Ibis Reader™ Privacy Checklist

Last Updated: March 15, 2010

In February, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non-profit advocate for digital rights, a posted an important paper: Digital Books and Your Rights: A Checklist for Readers. While we've tried to use simple, clear language in both our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, we thought it would also be helpful to provide some informal answers based on the EFF's checklist. In general, Ibis Reader behaves like many other registration-required websites except that at this time we only require an email address and a password, which is less identifying information than many sites require.

Additionally, we do not try to discourage the use of transient email addresses.

Don't like the answers we've given below? Please let us know what you'd like us to improve. You may be interested in comparing Ibis Reader with the open-source Bookworm reader, which Liza Daly of Threepress also developed.

The answers below are informative. Please consult the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for the specific legal policies and terms.

1. Does it (your e-book reader/service/tool, etc.) protect your privacy?

   Does it limit the tracking of you and your reading?

   We don't require anyone to log in or register if they are browsing or searching for books. We do require readers to register and log in with an email address before reading. Additionally, Ibis Reader users have asked for features that help them remember where they stopped reading in any book on any device, so we do record your progress through a book at a fairly detailed level. If you'd like to turn this off when using the installable Ibis Reader app on your iPhone, iPod Touch, or Android phone, click the Sign Out link and all the tracking will stop. We don't currently have a similar feature for a main web interface.

   Does it protect against disclosure of your reading habits?

   Ibis Reader stores your library and reading positions in our databases on remote servers. We've discussed using special techniques to help protect your information, so let us know if you have ideas on how to implement this or would like to help us understand how important it is to you.

   Does it give you control over the information it collects about you?

   Ibis Reader does not give readers fine-grained control over data collected at this time, although the comment about transient emails applies in this context. We do delete books from our database when you delete them from your library, but your activity may still remain in our logs and backups for some time.

   Does it tell you what it's doing with the information it collects and can you enforce its commitments to you?

   The Privacy Policy lists what we might do with personal information. We will not sell your email or disclose your personal information to third parties unless we're hiring them for a service (customer service or statistical analysis, for example).

2. Does it tell you what it is doing?

   How clear are the disclosures? Will they be updated and, if so, how?

   We hope that they're clear, as we spent a lot of time trying to improve the language and reduce the length. We will attempt to summarize changes to our policies when they have changed, which is bound to happen at some point.

   Does it let you or others investigate to confirm that the product, device or service is actually functioning as promised?

   Ibis Reader is delivered as a web application. You can test that the web site is running, but it does not come with any warranty.

3. What happens to additions you make to books you buy, like annotations, highlights, commentary?

   Can you keep your additions?

   We don't yet support user-added annotations.

   Can you control who has access to your additions?

   We'll figure that out when we have support for additions.

4. Do you own the book or just rent or license it?

   Can you lend or resell?

   Ibis Reader isn't a store, so this doesn't apply.

   Is it locked down or do you have the freedom to move it to other readers, services or uses?

   Ibis Reader is based on all of the same features which make the web portable. In addition, we provide links to download your ebooks at any time and export them to other ereading software.

   Can the vendor take it away or edit it after you've purchased it?

   Not applicable at this time.

5. Is it censorship-resistant?

   How easy is it to remove or edit books once access or possession has been given to readers?

   It would be possible for law enforcement or a government agency to compel us to remove books from a user's library. It would be much more difficult, although potentially still possible, to remove a title from an iPhone, iPod Touch, or Android phone using the installable app version of Ibis Reader.

   Is there a single entity that stores all the books, as in Google Books or the Kindle, such that political or legal pressure on that place might result in a loss of the work for all readers?

   Absolutely. The same sophisticated techniques that could help protect privacy might be used to resist censorship, but (again) let us know if you have ideas on how to implement this or would like to help us understand how important it is to you.

   Are the books stored in a location where censorship is historically a problem, such as China or Saudi Arabia, or in a place that is relatively free of censorship?

   At this time our servers are based in the United States.

   Are the copyright or other laws applicable to the books balanced, giving readers the protection of doctrines like fair use or copyright exceptions and limitations?

   Copyright is a complex subject, so you'll need to develop your own answer to this question.

6. Is it burdened with digital rights management ("DRM")?

   Is there DRM? If so, how does the DRM limit your use of the book? Can you still lend, give or resell the book? What features are enabled and/or disabled?

   Ibis Reader is totally DRM-free. It cannot read any ePub files that are protected by DRM.

   Are you locked into a single technology or a group of technologies, or can you choose any device you wish to read and otherwise use your book?

   You can read on any device you want, assuming it has a web browser.

   Has the DRM been studied by independent researchers to confirm that it causes no security or other problems?

   We're totally DRM-free, as above.

   Does it report on your activities or otherwise violate your privacy?

   We do not report on your activities, but we're as bound by law enforcement or other government agencies as any other company in the United States.

7. Does it promote access to knowledge?

   Can authors and publishers easily dedicate their books to the public domain, or use Creative Commons or other flexible licensing schemes?

   Absolutely.

   Can you trust your "digital librarian" to enable access to as many works as possible?

   We have no idea. You can upload your own ePub files, so it's an open question how many works will be available.

   Is it available to people without money, as public libraries are?

   Yes.

   Is it cost-effective for people of limited means?

   Yes.

   Is it available to people with disabilities?

   Making accessible websites is way more complicated than a simple yes or no. Accessibility is important to us, so if you have particular concerns or have found issues, please let us know.

8. Does it foster or inhibit competition and innovation?

   Can books from this source be read on a variety of readers or formats or are you locked into a single format or reader? Conversely, can you read or access books from a variety of sources?

   You can read on a variety of web-enabled devices. Ibis Reader only supports DRM-free ePub, but we encourage readers to convert to ePub from other DRM-free formats using Calibre.

   Can the device or service features be easily added or modified by users or third parties or must features be pre-approved by the provider?

   Ibis Reader is a web application, so it can be updated at any time. We do this to make improvements and fixes quickly.

   Does the provider depend on or promote agreements that limit competition?

   No.