Terms of Service

Epilogue helps readers discover books, track their reading and, where available, share reviews, ratings and reading lists. Some features require an account.

The Services are currently free to use. We will not charge you automatically if we introduce paid features. Any paid offering will have clearly explained prices and additional terms that you must accept before purchasing.

You must be legally able to enter into this agreement. If you are under the age of legal adulthood where you live, you may use the Services only where local law allows and with the permission and appropriate supervision of a parent or guardian. Your parent or guardian must review and agree to these terms before you register.

You must not use the Services where doing so would be unlawful.

Provide accurate information where required for registration and keep it up to date. Do not impersonate another person or use a misleading identity. Your display name must not infringe another person's rights or contain abusive or discriminatory language.

Keep your sign-in details secure. Do not sell or transfer your account. If you believe someone has gained unauthorised access, contact us promptly. You are responsible for activity you authorise through your account; this does not make you automatically responsible for activity caused by a security failure on our part.

If a display name breaches these terms, we may ask you to change it or restrict its display. We will explain the reason unless doing so would create a safety or security risk or be unlawful.

You must not:

• Post illegal content or infringe copyright, privacy or other legal rights.
• Harass, threaten or abuse people, promote hatred or violence, or publish another person's private information without permission.
• Post, share or link to child sexual abuse or exploitation material, or any content that sexualises children. This is never permitted in any context. We will remove it, close the account and may report it to the relevant authorities.
• Post sexually explicit images.
• Post content that promotes or encourages suicide or self-harm.
• Impersonate people, commit fraud, send spam or post undisclosed promotional content.
• Manipulate reviews or ratings, including through fake accounts or coordinated deceptive activity.
• Upload malware, attempt unauthorised access, bypass access controls or disrupt the Services.
• Collect users' contact details or other personal information for unsolicited marketing.
• Use automated tools to create accounts, submit reviews or collect data without our permission, except through an expressly permitted interface or use described below.

Ordinary search engine indexing, browser features and assistive technology are permitted, provided they do not bypass access restrictions or disrupt the Services. Downloading and reusing our open author dataset under the Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0 is also permitted.

Honest criticism of Epilogue, a book or an author is allowed. Discussion of difficult themes in books, including crime, discrimination or violence, is allowed where it does not itself breach these terms.

Reviews and ratings should reflect your own experience and honest opinion of the book. You do not have to finish a book to review it, but do not imply that you have read it if you have not.

Do not fabricate experiences, present unsupported accusations as facts, or post deceptive reviews. Disclose relevant connections or incentives, such as being the author, working for the publisher or receiving a free review copy. An incentive must not require a positive rating.

Keep reviews relevant to the book. Use spoiler warnings where appropriate. Negative reviews are permitted when they comply with these rules. We will not remove a review merely because it is negative.

Reviews represent their contributors' views and are not endorsements by Epilogue.

“Your content” means material you submit to Epilogue, such as reviews, profile text, images and reading lists. You retain ownership of your content and any intellectual property rights you hold in it. You must have the rights or permissions needed to submit it and grant the licence below.

You grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to store, reproduce, transmit, format and display your content solely as needed to provide and operate the Services. This includes moderation, search, accessibility, technical processing and backups. We may display your chosen display name and profile image alongside content you make public.

We may allow our hosting and other service providers to process your content only as necessary to perform those functions for us. We may transfer this licence with the Services to a successor operator under section 18, subject to the same restrictions.

This licence does not authorise us to sell your reviews as a separate product, use them in external advertising or grant unrelated third parties rights to exploit them. Those uses would require separate permission or a separate licence you have expressly agreed to. You do not waive your moral rights.

We will respect the visibility settings available for the content. Public content may be viewed by people without an account and indexed by search engines. Do not include information you wish to keep private in public content.

The licence ends when your content is removed from the Services, subject to the limited retention described in section 10. Contributions you make to our open author dataset (see section 7) are governed by the ODbL 1.0, not by this licence; deleting your Epilogue account does not revoke rights already granted under it.

If you send us suggestions or feedback, you allow us to use them to improve Epilogue without payment. This does not transfer ownership of your content or allow us to disclose private correspondence publicly.

Epilogue's branding, designs, software and other materials belong to us or their respective rights holders. Book covers, descriptions, author photographs and other third-party materials may have their own rights and licence conditions. We do not claim ownership of them simply because they appear on Epilogue.

You may use the Services for their intended reading and discovery purposes. Other reproduction or commercial use of protected materials requires permission unless a licence or the law allows it. You may share links to public Epilogue pages.

We publish an open dataset of book authors, licensed under the Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0. That licence governs reuse of the dataset, including commercial reuse, subject to its attribution and share-alike conditions. These terms do not restrict permissions granted by it.

The ODbL covers the database as a whole. It does not automatically grant rights to each photograph, biography or other item within the database; check the item's stated licence or source. Any other software, data or materials we release under an open-source, open-data or Creative Commons licence are governed by that licence in the same way.

Posting a review on Epilogue does not automatically place it in an open dataset or grant the public an open licence.

We may review and remove content, limit its visibility or restrict accounts where we reasonably believe these terms have been breached, content is unlawful, or action is needed to protect users or the Services. We will take proportionate action, considering the seriousness and repetition of the issue.

We may make technical formatting changes that do not alter meaning. If content needs substantive changes to comply with these terms, we may ask you to amend it or remove it rather than rewrite your opinion.

Report unlawful content, abuse or other concerns to team@epilogue.club, including the relevant page link and a description of the issue. You may also contact us to challenge a moderation decision. We will review the information and correct mistakes where appropriate.

We will normally explain restrictions or removals to the affected user. We may act immediately or limit the explanation where required by law or necessary to protect people, security or an investigation.

If you believe material on Epilogue infringes copyright, email team@epilogue.club with:

• Your name and contact details.
• A description of the work and your ownership of it or authority to act for the rights holder.
• The link to the allegedly infringing material.
• An explanation of the alleged infringement and any supporting evidence.

We will assess the complaint and take appropriate action, which may include removing or restricting access to the material. We may share the substance of the complaint with the contributor so they can respond, while avoiding unnecessary disclosure of personal information. Do not submit knowingly false complaints.

You may stop using Epilogue at any time. To request account deletion or removal of your content, email team@epilogue.club from your registered address. We may need to verify your identity before acting.

When we delete your account, we will remove your profile and the reviews and other content associated with it from public display, and delete associated personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable law. Your private reading records will no longer be available through that account.

Limited copies may remain temporarily in backups until those backups are overwritten through our normal retention process. We may also retain information where necessary to meet legal obligations, investigate abuse or establish, exercise or defend legal claims. Retained copies will not be used to republish your deleted content and will be held only for as long as necessary for those purposes.

We cannot guarantee removal of copies independently saved by other people or held in third-party search caches. Contributions to our open author dataset remain subject to the ODbL 1.0, as explained in sections 6 and 7. This does not override your personal data rights.

We may suspend or close an account for serious or repeated breaches of these terms, unlawful use, or a material safety or security risk. Where appropriate, we will explain the issue and give you a reasonable opportunity to resolve it before closing the account.

Immediate restrictions may be necessary to prevent harm, protect security or comply with the law. You can ask us to review a decision by emailing team@epilogue.club. Do not create another account to evade a restriction.

Account closure does not remove rights or obligations that arose before closure. Content and personal data will be handled as described in sections 6, 10 and 12.

Our Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share and retain personal data, including information about service providers, international transfers and your data protection rights.

Accepting these terms does not give blanket consent to processing personal data, international transfers or marketing. Where consent is required, we will request it separately. Your rights under applicable data protection law remain unaffected.

Book and author information may come from external sources and can contain errors or omissions. Recommendations are suggestions, not guarantees that you will enjoy a book. Please report inaccuracies to us.

Links may take you to websites operated by third parties, including book retailers. Their own terms and privacy policies apply. A link does not necessarily mean we endorse that website or its content. Purchases made from a third-party retailer are agreements with that retailer.

These statements do not exclude responsibility we have under section 15 or applicable law.

Epilogue is an evolving service. We aim to provide a useful and reliable platform, but cannot promise uninterrupted access or error-free information. Maintenance, technical faults and events beyond our reasonable control may cause interruptions.

We may change features to improve the Services, address security or technical issues, comply with the law, or respond to changes in third-party services. We may discontinue features or the Services if they are no longer practical or sustainable to operate.

For changes that materially affect your use, or a planned closure, we will give reasonable advance notice where practicable and an opportunity to retrieve your reading records or request their removal. Urgent legal or security changes may require immediate action.

Keep your own copies of content or records that are particularly important to you. This does not remove our responsibility for loss caused by a breach of our legal duties.

We will exercise reasonable care and skill in providing the Services. If we breach these terms or fail to use reasonable care and skill, we are responsible for loss or damage you suffer that is a foreseeable result. Loss or damage is foreseeable if it was an obvious consequence or was reasonably contemplated by both you and us when you accepted these terms.

The Services are intended for personal reading and discovery. We are not responsible for business losses arising from commercial use, such as lost business profits, revenue or opportunities. This does not exclude compensation for personal loss or damage for which we are legally responsible.

Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot legally be excluded or limited. Your statutory consumer and data protection rights are unaffected.

You remain responsible for your own unlawful conduct and breaches of these terms. We do not require you to give us a blanket indemnity or reimburse losses caused by our own conduct.

We may update these terms to reflect changes to the Services, legal requirements, security needs or to clarify wording. We will publish the revised version and update its date and version number.

For changes that materially affect your rights or obligations, we will explain what is changing and give at least 30 days' notice through email or a prominent notice in the Services, unless a shorter period is necessary for legal or urgent security reasons.

Where renewed agreement is needed, we will ask you to accept the revised terms before you continue using the affected account features. You may decline and close your account. Changes will not apply retrospectively to disputes or conduct that arose before they took effect.

If you have a complaint, contact team@epilogue.club. We will try to resolve it fairly. Contacting us first is encouraged but is not a condition of bringing a legal claim or seeking urgent relief.

These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. If you are a consumer living elsewhere, you retain any mandatory protections of the laws of your country of residence that apply to you.

The courts of England and Wales have non-exclusive jurisdiction. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you may also bring proceedings in your local courts. If mandatory law gives you the right to bring proceedings in another country, these terms do not restrict that right. We will bring proceedings against consumers in their country of residence where the law requires this.

These terms do not require arbitration or waive rights to participate in collective or representative proceedings where available under applicable law.

If a provision is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue to apply where they can operate fairly without it. A delay in enforcing a term does not mean that we or you give up the right to enforce it later.

We may transfer our rights and obligations to a successor operator as part of a sale, merger or reorganisation of the Services, provided this does not reduce your rights under these terms. We will notify you of a change of operator and allow you to close your account. The successor must respect the content licence and applicable data protection obligations.

We may send account, security and service notices electronically through email or the Services. This does not enrol you in marketing communications or waive any legal requirement for another form of notice.

These terms do not override separately applicable open licences, your statutory rights or any binding commitments we make to you about the Services.

For questions, complaints, moderation appeals, copyright notices or account deletion requests, email team@epilogue.club.