Literary Loot (“the app”, “we”, “us”) is a personal quotes tracker for Android. This policy explains what little information the app handles, why, and the choices you have. We built Literary Loot to be quiet about your data — most of what you save never leaves your device.
1. Information We Collect
Content you create
The quotes, book titles, author names, topics, tags, genres, and notes you add are stored locally on your device in the app’s private database. We do not read this content, and it is not transmitted to us or sold to anyone.
Photos you scan or attach
If you use the photo feature, the app uses your camera or a photo you select to capture a book page. Text recognition runs entirely on your device (see Section 3); the image is not uploaded to us or to any third party. If you attach the photo to a saved quote, a copy is kept locally in the app’s private storage as part of that entry until you delete it.
Book lookups (Open Library)
When you use the Add Book search, the book title you type is sent to the Open Library API — a free catalogue run by the Internet Archive — to fetch matching details (author, first publication year, and a cover image). Only the text you type in that field is sent: no account, name, or other personal information is attached, and your saved quotes are never sent. Cover images shown in the app are loaded from Open Library’s cover servers. This lookup is optional: you can ignore the suggestions and enter every book detail by hand.
Kindle highlights you import
If you use Import from Kindle, you pick your Kindle’s My Clippings.txt file with Android’s system file picker, and the app reads only that single file you chose. It is parsed entirely on your device into highlights grouped by book — with each clipping’s page or location and the date you saved it — which you review and tick before anything is added. Nothing from the file is uploaded to us or to anyone else, and imported highlights are stored locally in exactly the same way as the quotes you type yourself.
Link previews when you share a URL
If you share a web link (URL) into Literary Loot, the app fetches that web page to find a preview image (its Open Graph image) so it can attach a picture to your new quote. Only a request to that link’s own website is made — no account, name, or other personal information is included — and it happens only at the moment you choose to share a link. If no preview image is found, the link is simply kept as text.
Analytics & diagnostics
To understand how the app is used and to fix crashes, we collect a limited amount of pseudonymous, aggregated data through Google Firebase. It is tied only to a random, app-generated instance identifier — not to your name, email, or account (the app has none), and not to any advertising identifier:
- Usage analytics — events such as app opens, screens viewed, and feature usage, in aggregate. These are not tied to your identity.
- Crash & performance data — technical details about crashes (device model, OS version, app version, stack traces) so we can resolve bugs.
- App instance identifiers — a randomly generated identifier used by Firebase to count unique installs. It is not your name, email, or phone number.
What we do not collect: we do not require an account, do not ask for your name or email, do not access your contacts, location, or microphone, and we do not show ads or use advertising trackers. The camera and photo access described below are used only for scanning text, and those images stay on your device.
2. Permissions the App Uses
Literary Loot declares only the permissions it needs to function:
- Camera (
CAMERA, optional) — used only when you choose to scan text from a book page. The camera hardware is marked optional, so the app also runs on devices without a camera. The permission is requested only when you start a scan. - Internet — used to send pseudonymous analytics and crash reports to Firebase, to look up book details from Open Library when you use the Add Book search, and — when you share a web link into the app — to fetch that link’s page for a preview image (see Section 1). The app does not transmit your saved quotes, your scanned page images, or your imported Kindle highlights over the internet.
Choosing an existing photo to scan uses the Android Photo Picker, which hands the app only the single image you select — so the app requests no storage or “photos & media” permission and never gains access to your whole gallery. Importing a backup file or a Kindle My Clippings.txt works the same way, through Android’s system file picker: the app can open only the one file you point it at, not your storage at large. Scanned and shared images are handled through a secure in-app file provider and are kept in the app’s own private storage area. You can deny or revoke the camera permission in your device’s system settings at any time; doing so simply disables camera scanning, and the rest of the app continues to work.
3. Third-Party Services
The app relies on a small number of outside services and libraries:
- Google Firebase Analytics & Crashlytics (Google LLC) — for the pseudonymous usage analytics and crash reporting described in Section 1. This limited technical data is processed by Google on our behalf.
- Google ML Kit Text Recognition (Google LLC) — performs the optical character recognition for the scan feature. This runs on your device using a bundled model; the images you scan are not sent to Google or to us in order to recognize their text.
- Open Library (Internet Archive) — when you search for a book in Add Book, the title you type is sent to Open Library to return matching metadata and cover images. Only that search text is sent; no account or personal data is included, and no API key or sign-in is involved. Earlier versions of the app used the Google Books API for this lookup; it is no longer contacted.
Each provider’s handling of data is governed by its own terms:
- Firebase Privacy & Security
- Google ML Kit Terms
- Google Privacy Policy
- Internet Archive Terms of Use & Privacy Policy (Open Library)
We do not use any advertising networks, social media SDKs, or third-party data brokers.
4. How We Use Information
- To store and display the quotes and collections you create.
- To look up book details and cover images when you search for a book in Add Book.
- To read and add the highlights from a Kindle
My Clippings.txtfile, when you choose to import one. - To keep the app stable by identifying and fixing crashes.
- To understand, in aggregate, which features are useful so we can improve the app.
- To restore your collection through Android’s Auto Backup, or from a backup file you export, if you reinstall or switch devices.
We never use your saved quotes for advertising, profiling, or training models, and we never sell your data.
5. Backup, Import & Sharing
Literary Loot supports Android’s standard Auto Backup. If you have backups enabled for your device, Android may automatically copy the app’s data to your own Google Drive backup space so it can be restored when you reinstall or switch phones. This backup is performed and stored by Google under your Google Account, not by us — we have no access to it. You can turn this off, or delete existing backups, through your device’s Google backup settings.
Manual export / import. You can also export your whole library — quotes, books, topics, tags, and page photos — to a single .zip file, and import it later. You choose where the file is saved using Android’s system file picker; the exported file is entirely under your control and is never sent to us. Importing a backup replaces the app’s current data with the file’s contents.
Importing from a Kindle. “Import from Kindle” adds the highlights from a My Clippings.txt file you pick yourself. The file is read and parsed on your device, you choose which highlights to keep, and — unlike a backup import — they are added alongside your existing collection rather than replacing it. Highlights you have already imported are recognised and skipped, so importing the same file twice does not duplicate them.
Sharing. When you share a quote out of the app, or send content from another app into Literary Loot, the content is handed over through Android’s system share sheet to the app you choose. Anything you send to another app is then handled under that app’s own privacy policy.
6. Data Retention & Deletion
Your quotes and other content remain on your device until you delete them or uninstall the app. Uninstalling removes all locally stored content. Any Android Auto Backup copy is managed through your Google Account backup settings, as described above.
Analytics and crash data are retained by Firebase according to Google’s default retention periods. Because this data is tied only to a random app-instance identifier and not to your name or account, it cannot ordinarily be traced back to you individually.
7. Your Choices
- Permissions — grant, deny, or revoke the camera permission at any time in your device settings. Selecting a photo to scan uses the Android Photo Picker, which needs no standing permission — you choose exactly one image each time.
- Analytics — uninstalling the app stops all analytics and crash reporting, and clearing the app’s data resets its random Firebase instance identifier. The app does not use your device’s advertising ID at all.
- Backup — turn Android Auto Backup on or off, and delete existing backups, in your device’s Google backup settings.
- Full erasure — uninstalling the app removes all local data; clearing the Google backup removes the rest.
8. Children’s Privacy
Literary Loot is intended for a general audience and is not directed at children under 13 (or the minimum age of digital consent in your country). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. The app does not require an account and does not collect names, emails, or contact details. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will take appropriate steps to address it.
9. Data Security
Your content is stored within the app’s private storage on your device. Any data transmitted to Firebase is sent over encrypted (HTTPS/TLS) connections. While no method of electronic storage is completely secure, we limit collection to the minimum necessary precisely to reduce risk.
10. International Users
The app is offered from Romania. If you use it elsewhere, note that the limited pseudonymous data processed by Firebase may be handled on Google’s servers in other countries under the safeguards described in Google’s privacy documentation.
11. Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy as the app evolves. Material changes will be reflected here with a revised “Last updated” date, and where appropriate, noted within the app. Continued use after an update means you accept the revised policy.
12. Contact Us
Questions about this policy or your data? We’re happy to help.