Privacy Policy

Ariel Lee operates Library Scout at https://libraryscout.app. This Policy describes how we collect, use, disclose, and retain information through the Service. For privacy questions, access requests, corrections, or deletion requests, email ariel@libraryscout.app.

Library Scout is an independent service for discovering New York City public library programs. We are not affiliated with NYPL, BPL, or QPL. This Policy covers our Service, not the independent websites you visit through its links.

Accounts. We collect your email address, chosen username or display name, account identifier, and account creation and update information. Supabase handles password authentication and stores password hashes; we do not retain plaintext passwords in our application database.

Preferences and saved classes. We store your selected interests, browsing persona, preferred days and times, saved classes, and related timestamps to personalize your experience. Saved classes are not displayed to other users through the Service.

Content and participation. We collect reports, notes, comments, class ratings and feedback, site feedback, and weekly activity check-ins or comments that you submit. Some records are associated with your account identifier. Site feedback may include an email address if you provide one. Shared-report comments can be submitted without an account and include the text, entered display name, and timestamp.

Email preferences. We collect your email address, selections for monthly class drops and weekly syllabi, consent status, list membership, and related timestamps. Our email provider may process campaign open and click information.

Usage and search information. We record interactions such as class views, opening cards, registration-link clicks, shares, calendar downloads, interest responses, and attendance intentions. These records may include class identifiers, event timing, a browser identifier, a broad device category based on screen width, and the referring website's hostname rather than its full URL. Some events also include your account identifier when signed in.

We store the search text you enter, after trimming surrounding whitespace, together with the number of results. Search text may contain personal information if you type it. Please avoid entering sensitive information into searches or feedback unless necessary for your request.

Browser identifier. Your browser generates a random identifier stored locally as ls_session_id. It allows us to recognize that browser across visits. It is not derived from your name or IP address and is not shared across other websites. However, it is a persistent, pseudonymous identifier, not a guarantee of anonymity, and some usage events can be linked to your account.

Technical logs. Our hosting provider receives request information such as IP address, browser or user-agent information, requested URL, and timestamp. We do not write IP addresses into our own app database, but providers may process them to deliver their services.

We do not request payment-card details, phone numbers, postal addresses, government identification, contact lists, user photos, or precise device location through the app. Information you voluntarily enter into free-text fields may nevertheless include those details. Our weather widget uses fixed New York City coordinates, not your device's location.

We use information to create and maintain accounts; authenticate users; save and organize classes; rank and filter recommendations; provide reports, comments, and curriculum features; respond to feedback and requests; manage email preferences; deliver selected newsletters and account-related emails; diagnose problems; protect the Service; and comply with legal obligations.

We also analyze program interest, searches, neighborhoods, and time slots to understand demand and improve the Service, including trends across years. Personalized class rankings use your preferences and activity; they do not determine eligibility for library programs.

We do not sell personal information, buy personal information from data brokers, or use it for third-party targeted advertising. The Service does not currently use advertising pixels, Google Analytics, third-party analytics SDKs, or session replay. Our own usage analytics and email-provider campaign measurement are described above.

The Service currently has no in-app analytics opt-out or cookie-consent banner. It does not currently respond to browser Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control signals. This disclosure does not replace any consent or choice required by applicable law.

You can manage cookies and local storage through browser settings. Blocking or deleting them can sign you out or reset preferences. Clearing the analytics identifier does not delete events already recorded on our servers, and returning to the Service may generate another identifier. Local storage can persist until cleared; cookie lifetimes vary with their function and configuration.

After you create an account, the app asks whether you want monthly and/or weekly emails and records your selection or decision to decline. Your email address is not sent to Brevo until you make that choice. If you opt in, we create a Brevo contact and place it on the list(s) you selected. If you decline, we record that locally and create no Brevo contact. Accounts created before September 7, 2026 may have been added to a Brevo pending-contact list before choosing; changing your preferences now removes you from any list you have not opted into.

To stop marketing emails, change your preferences on the Profile page, use the unsubscribe link included in every campaign, or email ariel@libraryscout.app. Turning a newsletter off on the Profile page removes your contact from that Brevo list. We will honor marketing opt-out requests within the time required by applicable law. Unsubscribing from marketing does not stop necessary account or security messages, such as a requested password reset.

We use the following providers to deliver features:

The operator may access information as needed to operate the Service, provide support, moderate content, and manage privacy requests.

Other viewers. Shared-report viewers can see report content and comments, including entered display names and timestamps. Anyone who receives the link and any required password may gain access. Content posted in other community features may be visible to others who can access those features. Do not assume submitted comments are private.

External websites. If you use the linked Google Forms survey, Google receives the information you submit and technical information associated with your visit, and we receive the survey responses made available to us. If you donate through Ko-fi or visit a library website, that service receives information according to its own practices. We do not collect donation payment-card details through Library Scout.

We may disclose information when reasonably necessary to comply with law or valid legal process, address fraud or security issues, or protect legal rights and safety. If operation of the Service is transferred, information may transfer as part of that transaction, subject to applicable law and notice of material changes. We do not authorize unrelated use of your information merely because a provider helps run the Service.

We keep account information and content as needed to provide the features you use, subject to deletion requests and the limitations below. We also retain information where necessary to meet legal obligations, resolve disputes, or address security issues. Subscription records may be retained to manage your choices, including information needed to avoid sending unwanted marketing.

Analytics retention: We have selected a ten-year retention period from collection for usage and event records, including views, searches, clicks, calendar downloads, shares, and interest or attendance-intention records, to study long-term demand for library programs. However, automatic deletion at the end of that period is not currently implemented. Records currently remain until manually deleted, so the system does not yet guarantee a ten-year maximum. Search text and account-linked events are included in these records; they are not necessarily anonymous.

In-app deletion: Deleting your account from the Profile page permanently removes your login, profile, saved classes, preferences, interests, reports, class feedback, curriculum check-ins and notes, email-subscription record, and Brevo contact. Usage and event records (views, searches, clicks, downloads, shares) are kept for the aggregate statistics described above but have your account identifier removed, so they can no longer be linked to you. This happens immediately and cannot be undone. If the email-provider step fails for a technical reason, the rest of the deletion still completes and we remove the contact manually.

To request deletion of any information you believe remains, email ariel@libraryscout.app. We will assess and handle the request under applicable law, verify identity where appropriate, and explain any applicable retention exceptions or inability to locate particular records. We may need additional information to locate browser-based analytics; we will not treat records as unidentifiable solely because they use a random identifier.

Backup copies and provider logs may remain according to provider retention schedules. Their exact retention periods have not yet been confirmed, so we cannot promise a specific backup or log deletion deadline. Copies saved independently by report viewers or external services are outside our direct control.

You can browse without creating an account, although technical logs and browser-based analytics still occur. You can edit your display name and preferences in Profile, limit what you submit, and choose whether to share reports.

Contact ariel@libraryscout.app to request access to, a copy of, correction of, or deletion of your personal information, or to raise a privacy concern. Depending on applicable law, you may also have rights to object to or restrict certain processing, withdraw consent where processing relies on consent, or complain to a regulator. We will respond within applicable legal deadlines. We may request information reasonably needed to verify you or locate the relevant data; do not send a password. The app does not currently offer a self-service data export.

We use safeguards intended to protect information, including HTTPS, provider-managed encryption at rest, hashed passwords, and database access controls. No website, storage system, or transmission method is completely secure. We will provide notice of security incidents when required by applicable law. Report suspected unauthorized access to ariel@libraryscout.app.

Library Scout is intended for adults and teenagers aged 13 and older and is not directed to children under 13. Children's program listings are provided for adults and eligible teenagers planning attendance. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided personal information, contact ariel@libraryscout.app so we can investigate and take appropriate steps, including deletion as required by law.

Library Scout is operated in the United States and focuses on New York City programs. Providers may process information in the United States, the European Union, or other locations used to deliver their services. Brevo is based in France and Open-Meteo is based in Germany; provider headquarters do not establish every storage location. Data-protection laws may differ between countries. Where applicable law requires safeguards for international transfers, those requirements apply; merely using the Service does not waive them or constitute blanket transfer consent.

We will update this Policy when our practices change and revise its effective date. We will provide prominent notice of material changes through the Service or another appropriate channel, and obtain consent when required by law before introducing a use that requires it.

Privacy contact: Ariel Lee, Library Scout — ariel@libraryscout.app.