Terms of Service

1. The Service

About a Book helps readers discover, track, and follow new releases from the authors they love, and provides verified authors with tools to engage their reader audience. Features may include book search and discovery, personal reading lists, favorite-author tracking, push notifications about new releases, AI-assisted features (such as photo-based book scanning), affiliate links to participating retailers, and, for verified authors, the Author Portal.

We may add, remove, or change features at any time. Some features may be available only on certain platforms, in certain regions, or to certain subscribers.

2. Eligibility

The Service is intended for users who are at least 18 years old. By using the Service, you represent and warrant that:

• You are at least 18 years of age;
• You have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms; and
• Your use of the Service does not violate any applicable law or regulation.

We do not direct the Service to anyone under 18 and do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a user under 18 has provided personal information to us, please contact us at hello@aboutabook.app and we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

The Service is initially offered to users in the United States. If you access the Service from outside the United States, you do so at your own risk and are responsible for compliance with local laws.

3. Your Account

3.1 Account Creation

To use most features of the Service, you must create an account. You may register using an email address and password, “Sign in with Apple,” or “Sign in with Google.” You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information at registration and to keep that information up to date.

3.2 Account Security

You are responsible for safeguarding your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. You agree to notify us promptly at hello@aboutabook.app of any unauthorized access or other suspected security breach. We are not liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with this section.

3.3 One Account per Person

You may not maintain more than one personal account, share your account with others, or transfer your account to anyone else without our written consent.

3.4 Account Deletion

You may delete your account at any time from within the application (Account → Delete Account) or by emailing hello@aboutabook.app. When you delete your account, we will deactivate it immediately and permanently remove your personal data from our active systems within thirty (30) days, subject to limited exceptions described in our Privacy Policy (for example, where retention is required by law or to resolve disputes). Certain aggregated, anonymized, or de-identified information may be retained.

4. Subscriptions and Lifetime Memberships

4.1 Tiers

About a Book offers the following membership tiers:

• Free. Access to core features at no charge.
• Bookworm. Premium features for $4.99 per month or $39.99 per year, billed in advance through your Apple ID via the Apple App Store. Prices may change with prior notice as permitted by applicable law and Apple’s policies.
• Founder. A limited-availability lifetime membership offered for a one-time fee, purchased through our website and processed by Stripe. The lifetime benefit applies for as long as About a Book continues to offer the Service.
• Founding Author. A lifetime membership available to the first 500 verified authors who join About a Book, offered for a one-time fee of $99.00 USD, purchased through our website and processed by Stripe. The Founding Author tier includes access to the Author Portal and any associated community features and is subject to verification of authorship (see Section 10).

Available tiers, pricing, and included features may change. The most current information is available within the application or on our website at the time of purchase.

4.2 Billing through the Apple App Store

Bookworm subscriptions are sold and billed by Apple Inc. through the Apple App Store. Your subscription will automatically renew at the end of each subscription period (monthly or annual) at the then-current price, unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your Apple ID account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage and cancel your subscription at any time in the App Store settings on your device. Deleting the application does not cancel your subscription.

Apple’s standard terms govern your purchase, including its EULA and refund policies. We use RevenueCat as our subscription-management provider to verify your entitlements; if you ask us about a refund, we will direct you to Apple as required.

4.3 Web Purchases through Stripe

Founder and Founding Author memberships are sold through our website and processed by Stripe, Inc. By making a purchase, you agree to Stripe’s terms and authorize Stripe to charge your selected payment method. Lifetime memberships are non-transferable. We do not store full payment-card details on our servers; payment information is collected and processed by Stripe directly.

4.4 Free Trials and Promotions

From time to time, we may offer free trials, promotional pricing, or other special offers. Unless otherwise stated, a paid subscription begins automatically at the end of any free trial period unless you cancel before the trial ends. Promotions may have additional terms, which will be disclosed at the time of the offer.

4.5 Refunds

Except where required by applicable law, all fees are non-refundable. For Bookworm subscriptions purchased through the Apple App Store, refund requests are handled solely by Apple under Apple’s refund policy. For Founder and Founding Author memberships purchased through our website, refund requests should be submitted to hello@aboutabook.app within thirty (30) days of purchase and will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Nothing in this section limits any non-waivable consumer-protection rights you may have under applicable law.

4.6 Changes to Pricing and Tiers

We may change pricing, introduce new tiers, retire existing tiers, or modify included features. We will provide reasonable advance notice of changes that materially affect your active subscription. Continued use of the Service after a price change becomes effective constitutes acceptance of the new price.

5. License to Use the Service

Subject to your compliance with these Terms, About a Book grants you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, revocable license to download and use the application on a device that you own or control, and to access and use the Service for your personal, non-commercial purposes. All rights not expressly granted are reserved.

You may not (and may not permit any third party to): (a) copy, modify, adapt, translate, or create derivative works of the Service or any portion of it; (b) reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or attempt to derive the source code of the Service, except to the extent permitted by applicable law; (c) rent, lease, sell, sublicense, distribute, or otherwise commercially exploit the Service; (d) remove, alter, or obscure any proprietary notice; (e) use the Service for any unlawful purpose or in violation of these Terms; (f) interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the Service, including by transmitting any virus, worm, or other malicious code; (g) attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service or its related systems; (h) use any automated means (including scraping, bots, or scripts) to access the Service or to collect data from the Service, except as we expressly permit; (i) circumvent any access controls or usage limits; or (j) use the Service to develop a competing product.

6. Acceptable Use

You agree not to use the Service in any way that:

• Violates any law or regulation;
• Infringes the intellectual property, privacy, publicity, or other rights of any third party;
• Is fraudulent, deceptive, harassing, threatening, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable;
• Impersonates any person or misrepresents your affiliation with any person or entity, including by claiming to be the author of works you did not write;
• Attempts to harvest, scrape, or collect data about other users; or
• Interferes with another user’s use and enjoyment of the Service.

We reserve the right (but are not obligated) to investigate suspected violations and to suspend or terminate accounts that, in our reasonable judgment, violate these Terms.

7. Your Content

The Service is not a public forum, and we do not host user-generated content posted to other readers (such as reviews, comments, or messages between users). The information you provide to us in connection with your account—such as your name, email address, reading lists, favorite authors, and any content you submit through the Author Portal—is collectively your “User Content.”

You retain ownership of your User Content. You grant About a Book a worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable, transferable license to host, store, reproduce, modify (for the limited purpose of formatting or technical adaptation), and use your User Content solely to operate, provide, improve, and promote the Service in accordance with these Terms and the Privacy Policy.

You represent and warrant that: (a) you own or have all necessary rights to your User Content; (b) your User Content is accurate; and (c) your User Content does not infringe any third-party rights or violate any law.

8. AI-Assisted Features

The Service includes features powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning (“AI Features”), which may include, for example, scanning a photo of a single book or bookshelf to extract titles and authors, generating personalized reading recommendations, and assisting verified authors in importing their bibliographies. Our AI Features rely on third-party AI service providers, currently including Google (Gemini) for user-facing image and text features and Anthropic (Claude) for back-end catalog processing.

When you use an AI Feature, the relevant input (for example, a photo you choose to upload, or text from a public author webpage you have authorized us to read) is transmitted to the applicable AI service provider for processing. We do not retain user-submitted photos after processing, and we instruct our AI service providers not to retain that input for model training. AI outputs may be inaccurate or incomplete; you are responsible for reviewing and verifying any AI-generated results before relying on them.

AI Features are provided “as is.” Use of an AI Feature is optional, and you may decline to use it without affecting access to other parts of the Service.

9. Affiliate Links and Third-Party Retailers

The Service may display links to third-party retailers (such as Amazon, Bookshop.org, Apple Books, Libro.fm, and Barnes & Noble) so that you can purchase or sample books from those retailers. Some of these links are affiliate links, which means that About a Book may earn a commission if you make a qualifying purchase after clicking the link, at no additional cost to you. This does not influence which books or authors we feature.

We are not affiliated with, and do not endorse, any third-party retailer, and we are not a party to your transactions with those retailers. Your purchases and your dealings with third-party retailers are governed by the retailer’s own terms and privacy policies, and we are not responsible for the products, services, content, or conduct of any third-party retailer.

10. Author Portal

The Author Portal at https://authors.aboutabook.app is a separate area of the Service for users who have been verified as published authors. By accessing the Author Portal, you agree to be bound by these Terms as supplemented by the following provisions.

10.1 Verification

To use the Author Portal, you must complete our verification process, which may include providing proof of authorship (such as ISBNs, an author domain, a verified email address at your author website, or a confirmation token placed on a site you control). We may decline to verify any account or revoke verification at any time, in our reasonable discretion. Misrepresenting authorship is a material breach of these Terms.

10.2 Author Content

Information you submit or authorize us to display through the Author Portal—including biographical information, a profile photo, social links, bibliography data, and content scraped from your author website with your consent (“Author Content”)—is part of your User Content under Section 7. By submitting or authorizing Author Content, you grant About a Book a worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable license to display, distribute, and promote that Author Content as part of the public-facing About a Book catalog, including in marketing materials about the Service. You may revoke this license prospectively by contacting hello@aboutabook.app, subject to a reasonable transition period.

10.3 Author Analytics

Authors who use the Author Portal may see aggregated, de-identified analytics about reader interest in their works. We do not provide authors with information that identifies individual readers, and aggregate breakdowns are subject to minimum-cohort thresholds (typically at least 50 readers) to reduce the risk of re-identification.

10.4 Verified by Author Badge

We may award a “Verified by Author” badge for display in your About a Book profile and as an embeddable HTML snippet on your own website. Use of the badge is governed by these Terms, and we may revoke the badge if your account is terminated or your verification status changes.

11. Intellectual Property

Except for your User Content, the Service and all of its content, features, and functionality—including all software, designs, text, graphics, logos, trademarks, audio, and video—are owned by About a Book LLC or its licensors and are protected by United States and international copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.

“About a Book,” the About a Book logo, and any other product or service names used on the Service are trademarks of About a Book LLC. You may not use any of our trademarks without our prior written consent.

Catalog information about books and authors (titles, authors, ISBNs, cover images, descriptions, publication dates, and similar metadata) is provided to the Service through a combination of public sources, licensed third-party data providers, and information that authors submit to us. Catalog data may be subject to third-party rights and is provided to you for personal use within the Service only.

12. Third-Party Services

The Service relies on, integrates with, or directs you to a number of third-party services, including without limitation: Apple (App Store, Sign in with Apple, In-App Purchases); Google (Sign in with Google, Firebase services, Google Books API, Gemini); Anthropic (Claude); RevenueCat; Stripe; Kit (formerly ConvertKit); Cloudflare; Open Library; ISBNdb; Wikidata; and the third-party retailers listed in Section 9. Your use of those third-party services is governed by the respective provider’s terms and privacy practices. We are not responsible for the practices or content of any third party.

13. Privacy

Our Privacy Policy at https://aboutabook.app/privacy/ describes how we collect, use, and share information about you. By using the Service, you acknowledge that you have read and understood our Privacy Policy.

14. Beta and Pre-Release Versions

From time to time we may make beta, pre-release, or test versions of the Service available to you (including via TestFlight or similar programs). Such versions are provided “as is,” may be incomplete or contain errors, and may change or be discontinued at any time. Your feedback about pre-release versions is welcome; by submitting feedback, you grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free license to use it for any purpose without restriction.

15. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE,” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ABOUT A BOOK AND ITS LICENSORS DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND ANY WARRANTIES ARISING OUT OF COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE.

WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT: (a) THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE; (b) ANY INFORMATION OR CONTENT (INCLUDING CATALOG DATA, RELEASE DATES, OR AI-GENERATED OUTPUT) WILL BE ACCURATE, COMPLETE, OR CURRENT; OR (c) DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED. YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK.

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

16. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL ABOUT A BOOK, ITS AFFILIATES, OR ITS LICENSORS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OFFICERS, OR DIRECTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUES, DATA, OR GOODWILL, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STATUTE, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, AND WHETHER OR NOT ABOUT A BOOK HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

IN NO EVENT WILL ABOUT A BOOK’S AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE EXCEED THE GREATER OF (a) THE TOTAL AMOUNT YOU PAID TO ABOUT A BOOK IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE LIABILITY OR (b) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS (US $100.00).

THESE LIMITATIONS APPLY EVEN IF A REMEDY FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

17. Indemnification

To the fullest extent permitted by law, you agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless About a Book LLC and its officers, directors, employees, agents, affiliates, and licensors from and against any and all claims, damages, liabilities, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or relating to: (a) your access to or use of the Service; (b) your User Content; (c) your violation of these Terms; (d) your violation of any law or third-party right; or (e) any misrepresentation made by you.

18. Termination

You may terminate these Terms at any time by deleting your account as described in Section 3.4. We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service at any time, with or without notice, if we reasonably believe you have violated these Terms or if continued provision of the Service to you is not commercially reasonable. Upon termination, your right to use the Service ends immediately. Sections that by their nature should survive termination will survive, including Sections 4 (with respect to fees already paid), 5–7, 11, 15–17, 19–20, and 22–25.

19. Changes to These Terms

We may modify these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will provide reasonable notice—for example, by posting the updated Terms in the Service or sending you an email—before the changes take effect. The “Last updated” date at the top of these Terms indicates when they were most recently revised. Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of any revised Terms constitutes your acceptance of the changes. If you do not agree to the changes, you must stop using the Service and may close your account.

20. Binding Arbitration; Class Action Waiver; Jury Trial Waiver

PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY. IT REQUIRES YOU TO ARBITRATE DISPUTES WITH ABOUT A BOOK ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND LIMITS YOUR ABILITY TO BRING OR PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION OR A JURY TRIAL.

20.1 Agreement to Arbitrate

You and About a Book agree that any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service (each, a “Dispute”) will be resolved by binding, individual arbitration administered by JAMS in accordance with its Streamlined Arbitration Rules, except as modified by this Section. The arbitration will be conducted by a single arbitrator. The seat of the arbitration will be Atlanta, Georgia, although you may elect to participate by telephone or video, and hearings for claims of US $10,000 or less may be conducted entirely on the papers if you and About a Book agree.

The Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. §§ 1–16, governs the interpretation and enforcement of this Section.

20.2 Informal Resolution

Before initiating arbitration, you agree to first contact us at hello@aboutabook.app with a written description of your Dispute and to attempt in good faith to resolve the Dispute informally for at least sixty (60) days.

20.3 Class Action and Jury Trial Waiver

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, YOU AND ABOUT A BOOK EACH WAIVE THE RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY AND THE RIGHT TO BRING OR PARTICIPATE IN ANY CLASS, COLLECTIVE, OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION OR PROCEEDING.

The arbitrator may not consolidate the claims of more than one person and may not preside over any form of class proceeding. If a court decides that any part of this class-action waiver is unenforceable as to a particular claim or remedy (such as a public-injunctive-relief claim), that claim or remedy (and only that claim or remedy) will be severed and brought in a court of competent jurisdiction, with all other claims remaining in arbitration.

20.4 Exceptions

Notwithstanding the foregoing, either party may bring an individual action in small-claims court for Disputes within the scope of that court’s jurisdiction, and either party may seek injunctive or other equitable relief in a court of competent jurisdiction for actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation, or violation of intellectual property rights.

20.5 Opt-Out

You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by sending written notice of your decision to opt out to hello@aboutabook.app within thirty (30) days of first accepting these Terms. Your notice must include your full name, your account email, and a clear statement that you wish to opt out of arbitration. Opting out will not affect any other provision of these Terms.

20.6 Survival

This Section 20 survives termination of these Terms or your account.

21. Governing Law and Venue

These Terms and any Dispute that is not subject to arbitration under Section 20 will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Georgia, U.S.A., without regard to its conflict-of-law principles. Subject to Section 20, you and About a Book agree to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts located in Forsyth County, Georgia for the resolution of any Dispute not subject to arbitration, and each party waives any objection to such venue.

22. Apple-Specific Terms (for App Store Users)

The following provisions apply when you download or use the application from the Apple App Store and supplement (and, in case of conflict, prevail over) the other provisions of these Terms only as they relate to the App Store version of the application:

• These Terms are entered into between you and About a Book LLC, and not with Apple. About a Book LLC, not Apple, is solely responsible for the application and its content.
• Apple has no obligation to provide any maintenance or support services for the application.
• To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Apple will have no warranty obligation whatsoever with respect to the application, and any claim, loss, liability, damage, cost, or expense attributable to any failure of the application to conform to any warranty will be the sole responsibility of About a Book LLC.
• In the event of any third-party claim that the application or your possession or use of the application infringes that third party’s intellectual property rights, About a Book LLC, not Apple, will be solely responsible for the investigation, defense, settlement, and discharge of any such claim.
• You must comply with applicable third-party terms of agreement when using the application (for example, your wireless data agreement).
• Apple and Apple’s subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these Terms, and upon your acceptance of these Terms, Apple will have the right (and will be deemed to have accepted the right) to enforce these Terms against you as a third-party beneficiary.
• You represent and warrant that (a) you are not located in a country that is subject to a U.S. Government embargo or that has been designated by the U.S. Government as a “terrorist supporting” country, and (b) you are not listed on any U.S. Government list of prohibited or restricted parties.

23. General Provisions

23.1 Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any other policies referenced in them, constitute the entire agreement between you and About a Book regarding the Service and supersede any prior agreements between you and About a Book regarding the Service.

23.2 No Waiver

Our failure to enforce any provision of these Terms is not a waiver of our right to do so later. No waiver is effective unless in writing and signed by an authorized representative of About a Book.

23.3 Severability

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.

23.4 Assignment

You may not assign or transfer these Terms or any of your rights or obligations under these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms in whole or in part at any time without notice.

23.5 Force Majeure

We will not be liable for any delay or failure to perform resulting from causes outside our reasonable control, including acts of God, war, terrorism, riots, embargoes, acts of civil or military authorities, fires, floods, accidents, network or telecommunications failures, or shortages of transportation, facilities, fuel, energy, labor, or materials.

23.6 Notices

We may provide notices to you under these Terms by email to the address associated with your account, by posting notice in the Service, or by other reasonable means. You may provide notice to us by email to hello@aboutabook.app or by mail to the address below.

23.7 Government Users

If you are accessing the Service on behalf of a U.S. government entity, the Service is a “commercial item” as defined in 48 C.F.R. § 2.101, and your use is subject to these Terms.

23.8 Headings

Section headings are for convenience only and do not affect the interpretation of these Terms.

24. Contact Us

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us at: