1. Acceptance
By installing, running or using Fiction Reader, you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, do not use the application. If you run Fiction Reader for anyone else, you are responsible for telling them what they need to know, and for making sure that copy is run lawfully and securely.
2. Nature of the project
Fiction Reader is an independently developed personal project, provided as software you host yourself. It is not a subscription service, a publisher, a cloud library or an account provider, and it is not an official client of Google or of any fiction site. The developer maintains it mainly for personal use and makes it available to others with no commitment to support, service levels, continued development or compatibility.
In these terms, "the maintainer" is that developer, and "the operator" is whoever installs or runs a particular copy. The operator chooses where a copy runs and controls its database, storage, network, profiles, site logins and connected services. This website is separate from any operator's private copy of the application.
3. Your use and responsibility
You may configure and use a lawfully obtained copy as you choose, subject to the law, these terms, any software licence supplied with the copy, and the rights and rules of third parties. These terms give you no rights in the source code, bundled components or third-party content beyond what their own licences give.
You are responsible for:
- using only accounts, logins, content and systems that you are authorised to use;
- checking and following each site's current terms, robots rules, account policies, copyright restrictions and technical limits;
- choosing download, retention, backup, import, sync and deletion settings that are lawful where you are;
- not redistributing archived works or imported books unless you have the right to;
- protecting your devices, databases, encryption keys, backups, tokens and network access; and
- any account restriction, data loss, legal claim, service charge or other consequence of how you configure or use the application.
4. Third-party services
Fiction Reader works with services it does not control, including Google Drive, fiction sites, hosting providers, notification services, the operating system's secure storage and network services. Each has its own terms and privacy policy, and may change, block, slow, suspend, remove or charge for access. The maintainer is not responsible for their availability, decisions, content, security or changes.
Fiction Reader is designed to send requests slowly, to back off when a site asks it to, and to stay within what your account is allowed to see. You must not use or modify it to defeat CAPTCHAs, access controls, payment gates, bans or other protections a site has put in place. You must not rotate identities or proxy addresses to evade a restriction, use logins that are not yours, or run a service that redistributes content to the public.
5. Content and intellectual property
Stories, books, images, story details, site designs, trademarks and other materials belong to their respective owners. Fiction Reader does not transfer ownership of third-party content, and gives you no permission to copy, archive, adapt, distribute or publicly perform it. You must obtain any permission that the law or the rights holder requires.
The application keeps the site and author attribution where it is available, and links back to the original pages. Please support authors and publishers through the channels they provide. Concerns about content or rights can be raised through the contact route. The maintainer cannot delete content that exists only on someone else's private installation.
6. Accounts, logins and private deployment
Never enter a login for an account that you do not own or have permission to use. You remain responsible for everything done under your accounts. A site may treat automated access or archiving as a breach of its rules, and may restrict or close an account because of it.
A Fiction Reader server identifies people by profile name and trusts the network it runs on. It is not designed to be a secure public service for many users. Do not expose it directly to the internet. Reach it through a suitable VPN, set the optional instance token where it helps, restrict who can connect, apply updates and keep backups that you have tested. The instance token is one secret shared by everyone who uses the server. It does not identify individual people.
7. Google Drive connection
Connecting Google Drive is optional. It uses a hidden application-data folder that belongs to Fiction Reader. By connecting, you authorise the application, and not the maintainer, to create, read, update and delete data in that folder for sync, device pairing, backup and recovery. You can disconnect, revoke access and delete the hidden data as described on the support page.
You are responsible for the Google account you choose, the Drive storage it uses, how long data is kept there, and the effects of deleting data or of devices that conflict. Google may change or withdraw its service. Fiction Reader is not affiliated with Google and is not endorsed by it.
8. Support, updates and availability
The software and this website may be changed, suspended or discontinued at any time. Nothing is guaranteed: not support, response times, bug fixes, security updates, compatibility with any site, data migration or continued access to Google's APIs. Public issue reports are read when time permits. Accepting a report does not create an obligation to act on it.
You are responsible for deciding whether an update suits you, for keeping backups you can restore, and for testing the changes that matter to your library. A fiction site can change without notice, and that can break Fiction Reader's support for it temporarily or for good.
9. No warranty
To the fullest extent permitted by law, Fiction Reader and this website are provided "as is" and "as available", without warranties of any kind, express or implied. This includes any warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, accuracy, security, availability or freedom from defects. Nothing in these terms excludes a warranty or consumer right that the law does not allow to be excluded.
10. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, the maintainer is not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary or punitive loss, or for any loss of data, content, access, accounts, profits, goodwill or opportunity, arising from Fiction Reader, this website, a connected service, action taken by a fiction site, or being unable to use the software.
Nothing in these terms limits liability that the law does not allow to be limited. Where applicable, that includes liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, and for death or personal injury caused by negligence.
11. General terms
If any part of these terms cannot be enforced, that part is limited or removed only as far as necessary, and the rest continues to apply. Not enforcing a term on one occasion does not waive it. These terms do not create a partnership, agency, employment or fiduciary relationship.
These terms may be updated as the project changes. The effective date at the top identifies the current version. Continuing to use the application after an update means you accept the updated terms, unless the law requires a different process.
Questions can be raised through the contact route on the support page. These are general terms for the project. They are not legal advice about your use of any particular content or service.