Folio · Your books, thoughtfully kept

Privacy policy

Last updated September 20, 2026

Folio is a book wishlist and personal library app from Ironside Labs LLC in Atlanta, Georgia. This policy explains how the app handles information when you save books, discover new reads, and use optional scanning features.

Your personal library

Folio stores your books, lists, notes, reading status, reading dates, preferences, and custom covers on your device. When iCloud is available, library records and custom covers sync through your private Apple CloudKit database. Folio does not require a separate account or create a public profile. Ironside Labs does not operate a separate server that stores your library.

Your library remains until you remove it. Local caches and preferences can remain on the device until cleared or the app is removed. Removing the app does not necessarily remove its iCloud data or device backups.

Book searches and discovery

Folio requests book information and cover images from Apple Books, Google Books, Open Library, and Audible, and bestseller lists from The New York Times. Searches and automatic updates may send relevant titles, authors, ISBNs, genres, or text recognized from a photo. These requests support book matching, recommendations, series information, prices, and upcoming releases.

Recommendations are generated on your device using local rules or Apple's on-device language model on supported devices. Suggested books are then checked against external catalogs. Your notes and reading verdicts are not sent to Anthropic.

External services receive ordinary connection information, including your IP address, and process requests under their own privacy policies. Turning off Claude does not turn off catalog searches. Opening a purchase link takes you to an external store, whose privacy practices apply there.

Optional Claude features

Claude photo scanning and Claude series lookups are separate choices and start off. Before sending a photo to Claude, Folio asks for your choice. You can change either setting in Library → About Folio.

• Photo scanning: if allowed, the selected cover or shelf image is sent through our Cloudflare relay to Anthropic's Claude to identify books. Any other visible content in that image is included. You can choose on-device text recognition instead; recognized text is still searched in book catalogs.
• Series lookups: if allowed, Folio can automatically send a book's title and author through the same relay to Claude when catalog matching cannot identify its series.

Our relay forwards these requests without saving photo or prompt content in its application storage. Anthropic normally deletes API inputs and outputs within 30 days, with exceptions for safety, legal requirements, or different contractual arrangements. See Anthropic's API retention policy. Disabling a feature stops future requests; it does not recall information already sent.

Keeping the service available

Cloudflare processes your IP address, an app-generated installation identifier, and request counts to prevent abuse and limit service use. These identifiers are used for service limits, not advertising. Hourly and daily counters expire with their respective limits and are removed during subsequent counter processing. Hosting providers may also process operational and security information under their own policies.

Your choices and deletion

You can remove individual books in Folio; those changes sync to your private iCloud library when available. You can manage Folio's iCloud storage, camera permission, and notification permission in Apple's settings. Export supported library fields using Library → ••• → Export library. CSV exports include book information and notes, but do not contain custom cover image files or every app setting.

For privacy questions or requests concerning information held by Ironside Labs, email ironsidelabs@icloud.com. We cannot directly inspect your private iCloud library. Provider-held information is also subject to the provider's retention rules and available deletion controls.

Support and communications

If you contact us, we receive your email address and whatever information you include. We use this to respond and resolve your request, and retain correspondence as needed for support and any applicable legal obligations. Please avoid sending private notes or unrelated personal information in screenshots.

Advertising and changes

Folio has no advertising SDK or cross-app advertising tracking. Ironside Labs does not sell your personal information. If our practices change, we will update this page and its date, and obtain additional permission when required.