PRIVACY POLICY

by Useful Apps CO LLC

Effective Date: [Launch Date], 2026 | Version 1.0

1. INTRODUCTION

Useful Press is a mobile reading application operated by Useful Apps CO LLC ("we," "us," or "our"). Useful Press brings classic literature to life through AI-narrated audiobooks from the public domain, allowing you to read, listen, download books for offline access, and engage with timeless books on your schedule.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and complying with applicable data protection laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and protect your personal information when you use Useful Press. By creating an account and using Useful Press, you consent to the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

Age Requirement: Useful Press is intended for users aged 13 and older. If you are under 13 years of age, you may not create an account or use our app.

2. INFORMATION WE COLLECT

We collect the following categories of information when you use Useful Press:

2.1 Information You Provide Directly

Email Address: Required to create and manage your account, send you book recommendations, and provide customer support
Password: Used for account authentication (stored in encrypted form only)
Name: Optional. You may provide your name to personalize your experience
Payment Information: When you purchase books or subscribe to premium features, your payment information (credit card or payment method) is processed securely by our payment processor. We do not store your full credit card number
Contact Information for Invitations: When you invite others to use Useful Press, you may provide their email addresses or phone numbers. We use this information solely to send invitations on your behalf
Feedback and Support Messages: When you contact us for help or provide feedback about the app

2.2 Reading and Listening Activity

To provide you with a personalized reading experience and remember where you left off, we collect:

Reading History: Which books you've opened, read, and completed
Listening History: Which books you've listened to using AI narration, and how far you've progressed
Reading Progress: Your current page or chapter in each book, so you can pick up where you left off across devices
Downloaded Books: Which books you've downloaded for offline reading, stored locally on your device
Bookmarks: Pages or passages you've marked for later reference
Highlights: Text you've highlighted within books (these are private to you and never shared without your explicit action)
Reading Preferences: Your chosen font size, typeface, background color, brightness, and page layout settings
Narration Preferences: Your chosen AI voice, narration speed, and audio settings
Reading Achievements: Your reading streaks, books completed, time spent reading, and progress milestones

2.3 Shared Content and Invitations

When you use Useful Press's sharing features, we collect:

Book Recommendations You Share: When you share a book recommendation or invite someone to Useful Press, we collect the recipient's contact information (email or phone) you provide
Book Clips You Share: When you clip and share excerpts from books, we collect the text you select and may collect information about who you shared it with
Invitation Activity: Whether the people you invited opened the invitation, installed the app, or created an account

Important: When you share book clips or recommendations with others, the content you share becomes visible to the recipients you choose. Book clips shared with non-users may be viewable without creating an account.

2.4 AI Recommendation Queries

When you use our AI recommendation tool to discover books, we collect:

Your Search Queries: The natural language questions you ask (e.g., "I feel like listening to a book that addresses loss and grief, what are the best 5 books?")
Recommendation Results: Which books the AI recommended to you and which recommendations you acted on (opened, downloaded, or listened to)
Feedback on Recommendations: Whether you found the AI's suggestions helpful (thumbs up/down or similar feedback)

We use these queries to improve our AI recommendation system and provide better book suggestions to all users. Queries are analyzed in aggregate and anonymized form.

2.5 Usage and Analytics Information

To improve Useful Press and understand how people use the app, we automatically collect:

App Usage Patterns: Which features you use most, how long you spend reading or listening, and how you navigate through the app
Device Information: Your device model, operating system version, unique device identifiers, IP address, mobile network information, and browser type
Crash Reports: Technical diagnostic data when the app experiences errors or crashes, to help us fix bugs
Session Information: When you open and close the app, and how long your reading sessions last

2.6 Purchase and Transaction History

Purchase Records: Which books you've purchased, subscription plans you've chosen, and transaction dates
Transaction IDs: Confirmation numbers and receipts from the App Store or Play Store

2.7 Third-Party Sign-In (Optional)

If you choose to sign in using a third-party service like Google Sign-In or Apple Sign-In, we may receive:

Your name and email address associated with that account
Profile picture (if you grant permission and choose to use it)
Other information you authorize the third-party service to share with us

Important: We do not receive or store your third-party account password.

2.8 Information from Third-Party Integrations

If we develop integrations with other reading platforms or services in the future, and you choose to connect those services to Useful Press, we may receive information from those platforms as permitted by their terms and your privacy settings. We will always request your explicit consent before connecting any third-party service.

3. HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

3.1 To Provide and Improve Useful Press

Create and manage your account
Remember your reading progress, bookmarks, and highlights across devices
Provide AI-narrated audiobooks with your preferred voice and speed settings
Enable offline reading by storing downloaded books on your device
Process purchases and manage your subscription
Provide AI-powered book recommendations based on your natural language queries and reading preferences
Track your reading achievements, streaks, and milestones to celebrate your progress
Sync your reading data across your devices (if you use Useful Press on multiple devices)
Process and deliver invitations when you share books or invite others to Useful Press
Provide customer support and respond to your questions
Improve app performance, fix bugs, and develop new features based on usage patterns
Ensure the app works properly on your device and operating system

3.2 To Communicate With You

Send important account notifications (password resets, purchase confirmations, subscription renewals)
Send you reading recommendations, new book announcements, and feature updates (you can opt out anytime)
Request your feedback to help us improve Useful Press
Respond to your support requests and questions
Send invitations to people you've invited to use Useful Press (on your behalf)

3.3 For Security and Legal Compliance

Protect against fraud, unauthorized access, and security threats
Comply with legal obligations, including tax and financial reporting requirements
Enforce our Terms of Service
Protect the rights, property, and safety of Useful Apps, our users, and the public

3.4 For Analytics and Product Development

Analyze how readers use Useful Press to identify which features are most valuable
Understand reading patterns to improve our book recommendations and AI suggestion system
Conduct research to create a better reading experience
Generate anonymized statistical insights to inform product decisions
Train and improve our AI recommendation models using aggregated, anonymized data

4. HOW WE SHARE YOUR INFORMATION

We do not sell your personal information. We do not sell your reading history, listening history, AI queries, or any other personal data to third parties.

We may share your information in the following limited circumstances:

4.1 Service Providers Who Help Us Operate Useful Press

We share information with trusted third-party companies that help us run Useful Press:

Cloud Hosting: To store your account data, reading progress, and book library (e.g., Firebase, Google Cloud, AWS)
Analytics Tools: To understand app usage and improve performance (e.g., Firebase Analytics, Google Analytics)
Payment Processors: To process purchases and subscriptions securely (e.g., Apple App Store, Google Play Store, Stripe)
Email and SMS Services: To send you account notifications, reading recommendations, and invitations you request us to send (e.g., SendGrid, Twilio, Mailchimp)
Customer Support Tools: To manage and respond to your support requests
AI and Machine Learning Services: To power our book recommendation system and AI narration features. Book text is processed for narration and recommendation purposes only; no personal data is shared

Important: These service providers are contractually required to protect your information and use it only for the specific purposes we authorize. They cannot use your data for their own purposes.

4.2 People You Choose to Share With

When you use Useful Press's sharing features:

Book Clips: When you share a book excerpt or clip, the recipient you choose will be able to view the content you selected, even if they don't have a Useful Press account
Invitations: When you invite someone to Useful Press, we send them an invitation on your behalf using the contact information you provide. They will see that the invitation came from you
Book Recommendations: When you recommend a book to someone, they will receive your recommendation and may be able to see it came from you

You control who sees your shared content. We only share what you explicitly choose to share and only with the recipients you select.

4.3 Apple and Google (Platform Providers)

When you download Useful Press from the App Store or Play Store, Apple and Google automatically collect certain information about your device and app usage according to their own privacy policies. This happens at the platform level and we have no control over it.

4.4 Third-Party Integration Partners (If You Connect Them)

If we develop integrations with other reading platforms or services in the future, and you explicitly choose to connect those services to Useful Press, we may share your reading data or other information with those platforms as necessary to provide the integration. We will always request your explicit consent before sharing data with any third-party integration partner.

4.5 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law, such as:

In response to court orders, subpoenas, or government investigations
To comply with legal obligations like tax reporting
To protect against fraud or investigate security incidents
To protect the safety of our users or the public

4.6 Business Transfers

If Useful Apps is acquired by another company, merged, or goes through bankruptcy, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you via email and a prominent notice in the app before this happens, and the new company will be required to honor this Privacy Policy.

4.7 Aggregated and Anonymized Data

We may share anonymized, aggregated data that cannot identify you personally with partners, researchers, or the public. For example, we might share statistics like "readers spent an average of 45 minutes per day in the app" or "The Great Gatsby was the most popular book in March" or "Users who ask for philosophy recommendations prefer Stoicism over Existentialism." This data cannot be traced back to you.

5. DATA RETENTION

5.1 While Your Account Is Active

We keep your personal information for as long as your account exists and you use Useful Press. This includes:

Your email address and account settings
Your reading history, listening history, and progress in each book
Your bookmarks and highlights
Your reading and narration preferences
Your reading achievements and progress tracking data
Your AI recommendation queries and the results you received
Downloaded books stored on your device (these remain until you delete them or delete your account)
Your purchase history and subscription status

We retain this data so you can pick up where you left off, even if you switch devices or take a break from reading.

5.2 When You Delete Your Account

You can delete your account at any time through the app's Settings menu. When you do, we will:

Permanently delete your email address, name, password, and all personally identifiable information
Automatically opt you out of all marketing emails
Delete your bookmarks and highlights (these are unrecoverable after deletion)
Delete your reading achievements and progress tracking data
Remove all downloaded books from your device
Delete your AI recommendation query history
Retain anonymized reading and usage data for analytics purposes. This data is stripped of all identifying information and cannot be linked back to you
Retain purchase history and transaction records for 7 years as required by law for tax, accounting, and financial compliance

Important: Account deletion is permanent and cannot be undone. Your reading progress, bookmarks, highlights, and achievements will be lost. Downloaded books will be removed from your device. Your purchases cannot be transferred to a new account.

5.3 Backup Systems

Due to technical constraints, deleted information may remain in backup systems for up to 90 days before being permanently removed. During this period, the information is not accessible or used for any purpose.

6. YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS

You have certain rights regarding your personal information. We are committed to honoring these rights in compliance with GDPR, CCPA, and other applicable privacy laws.

6.1 Access Your Data

You have the right to request a copy of all personal information we hold about you. To request your data:

Email us at privacy@usefulapps.com
We will provide your data in a common, machine-readable format (like JSON or CSV) within 30 days
This includes your account information, reading history, bookmarks, highlights, AI queries, achievements, and purchase history

6.2 Correct Your Information

You can update your email address, name, and preferences directly in the app's Settings menu. For other corrections, contact us at privacy@usefulapps.com.

6.3 Delete Your Account and Data

You can delete your account and all personal information at any time:

Go to Settings → Account → Delete Account
Confirm your decision (this action cannot be undone)
We will delete your personally identifiable information as described in Section 5.2

Note: Some information may be retained as required by law (purchase history for tax compliance) or in anonymized form for analytics. We will inform you if we cannot fully comply with a deletion request due to legal obligations.

6.4 Opt Out of Marketing Emails

You can opt out of receiving reading recommendations and marketing emails at any time:

Click the "Unsubscribe" link in any marketing email
Go to Settings → Notifications and toggle off "Receive marketing emails"
Email us at privacy@usefulapps.com

Even if you opt out of marketing emails, we will still send you important account notifications (like password resets and purchase confirmations).

6.5 Opt Out of Analytics

By using Useful Press, you consent to our collection of analytics data to improve the app. However, you can withdraw this consent at any time:

Go to Settings → Privacy and toggle off "Share Usage Data"

Opting out of analytics may limit our ability to diagnose technical issues on your specific device, but it will not affect your ability to read or listen to books.

6.6 California Residents (CCPA Rights)

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights:

Right to Know: Request what personal information we collect, use, and share
Right to Delete: Request deletion of your personal information
Right to Opt-Out: We do not sell your personal information, so there is nothing to opt out of
Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not charge you different prices or provide different service quality for exercising your privacy rights
Authorized Agent: You may designate an authorized agent to make requests on your behalf by providing written authorization to privacy@usefulapps.com

6.7 EU/UK Residents (GDPR Rights)

If you are located in the European Economic Area or United Kingdom, you have additional rights under GDPR:

Right to Access: Request a copy of your personal data
Right to Rectification: Correct inaccurate personal data
Right to Erasure: Request deletion of your personal data ("right to be forgotten")
Right to Restrict Processing: Limit how we use your data
Right to Data Portability: Receive your data in a portable format
Right to Object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests
Right to Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent for analytics or marketing at any time

To exercise these rights, contact our Data Protection Officer at privacy@usefulapps.com.

7. CHILDREN'S PRIVACY

Useful Press is not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.

During account creation, users must confirm they are at least 13 years old. If we become aware that we have collected information from a child under 13 without proper consent, we will delete that information immediately.

If you believe we have collected information from a child under 13, please contact us immediately at privacy@usefulapps.com.

8. DATA SECURITY

We take the security of your personal information seriously and implement industry-standard measures to protect it:

All data transmitted between your device and our servers is encrypted using HTTPS/TLS
Your password is stored using strong encryption (never in plain text)
Your reading data is stored on secure cloud servers with access controls
Downloaded books are stored securely on your device and are only accessible while you're signed in to your Useful Press account
We regularly monitor for security vulnerabilities and conduct security assessments
Our service providers are required to maintain strong security practices
We use two-factor authentication for internal access to systems

Important Limitation: While we use industry-standard security measures, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security. You are responsible for keeping your password confidential and for any activity that occurs under your account.

9. INTERNATIONAL DATA TRANSFERS

Your personal information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in countries other than your country of residence, including the United States, where our servers and service providers are located.

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA) or United Kingdom, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place when transferring your data outside these regions:

We use Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission
Our service providers enter into Data Processing Agreements that comply with GDPR requirements
We ensure that international transfers meet GDPR adequacy standards

By using Useful Press, you consent to the transfer of your information to the United States and other countries where our service providers operate.

10. THIRD-PARTY LINKS AND INTEGRATIONS

Useful Press may contain links to third-party websites, resources, or services (for example, links to purchase physical copies of books, or links to author biographies). This Privacy Policy does not apply to those third-party sites.

If we develop integrations with third-party reading platforms or services in the future, those integrations will be subject to this Privacy Policy and the privacy policies of the third-party platforms. We will always request your explicit consent before connecting any third-party service to your Useful Press account.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party websites or services. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit or services you connect.

11. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect:

Changes in our data practices or features
New legal requirements or regulatory guidance
Improvements to privacy protections
Changes in our business operations or third-party integrations

When we make material changes, we will:

Update the "Effective Date" and version number at the top of this Privacy Policy
Notify you via email (if you have provided your email address)
Display a prominent notice in the app when you next open it

Your continued use of Useful Press after the updated Privacy Policy takes effect means you accept the changes. If you do not agree to the updated Privacy Policy, you should stop using Useful Press and delete your account.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information.

12. CONTACT US

If you have questions, concerns, or requests about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:

Useful Apps CO LLC

Product: Useful Press

Email: privacy@usefulapps.com

Mailing Address:

[Your company address]

[City, State, ZIP Code]

For GDPR-related inquiries, you may also contact our Data Protection Officer at privacy@usefulapps.com.

We will respond to your inquiry within 30 days.

Last Updated: [Launch Date], 2026 | Version 1.0