Privacy Policy

Information We Collect

Reader Zone limits the collection of information to what is reasonably needed to operate reading programs, administer accounts, provide customer support, maintain security, and generate reports.

Depending on how the service is configured and used, we may collect:

• Names, email addresses, username, and authentication information in the form of a username.
• Reader, parent, guardian, educator, librarian, and administrator account information.
• Program and Group membership information.
• Reading entries, reading goals, Activities, Awards, Tasks, Raffles, and related participation records.
• Responses to optional questions configured by a school, library, educator, program administrator, or other organizational customer.
• Communications and information submitted through customer-support requests.
• Technical and usage information, including IP addresses, browser types, device types, operating systems, timestamps, pages visited, application events, and related service statistics.
• Approximate or device-provided location information when enabled and reasonably necessary for a service feature.

Organizational customers control the reading programs they create, the optional questions they ask, the roles assigned to their users, and the information they request from participants.

How We Use Information

Reader Zone may use collected information to:

• Create and administer accounts.
• Operate reading programs and record reading activity.
• Issue awards and track progress toward reading goals.
• Provide reports selected by an account owner or administrator.
• Authenticate users and manage account permissions.
• Respond to questions and provide customer support.
• Maintain, troubleshoot, and secure the service.
• Communicate with users about their accounts or Reader Zone services.
• Evaluate service performance and improve functionality.
• Comply with applicable laws and documented contractual obligations.

Reader Zone does not use customer or patron information for purposes unrelated to providing, supporting, maintaining, or securing the service.

Organizational Customer Data and Ownership

Schools, libraries, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and other organizational customers retain ownership of the customer, patron, student, reader, and program data supplied to or generated through their use of Reader Zone.

Reader Zone processes this information only to provide the service, fulfill the organizational customer’s documented instructions, maintain security and availability, provide support, and comply with applicable law.

Reader Zone retains ownership of its software, documentation, configurations, methods, trademarks, and other intellectual property. Processing customer data does not transfer ownership of that data to Reader Zone.

No Sale, Advertising, or AI Training

Reader Zone does not:

• Sell or monetize customer, patron, student, or reader data.
• Use that data for targeted advertising.
• Share that data with advertisers.
• Transmit user or log data to any third party.
• Use customer, patron, student, or reader data to train artificial-intelligence systems.

Log Data and Device Information

When a user visits our website or uses the Reader Zone service, we may receive technical information sent by the user’s browser or device. This may include an IP address, browser type and version, device type, operating system, pages or application features accessed, visit dates and times, time spent using the service, and related statistics.

We use this information to operate the service, investigate errors, maintain security, understand service performance, and improve the user experience.

Cookies and Analytics

Reader Zone may use cookies and similar technologies to maintain sessions, remember preferences, collect usage information, protect accounts, and improve our services.

We may use service providers such as Google Analytics to help us understand website and service usage. An analytics provider does not receive access to Reader Zone’s underlying account or reading-log database solely because it provides analytics services.

Users can configure their browsers to refuse cookies or provide notice when a cookie is sent. Some Reader Zone features may not function correctly when cookies are disabled.

Service Providers

Reader Zone may use third-party service providers to perform specific operational functions, such as cloud hosting, data storage, authentication, analytics, communications, and technical support.

A service provider is permitted to access information only when access is reasonably necessary to perform its assigned function. Providers with access to protected information are subject to appropriate contractual confidentiality and security obligations and may not use the information for unrelated purposes.

Reader Zone remains responsible for its contractual privacy and security obligations when an approved service provider performs a task on its behalf.

Users may also choose to use authentication services provided by companies such as Google, Apple, or Microsoft. Those companies process authentication information under their own terms and privacy policies.

Hosting and Data Location

Reader Zone currently uses United States-based cloud infrastructure, including Google Cloud and Firebase, to provide production databases, cloud storage, application services, and backup capabilities.

If a user accesses Reader Zone from outside the United States, information may be transferred to and processed in the United States. By using the service, the user acknowledges that privacy and data-protection laws may differ from those in the user’s jurisdiction.

Privacy and Security Program

Reader Zone maintains commercially appropriate administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of personal information and customer data.

Reader Zone uses the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 and the ISO/IEC 27000 family of information-security standards as sources for security criteria and program improvement.

This framework alignment does not mean that Reader Zone is certified, accredited, or endorsed by NIST or ISO.

No method of internet transmission or electronic storage can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Reader Zone therefore cannot guarantee absolute security.

Encryption

Reader Zone protects user and customer data both in transit and at rest.

Information transmitted among Reader Zone’s mobile applications, web portals, APIs, and backend services is encrypted using HTTPS with TLS 1.2 or later.

Customer data stored in production databases, cloud storage, and backups is encrypted at rest using AES-256 through Google Cloud and Firebase managed encryption controls. Encryption keys for these managed services are generated, protected, and maintained within Google’s secured key-management infrastructure.

Access Controls and Logging

Reader Zone uses role-based access controls to limit administrative functions and access to customer information.

Owner, Manager, and Authorized User roles provide account-level or limited access to Programs and Groups according to the organizational customer’s preferences. Organizational customers are responsible for assigning appropriate roles and removing access when it is no longer needed.

Reader Zone restricts internal access to production systems and customer information to authorized personnel with an operational need.

Actions taken by administrative accounts are logged at the server level. Available logs may be used for troubleshooting, security review, and incident investigation. This policy does not promise a customer-facing audit-log feature or a particular log-retention period.

Security Monitoring and Vulnerability Handling

Reader Zone evaluates security issues identified through cloud-provider notices, application monitoring, testing, customer-support reports, or responsible disclosure.

Potential vulnerabilities are assessed based on the affected information, likelihood of exploitation, and possible impact. Corrective action is prioritized according to risk.

Production-system changes are limited to authorized personnel.

Security Incident Response

Reader Zone maintains procedures for responding to suspected or confirmed security incidents.

Those procedures include validating the report, preserving available evidence, containing the event, determining the affected systems and information, taking corrective action, and documenting the resolution.

When an incident materially affects customer or personal information, Reader Zone will notify affected organizational customers or users within the period required by applicable law or the applicable customer agreement. Initial information may be preliminary and may be supplemented as the investigation continues.

A customer agreement may establish a more specific incident-notification deadline.

Account Maintenance and Data Retention

Reader Zone retains information while it is reasonably necessary to provide the service, preserve program history selected by the customer, fulfill contractual obligations, maintain security, resolve disputes, and comply with applicable law.

Reader Zone may delete data and accounts that previously had a paid plan but have not purchased or renewed a paid plan for more than 500 consecutive days.

Reader Zone may also delete accounts without a paid plan that have not been accessed for more than 500 consecutive days.

When information is deleted, Reader Zone removes it from active production systems. Residual encrypted copies may remain temporarily in protected backups until they expire through normal backup-retention and overwrite processes. Backup information is isolated from ordinary business use and will not be restored to the active service except when reasonably necessary for disaster recovery or to comply with a legal requirement.

Information subject to a documented legal-retention requirement may be retained for the required period, protected under this policy, and deleted when the retention requirement ends.

Data Export and Service Discontinuation

Account owners and authorized organizational administrators can export available Reader, Award, Group, and Program reports in supported spreadsheet formats.

When an organizational customer discontinues the service, Reader Zone will provide any transition period, export assistance, or migration support required by the applicable customer agreement.

Customers should export and verify needed records before account deletion is completed.

Account and Data Deletion Requests

Users may request deletion of their accounts and associated personal information by:

• Using the account-deletion function available within the Reader Zone application; or
• Emailing help@readerzone.com.

Reader Zone may verify the identity and authority of the person submitting a deletion request before completing it.

For accounts managed by a school, library, business, or other organization, Reader Zone may coordinate the request with the organization responsible for the account.

Deletion requests are subject to applicable laws, contractual obligations, security requirements, and documented legal-retention requirements.

Written Deletion Certification

When required by a written customer agreement or following a reasonable written request from an organizational customer, Reader Zone may provide written confirmation that customer data has been returned, made available for export, or securely deleted.

A deletion certificate may identify:

• The customer and applicable agreement.
• The deletion request and completion dates.
• The categories of data covered.
• The production environments from which the data was deleted.
• The status and scheduled expiration of encrypted backup copies.
• Any information retained because of a documented legal requirement.
• The authorized Reader Zone representative making the certification.

Children’s Privacy

Only persons age 13 or older may independently create and manage their own Reader Zone account.

A child under age 13 may participate in a reading program through an account appropriately created or managed by a parent, legal guardian, or approved school.

Reader Zone complies with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. We do not knowingly collect personal information online from a child under age 13 without verifiable parental consent or another legally permitted basis.

If Reader Zone receives a verified report that personal information from a child was collected improperly, we will investigate and remove the information as required by applicable law and policy.

Privacy Choices and Requests

Depending on applicable law and the nature of the account, users may request to:

• Access personal information associated with their account.
• Correct inaccurate account information.
• Obtain an available export of their information.
• Delete their account and associated personal information.
• Ask questions about how their information is collected, used, or disclosed.

Reader Zone may require reasonable identity verification before responding to a request.

When information is controlled by an organizational customer, such as a school or library, the user may need to direct the request to that organization. Reader Zone will reasonably assist organizational customers in responding to verified requests when required by law or contract.

Accessibility

Reader Zone designs and maintains its website, mobile applications, administrative web application, and electronic content with the goal of material conformance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 Level AA.

Reader Zone’s current Accessibility Conformance Report, prepared using VPAT 2.4, provides the controlling description of known limitations and conformance details.

To the extent applicable to Reader Zone as a contractor or service provider, Reader Zone will comply with applicable federal and state digital-accessibility requirements, including Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, related federal regulations, C.R.S. §§ 24-85-101 et seq., and applicable implementing regulations and accessibility standards.

Reader Zone will investigate reported accessibility barriers and use commercially reasonable efforts to correct verified issues or provide an effective accessible alternative when appropriate.

Accessibility questions or reports may be submitted to help@readerzone.com or by calling 208-888-5160.

Colorado Governmental Immunity and Student Data Compliance

Reader Zone acknowledges that nothing in its agreement, terms of service, privacy policy, or related documentation is intended to waive, alter, limit, or otherwise affect any rights, protections, defenses, immunities, or limitations of liability available to a Colorado public entity under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act, C.R.S. § 24-10-101 et seq. To the extent Reader Zone is deemed a “School Service Contract Provider” under the Colorado Student Data Transparency and Security Act, C.R.S. § 22-16-101 et seq., Reader Zone will comply with all applicable requirements of that Act, including the requirements applicable to school service contract providers under C.R.S. §§ 22-16-108 through 22-16-111. Reader Zone will use student personally identifiable information only for legitimate educational and contractual purposes; maintain reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect such information; provide required transparency regarding the student information it collects, uses, and shares; refrain from selling student personally identifiable information or using it for targeted advertising; promptly address unauthorized access or disclosure as required by law; and securely delete or return student information when required by the applicable contract or law.

Links to Other Sites

Reader Zone may contain links to websites or services that Reader Zone does not operate.

Reader Zone is not responsible for the content, privacy policies, or practices of third-party websites or services. Users should review the privacy policies of other services before providing personal information.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy remains in effect until it is revised.

Reader Zone may update this policy to reflect changes to its services, security practices, legal obligations, or business operations. The revised policy will be posted on this page with an updated revision date.

When appropriate, Reader Zone may provide additional notice of a material change through email, the Reader Zone service, or a prominent website notice. When applicable law requires consent to a change, Reader Zone will request that consent.

Contact Us

Questions, privacy requests, security reports, or accessibility concerns may be directed to:

Reader Zone, Inc.

Email: help@readerzone.com

Phone: +1 208-888-5160

Meridian, Idaho, United States