This policy covers the Kitap Okudum mobile apps (iOS, Android) and the kitapokudum.com website. It is also the privacy notice under Turkey's Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698 (KVKK).
Last updated: 9 October 2026
Controller: Nurettin Dönmez (data controller)
Contact: info@kitapokudum.com
In short
- Kitap Okudum is free. No ads.
- No analytics. We do not track you. We do not collect an advertising ID.
- We do not sell your data. We do not use it for ads.
- We only keep what the app needs to work.
- You can delete your account inside the app.
What we collect
Your account and profile
What you type when you sign up and edit your profile: email, username, full name, birth year (you may leave it out), your password, an optional phone number and country code, language and time zone. You can upload a profile photo if you want. We use these so your account works.
Your reading
What you enter in the app: your library, shelves, reading entries, reading timer results, ratings and reviews, goals and reminders. Your streak, XP and badges are worked out from these entries. We use them only to run the app, never for tracking or ads.
Classes, groups and family
- Family link: A parent and a child connect with a short-lived, one-time 6-digit code. There is no people search, no contacts permission and no nearby-device scan.
- Class and group content: class and group chat messages, group posts and book thoughts. Only users aged 13 and up can write or see them. They are not shared with third parties and are deleted when the account is deleted.
- Poll votes and event replies are kept as app activity.
Device data for notifications
If you allow notifications and "Announcements" is on, we keep a notification registration (Firebase Cloud Messaging token), a random ID for this install and the phone type (iOS/Android) so we can send you announcements. The record is deleted when you sign out or turn "Announcements" off. Announcements are off by default under 13.
Crash reports
Only if you allow it, the app sends technical error details when it crashes: the technical details of the error, the phone model and the app version. Your name, email, books and reading entries are not sent, and no user ID is attached. We use Firebase Crashlytics for this. Under 16 this option is off by default. You can change it in Settings at any time.
What we do not collect
- No advertising ID, no analytics, no usage tracking.
- We do not ask for location, contacts or microphone access.
- Camera: The camera opens only when you tap, to read an ISBN barcode or take a profile photo. The barcode is recognised on your phone. Camera images are not saved or sent; only the ISBN number is sent to find the book.
- Photos: We open your photos only when you pick a profile photo; the photo you pick becomes your profile photo.
- Face or fingerprint lock: If you want, you open the app with your phone's lock. The check happens on the phone; no face or fingerprint data reaches us.
- Reminders and the timer notification are made on your phone and collect nothing. No book or person names appear on the lock screen.
How we protect your data
- All connections between the app and our service are encrypted (HTTPS).
- Data on your phone is kept in an encrypted database and removed from the phone when you sign out.
- Reports (PDF/Excel) leave your phone only if you pick a destination in the share menu.
Who we share data with
We do not sell your data and do not share it with anyone for ads. We use these service providers to run the app:
- The servers of the Kitap Okudum service (Hetzner Online GmbH, Germany; data centres in the European Union).
- Google Firebase: notification delivery and (if you allow it) crash reports.
- Barcode recognition runs on the phone (iOS Vision, Android ML Kit); no image is sent. On Android the ISBN recognition model is downloaded through Google Play Services; none of your data is sent in that download.
How others see you in the app:
- In leaderboards, classes and groups your name is shortened ("Ayşe Y.") and no photo is shown. A class's teachers see a student's full name.
- Profiles, following and blocking are only for ages 16 and up. You can make your profile private.
Children
Kitap Okudum is made for children from age 7, too.
- Users under 13, or whose age is unknown, cannot create classes or groups, do not see class or group chat, do not see other readers' posts and cannot share invite codes.
- Event locations are hidden from children ("Ask an adult where it is").
- Parent link: A linked parent sees the child's read and finished books, ratings and reviews, calendar, streak and XP, goals and reminders. The parent cannot see messages, notifications, the password or class/group chat. The child can read this in the app on the "What can your parent see?" page.
- A user under 13 cannot create a parent-link code; they only enter the parent's code.
- Parents can write to info@kitapokudum.com about their child's data.
Your rights (KVKK and GDPR)
You have the right to access, correct, delete and object to the use of your data.
- Correct: Edit your profile in the app.
- Delete: More → Settings → Session → Delete account (or Profile → Edit profile → Delete account). Your account is closed and you cannot sign in again. The same email address cannot be used to sign up again. Unsent entries are removed from the phone.
- Request my data: Settings → Privacy → My data (when available) prepares an email; or write to info@kitapokudum.com directly.
- If you cannot open the app to delete your account: https://www.kitapokudum.com/en/account-deletion.
- Your rights under KVKK Article 11: to learn whether your data is processed, to ask for information about it and its purpose, to know who it is shared with, to have it corrected or deleted and those recipients told, to object to automated decisions, and to claim damages.
- How to apply: write to info@kitapokudum.com from your registered email address. We answer free of charge within 30 days at the latest. If you are not satisfied, you can complain to the Turkish Personal Data Protection Board (KVKK Kurulu).
How long we keep data
- We keep your data while your account is open.
- If you delete your account, your data is removed from the live system within 30 days at the latest. Your class and group messages are removed at the same time.
- We keep backups for safety. Backups are kept for 6 months and then deleted automatically, so deleted data is gone from the backups too within 6 months at the latest. During that time backups are used only to repair outages and data loss; a deleted account is never restored from a backup.
- If the law requires us to keep a record, we keep only that record and only for as long as the law requires.
Legal grounds (KVKK Article 5)
- Setting up and performing our agreement with you: opening your account, keeping your reading entries, running class, group and family features.
- Legitimate interest: keeping the service safe, preventing abuse, taking backups.
- Legal obligation: keeping records the law requires and answering official requests.
- Explicit consent: notification permission and crash reports. You can withdraw it at any time on your phone or in the app's Settings.
Transfers abroad (KVKK Article 9)
Your data is processed by these service providers outside Turkey:
- Hetzner Online GmbH (Germany): Kitap Okudum servers and backups, in data centres in the European Union.
- Google (Firebase): delivering notifications to your phone and (if you allow it) crash reports.
These transfers rely on the safeguards in KVKK Article 9 (standard contracts). Where required, we ask for your explicit consent.
Changes
If we change this policy, we update the date. We show important changes in the app.
Contact
Questions: info@kitapokudum.com