Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 8, 2026

Who we are

The Lit Librarian is a reading recommendation tool published at thelitlibrarian.com by Black and Yellow Enterprise LLC, which is the business responsible for the information described in this policy and is the data controller for it. Project lead: Jason Hayes. You can reach us at hello@thelitlibrarian.com. This policy explains what happens to information when you use the site.

Information you give us

When you run a match, you answer questions about a reader: things like age range, interests, favorite books, preferred formats, and reading goals. When you run the optional reading check, the tool measures reading pace and comprehension answers.

All of that is held in your browser's memory for the length of your visit and used only to generate recommendations on screen. It is not transmitted to us, and it disappears when you close or reload the tab. The one exception is My Shelf: anything you deliberately save there is kept in this browser between visits until you delete it, and that has its own section below.

Searching the shelf

The search box on the home page runs in two parts. It first looks through our own curated list of titles, which happens entirely inside your browser and is never sent anywhere. It then asks Open Library for anything else that matches, which means the words you typed leave your device and go to Open Library. Search terms are not saved by us, are not tied to you, and are not used for advertising.

The optional microphone feature

The reading check can be done two ways: silently with a timer, or aloud using your device microphone. The microphone is only switched on if you choose the read-aloud option and your browser asks for permission first.

We never record, save, or upload audio. Please note one important detail: the read-aloud feature uses your browser's built-in speech recognition. In some browsers, including Google Chrome, that feature works by sending audio to the browser vendor's own servers for processing. That handling is governed by your browser vendor's privacy policy, not ours. If you would rather avoid it entirely, use the silent timed option instead. What the check does with the words, and what the result can and cannot tell you, is set out in the reading check methodology.

Cookies, analytics, and what is stored in your browser

We do not set advertising cookies, and we do not run third-party analytics or tracking pixels on this site. If that ever changes, we will update this page before the change takes effect.

A few small items live in your browser’s local storage, and only ever there. The first appears once you subscribe: a signed receipt called ll_plus_token. It holds nothing but a reference to your Stripe customer and subscription record, and an expiry date. There is no name, email address, or card data in it. When the site loads, that receipt is sent to our own endpoint at /api/plus-status, which asks Stripe one question, whether the subscription is still live, and answers yes or no. Nothing about your answers, your searches, or the books you are shown is included in that request. If you cancel, the next check switches Plus off. A second key, ll_plus_link, stores the checkout reference so you can switch Plus on for yourself on another device. A few more may appear next to them: ll_plus_seen, the date Stripe last confirmed the receipt, ll_plus_email, the address you last typed into the sign-in form on this device, and ll_plus_picks_v1, a short list of titles the Plus dashboard has already suggested so that it does not repeat itself. None of them hold payment details, and none of them are sent to us. Clearing your browsing data removes all of them.

About the ZIP code. An earlier version of this page described this incorrectly, so to be exact: a ZIP or postal code you type into a match or a reading check is held only while the page is open, but a ZIP saved against a reader in My Shelf is stored in this browser as part of ll_shelf_v1 and stays there between visits until you change or erase it. Either way it is used for one thing, building a library search link. When you follow one of those links, the ZIP and the book title travel to WorldCat inside the web address, because that is how WorldCat is told which libraries to look in. Nothing else about you goes with it, and the ZIP is never sent to us.

My Shelf: reader profiles and saved books

My Shelf lets you set up one or more readers and keep a list of books for each of them. A reader profile holds whatever you type in: a name or nickname, an age if you give one, the content ceiling you choose, and an optional ZIP code used to build library search links. Alongside it sits the list of books you have saved and whether each one is on the want-to-read, reading-now or finished pile.

All of that is written to your browser's local storage under a single key called ll_shelf_v1. It is never sent to us and there is no account behind it, so we cannot see it, cannot recover it for you, and cannot use it for anything. It stays on the device and in the browser where you created it. Clearing your browser data, or using the Erase this shelf button, deletes it permanently.

Because a shelf is tied to one browser, there is a Save a copy button that writes the whole shelf to a file you keep, and a Load a copy button that reads such a file back in. Those files are handled entirely by your own device. Nothing is uploaded at any point in that exchange.

A note for parents: we ask for a nickname and an age band rather than a full name and date of birth on purpose. Please use as little identifying detail about a child as you can. Your shelf never leaves this browser, so there is no reason for the site to know more.

Turning Plus back on after checkout

If Plus does not switch on after payment, the form under the plans asks for the email address you used at checkout, and nothing else. We no longer ask for card digits. That address is sent once to our own endpoint at /api/plus-recover, which asks Stripe whether a live subscription is attached to it. If there is, a one-time sign-in link is emailed to that address and nowhere else. The link expires soon after it is issued and works once; following it gives your browser the same signed receipt it would have been given at checkout. The address is used for that single message. It is not added to a mailing list, not written to a database of ours, and not used to contact you about anything else. Delivery is handled by Resend, our email provider, which sees the address in order to send the message.

Third parties involved when you use the site

• Vercel hosts the site. Like any web host, its servers keep standard technical logs, which can include IP address, browser type, and the pages requested.
• Google Fonts supplies the typefaces used here. Loading them means your browser contacts Google's servers, which makes your IP address visible to Google.
• Stripe processes payments for Lit Librarian Plus. Card details go directly to Stripe and never pass through this site.
• Resend delivers the sign-in email, and only when you ask for one. It receives the address you typed so it can send that single message.
• Open Library (a project of the Internet Archive) powers the shelf search beyond our own curated list. When you run a search, the words you typed are sent to Open Library's public search service so it can send matching titles and cover images back. Your IP address is visible to them in the process. We do not send them anything else about you, and we do not store your searches.
• Amazon is where book links point. Following one takes you to Amazon, where Amazon's own privacy policy and cookies apply.
• WorldCat is used for the optional local library availability lookup. Following one of those links sends the book title and, if you have given one, your ZIP code to WorldCat inside the web address, and you are then on WorldCat under its own policies.

Payments and Lit Librarian Plus

Lit Librarian Plus is a paid subscription that adds local library availability to your matches. Payments are handled entirely by Stripe on Stripe's own checkout pages. We never see, handle, or store your card number, and no payment details are typed into this site.

When you subscribe, you give Stripe the information it needs to process the payment, which usually includes your email address, billing details, and card information. Stripe processes that data as its own controller under its privacy policy. We receive from Stripe only what we need to run the subscription, such as your email address and whether the subscription is active. We do not sell or share it.

To cancel, use the link in your Stripe receipt or email us and we will cancel it for you.

Affiliate disclosure

The Lit Librarian participates in the Amazon Associates Program. Book links on this site are affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. This never changes which books are recommended to you.

Children

This site is built to help parents, caregivers, teachers, and young readers find books together. Because we do not collect or store personal information from anyone, we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. We recommend that a parent or caregiver supervise younger readers using the site, particularly the microphone feature and any links out to Amazon.

Your choices

Nothing you type into the matching questions is stored on our side, so there is nothing there for us to delete. You can clear the Plus flag and anything else held in your browser through your browser's "clear site data" setting. You can decline or revoke microphone permission at any time in your browser settings.

If you subscribe to Plus, Stripe holds your billing record. Email us and we will cancel the subscription and ask Stripe to delete what it can, subject to the records Stripe must keep by law.

Accounts

Accounts are described on the site as a preview and are not yet available. If and when accounts launch, this policy will be updated first to explain exactly what is collected, why, and how to delete it.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, the date at the top of the page will change with it. Material changes will be described on this page.

Contact

Questions about privacy? Email hello@thelitlibrarian.com.