LibraryThing
- The policy says your content is not used for AI training.
- Your data is used for personalized ads, including by third-party ad companies.
- Data is shared with partners and affiliates; you can opt out.
- The policy describes staff access for safety and legal checks.
They catalog your books and reviews, say they won’t sell your identity, take a huge license on posts, and let you delete in settings.
Agent Trust Hub uses AI and may make mistakes. Review reports and confirm their contents before relying on them.
Collected
Account info, your books and reviews, IP and device data, and optional location or mailing address.
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Terms of service
“Personally Identifiable Information (PII) we collect for LibraryThing members may include:”
Training
They run the site, send emails you can turn off, do analytics, and may share reviews if you allow it.
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Terms of service
“LibraryThing collects Personally Identifiable Information (PII) for these purposes:”
Sharing
They say they will not sell your identity; reviews can go to libraries or others if you opt in.
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Terms of service
“LibraryThing will not sell or give personally-identifiable information to any third party. This would be evil, and we are not evil.”
Kept
You can delete your account in settings; shared covers and Common Knowledge may stay.
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Terms of service
“Your account and all personal data will be permanently deleted and cannot be restored.”
Controls
A Privacy Center lets you change emails, review sharing, export data, and delete the account.
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Terms of service
“All LibraryThing members have access to their own Member Privacy Center, where they can see and then update:”
Fine print
Huge license on your posts, as-is site, you may pay their legal bills, Maine courts.
No exact line could be verified.
Expand “Read the exact line” to see the source alongside the explanation.
What you can turn off
The controls and opt-outs their own documents describe, and where they say to find them.
Turn off review sharing with libraries and others
Member Privacy Center — review-sharing preferences
Delete your account
Account Settings → Big Steps → Delete Account
Export books and download personal data first
Member Privacy Center / before Delete Account
Change email and newsletter settings
Member Privacy Center — subscription settings
If a switch is not where they say, the deletion request above still applies.
Line by line
The lines that matter most, worst first.
When you post, they get a forever license to use, change, and your content almost anywhere.
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Terms of service
“you grant—and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, represent and warrant—LibraryThing a non-exclusive, , , worldwide, omnipotent, , fully-transferable and sublicenseable right”
For example, a review you write could be reused or adapted even after you leave.
If your posts get them sued, you may have to pay their legal costs.
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Terms of service
“you agree to cover the reasonable costs we run into as a result, including reasonable legal fees.”
For example, if you post someone else’s text and they get a complaint, you could owe lawyer fees.
If they mess up, they usually will not pay more than $100 or what you paid last year.
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Terms of service
“our to you is limited to the amount you paid us in the previous twelve months, or $100 if you haven't paid us anything.”
For example, if your catalog vanished, they might owe at most a small cap.
They can cut off access without warning, at least for scraping and similar access.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“We may, at any time and for any reason, in whole or in part and with or without notice, limit, suspend, block, or terminate your access”
For example, they could block your IP or account without telling you first.
Unsigned-in visitors can get Google ad cookies.
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Terms of service
“When users are not signed in, some LibraryThing pages include Google Adsense advertisements, which set cookies.”
For example, browsing without logging in may let Google ads track that visit.
Deleting your account does not remove everything you added to shared book data.
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Terms of service
“Contributions to shared community resources, such as book covers or Common Knowledge entries, are retained.”
For example, a cover photo you uploaded can stay on the site after you delete.
They promise not to sell your name and identity data.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“LibraryThing will not sell or give personally-identifiable information to any third party. This would be evil, and we are not evil.”
For example, they say they will not sell your email list to marketers.
You can delete the account yourself in settings.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“Scroll to the bottom of the page, under the “Big Steps” section, and click Delete Account.”
For example, you can wipe your catalog from Account Settings without emailing first.
Kids under 13 (and under 16 in the EU and Australia) are not allowed.
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Terms of service
“all children under 13 are prohibited from using LibraryThing, and, unfortunately, all European Union children under 16 are prohibited from using LibraryThing.”
For example, a 12-year-old is not supposed to create an account.
Words to know
Legal words from the lines above, in plain English.
- personal data
- Any information that is about you or can be linked to you, from your name to your phone's ID. For example, your email, your IP address and the list of apps on your phone are all personal data.
- sell or share
- Under California law, selling means passing your data to others for money or other value; sharing means passing it on for targeted ads. For example, letting an ad network use your browsing history in return for ad space counts as a sale.
- third parties
- Any company or person other than you and the app, such as advertisers, partners or analytics firms. For example, an analytics company that receives a record of every screen you tap is a third party.
- perpetual
- Lasting forever, with no end date. For example, a perpetual licence means the company can keep using your video years after you leave.
- irrevocable
- Cannot be taken back or cancelled once given, even if you change your mind or delete your account. For example, an irrevocable licence to your photos means you cannot withdraw it later.
- royalty-free
- The company can use your content without ever paying you for it. For example, your photo can appear in the app's ads and you get nothing.
- limitation of liability
- A cap on what the company will ever pay you if something goes wrong, often only what you paid in the last year. For example, if a leak of your data costs you thousands, the most you may get back is a month's subscription fee.
- cookies
- Small files a website saves on your device so it can recognise you and remember what you did. For example, a cookie keeps you logged in and can also tell an ad company which sites you visited.
How we got here · grade A · score 60/100 · 15 of 15 policy answers backed by a verified quote · 2 not stated
What does the app collect beyond what it needs to work?
They collect account and book content plus IP, browser, device IDs, and optional location or mailing address.
Does it record your voice, face or body, and what happens to that?
Apps may ask for camera or location on the device; they say they do not collect that unless you upload it. No voice or face biometrics are described.
Are your chats and uploads used to train AI models, and is that off by default?
This is not an AI chatbot. They forbid others from using the site to train AI; they do not say they train models on your chats.
Can employees or contractors read your conversations, and when?
Staff handle abuse reports and spam; they do not describe routine reading of private messages for training.
Are you profiled or tracked for advertising?
They use Google Analytics cookies and Google Adsense ads (with cookies) for some unsigned-in users outside the EU.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
They say they do not sell PII, but optional review sharing can go to libraries and PowerReviews, and they sell anonymous aggregates.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
You keep copyright, but you grant a perpetual, irrevocable, transferable, sublicensable license to use and adapt posts.
How long do they keep your data after you delete it, and can you delete it in the app?
You can delete in Account Settings. Personal data is permanently removed; they do not give a 30-day clock, and shared covers stay.
Does it build a lasting memory or profile of you, and can you see, edit or turn it off?
Not stated in the documents.
Do they commit to basic security, and have they leaked data?
They list firewalls, encrypted passwords, SSL, backups, and locked facilities, and say they will notify of GDPR breaches within 72 hours.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
Under 13 is banned worldwide; EU and Australian users under 16 are also banned. No age-proofing is described.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
The policy is dated May 25, 2018 with a changelog. They promise open changes and a chance to leave, but app policy changes are effective when posted.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
Staff can ban users; they may remove empty accounts; scraping terms allow blocking without notice. Export exists before you self-delete.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
The site is as-is, liability is capped at $100 or a year of payments, and you must cover their legal costs if your use causes a dispute.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
Not stated in the documents.
The privacy policy is 3,130 words at a fairly hard level (Flesch reading ease 50.3); the terms are 8,335 words at a college level.
