Privacy Policy

Overview

Bloox is an audiobook player for iOS. Your privacy is important to us. This policy explains what data the app accesses, how it is used, and what is shared with third parties.

Data stored on your device

Your audiobook library, playback progress, listening history, transcripts, bookmarks and chat history are stored on your device. Bloox does not require an account. Some features send information to online services as explained below. Bloox also uses usage analytics and crash reporting.

Transcription and summaries

Transcription runs on your device using Apple’s speech recognition. Bloox does not upload audiobook audio for transcription. Recaps and bookmark summaries use locally available text and Apple’s on-device model on supported devices. Relevant text can leave your device when you use Ask Books or choose to share feedback details.

Ask Books

Ask Books is optional. Bloox asks you to accept its data-sharing disclosure before sending remote requests. Suggested questions generated entirely on your device can be prepared before you accept. Remote requests can include your question, earlier conversation messages, relevant transcript passages, book metadata, chapter and listening-position information, and character background. They do not include audiobook audio.

Requests go through Bloox’s Cloudflare-hosted service to Google Gemini, with DeepSeek available as a fallback. These services generate answers and suggested questions; Gemini may temporarily cache book context for follow-up requests. Provider processing is governed by the applicable service terms. AI responses can contain mistakes.

To investigate problems, Bloox retains limited excerpts of Ask Books questions and answers with technical request details. These records can also include book and chapter information, installation and conversation identifiers, IP address, and feedback you give on a response. The rolling log replaces older entries as new requests arrive and expires after 30 days without an update; this is not a 30-day maximum for each entry. Deleting a chat on your device does not remove its existing server log entry.

The current Ask Books beta requires Share Analytics to be enabled. Turning that setting off hides Ask Books.

Google Drive Access: Overview

If you choose to import audiobooks from Google Drive, Bloox uses Google’s OAuth flow to request the drive.readonly scope. The three sections below describe exactly what Google user data the app accesses, how that data is protected, and how long it is kept.

How Bloox Uses Google User Data

With your permission, Bloox uses the drive.readonly scope to access:

• File and folder metadata : name, MIME type, size, parent folder, and shortcut targets : for the folders and files you choose to browse inside Bloox.
• File content : the audio files (e.g. M4B, MP3) and sibling files (cover image, CUE/NFO/metadata.json) belonging to the audiobooks you explicitly select to import.

These import permissions are used to display the folders and files you choose to browse and download the audiobooks you select onto your device. Bloox does not modify your Google Drive files. Downloads go directly from the provider to your device. After import, the audiobook title and author may be used for cover and character lookups. Relevant locally stored text may be sent when you use Ask Books or choose to share feedback details, as described in this policy. Bloox does not sell or trade your imported data.

How Google User Data Is Protected

• Direct, end‑to‑end transfer. Drive content is downloaded over HTTPS directly from Google to your iPhone. It does not pass through any Bloox server, and we do not operate any backend that stores, caches, or proxies your Drive files.
• On‑device storage. Imported audiobooks are stored in Bloox’s iOS Documents container and protected by iOS Data Protection. Other apps cannot access that container directly. Because Bloox supports Apple’s file‑sharing features, you can also access its Documents content through supported Files or Finder surfaces.
• Credentials. OAuth access and refresh tokens are managed by Google’s official Google Sign‑In SDK and stored in the iOS Keychain. The app never sees, copies, logs, or transmits your Google password.
• No human review. Bloox does not allow employees, contractors, or any third party to read your Google Drive data, except as required by law or with your explicit consent for a support request.
• Diagnostics. Crash and error logs sent to Firebase Crashlytics may include the title of the audiobook being processed at the time of an error, but never include Drive file IDs, file contents, OAuth tokens, or your Google account identity.

Retention and Deletion of Google User Data

• In your Google Drive: Bloox never writes, modifies, or deletes anything. Read‑only access only.
• On your device: Imported books remain in your library until you delete them. Deletion removes owned audio files and library assets, transcripts and character records. Listening history, bookmarks and archived chats can remain, including cover snapshots and saved context. See Deleting a book and Feedback for details.
• Sign‑out: Signing out of Google in Bloox clears the app’s OAuth session via Google’s SDK and prevents further Drive access. Books that you previously imported remain on your device until you delete them.
• Uninstall: Removing Bloox deletes its app sandbox, including all imported Drive content. iOS may preserve Keychain items after an app is removed, so sign out of Google Drive in Bloox before uninstalling to ensure the locally stored OAuth credentials are deleted.
• Imported audio: Bloox does not upload imported audiobook audio to its servers. Relevant text used in Ask Books and excerpts you choose to share in feedback are handled separately as described above.

Limited Use of Google User Data

Bloox’s use and transfer of information received from Google APIs to any other app will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. Specifically:

• Bloox uses Google Drive data only to provide and improve the user-facing features described in this policy: audiobook import and playback, cover and character lookups, and optional Ask Books and feedback features used with your consent.
• Bloox does not transfer this data to others, except as necessary to provide or improve those features, to comply with applicable law, or as part of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets with notice to users.
• Bloox does not use Google Drive data for serving advertisements, including personalized advertisements.
• Bloox does not allow humans to read this data, except (i) with your affirmative consent for a specific user‑initiated request, (ii) for security purposes (e.g. investigating abuse), (iii) to comply with applicable law, or (iv) where the data has been aggregated and anonymized.
• Bloox does not use Google Drive data to develop, improve, or train generalized AI/ML models.

Dropbox Access: Overview

If you choose to import audiobooks from Dropbox, Bloox uses Dropbox’s OAuth 2.0 flow (with PKCE) to request three read-only scopes: files.metadata.read, files.content.read, and account_info.read. The three sections below describe exactly what Dropbox data the app accesses, how that data is protected, and how long it is kept.

How Bloox Uses Dropbox Data

With your permission, Bloox uses these scopes to access:

• File and folder metadata (name, path, size, and type) for the folders and files you choose to browse inside Bloox.
• File content: the audio files (such as M4B or MP3) and sibling files (cover image, CUE/NFO/metadata.json) belonging to the audiobooks you explicitly select to import.
• Basic account information (your Dropbox account name or email) so the app can show you which account is connected.

These import permissions are used to display the folders and files you choose to browse and download the audiobooks you select onto your device. Bloox does not modify your Dropbox files. Downloads go directly from the provider to your device. After import, the audiobook title and author may be used for cover and character lookups. Relevant locally stored text may be sent when you use Ask Books or choose to share feedback details, as described in this policy. Bloox does not sell or trade your imported data.

How Dropbox Data Is Protected

• Direct transfer. Dropbox content is downloaded over HTTPS directly from Dropbox to your iPhone using short-lived temporary links. It does not pass through any Bloox server, and we do not operate any backend that stores, caches, or proxies your Dropbox files.
• On-device storage. Imported audiobooks are stored in Bloox’s iOS Documents container and protected by iOS Data Protection. Other apps cannot access that container directly. Because Bloox supports Apple’s file-sharing features, you can also access its Documents content through supported Files or Finder surfaces.
• Credentials. OAuth access and refresh tokens (obtained via PKCE, so no app secret is embedded in the app) are stored in the iOS Keychain. The app never sees, copies, logs, or transmits your Dropbox password.
• No human review. Bloox does not allow employees, contractors, or any third party to read your Dropbox data, except as required by law or with your explicit consent for a support request.
• Diagnostics. Crash and error logs sent to Firebase Crashlytics may include the title of the audiobook being processed at the time of an error, but never include Dropbox file paths, file contents, OAuth tokens, or your Dropbox account identity.

Retention and Deletion of Dropbox Data

• In your Dropbox: Bloox never writes, modifies, or deletes anything. Read-only access only.
• On your device: Imported books remain in your library until you delete them. Deletion removes owned audio files and library assets, transcripts and character records. Listening history, bookmarks and archived chats can remain, including cover snapshots and saved context. See Deleting a book and Feedback for details.
• Sign-out: Signing out of Dropbox in Bloox deletes the stored OAuth tokens from the iOS Keychain and prevents further Dropbox access. Books that you previously imported remain on your device until you delete them.
• Uninstall: Removing Bloox deletes its app sandbox, including all imported Dropbox content. iOS may preserve Keychain items after an app is removed, so sign out of Dropbox in Bloox before uninstalling to ensure the locally stored OAuth credentials are deleted.
• Imported audio: Bloox does not upload imported audiobook audio to its servers. Relevant text used in Ask Books and excerpts you choose to share in feedback are handled separately as described above.

Cover art and characters

Bloox sends a book’s title and author, when available, to Google Books and may use Open Library to find and download cover art. When character lookup is enabled, Bloox sends the title and author to its server, which uses Google Gemini and can reuse cached character information across listeners. These lookup requests do not include audiobook audio or transcript text. The services receive network information such as IP addresses, and Bloox retains technical lookup information to operate and diagnose the service. This includes approximate country, city, region and timezone derived from the network request, rather than GPS location.

Deleting a book

Deleting a book removes it from your library and removes its owned audio files and library assets. Bloox also removes its transcription and character records. Listening history, bookmarks and archived chats can remain, including small cover snapshots, saved text and conversation context. Feedback already submitted or queued for delivery is handled separately under Feedback.

Feedback

Bloox includes an optional feedback feature that lets you send us comments, suggestions, or bug reports. When you submit feedback, the text you typed, your app version, the feedback source in the app, and a server timestamp are sent to Firebase Firestore (provided by Google). If you leave “Attach diagnostic logs” enabled, a recent app log excerpt may also be attached; that log can include recent app activity such as playback events and book titles.

When you rate a recap or character biography, your thumbs choice and technical details are sent to Firebase Firestore, even when Share Analytics is off. These details include the app and operating-system versions, device model, and the available model, prompt, and content-version information. Each rated recap or biography has one current rating on that installation. Changing your vote updates that record; removing it clears the vote and any attached details. Ratings are optional and do not include audiobook audio.

The optional follow-up form lets you add a reason or note. Recap or biography content is sent only when you choose to share those details. Share recap details with Bloox starts on in the recap follow-up form and can be turned off before submission. Shared recap details include the generated recap, its transcript excerpt and instructions, and the book and character background used to create it. Biography sharing is a separate choice and includes the displayed biography and related character information. With sharing off, your typed note may still be sent, but the generated content and source text stay on your device. Ordinary analytics events never include that text. A pending rating stays queued locally until it can be sent.

Deleting a book does not discard feedback you already submitted. Notes and shared excerpts stay queued until Bloox confirms receipt; failed sends remain available for retry. After confirmation, Bloox removes that text from its local feedback record and keeps the small rating and delivery-status record. Firebase may retain a separate cached copy until its normal cache cleanup. Deleting a book does not delete feedback already received by Bloox.

After the report is saved, Bloox may ask whether you want to leave an optional email address. Leaving an email is not required; you can submit feedback without one. If you provide one, it is stored with that feedback report and may be used only to ask for more information or send updates about that specific report. We do not use feedback email addresses for marketing.

Crash and error reporting

Bloox uses Google’s Firebase Crashlytics for crash reports and recorded errors. Reports can include device and operating-system information, app version, error details, book titles and recent app activity. Installation and session identifiers help connect related problems. Bloox does not request your name, email address or Apple ID for crash reporting. Crash reporting is separate from the Share Analytics setting.

Firebase privacy documentation

Usage analytics

Bloox uses Google’s Firebase Analytics to understand feature use and reliability. Events can include interactions, session information, app and device information, and installation identifiers. When analytics is enabled, an installation identifier can connect usage events with crash reports and Ask Books diagnostics. Ordinary analytics events do not include your questions, transcript text, recap text or feedback notes.

Usage analytics is enabled by default. You can turn it off in Settings > Privacy > Share Analytics. This stops Bloox from recording new usage analytics events and hides the current Ask Books beta. It does not disable crash reporting, other online features you choose to use, or feedback you submit. Bloox has no advertising SDKs and does not use these data for cross-app advertising tracking.

Support and feedback processing

Bloox uses restricted support and diagnostic tools to investigate reports, including private GitHub records and AI-assisted review through OpenAI’s ChatGPT. This review can use relevant submitted messages, screenshots and diagnostic context. Selected raw review artifacts are kept for one day; original reports and concise investigation records have their own retention and are not all deleted after one day.

Data sharing

We do not sell or trade user data. We use the service providers described in this policy to provide, secure, diagnose and improve Bloox.

Children’s Privacy

Bloox does not knowingly collect any personal information from children.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Any changes will be reflected on this page with an updated effective date.

Contact

If you have questions about this privacy policy, please visit our Support page to submit a request.