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Tazwat

Shamela Privacy Policy

Last Updated: October 24, 2026

1. About This Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to the Shamela mobile app (the “App”) for Android and iOS, published by Tazwat Technology (“we”, “us”). It explains what data the App stores on your device, what data leaves your device and why, and the choices you have.

  • App: Shamela — A reader for the Arabic library of al-Maktaba al-Shamela: more than 7,000 classical books of hadith, tafsir, fiqh, history and language to browse, download and read offline, with footnotes, contents, bookmarks, highlights and notes.
  • Android package: com.tazwat.shamela
  • iOS bundle ID: com.tazwat.shamela
  • Languages: Arabic, English
  • Pricing: Free. No in-app purchases. The app does not display ads.
  • Account: No account, email address or sign-up is required.

This page supplements the Tazwat Technology Privacy Policy. Where they differ, this page applies to the App.

2. Data Stored Only on Your Device

The following data is stored only on your device. It is never uploaded to us or to anyone else:

  • Your settings: language, reading background, font, text size, layout and the Wi-Fi-only download choice
  • The books you download, converted and stored in the app’s private storage
  • Where you stopped in each book
  • Your bookmarks, highlights and notes

What you read, your bookmarks, highlights and notes are never sent to Tazwat Technology. We have no server that receives them.

3. Data Sent Off Your Device

The App sends only the following limited technical data off your device. None of it includes the data listed in Section 2.

old.shamela.ws (al-Maktaba al-Shamela)

  • What is sent: Standard download requests: your IP address and which book file is requested.
  • Why: To download the book you chose, under the site’s own policies. The book catalog ships inside the app.

Firebase Crashlytics (Google)

  • What is sent: Crash reports and diagnostics, such as stack traces, device model, operating system and app version, with a random installation ID.
  • Why: To find and fix crashes.

Firebase Remote Config and Installations (Google)

  • What is sent: A random installation ID.
  • Why: To fetch app configuration settings.

4. Third-Party Services

The App includes the following third-party software development kits (SDKs):

  • Firebase (Crashlytics, Remote Config, Installations) (Google): Crash reporting and app configuration, as described above. Usage analytics are switched off. Provider privacy information.

5. Advertising, Sale and Sharing of Data

Shamela does not display ads, does not collect usage analytics and does not use advertising identifiers.

We do not sell your data and we do not share it with third parties for their own purposes. The providers listed in Section 4 (such as Google) act as our service providers (data processors) and process the data described in Section 3 only on our behalf.

6. Security

Data sent from the App to our service providers is encrypted in transit using HTTPS. Data stored on your device is protected by your device’s own security, such as your screen lock.

Privacy features

  • Books are read entirely on the device after download; reading works offline.
  • Downloads can be limited to Wi-Fi in Settings.

7. Data Retention and Deletion

  • Data on your device: Remove books, bookmarks and notes in My books or in Settings > Downloads & storage, or uninstall the app to delete everything.
  • Data off your device: To request deletion of crash data associated with your installation, email [email protected].
  • Retention: Data on your device is kept until you delete it or uninstall the app. Crash data is kept according to Google Firebase’s retention settings for our project.

8. Your Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct or delete your personal data, or to object to its processing. Because the App does not ask for your name or email, the data we hold is linked only to anonymous identifiers. To exercise your rights, contact us at [email protected].

9. Children

Shamela is suitable for all ages and does not knowingly collect personal information from anyone, including children.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when the App changes. We will post the updated policy on this page and update the “Last Updated” date above.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or the App, contact Tazwat Technology at [email protected].

See also the Shamela Terms of Service.