Which Goodreads alternative is best for privacy, and which tracker collects the least data?

What does a privacy label actually tell you?

Every app on the Apple App Store has a privacy section written by its developer. It sorts data into three groups. Data used to track you is data linked with other companies' data for advertising or shared with data brokers. Data linked to you is collected and tied to your identity. Data not linked to you is collected but not tied to you.

Labels are a useful first filter, with two cautions: the developer writes them, and they describe categories, not exact practices. We report them as written. Our tracker terms page explains each phrase in plain words.

What does each tracker's label say?

On the listings we read:

• Hardcover: Data Not Linked to You, covering usage data and diagnostics. The lightest label on our list.
• Literal: no data used to track you, and the listing describes the app with the line "No ads, no selling your data."
• BookBuddy: no data used to track you. The library is saved on your device, with optional iCloud or Dropbox sync.
• The StoryGraph: analytics, user content, contact info, identifiers and usage data linked to you.
• Goodreads: data linked to you, used for analytics, personalization, app functionality and marketing.
• Basmo: identifiers and usage data used to track you.
• Bookly: identifiers and usage data used to track you, with third-party advertising among the uses.
• Fable: identifiers used to track you; Google Play's data safety section says data may be shared with third parties.
• Magic Bookmark: identifiers used to track you, and purchases, contact info, user content (photos), search history, identifiers, usage data and diagnostics linked to you. It needs a photo of your page to find your place, which is why photos appear.

Which apps show ads?

The Google Play listings for Goodreads and Bookly say the apps contain ads. Literal describes itself as having no ads. For the other apps, we did not find an ads statement on the pages we read.

Which apps keep your data on your device?

BookBuddy is the clear case: your library is saved locally, and syncing through iCloud or Dropbox is your choice. The other trackers are account-based services, which is what makes friends, clubs and web access possible.

How do you keep a reading log with less data?

• Choose an app with a light label, such as Hardcover, Literal or BookBuddy, and turn off what you do not use.
• Keep your profile private where the app allows it, and skip contact syncing.
• Use a paper or spreadsheet log. Our resources section has a printable reading log.
• If you want your data in your own tools, Hardcover documents a public GraphQL API, and BookBuddy exports CSV, PDF and HTML.

What about the data you already have?

Moving away from an app does not delete what it holds. Export your library first, then check the app's own settings or help pages for account deletion. Goodreads exports a CSV file that The StoryGraph, Literal, Fable and BookBuddy accept, as recorded on our cards.

Which Goodreads alternative is best for privacy?

If privacy is the reason you are leaving Goodreads, compare labels first and features second. On the App Store labels we read, Hardcover's is the lightest (Data Not Linked to You, covering usage data and diagnostics), and Literal and BookBuddy list no data used to track you. Of those three, Hardcover and Literal are social trackers with web versions, and BookBuddy is a catalogue that keeps your library on your device.

That is not a ranking of who protects your data best. Labels are written by the developers, they describe categories rather than practices, and they can change with any update. Read each app's current label in the App Store before you move, and check the date we read it on that app's library card.

Three practical questions narrow the choice:

• Do you want friends, clubs or a public profile? Then you need an account-based app, and Hardcover or Literal is the lighter-label option.
• Do you want nothing to leave your phone except your own backup? Then a catalogue such as BookBuddy, or a spreadsheet, fits better than any social tracker.
• Do you need Android? BookBuddy is Apple only, and Literal lists Android as coming soon, so Hardcover is the light-label app on our list that runs on Android today.

Who owns each tracker, and why does it matter?

Ownership decides which privacy policy, which account system and which advertising business your reading record sits inside. Goodreads is an Amazon company, which is the main reason some readers give for leaving. The other trackers we profile are separate companies with their own policies. Ownership can change, so the label and policy on the day you sign up matter more than a company's reputation.

What does a recap app need to know about you?

More than a log does, because it has to know where you are in the book. Magic Bookmark's label lists user content (photos) linked to you, because a photo of your page is one of the ways it finds your place; you can type the page number instead. Kindle's recap tools work through your Amazon account and only on Kindle ebooks. If you would rather share nothing, a paper cast list and a one-line note at the end of each session do the same job by hand.

What setup suits a privacy-minded reader?

If you want a tracker with friends and stats and the lightest label, Hardcover is the app the labels point to. If you want clubs without ads, Literal, keeping its May 2026 Clubs change in mind. If you want nothing in the cloud at all, BookBuddy or a paper log. The privacy section of the reader guide and the tracker finder with the privacy question answered do the rest.