Privacy Policy
leaf is a reading app designed to collect as little data as possible while supporting optional account, subscription, and sync features.
What leaf collects
- Account information: if you sign in with Apple, leaf receives the account identifier and any name or email information Apple shares with the app.
- Subscription status: if you subscribe to leaf Pro, Apple and leaf process subscription status so Pro features can be enabled.
- Anonymous usage analytics: leaf may collect privacy-preserving product analytics events, such as which areas of the app are used, whether imports succeed, and whether Pro education prompts are shown or tapped. These events do not include book titles, authors, filenames, search queries, notes, highlights, journal text, or reading content, and can be turned off in the app.
- No advertising trackers: leaf does not include advertising SDKs or sell personal data.
- No sale of data: we do not sell personal data.
What leaf stores on your device
To provide core reading features, leaf stores the following locally on your device:
- Imported books and files (e.g., EPUB, PDF, Markdown)
- Reading position, bookmarks, highlights, and notes
- Shelves, reading journals, and app preferences (theme, typography, reading flow)
leaf Pro sync
If you enable leaf Pro sync, leaf syncs reading data through our sync provider, Supabase, so it can be available on your Apple devices. Synced data may include:
- Library metadata, shelves, reading progress, bookmarks, highlights, notes, and reading journals
- Book covers and supported book files that are small enough to sync through leaf
- Portable file location metadata for books stored in your iCloud Book Vault
Large original book files may remain in your iCloud Book Vault instead of being uploaded to leaf sync. In that case, metadata, progress, annotations, shelves, and journals can still sync, while the original file is provided by iCloud Drive on devices where it is available.
iCloud Book Vault
If you use iCloud Book Vault, your book files are stored in iCloud Drive and handled by Apple under your Apple ID and iCloud settings. You can manage those files in the Files app.
Network access
leaf may access the internet to:
- Sign you in with Apple and verify leaf Pro subscription status
- Sync leaf Pro reading data, covers, and supported book files through Supabase
- Fetch public catalog metadata (e.g., JSON feeds) from sources such as Standard Ebooks and Project Gutenberg
- Download EPUB files when you choose to
- Send optional anonymous product analytics events if analytics are enabled
leaf does not add advertising tracking parameters to catalog or download requests.
Diagnostics
Apple may provide aggregated crash and performance information to developers through platform services. leaf does not include third-party crash reporting SDKs.
Your choices
You can delete imported books and reading data from the app, remove iCloud Book Vault files in the Files app, sign out of leaf, or manage/cancel leaf Pro through your Apple ID subscription settings.
Changes
If we update this policy, we will update the “Effective date” above.
Terms of Use
By using leaf, you agree to these terms.
Apple standard EULA
leaf uses Apple’s standard End User License Agreement (EULA), available at https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/.
Use of the app
leaf is provided “as is.” We may update or change features over time.
leaf Pro subscription
leaf Pro is an optional auto-renewable subscription managed by Apple. Subscription length, price, renewal, cancellation, and refund handling are shown by Apple during purchase and managed through your Apple ID. leaf Pro enables Pro features such as account-backed sync.
Your content
Books you import into leaf and any notes, highlights, or journal entries you create remain yours. If you use leaf Pro sync, selected reading data and supported files are synced so they can be available on your devices.
Third-party content sources
leaf may link to or download public-domain ebooks and metadata from third-party sources such as Standard Ebooks and Project Gutenberg. We do not control those websites or their content, and availability may change.
You are responsible for ensuring that any content you download or import is lawful to use in your region.
Acceptable use
Do not use leaf to violate copyright or other rights, or to misuse third-party services.
Sync and availability
We work to keep sync reliable, but network services, iCloud Drive, public catalogs, and third-party services may be unavailable or change over time. You are responsible for keeping copies of important files outside the app if you need a separate backup.
Limitation of liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, leaf is not liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential loss arising from use of the app.
Support
If you need help or want to share feedback, email hello@readleaf.co.
FAQ
- How do I import books? Share an EPUB/PDF to leaf, or import from the Files app.
- Where are my books and notes stored? leaf stores reading data on your device. If you use leaf Pro sync, reading data and supported files can also sync through leaf’s sync service. If you use iCloud Book Vault, original book files may be stored in iCloud Drive.
- Does leaf sync across devices? Yes. leaf Pro can sync library metadata, progress, annotations, journals, shelves, covers, and supported book files. Large originals can remain available through iCloud Book Vault.
- How do I manage or cancel leaf Pro? Use your Apple ID subscription settings in the App Store or iOS Settings.
- How do I report a bug? Email us with your device model, iOS version, and leaf app version.
- Where do the public-domain books come from? leaf can fetch catalogs and download links from sources like Standard Ebooks and Project Gutenberg.
Tip: If you’re contacting support about an import issue, mention the file type (EPUB/PDF) and where you imported it from.