Privacy policy

The short version

• The photos you scan are used to read the spines. Without an account we don't keep them.
• To read them, the photos go to our server and to OpenAI, an AI service, only after you allow it. OpenAI doesn't use them to train its models and deletes them within 30 days.
• Without an account, your scans, photos, collection and hunt list stay on your phone. If you create an account, we store them for you so they appear on all your devices and on the web, until you delete them or the account.
• No ads, no tracking, no selling of data, no analytics.
• You can switch AI photo reading off, and ask us to delete what we hold, at any time.

Who we are

Spinely is made by SO Digital, [Business or postal address], registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KvK) under 73037842. We are the controller of the personal data described here. Questions or requests: privacy@getspinely.com.

The photos you scan

When you scan, the app sends your photo over an encrypted connection to our server. The server finds the rows of spines and sends cropped, smaller copies to OpenAI's API, which reads the titles. "Look closer" works the same way with a crop of one spine.

For reading, we process photos in memory only: they are gone from the server when the scan is done. Before any image goes to OpenAI, all of its metadata, including location (GPS), is removed. (If you have an account, a copy of each scan photo is stored for you to see it on your other devices; see "Your account" below.)

OpenAI processes the images on our behalf. Under its API terms it does not use them to train its models, and it keeps them for up to 30 days to detect abuse, after which they are deleted.

Photos of shelves can show other things, like a room or a person. Please avoid photographing people.

Why and on what basis: to provide the scan you ask for (performance of our agreement with you, GDPR art. 6(1)(b)), and only after you allowed AI photo reading in the app (consent, art. 6(1)(a)). You can withdraw that at any time in More → Privacy; scanning then stops working until you allow it again.

Titles and the details we look up

To show covers, ratings, summaries and prices, our server looks up the titles it read (for example "Dark Souls, PS3") with Open Library, eBay, Steam and IGDB. Only titles and formats are sent, never your photos or anything about you.

Our server keeps a shared cache of titles and their details so the next person scanning the same title gets them instantly. It also has a small library of spine "fingerprints" (tiny colour patterns, not photos) that helps recognise spines. Neither is linked to you or to your device.

Your device pass and scan count

The first time you use the app, our server gives it a random device ID (a "device pass"). It contains no name, email or phone details. We use it to count your scans for the month, to apply your plan's limit and to stop abuse. We keep the current month's count for each device ID.

Your IP address is used, for a moment, to limit how many requests can come from one network, which protects the service against abuse. We don't store it. Our hosting provider may keep technical logs, including IP addresses, for a short time for security.

Why and on what basis: to provide the service and keep it available and affordable (art. 6(1)(b) and our legitimate interest in preventing abuse, art. 6(1)(f)).

Without an account: on your phone

If you don't sign in, your saved scans and their photos, your collection (including what you paid and sold for), your hunt list, what you told the app you enjoy, and your settings are stored only on your phone. We don't receive them. Deleting a scan, More → Privacy → Delete all my data, or deleting the app removes them.

Your account

An account is optional on the phone and needed for the web dashboard. You sign in with Sign in with Apple or with a code we email you; there are no passwords.

With an account we store: your email address (or the private relay address Apple gives us) and name if you give one; your saved scans with their titles and a copy of each scan photo (re-encoded at most 2048 pixels, without location or other metadata); your collection with your notes and amounts; your hunt list; what you told the app you enjoy; and your country and rating preferences. We also keep which devices are signed in ("iPhone", "Web") and when they were last used, and, for 15 minutes, a scrambled form of the sign-in code we emailed you.

We use this only to show the same things on all your devices and on the web. Scan photos are reachable only through private links made for your account.

Why and on what basis: to provide the account and sync you asked for (performance of our agreement with you, art. 6(1)(b)).

Signing out keeps everything on that device. Deleting a scan or entry removes it from your account. Deleting the account (Profile → Delete account) removes the account and everything stored with it from our server straight away.

Payments

Subscriptions and top-ups are bought through Apple. Apple handles the payment; we never see your card or bank details. We only learn whether a device has an active plan, to apply the right number of scans.

Support emails

If you email us, we use your email address and message to help you, and keep them for up to two years.

What we don't do

• No advertising, and no tracking across apps or websites.
• No analytics or marketing tools in the app.
• We don't sell or rent your data, and we don't build profiles of you.
• We don't use your photos to train AI.

Who processes data for us

OpenAI is in the United States. Transfers are covered by the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and/or the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses in its data processing agreement.

• OpenAI (United States): reads the spines on the images we send.
• Our hosting provider ([hosting provider, e.g. Fly.io / Hetzner]): runs our server and stores account data.
• Our email provider (Resend): sends sign-in codes to your email address.
• Apple: the App Store, payments and, if you use it, Sign in with Apple.
• Open Library, eBay, Steam (Valve) and IGDB (Twitch): receive titles only, to look up details.

How long we keep things

• Photos: without an account, not kept by us; with an account, the scan photo copy until you delete that scan or the account. Up to 30 days at OpenAI for abuse monitoring.
• Account data: until you delete it or the account.
• Device ID and this month's scan count: while you use the app. Ask us and we'll delete them.
• IP addresses: not stored by us; briefly in our host's security logs.
• Support emails: up to two years.
• Title cache and spine fingerprints: kept, as they aren't personal data.

Your rights

You can ask to see, correct or delete your personal data, to restrict or object to its use, and to receive it in a portable form. You can withdraw your consent to AI photo reading at any time in More → Privacy. Email privacy@getspinely.com; we reply within a month. Without an account we don't know who you are, so we may ask for your device ID (More → Privacy) to find your data. You can delete your scans, photos, collection, hunt list and taste yourself at any time in More → Privacy → Delete all my data (with an account, also from the account), or the whole account in Profile → Delete account.

You can also complain to the Dutch data protection authority, the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl), or the authority where you live.

Children

Spinely is not meant for children under 16. We don't knowingly process their data; if you think a child has used it, contact us and we'll delete what we hold.

Security

Connections to our server are encrypted (HTTPS), requests need a valid device pass, sign-in sessions and codes are stored only in scrambled (hashed) form, and we keep as little data as we can.

Changes

We'll update this policy when the app changes how it handles data, and tell you in the app about important changes. Last updated: 1 October 2026.