Keyboard Vagabond

Privacy Policy for BookWyrm at Keyboard Vagabond

Last updated: August 2025

What is BookWyrm at Keyboard Vagabond?

BookWyrm at Keyboard Vagabond (bookwyrm.keyboardvagabond.com) is a federated social reading platform dedicated to the nomad and travel community. We provide book tracking, reviewing, and social features that connect readers across the globe, with a special focus on travelers, digital nomads, and remote workers.

This privacy policy describes how we collect, use, and protect your personal information when you use our BookWyrm instance.

Data Controller: The Keyboard Vagabond team operates this service. For privacy questions, contact us at sysadmin@mail.keyboardvagabond.com.

Federated Nature of BookWyrm

Important: BookWyrm is part of the ActivityPub fediverse. This means that other people on other federated servers (BookWyrm, Mastodon, etc.) can find you, interact with your content, and exchange messages with you.

When you post content on BookWyrm at Keyboard Vagabond, copies of your posts may be stored on other servers in the fediverse. While we implement privacy controls, we cannot control how other servers handle federated content.

What Information We Collect

Basic Account Information:

• Username and display name
• Email address (for account verification and notifications)
• Password (stored encrypted)
• Profile information: biography, profile picture, reading preferences
• Reading privacy settings and preferences

Reading Activity:

• Books you add to shelves (Want to Read, Currently Reading, Read)
• Book reviews and ratings you post
• Reading progress updates and notes
• Book lists and recommendations you create
• Comments on books and other users' posts

Social Features:

• Users you follow and who follow you
• Reading activity you choose to share publicly
• Likes, comments, and interactions with other users' content
• Direct messages (private but not end-to-end encrypted)

Technical Information:

• IP address
• Browser type and version
• Device information and operating system
• Login sessions and access logs
• Cookies for session management and preferences

How We Use Your Information

Core BookWyrm Functionality:

• Provide book tracking, reviewing, and social reading features
• Display your reading activity according to your privacy settings
• Enable discovery of books and connection with other readers
• Send notifications about reading activity and social interactions

Community Moderation:

• Monitor compliance with community standards and Terms of Service
• Investigate reports of harassment or inappropriate content
• Prevent spam, abuse, and security threats
• Compare IP addresses to identify ban evasion

Communication:

• Send account-related emails (verification, password reset)
• Deliver reading notifications based on your preferences
• Respond to support requests and inquiries
• Announce important service updates or policy changes

How We Protect Your Information

Security Measures:

• All connections use SSL/TLS encryption
• Passwords are hashed using strong cryptographic algorithms
• Server access is restricted to authorized administrators only
• Regular security updates and monitoring
• Professional server hosting with NetCup in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Data Storage:

• Data is stored on secure servers in the EU (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
• Daily automated backups to secure S3 storage (Backblaze B2)
• High availability Kubernetes cluster with data redundancy
• GDPR-compliant data processing practices

Data Retention

Active Accounts:

• Account information and reading data retained while account is active
• You can delete books, reviews, and other content at any time
• Account deletion removes all associated data

Logs and Technical Data:

• Server logs containing IP addresses
• Session cookies: Until browser closure or logout
• Login session data: Until logout or account deletion

Communication Records:

• Support emails and messages: 12 months maximum
• Moderation records: Retained as needed for community safety

Cookies

We use cookies to provide essential functionality:

• _bookwyrm_session: Maintains your login session
• Preference cookies: Remember your reading preferences and privacy settings
• Security cookies: Protect against cross-site request forgery

These cookies are essential for BookWyrm to function. We do not use tracking cookies or share cookie data with third parties.

Data Sharing

We DO NOT:

• Sell your personal information to anyone
• Share data with advertisers or marketing companies
• Use your data for advertising or commercial profiling
• Share private reading data without your explicit consent

We DO share data:

• Federated Content: Public posts and reading activity with other ActivityPub servers
• Service Providers: With essential service providers under strict data processing agreements:
  • NetCup (server hosting in Amsterdam, Netherlands)
  • Mailgun (email delivery, EU servers)
  • Backblaze B2 (encrypted data backup)
  • Cloudflare (content delivery and security)
• Legal Requirements: When required by law or to protect user safety

International Data Transfers

Your data is primarily stored and processed in the EU (Netherlands). However, federated content may be transmitted to BookWyrm and ActivityPub servers worldwide based on your followers and interactions.

When data is transferred outside the EU, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place consistent with GDPR requirements.

Age Requirements

EU/EEA Users: You must be at least 16 years old to use BookWyrm at Keyboard Vagabond per GDPR requirements.

US Users: You must be at least 13 years old per COPPA requirements.

Other Jurisdictions: Local age requirements may apply.

If we discover that someone under the required age has created an account, we will immediately delete their account and all associated data.

Your Rights (GDPR)

If you are in the EU/EEA, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Access: Request a copy of all personal data we hold about you
• Rectification: Correct inaccurate or incomplete information
• Erasure: Request deletion of your account and all associated data
• Portability: Export your data in a machine-readable format (JSON)
• Restriction: Limit how we process your data
• Objection: Object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Withdrawal: Withdraw consent for optional data processing

To exercise these rights, contact us at sysadmin@mail.keyboardvagabond.com or use BookWyrm's built-in data export tools.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

Reading Privacy Features

BookWyrm provides granular privacy controls for your reading activity:

• Public: Visible to everyone, federated to other servers
• Unlisted: Visible to followers, not federated
• Followers Only: Only visible to approved followers
• Private: Only visible to you

You can set different privacy levels for:

• Reading updates and progress
• Book reviews and ratings
• Reading lists and shelves
• Individual posts and comments

Security Breaches

In the unlikely event of a data breach affecting personal information, we will:

• Notify affected users within 72 hours via email
• Report the breach to relevant authorities as required by law
• Provide detailed information about what data was affected
• Take immediate steps to secure the system and prevent future breaches
• Offer assistance to affected users (password reset, account recovery, etc.)

Policy Updates

We may update this privacy policy to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. When we make changes:

• Updated policy will be posted on this page
• Users will be notified via email for significant changes
• Continued use of the service constitutes acceptance of the updated policy

Contact Us

For questions about this privacy policy or your personal data:

• Email: sysadmin@mail.keyboardvagabond.com
• Response Time: We aim to respond within 48 hours
• Languages: English (additional language support available upon request)

Legal Framework

Governing Law: This privacy policy is governed by Dutch law and EU regulations (GDPR).

Jurisdiction: Courts of Amsterdam, Netherlands have jurisdiction over privacy-related disputes.

Compliance: We comply with GDPR, Dutch Personal Data Protection Act, and applicable international privacy laws.

Acknowledgments

This privacy policy is based on the BookWyrm.social Privacy Policy and incorporates best practices from the fediverse community.

This document is licensed under CC-BY 4.0 and may be adapted by other communities.