Terms & Conditions

Platform Overview

By using our book sharing platform bookcircle.app ("the Platform"), you agree to the following terms and conditions. BookCircle is developed by DigiMouse.

For any questions or concerns, contact us at support@bookcircle.app.

Terms of Use

Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using the Platform, you agree to be bound by these Terms & Conditions. If you do not agree, you must not use the Platform.

Account Registration

You may register using an email address and password, or through Google OAuth. You must provide accurate information during registration and maintain the confidentiality of your login credentials. You are responsible for all activity under your account.

Book Sharing: Lending and Giving

The Platform enables two types of book sharing:

• Lend: Offer a book for temporary borrowing. The borrower is expected to return the book to the owner.
• Give: Offer a book as a permanent transfer. The recipient becomes the new owner.

All transactions are arranged between users. The Platform facilitates connections but is not a party to any lending or giving agreement.

Locations and Public Locations

Users may add personal locations (city, country, and optional postal code) for book pickup coordination. Users may also register public locations (such as cafés, libraries, or community spaces) where books can be left for pickup on a first-come, first-served basis.

Subscriptions and Waiting Lists

Users may subscribe to books that are currently unavailable. When a subscribed book becomes available, the Platform will notify subscribers via in-app and email notifications.

Messaging

The Platform provides messaging within book request threads to coordinate book exchanges. Messages must be respectful and relevant to book sharing.

Prohibited Activities

Users must not:

• Use the Platform for illegal activities
• Upload harmful, offensive, or misleading content
• Violate intellectual property rights
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Platform
• Use the Platform for commercial sale of books

Termination

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms, without prior notice.

Limitation of Liability

The Platform is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind. We are not liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from user interactions.

The Platform connects people for book sharing but does not guarantee the return of lent books, the condition of books after lending, or the outcome of any exchange. All arrangements are solely between users. Users lend and give books at their own risk.

Changes to Terms

We may update these Terms & Conditions periodically. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated date. Continued use of the Platform constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.

Privacy Summary

We collect only the data necessary to operate the Platform: your name, email, password (encrypted), locations you add, book listings, messages, and notification preferences. If you sign in with Google, we receive your name, email, and profile image from Google.

We do not collect phone numbers, payment information, or track you with analytics cookies. For full details, see our Privacy Policy.

Copyright Policy

User Responsibilities

Users must only upload content they have the legal rights to share, including book descriptions and photos. Unauthorized sharing of copyrighted materials is strictly prohibited.

Intellectual Property Rights

The Platform's design, branding, and original content are protected by copyright. Users retain ownership of their uploaded content but grant the Platform a non-exclusive license to display and distribute it within the service.

Takedown Procedures

We respond to valid copyright infringement claims. Users can report violations at support@bookcircle.app, and we will take appropriate action, including content removal.

International Compliance

GDPR and Data Protection

We follow the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for users in the European Union, ensuring transparency, consent, and data security.

Cross-Border Responsibilities

Users are responsible for complying with local laws when accessing the Platform from outside our jurisdiction.

Governing Law

These terms are governed by the laws of Spain. Legal disputes will be handled according to Spanish law, unless otherwise required by applicable local regulation.

Third-Party Services

The Platform uses the following third-party services to operate:

• Google OAuth: Optional sign-in via Google account
• Open Library API: Fetching book metadata (title, author, cover) by ISBN
• Nominatim (OpenStreetMap): Geocoding city and country data for map features and distance calculation
• Resend: Sending email notifications (book requests, messages, availability alerts)
• Neon (PostgreSQL): Database hosting
• Vercel: Application hosting

We do not share your personal data with these services beyond what is necessary for their operation.