Privacy Policy

한국어 · 日本語 · English

Effective date: October 19, 2026 · Version: 2026-10-19

1. Information ReadBack handles directly

1-1. Information stored inside the App (locally on the device)

The following information is stored in the device’s own storage. In normal use, the Provider does not collect it on any server or keep it centrally.

• Library information (free and Pro): For each web page a user saves, or sets up for automatic collection: the URL, title, source (publication name), summary or meta description, thumbnail image address, category and notes. On the free plan, ReadBack does not keep the full text of the original article as Library data; opening a saved article shows the original site inside the App.
• Original text processed with ReadBack Pro: To provide features such as Reader, full-text search, highlights and translation, the original article text may be processed and stored on the user’s device. This data is not sent to, or held centrally on, any storage server of the Provider.
• Highlights: Sentences the user marks in Reader, and the notes attached to them.
• Reading activity: Whether each article is read or unread and when it was read, reading progress, and favorites.
• Collection and search settings: The keywords and sources (websites and RSS addresses) the user registers, and the index data used for search and sorting. Automatic collection runs in the background only if the user turns it on.
• Translation cache: Translations the user requests (titles and text) are saved on the device and reused when the article is opened again.
• App settings: Reading preferences such as typeface, theme and text size, and on/off settings for options such as automatic translation, Wi-Fi-only downloads and rediscovery notifications.
• Paid entitlement status: Whether a paid entitlement is active, the product type, the expiration date (where applicable) and the purchase confirmation information the app store provides, such as a purchase verification token, are cached in the device’s secure storage.
• Google account display information: When the user connects Google Drive backup, the email address used to show which account is connected and an authentication token are kept in the device’s secure storage. The App asks only for the minimum Google Drive scope, drive.file.

1-2. Information the Provider receives through customer support

When a user selects Found an issue with reader mode? in the App, or sends an email to customer support or about a copyright matter, a draft opens in the device’s email app. Once the user sends it, the following information reaches the Provider at [email protected].

• The sender’s email address
• The message the user writes, and any files the user attaches
• The title, source and URL of the reported article (filled into the draft automatically for quality reports), and anything else the user chooses to include

The Provider uses this information to confirm and answer the inquiry, investigate service errors, handle requests from copyright holders and publishers, and respond to disputes or reports. It keeps the information only as long as needed to handle the inquiry and deletes it without delay once that purpose is met. Where the law requires it to be kept longer, it is kept for the period the law specifies.

1-3. Anonymous usage statistics for product improvement

ReadBack never collects or sends private reading content, such as the URLs, titles, text or highlight notes of articles a user has saved, or personal identifiers such as advertising IDs or IP addresses. It collects only a small set of fully anonymous usage statistics, which cannot identify any individual, and uses them solely to improve product quality and the experience of rediscovering forgotten articles.

• Whether an article was saved
• Whether an article was read through (scrolled to 80% or more)
• A code for one of seven site types, worked out on the device from the saved article’s domain (the original URL is not included)
• How the App was opened (directly from the home-screen icon, from a rediscovery notification, or from a share action)

The statistics are tied only to a random anonymous identifier that says nothing about who the user is. The server that receives them does not store the IP address of the connection and discards it immediately. Users can turn this off at any time under Settings > Share anonymous usage statistics in the App. Turning it off immediately and permanently deletes any statistics still waiting on the device to be sent.

2. Information that may be sent to external services

The features below run only when the user uses them. In general, the data goes directly between the user’s device and the service provider concerned, and does not pass through any Provider server.

2-1. Google account authentication

• Purpose: Connecting the Google Drive backup and restore feature.
• What is shared: Of the basic profile information Google passes to the App when the user signs in, the App uses the email address to show the connection status and keeps it on the device. Authentication happens between the user’s device and Google and is not sent to the Provider.
• Scope of permission: The App requests only the Google Drive drive.file permission, which limits access to files the App itself created.

2-2. Google Drive backup

• Purpose: Backing up and restoring ReadBack data, started by the user.
• What is backed up: The App’s entire local database (the saved content, reading activity, translation cache, settings and other data described in 1-1 above), the list of registered sources, and backup summary information (creation time, item count, App and schema version) are bundled into a single backup file and uploaded to the user’s own Google Drive account.
• How it works: A backup is made only when the user starts one. Before it begins, the App asks for the backup password the user has set, encrypts the contents on the device with that password, and only then uploads them (see Section 5 below). The file goes directly between the user’s device and the user’s own Google Drive, and the Provider keeps no copy. Neither the App nor the Provider stores the password, so a backup cannot be restored if the password is lost. A user can delete an uploaded backup file from their own Google Drive at any time.

2-3. Translation

• Online translation: When a user asks for a translation in reading mode and the device is online, the article text and title are sent directly to Google Translate (translate.googleapis.com) to get a higher-quality result. The original URL and other metadata are not included in the request.
• On-device translation: If the device is offline, or online translation fails, the App translates with the Google ML Kit model on the device instead. The text is then processed on the device and not sent to any translation server; only the language model itself is downloaded from Google, the first time it is needed.
• Translations are stored only on the device. In neither case do they pass through a Provider server.

2-4. News search and loading original content

• News search: When a user searches for news by keyword, or uses automatic collection, the search term is sent to Bing News and Google News as an RSS search request.
• Resolving original links: Search results sometimes link through a relay address. To find the publisher’s actual address, the App may send a link-resolution request to Google News or check where a shortened URL redirects.
• Loading the original: To show the text and images of articles a user has saved or collected, the App connects directly to the original site.
• In all of these requests, each site or service provider may process technical information needed for the connection, such as the IP address, request time and User-Agent, under its own policies.

2-5. App-store billing

• Payment for paid products is handled by the app store the user downloaded the App from (Google Play, the Apple App Store and others).
• The Provider does not collect or store payment-method information such as credit card numbers.
• To check whether a purchase exists, the App processes the purchase information the app store passes to it, such as the product identifier, purchase status, purchase verification token and transaction time. This check happens on the device, without a separate server.

2-6. The device’s text-to-speech (TTS) engine

• When a user uses the read-aloud feature, the App passes the text on screen to the speech synthesis engine of the device’s operating system.
• The operating system’s engine does the speech synthesis, and how it handles data is governed by the policies of the operating system and the engine provider.

3. Information sent to Plainloop servers

The Provider runs no storage server for users’ content, so in ordinary use a user’s saved content, reading history, highlights, search terms and purchase information are not sent to or accumulated on any Provider server. The only way the Provider receives personal information directly from a user is the customer support email described in 1-2 above.

The App does connect to a public configuration address operated by the Provider to check for notices about new versions or updates to the legal documents. This is a read-only lookup that carries nothing that could identify the user and none of the user’s content. As with any internet request, technical information needed for the connection, such as the IP address, request time and User-Agent, may be processed under the policies of the infrastructure provider that handles the request (Cloudflare).

If the user has turned on Share anonymous usage statistics in Settings, the fully anonymous usage statistics described in 1-3 above are also sent to an address operated by the Provider on the same infrastructure (readback-app-config.plainloop.workers.dev). These statistics contain nothing that could identify the user and none of the user’s content. The receiving server does not store the IP address of the request and discards it immediately.

4. Retention, deletion and user choices

• Local data: Saved articles can be deleted one by one in the App, and all data stored on the device is removed when the App’s data is cleared or the App is uninstalled.
• Google Drive backups: A user can delete a backup file directly from their own Google Drive (the ReadBack_Backup folder).
• Disconnecting Google: Disconnecting Google in Settings deletes the account display information and authentication token stored on the device and revokes the App’s access. Backup files already created in Drive are not deleted automatically.
• If ReadBack Pro ends: If the paid entitlement is no longer valid and the user returns to the free plan, Library information such as titles, sources, original URLs, summaries, read status and favorites stays on the device and remains available with the free features. Features offered only with Pro, such as Reader and full-text search, become restricted, and the original text saved on the device for those features may be deleted or become unusable.
• Automatic collection: Can be stopped at any time by switching to Manual collection only in Settings.
• Rediscovery notifications: Can be turned off at any time in Settings. Whether to send a notification is decided only on the device.
• Anonymous usage statistics: Can be turned on or off at any time under Settings > Share anonymous usage statistics in the App.
• Personal information provided through customer support: For personal information the Provider holds from inquiry emails and similar contacts, users may request access, correction or deletion through the contact below.

5. Security measures

The Provider protects user data through the measures below, all of which are implemented in the App.

• App data is stored inside the operating system’s app sandbox and, on Android, is excluded from automatic cloud backup (allowBackup="false").
• Sensitive values such as Google authentication tokens and paid-entitlement status are kept in the secure storage the operating system provides (based on the Android Keystore on Android and the Keychain on iOS).
• External communication uses HTTPS (TLS), except where an original-article site offers only HTTP.
• Before upload, Google Drive backups are encrypted on the device with the password the user sets, using AES-256-GCM with a key derived by PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 (600,000 iterations). When a backup is restored, its integrity is checked with a SHA-256 hash. Neither the App nor the Provider stores the backup password.
• Access to Google Drive is limited to the minimum drive.file scope, which reaches only files the App created.
• Because the Provider operates no collection server or account system, very little personal information is gathered centrally in the first place.

6. Children’s personal information

ReadBack is not directed at children under 14 (or under the age the law of the user’s country of residence sets for children). The Provider does not knowingly collect personal information from such children. If it finds that a child’s personal information has been processed, it will take the steps that applicable law requires.

7. Changes to this Privacy Policy

If this policy changes, the new content and its effective date will be posted on this page, and the page shows the current effective date and version at the top. The Provider holds no user accounts or email addresses, so for changes that matter to users it gives notice not by individual email but in a way users will actually see, such as a notice screen shown when the App launches.

8. Contact

Questions about privacy, Reader-mode quality reports and copyright requests can be sent to the address below.

Plainloop Studio
Email: [email protected]