AuthorPingAuthorPing Privacy Policy
Effective date: 21 October 2026
AuthorPing is an app that notifies you when a series or author you follow has a new book coming out. This policy explains what information the app handles, why, who else sees it, and what you can do about it.
Who we are. AuthorPing is run by Hardbox (ABN 89 488 283 502), Victoria, Australia. You can contact us about anything in this policy at hello@authorping.com.
The short version
- You can use AuthorPing without an account. We never ask for your name, phone number, location, contacts or photos. If you subscribe to Premium, Apple or Google take the payment, and we never see your card or bank details.
- If you create an account, the only personal detail we hold is your email address, used to send you sign-in codes and, from time to time, news about AuthorPing. You can unsubscribe from the news at any time.
- We don't sell your information, and we don't show ads.
- You can delete your account and everything in it from the app at any time.
What we store, and why
For every copy of the app, with or without an account:
- A random ID for your copy of the app. This is how the app works without an account.
- Your device type and time zone, so a "releases today" alert arrives in the morning where you are.
- A notification token from Apple or Google, so we can send you alerts.
- The series, authors and books you follow, which ones you have muted, your "To read" and "Read" shelves (with the date you marked a book read, or the date from a file you imported), and your alert settings.
- Your trial end date, for Premium features.
- If you subscribe to Premium: which plan you chose, when it started, when it renews or ends, whether it was refunded, and the store's reference number for the purchase. Never your card or bank details, which only Apple or Google see.
- A record of each notification we send you and whether it was delivered, which powers the updates list in the app and tells us when delivery breaks.
- Your answers to "Show fewer like this", to improve recommendations.
- Anything you write in the feedback box, with the app version and your app ID, so we can find the problem you're describing. The box tells you this before you send.
If you create an account: your email address, and the short-lived six-digit code we email you to sign in. Codes are deleted once used or after too many wrong guesses.
Occasional updates. If you create an account, we may also email you news about AuthorPing from time to time, such as new features. Every one of these emails has an unsubscribe link at the bottom, and unsubscribing stops them without affecting your account or your sign-in codes. We never send your address to anyone else to market to you.
To prevent abuse: your IP address, and the email address being signed in to, for about two days, to limit how often sign-in codes can be requested and guessed.
How the app is used (analytics). Store versions of the app use Microsoft Clarity to record how the app is used: which screens you visit, where you tap and scroll, your device type, and an approximate location worked out from your IP address. Text you type, numbers and email addresses are hidden in these recordings. We attach no account, email or app ID to them. We use them only to find parts of the app that are confusing.
Only on your phone: a copy of your lists and settings so the app works offline, your theme and units, and, if you turn on calendar sync (Premium), the release dates the app adds to a calendar you choose. Turning calendar sync off lets you remove them.
On our website. If you use AuthorPing on our website (authorping.com/app), you sign in with your email address and a code, as in the app. The website counts as another copy of the app in the list above, without a notification token, because alerts only go to phones. Your browser keeps a copy of your lists and a note that you are signed in, in its own storage on your computer, so the pages load quickly. Signing out clears it. The website uses no advertising or tracking cookies, and no Microsoft Clarity recordings.
What we don't collect: passwords (you sign in with an emailed code), reviews or ratings of your own, or advertising identifiers.
Who else sees it
We use a small number of services to run AuthorPing. Each gets only what it needs:
| Service | What it receives | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Fly.io (servers in Sydney, Australia), with Tigris for backups | Everything stored on our server | Hosting the app's server, and keeping backups |
| Hardcover (hardcover.app) | What you type into search, and the IDs of books, series and authors. Never your app ID, account or email | The book catalogue and release dates |
| Expo, then Apple or Google | Your notification token and the words of each alert | Delivering notifications |
| Resend | Your email address, your sign-in code, and the contents of any update we email you | Emailing sign-in codes and occasional updates |
| Microsoft Clarity | Usage recordings as described above | Understanding where the app is confusing |
| RevenueCat, with Apple or Google | Your app ID and your Premium purchases and renewals | Processing Premium subscriptions (Apple or Google take the payment itself) |
In the app, book covers and author photos are loaded straight from Hardcover's image service, which therefore sees your phone's IP address when an image is shown. On our website they are copies we resize and serve from authorping.com ourselves, so Hardcover does not see visitors to the website.
Some of these services are based in the United States and other countries, so your information may be stored or handled outside Australia. We only use established services that protect it with security and confidentiality commitments of their own.
We don't sell your information and we don't share it for advertising. We would only disclose it if the law required us to.
How long we keep it
- Your lists, settings and account are kept until you delete them, or delete your account. The same goes for our record of any Premium subscription.
- Notification history is kept for 12 months, and feedback messages for 24 months, then deleted automatically.
- Abuse-prevention records are deleted after about two days.
- Backups: the whole database is backed up nightly and continuously. After you delete your account, your information can remain in backups for up to about two weeks until they are replaced.
Your choices
- Delete your account in the app: You tab → Account → Delete account. This removes your email address and everything saved to it, on every phone you signed in on. Can't open the app? See Delete your account to ask by email.
- Delete your lists without an account: Settings → Delete your lists.
- Cancel Premium in your App Store or Google Play subscription settings (or from Premium in the app). Deleting your account does not cancel a subscription, because Apple or Google run it.
- Take your library with you: Settings → Export your library, which saves a file that Goodreads and StoryGraph can import.
- Turn off notifications, or any single kind of alert, in Settings.
- Stop our email updates with the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any of them, or by emailing us. Sign-in codes still arrive when you ask for one.
- Ask us for a copy of your information, or to correct or delete it, at hello@authorping.com. We'll reply within 30 days.
Children
AuthorPing is not directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect information from them. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we'll delete it.
Security
Everything between the app and our server is encrypted in transit, and the server's storage and backups are encrypted at rest. Sign-in codes expire after 15 minutes and stop working after five wrong guesses. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to keep your information safe.
Changes
If we change this policy in a way that matters, we'll say so in the app before the change takes effect. The date at the top shows when it last changed.
Contact
Email hello@authorping.com. If you're not happy with our response, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au.