ABS Co-op — Privacy Policy

Last updated 17 September 2026

ABS Co-op is a client for AudiobookShelf, the self-hosted audiobook and ebook server. It talks to the servers you point it at, and there is no ABS Co-op account. The only thing collected is a problem report you choose to submit.

What the app sends, and where

ABS Co-op connects only to the AudiobookShelf servers you add yourself. Those servers are yours or belong to people you know; the app has no default server and no server of its own. What it sends to them is what a library client has to send:

• your username and password, once, to sign in, and the access token the server returns thereafter;
• your listening position, whether you have finished a book, and playback session records, so progress follows you between devices;
• ordinary requests for your library, cover art, audio files and ebooks.

It does not change or delete anything in your library. It writes listening state and nothing more.

What stays on your device

• Server addresses and sign-in tokens, held in the operating system's secure storage — the Keychain on iOS, the Android Keystore on Android.
• A local copy of your library: titles, authors, series, cover art, reading and listening positions, and the download queue, in a database private to the app.
• Books you download, in the app's private storage, where other apps cannot read them.

None of it leaves the device except back to the server it came from, or in a report you submit.

Problem reports

The only thing collected is a problem report you choose to submit. Nothing is gathered automatically — not on a crash, not on a schedule, not in the background — and the app sends nothing at all unless you write a report and press send.

It contains what you write, what the app recorded about its own behaviour, and any screenshots you attach; you can read the whole thing before sending it. Server addresses, sign-in tokens, passwords, usernames and email addresses are removed first. Screenshots go exactly as you took them, so check what is in shot. Settings lists every report you have sent — deleting one removes it from your device and from where it was sent, and it is in any case kept only long enough to fix what you reported.

What the app does not do

• No analytics, usage tracking, or automatic crash reporting.
• No advertising, and no advertising identifiers.
• No third-party SDKs that collect data, and no data brokers.
• Nothing is sold or shared, ever. Apart from a report you submit, the developer of ABS Co-op receives no information about you, your servers, or what you read or listen to.

Removing your data

Removing a server from ABS Co-op deletes its saved credentials and its cached library from the device. Uninstalling the app removes everything it stored, downloads included. Neither touches your AudiobookShelf server, and data held there is governed by whoever runs it — which, for a self-hosted server, is usually you.

Children

ABS Co-op is not directed at children, and collects nothing from anyone unless they submit a report themselves.

Changes

If this policy changes, the date at the top changes with it, and the current version is always the one at this address.

Contact

Questions about this policy: privacy@sidequestered.com.