payments on Android. We do not receive your payment-card details. We use subscription status to determine which paid features are available to you.

Community Feedback Reports

When you submit feedback about a book's content analysis, we collect:

• ISBN of the book being reported
• Type of report (inaccurate rating, missed content, etc.)
• Meter corrections (if you adjust content ratings)
• Your note explaining each content-rating correction
• Optional: Your email address (if you want a response)

Feedback is anonymous unless you provide your email. Email addresses are deleted after 30 days.

Anonymous Usage Analytics

The App sends a small set of anonymous usage events to our own servers (we do not use any third-party analytics service). Each event includes the event name (for example, that a setup step was completed or the app was launched), a timestamp, the app version, the platform (iOS or Android), a random per-launch session identifier, and a random anonymous install identifier.

We use first-party setup and purchase-flow events to understand where setup stops and whether purchase attempts complete, remain pending, are canceled or fail. These new events do not include book details, reader names, ages or content preferences. Your anonymous-usage-data setting applies to these events.

• Which features and setup (onboarding) steps are used, in aggregate
• App launches, app version, and platform, to understand adoption and compatibility
• Error rates and app crashes (to fix bugs)

What we DON'T track:

• Your identity, Apple/Google device ID, or advertising ID. The analytics install identifier is randomly generated by the App, is not derived from any device or account identifier, and cannot be used to identify you
• Which specific books you scanned
• Reader names, ages, profiles or content preferences in usage analytics, including the new setup and purchase-flow events.
• Your location

Analytics events are automatically deleted from our servers after 90 days. You can disable analytics at any time in the App settings (Settings → Privacy → "Share anonymous usage data"); when disabled, the App stops these usage analytics events. We can also disable collection server-side for all users at any time.

Website Forms

If you submit a newsletter or educator contact form on the Site, we collect the information you enter. This may include your name, email address, role, message, form source, and technical anti-abuse information. We use that information to provide the newsletter, send a welcome email, respond to your request, and protect the forms from automated abuse. Newsletter and contact submissions are handled by service providers including Resend and our n8n workflow service. Newsletter subscriptions remain on the mailing list until you unsubscribe or ask us to remove them. Educator contact messages are retained as needed to respond and keep ordinary business records.

Website Analytics

Google Analytics automatically measures page views on public Site pages. Preview pages do not include Google Analytics.

Google Analytics may collect page and referral information, event time, IP address, browser and device characteristics, cookie or similar identifiers, and standard or enhanced interaction events.

We do not send raw or hashed names, email addresses, educator role or message content, App analytics identifiers, book scans, reader profiles, family preferences, or other App and family data to Google Analytics. Website form submissions are handled separately as described above.

Google handles analytics information under its own retention controls. You can limit Site analytics through browser cookie settings, content-blocking extensions, and other browser privacy tools.

The Site has no consent manager and does not use advertising pixels.

4. Children's Privacy (COPPA Compliance)

Shelf Checkout is designed for and directed to parents and adult caregivers, not children.

Under the FTC's factors for determining whether an app is "directed to children," Shelf Checkout is not a children's app. The App's subject matter (parental content evaluation), visual design, marketing, and intended audience are all directed to adult parents making reading decisions for their families.

Here is how we address children's privacy under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ("COPPA") and applicable state laws (including the California Consumer Privacy Act, which extends certain protections to minors under 16):

• Not directed to children. Shelf Checkout is designed for and marketed to adult parents and caregivers. While a child could download the App, the App's subject matter (parental content evaluation), visual design, and intended audience are all directed to adults. This is the key factor in COPPA applicability.
• Family information is stored on-device and encrypted when shared. Reader profiles and content preferences are stored on your device. If you enable Family Sharing, encrypted copies of the shared data pass through our servers to the devices you invite. The decryption keys stay on participating devices, so our servers cannot read the shared content.
• No accounts for children. We do not offer user accounts, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 (or under 16 in California).
• Information is collected from parents, not children. Consistent with FTC guidance (FAQ A.8), information in the App is entered by and under the control of the parent or guardian.
• Parental control. You (the parent) control all data on your device. You can view, edit, or delete reader profiles, change settings, or delete the App entirely at any time.
• Immediate deletion. If we ever learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13 (or under 16 in California) without verified parental consent, we will take immediate steps to delete that information. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such data, please contact us at [email protected] and we will address it promptly.

5. How We Use Data

Book Content Analysis

When you scan a book:

1. We send the ISBN to our server to check if we have already analyzed it
2. If not, we fetch book metadata from Open Library
3. We send book metadata (ISBN, title, author, description) to Anthropic for AI analysis (see Section 6 for details)
4. We cache the analysis so the next parent who scans it gets instant results
5. We do not know who requested it: the analysis is stored by ISBN, not by user

Improving the AI

We use aggregated community feedback to identify books where the AI analysis was inaccurate, understand patterns in what parents find helpful, and refine prompts and logic to improve future analysis.

We never use your personal data for AI training. Only anonymized, aggregated feedback about content accuracy.

6. Third-Party Services

We use these external services to make Shelf Checkout work:

Anthropic (AI Analysis)

Anthropic provides the Claude AI model that analyzes book content. Here is exactly what we share with Anthropic and what we do not:

• What we send: Book ISBNs and metadata (title, author, description, genre information) needed for content analysis
• What we never send: Your name, family information, device identifiers, reader profiles, subscription status, or any data that could identify you or your children

Under Anthropic's commercial terms (Section B), we (as the customer) own the outputs generated by the AI analysis. Anthropic does not use our API inputs or outputs to train their models.

Anthropic Privacy Policy

Open Library (Metadata)

Provide book titles, authors, cover images, and descriptions. They receive ISBN numbers you scan (not linked to you). We do not control the accuracy or availability of metadata from these services. Book cover images are the property of their respective publishers.

Apple and Google Play (Payments and Distribution)

Apple distributes the iOS App through the App Store and processes iOS subscription payments. Google Play distributes the Android App and processes Android subscription payments. Each store may collect account and purchase information under its own terms. Apple handles information under Apple's Privacy Policy. If you enable iCloud backup, your reader profiles and preferences may back up to iCloud (this is between you and Apple).

Apple App Analytics

Apple may collect anonymized analytics about App usage through App Store Connect. This data collection is performed by Apple, not by us, and is governed by Apple's privacy policy. If you have opted out of sharing analytics with developers in your device settings, Apple will not share this data with us.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics measures use of public Site pages and may process technical, browser, device, IP address, page, cookie, referral, and interaction information. Google handles that information under its own retention controls and Privacy Policy. We do not send raw or hashed form identity, educator message content, or App and family data to Google Analytics.

Resend and n8n (Website Forms)

Resend processes newsletter contacts, welcome emails, and educator contact messages. Our n8n workflow service also receives newsletter submissions for form handling. These providers receive the form information you submit and retain it according to our service configuration and their provider terms. Google Analytics does not receive the identity or message fields from these forms.

Railway (Hosting)

Hosts our backend servers. Receives server logs (IP addresses, request times) as part of standard web hosting operations.

7. Data Security

We take reasonable steps to protect the limited data we collect:

• Data in Transit: HTTPS/TLS encryption for all communication between the App and our servers. API authentication via device tokens to prevent unauthorized access.
• Data at Rest: Managed PostgreSQL database with encryption at rest. Limited access controls so that only authorized systems can access the database.

No system is 100% secure. While we take security seriously, we cannot guarantee absolute security. That is one reason we minimize data collection: if we do not have it, it cannot be breached.

8. Data Breach Notification

In the event we experience a data breach that affects personal information (such as email addresses voluntarily provided through feedback), we will:

• Notify affected users within 72 hours of discovering the breach, via the App and by email (if an email address was provided)
• Describe the nature of the breach and the types of data affected
• Describe the steps we are taking to address the breach and mitigate potential harm
• Provide guidance on steps you can take to protect yourself

Reader profiles and preferences are stored on your device. Optional Family Sharing uses encrypted copies as described above.

9. Your Rights and Choices

Data on Your Device

Managed entirely by you. View, edit, or delete anytime in the App. Delete the App to remove all local data.

Data Portability

Because your family data (reader profiles, reading lists, preferences) is stored on your device, you already have your data. No export or data transfer request is needed.

Data on Our Servers

Request deletion of feedback you have submitted by emailing [email protected]. Note: We cannot delete cached book analyses because they are not linked to you and benefit all users.

Opt Out of Analytics

Disable anonymous usage analytics in the App settings. This stops collection of usage patterns (but not basic error logging needed to fix crashes).

Website Analytics

Google Analytics loads automatically on public Site pages. You can limit analytics through browser cookie settings, content-blocking extensions, and other browser privacy tools. The Site has no consent manager.

10. Data Retention

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the top. If changes are significant, we will notify you in the App. Continuing to use the App after changes means you accept the updated policy.

12. State Privacy Rights

Depending on your state of residence, you may have additional rights under applicable state privacy laws. As of this writing, at least 19 U.S. states have enacted comprehensive consumer privacy legislation, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia, among others.

California (CCPA/CPRA)

If you are a California resident, you have rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CCPA/CPRA):

• Right to know what personal information we collect and how we use it (described above)
• Right to delete personal information (contact us to request deletion)
• Right to opt out of sale or sharing of personal information. We do not sell personal information or use advertising pixels on the Site.
• Right to non-discrimination for exercising your privacy rights

Other State Privacy Laws

If you reside in a state with a comprehensive consumer privacy law, you generally have similar rights, which may include:

• Right to access the personal data we hold about you
• Right to correct inaccurate personal data
• Right to delete personal data we have collected
• Right to opt out of the sale of personal data, targeted advertising, or profiling. We do not sell personal data or use advertising pixels on the Site.
• Right to data portability in a readily usable format

Shelf Checkout stores reader profiles and preferences on your device. Optional Family Sharing relays encrypted copies as described above. We do not sell personal data. The Site uses Google Analytics as described in this policy.

To exercise any of these rights, email [email protected]. We will respond within the timeframe required by your state's applicable law (typically 45 days).

13. International Users

Shelf Checkout is distributed through the Apple App Store and Google Play. Shelf Checkout is a US-based application operated by Dad Mode LLC from the United States.

Regardless of where you access the App, all data (including book ISBNs, device tokens, optional feedback, and subscription status) is transferred to and processed in the United States. Data protection laws in the US may differ from those in your country or region.

By using the App, you consent to the transfer and processing of your data in the United States as described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to this transfer, please do not use the App.

14. Contact Us

Questions or concerns about privacy? We're here to help:

Email: [email protected]

Response time: We will do our best to respond within 5 business days.