Terms of Use

Last Updated: April 12, 2026

Welcome to BooksAffair. By accessing or using our website, applications, and related services (the “Service”), including book discovery, reviews, ratings, BookVerse lists, recommendations, author claims, and other features, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use. Please read them carefully. If you do not agree, you may not use the Service. Our Disclaimer & Content Sources and Privacy Policy are incorporated by reference where applicable.

1. Acceptance of Terms

By using the Service, you confirm that you are at least 13 years of age and have the legal capacity to enter into this agreement. If you use the Service on behalf of an organization (e.g. a school, library, or publisher), you represent that you have authority to bind that organization to these terms.

2. Account and Registration

You may need to create an account to use certain features. You agree to provide accurate and complete information and to keep your account credentials secure. You are responsible for all activity under your account. If you enable two-factor authentication (2FA), you are responsible for maintaining access to your chosen method and recovery codes. We may require you to verify your email or identity for security or legal reasons.

3. Use of the Service

You may use the Service only in accordance with these terms and applicable laws. You agree not to:

  • Misuse, abuse, or attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service, other accounts, or our systems (e.g. hacking, scraping or harvesting data beyond permitted use, automated abuse).
  • Circumvent technical limits of third-party APIs we use, or use the Service to build a competing database by systematically copying book records in violation of those APIs’ terms or these Terms.
  • Upload, post, or distribute illegal content—including pirated or unauthorised copies of books (e.g. full-text PDFs or other infringing files), malware, or content that infringes others’ intellectual property or privacy rights.
  • Post content that is illegal, harmful, threatening, harassing, defamatory, obscene, or otherwise objectionable where we restrict it under our policies.
  • Impersonate any person or entity, or falsely state or misrepresent your affiliation.
  • Spam, phish, or use the Service for unsolicited commercial messages or fraud.
  • Interfere with or disrupt the Service, servers, or networks, or violate any policies or requirements we communicate to you.

We may suspend or terminate your access at any time for conduct we believe violates these terms, harms others, or is unlawful.

4. Third-party APIs, book metadata, and attribution

We integrate with third-party services (including, where applicable, the Google Books API and the ISBNdb paid API) to obtain and display book-related metadata. That data is subject to the respective providers’ terms of service, acceptable use policies, and technical restrictions. You agree that:

  • BooksAffair does not grant you any licence to third-party API data except as needed to use the Service as we make it available.
  • You will not use the Service to extract, resell, or redistribute raw API-sourced datasets in ways that violate those third-party terms (for example bulk export or resale of ISBNdb data outside permitted use).
  • We may show required or customary attribution (e.g. “Data provided by Google Books” or “Data provided by ISBNdb”) on or in connection with relevant content, as described in our Disclaimer & Content Sources.
  • Previews, thumbnails, cover images, and similar materials may be shown only as permitted by us and by the applicable provider’s rules.
5. User content, licence to BooksAffair, and intermediary status

You retain ownership of content you submit (e.g. reviews, comments, ratings, BookVerse list titles and descriptions, recommendations, and messages). By submitting content, you grant BooksAffair a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable licence to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, and display that content in connection with operating, promoting, and improving the Service. This includes showing your content to other users in line with your privacy and visibility settings (e.g. public reviews, public BookVerse lists).

You are solely responsible for your content and for ensuring you have all rights and permissions needed to post it. BooksAffair acts as an intermediary with respect to much user-generated content: we do not typically pre-screen all posts, and we may rely on users, rights holders, and automated tools to identify issues. To the extent permitted by applicable law—including, where relevant, limitations applicable to online intermediaries (such as concepts similar to “safe harbour” or conditional liability limitations under laws like India’s Information Technology Act, 2000 and rules thereunder, or similar regimes elsewhere)—we may qualify for limitations on liability for third-party content, provided we comply with applicable notice-and-action requirements and do not knowingly engage in unlawful activity in respect of illegal content where the law requires a standard of knowledge or intent.

We may remove or refuse to display content that we believe violates these terms or our policies (including our Review Guidelines). We may use automated tools (e.g. for content moderation) as described in our Privacy Policy. Deleted content may remain in backups or archives for a limited time.

6. BookVerse, Recommendations, and Other Features

When you create BookVerse lists, add books, vote, or rank titles, or send recommendations, you agree to do so in good faith and in line with these terms. Public lists and rankings may be visible to other users and used for discovery and analytics. You are responsible for the accuracy and appropriateness of list titles, descriptions, and tags. Author claim submissions (e.g. proof links, notes) must be truthful and not misleading. We may reject or revoke claims that do not meet our verification or eligibility requirements.

7. Intellectual Property

BooksAffair’s name, logos, design, and other materials we provide are our property or our licensors’ and are protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. You may not copy, modify, or use them without our prior written permission.

User-generated content remains the responsibility of the user who posted it; we do not claim ownership of your content beyond the licence you grant above. Book metadata, covers, and descriptions may include third-party rights; see our Disclaimer & Content Sources.

8. Copyright and intellectual property complaints

We respect intellectual property rights. If you believe material on the Service infringes your copyright or other rights, please send a notice with the following information (to the extent applicable under law such as the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) or comparable procedures):

  • Identification of the work or right claimed to be infringed, and of the material on the Service that you claim is infringing, with enough detail for us to locate it (e.g. URL or description).
  • Your contact information (name, address, email, telephone).
  • A statement that you have a good-faith belief that use of the material is not authorized by the rights holder or the law.
  • A statement that the information in your notice is accurate, and under penalty of perjury where required (e.g. for U.S. copyright claims), that you are authorized to act on behalf of the rights holder.
  • Your physical or electronic signature (or that of your agent).

Send notices to the contact details in our Privacy Policy or via our contact page. We may remove or disable access to material in appropriate cases and may terminate repeat infringers where permitted by law. If you materially misrepresent that content is infringing, you may be liable for damages under applicable law. If your content was removed and you believe it was a mistake, you may contact us with a counter-notification or explanation as permitted by law.

9. Privacy and Cookies

Your use of the Service is also governed by our Privacy Policy and our Cookies Notice. By using the Service, you consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of your information as described there, including for account management, personalization, BookVerse, recommendations, security (e.g. 2FA), and analytics.

10. Termination

We may suspend or terminate your account or access to the Service at any time, with or without notice, for any reason, including breach of these terms, abuse, or to protect the safety or rights of others. You may close your account through your account settings or by contacting us. Upon termination, your right to use the Service ceases; provisions that by their nature should survive (e.g. licences you granted, disclaimers, limitations of liability) will survive.

11. Disclaimer of Warranties

The Service is provided “as is” and “as available.” To the fullest extent permitted by law, BooksAffair disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not guarantee that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure, or that content (including book metadata from APIs, user reviews, or rankings) is accurate or complete. You use third-party-sourced and user-generated content at your own risk.

12. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, BooksAffair and its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, and agents shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages (including loss of profits, data, or goodwill) arising from your use of or inability to use the Service, or from any content or conduct of third parties (including other users and API providers). Our total liability for any claims arising from or related to the Service shall not exceed the amount you paid us, if any, in the twelve months preceding the claim, or one hundred dollars (100 USD), whichever is greater. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations; in such cases, our liability will be limited to the fullest extent permitted by law.

13. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless BooksAffair and its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your use of the Service, your content, your violation of these terms, or your violation of any third-party rights (including API providers’ terms).

14. Changes to the Terms

We may modify these Terms at any time. We will post the updated terms on this page and update the “Last Updated” date. Your continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised terms. We encourage you to review this page periodically. If we make material changes, we may provide additional notice (e.g. by email or a notice on the Service) where required by law.

15. Governing Law and Disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of [Insert Jurisdiction], without regard to conflict of law principles. Any dispute arising from or relating to these terms or the Service shall be resolved exclusively in the courts of [Insert Jurisdiction], and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of such courts.

16. General

If any provision of these terms is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in effect. Our failure to enforce any right or provision does not waive that right or provision. These terms constitute the entire agreement between you and BooksAffair regarding the Service and supersede any prior agreements. We may assign our rights and obligations under these terms; you may not assign without our prior written consent.

17. Contact Us

For questions about these Terms of Use, copyright notices, or other legal inquiries, please contact us using the details in our Privacy Policy or our contact page.