Privacy Policy
Overview
AO3 Reader is a mobile application designed for reading fanfiction from Archive of Our Own (AO3) and building vocabulary through reading. This app is built with privacy in mind — your data stays on your device.
Data We Collect
The app has no user accounts and does not require registration. We do not collect any personally identifying information about you — no name, no email, no account data. We do collect anonymous usage statistics by default, which you can turn off at any time in Settings. See the "Anonymous Analytics" section below for the exact list of events.
Data Stored Locally on Your Device
All data is stored exclusively on your device and is never uploaded to external servers:
- Saved vocabulary — words you choose to save, along with their translations and example sentences
- Bookmarks — links to fanfiction works you save for reading
- Reading progress — your position within stories
- Study progress — quiz results, review schedules, and learning statistics
- App settings — your language preferences and display options
- Snippets — text excerpts you choose to save
You can delete all stored data at any time by clearing the app's data in your device settings or by using the in-app export/import features.
Third-Party Services
Google Translate
When you double tap a word to see its translation, the app sends a request to the Google Translate service (translate.googleapis.com). This request includes:
- The word or sentence being translated
- The source and target language codes
No personal identifiers are attached to these requests. Translation results are cached locally on your device to reduce the number of external requests.
Archive of Our Own (AO3)
The app loads fanfiction content directly from AO3 (archiveofourown.org) in a web view, similar to how a web browser would. The app does not modify, scrape, or redistribute AO3 content. Your interactions with AO3 are subject to AO3's own Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Anonymous Analytics
Firebase Analytics
The app uses Firebase Analytics to understand which features are used and improve the product. Analytics events include things like which screens are opened, which study modes are used, language pair selection, achievement unlocks, import/export counts, and the fandom and relationship metadata of the fanfics you bookmark or save words from. The events do not include the words you save, your translations, the AO3 fic URLs, or any fanfic text.
The Firebase SDK also automatically collects two pieces of data that we do not control individually:
- An anonymous installation identifier — a per-install Device ID (
app_instance_id, plus the system-provided IDFV on iOS). It is used to count unique installations and is not tied to your name, email, account, or any cross-app advertising ID. We do not collect IDFA on iOS or GAID on Android. - An approximate location — country and region, derived from your IP address by Firebase. We never request precise GPS coordinates and never see map-level location.
Analytics is enabled by default and can be turned off any time in Settings → Anonymous Analytics. Turning it off stops events from being sent.
This data is processed by Google as part of the Firebase Analytics service. For details on how Google handles it, see Google's Privacy Policy.
What We Do NOT Do
- We do not collect personal data such as your name, email, or account information
- We do not use advertising or ad tracking
- We do not store your saved vocabulary, bookmarks, snippets, translations, or reading history on remote servers — those live only on your device
- We do not use advertising cookies or cross-app tracking technologies
- We do not collect advertising identifiers (IDFA / GAID)
Data Export and Deletion
You can export your saved data (vocabulary, bookmarks, folders) as a JSON file at any time using the in-app export feature. You can also import data from a previously exported file.
To delete all data, clear the app's storage through your device's Settings > Apps > AO3 Reader > Clear Data.
Children's Privacy
The app does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. The anonymous analytics events described above contain no personal identifiers.
Changes to This Policy
If we update this privacy policy, the changes will be reflected on this page with an updated date. As the app does not collect contact information, we encourage users to review this policy periodically.
Contact
If you have questions about this privacy policy, please contact:
contextale@gmail.com