Terms of Service

Bookplate (bookplateapp.com) · Last updated October 13, 2026

The basics

Bookplate is a personal reading tracker with optional social features. It is a Kettlewick Studio product, run by Kettlewick Studio LLC, a Massachusetts limited liability company. Plainly: this agreement is between you and Kettlewick Studio LLC, and when these terms say “Bookplate”, “we”, or “us” about who runs the service, that's who they mean. By accessing or using Bookplate in any way — as a guest, with an account, or through any of its features — you agree to these terms, the Privacy Policy, and, for the social features, the Community Guidelines. This agreement does not depend on tapping any particular button; using the service is acceptance. If you don't agree, please don't use the service.

You may use Bookplate for personal, non-commercial reading tracking.
You're responsible for your account and for keeping your sign-in secure. You can sign in with Google, Sign in with Apple, or an email and password.
You must be at least 13 to create an account.
The service is provided as-is, without warranties; we work hard to keep your data safe (and give you export tools), but you should keep backups of anything you can't afford to lose.
We may change or discontinue features. You can delete your account at any time from inside the app (Account sheet → “Delete my account…”); we may suspend accounts that violate these terms or the Community Guidelines.

Your content

Your library, notes, reviews, comments, and designs are yours. By publishing reviews or comments, or sharing your Reading Home, you give Bookplate permission to display that content to other users within the app. Deleting your account removes your published content as described in the Privacy Policy.

Copyright & book metadata

For books you add via search or barcode scan, titles, author names, subjects, ratings, and cover images shown in the app come from Open Library (an Internet Archive open-data project) and Apple's iTunes Search API, and are displayed to identify books — they remain the property of their respective rights holders. Titles and authors you type in by hand are your own entries, not supplied by those services.
Cover images are loaded from Open Library's cover service and are not stored by Bookplate.
Don't post content you don't have the right to share — including pasting substantial copyrighted text (for example, passages from books) into reviews, comments, or notes you publish.
If you are a rights holder and believe content in Bookplate infringes your copyright, email support@bookplateapp.com or write to Kettlewick Studio LLC, 82 Wendell Ave., Ste 100, Pittsfield, MA 01201, with the details and we will review and remove infringing material promptly.

AI transparency & personalization

Plainly: Bookplate currently uses no artificial intelligence.

Recommendations, auto-tagging (fiction/non-fiction, light/medium/serious), the “What should I read next?” picker, and the reading-personality summary are simple rules computed from your own library — page counts, subjects, your ratings — either on your device or from the open metadata sources above.
Nothing you write or read is sent to any AI or machine-learning service.
If AI features are ever added, they will be clearly labeled in the app, this section will be updated first, and the Privacy Policy will say exactly what data is involved.

Bookplate is free

Bookplate is free to use, and the reading tracker stays free: logging books, your data, export and backups, sync, and the social features are never behind a paywall. There is no subscription or paid tier. Bookplate is supported by optional cosmetic purchases, affiliate links, and sponsored book cards, each described below.

Cosmetics & purchases

Bookplate may offer optional cosmetic items — cup and shelf designs, decoration packs, Reading Home backdrops and similar. Real-money purchases are not yet enabled; the shop in the app today is a demonstration and takes no payment. When purchases are enabled, these terms apply to them:

Cosmetic only. Cosmetics change how your shelf, cup or Reading Home looks. They never affect your reading data, unlock features, or give you any advantage or special visibility with other readers.
No randomized items. You always see exactly what you're buying and its price before you pay. Bookplate does not sell loot boxes, mystery packs, or in-app currencies.
A licence, not property. A purchase gives you a personal, non-transferable licence to use that cosmetic within Bookplate for as long as Bookplate offers it. Cosmetics have no cash value and can't be resold or exchanged. Deleting your account ends the licence, so purchases are forfeited.
Restoring purchases. Purchases are tied to your Bookplate account and can be restored on your other devices by signing in. You need an account to buy.
Gifts. Some cosmetics may be given free to everyone (for example, the Cozy Corner pack); a free item can't be refunded or exchanged for credit.

Who you pay, and refunds. Bookplate never sees or stores your payment details.

In the iOS app, purchases are made through Apple's In-App Purchase system and are also subject to Apple's Media Services terms. Apple handles the payment, and refund requests go to Apple (reportaproblem.apple.com).
On the website, checkout is handled by a payment partner that acts as the merchant of record (the seller on the receipt) — RevenueCat with Stripe, or Paddle — and its own terms apply to the payment. That partner processes payment, collects any sales tax or VAT, and handles refund requests under its refund policy and the consumer law where you live; the receipt it emails you says how.
Apart from refunds those partners grant or the law requires, purchases are non-refundable. If something you bought doesn't work, contact us and we'll make it right.

Affiliate links

Book pages and to-read items show a “Get this book” box with links to booksellers such as Bookshop.org, Libro.fm, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, regional stores in the UK and elsewhere, and Amazon (including Kindle and Audible). Some of these are, or will become, affiliate links: if you buy through one, Bookplate may earn a small commission from the store.

It costs you nothing extra. The store sets the price; Bookplate never changes it.
The disclosure is shown right next to the links.
The order of the stores is fixed by format and region (independent booksellers first) and is never based on how much a store pays. Which books Bookplate recommends is never decided by commission either.
Bookplate adds no tracking of its own to these links: no pixels, no click logging, and no account identifier in the link. When you follow one you leave Bookplate; the store (and, where used, its affiliate network) sees the visit under its own terms and privacy policy, which is how a commission is credited.
Once Bookplate joins the Amazon Associates program: as an Amazon Associate, Bookplate earns from qualifying purchases.

As of the date above, the store links work, but each one stays a plain link that earns nothing until that store's affiliate program approves Bookplate. Other outbound links (Open Library, Goodreads search, Apple Books ratings) are always plain links.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, USA, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules. Plainly: Massachusetts law applies, but nothing here takes away consumer protections you have under the law where you live.

Changes and contact

If these terms change, the date above changes with it — check this page for the current version. Questions: Help & feedback in the app, or support@bookplateapp.com. Legal notices and mail: Kettlewick Studio LLC, 82 Wendell Ave., Ste 100, Pittsfield, MA 01201.