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 Collection
All core app data (your library, playback progress, listening sessions, and transcriptions) is stored locally on your device. Bloox does not collect your name, email, or Apple ID. The exceptions are crash reporting, analytics, and the optional feedback feature described below.
Speech Recognition
Bloox offers an optional transcription feature that converts audiobook speech to text. This processing is performed entirely on your device using Apple’s on-device speech recognition. No audio or transcription data is sent to any server.
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.
This data is used solely to (a) display the folders and files you choose to browse, and (b) download the audiobooks you select onto your device for offline playback. Bloox does not modify, upload, share, sell, or otherwise transfer your Google Drive data to any third party. The access is read‑only on Google’s side: the app cannot create, edit, or delete files in your Drive.
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 inside Bloox’s sandboxed iOS application directory, where they are protected by iOS Data Protection encryption (AES‑256, tied to your device passcode) and accessible only to Bloox.
- 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: Books you import are kept locally only as long as you choose to keep them. Deleting a book in Bloox immediately removes the audio files, cover image, sibling metadata, and any related transcription or character data from your device. There is no soft‑delete or recovery period.
- 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 the Bloox app from your device deletes the entire app sandbox, including all imported Drive content and the OAuth tokens stored in the Keychain for the app.
- No server‑side copy. Because Drive content never leaves your device for our servers, there is no Bloox‑side copy of your Drive data to retain or delete.
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 in‑app audiobook import and offline playback features described above.
- 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.
Third-Party Services
Bloox uses the Google Books API to fetch cover art for your audiobooks. The book title, and the author name when known, are sent in these requests — no personal information is included.
Bloox also uses an external service to identify characters in your audiobooks. When this feature runs, the book title and author name are sent to a server to retrieve character data. No audio, transcription content, or personal information is included in these requests.
Feedback
Bloox includes an optional feedback feature that lets you send us comments or suggestions. When you submit feedback, the text you typed and your app version are sent to Firebase Firestore (provided by Google). No personal identifiers (name, email, Apple ID, or device ID) are attached — feedback is completely anonymous. Feedback is only sent when you explicitly tap “Send”; the app never collects or transmits text without your action.
Crash & Error Reporting
Bloox uses Firebase Crashlytics (provided by Google) to collect crash reports and non-fatal error logs. This helps us identify and fix bugs quickly. The data sent to Crashlytics may include:
- Device model, OS version, and app version
- Stack traces and error messages generated at the time of a crash or error
- A random installation identifier (not tied to your identity)
- Audiobook titles associated with the error (e.g., which book was being processed when a failure occurred)
This data is used solely for diagnosing and fixing bugs. It is anonymous — Crashlytics does not collect your name, email, Apple ID, playback history, or any other information that identifies you personally. Book titles are included only to help us reproduce and fix errors affecting specific content. You can learn more about how Google handles Crashlytics data in Firebase’s privacy documentation.
Analytics
Bloox uses Firebase Analytics (provided by Google) to collect anonymous usage data that helps us understand how the app is used and improve it. The data collected includes:
- Feature usage patterns (e.g. which playback controls are used, import sources, transcription usage)
- Aggregate engagement metrics (session duration, screen flows)
- A random device identifier (IDFV — not tied to your identity or shared across apps)
This data is anonymous and aggregated. It does not include your name, email, Apple ID, audiobook content, transcription text, or any information that identifies you personally.
Analytics collection is enabled by default. You can disable it at any time in Settings → Privacy → Share Analytics. When disabled, no usage data is sent to Firebase Analytics.
Bloox does not include any advertising SDKs or cross-app tracking. You can learn more about how Google handles Analytics data in Firebase’s privacy documentation.
Data Sharing
We do not sell, trade, or share any user data with third parties.
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.