PBS takes member privacy very seriously. 

• PBS will not share your email or personal information. 
• PBS will not inflict spam on you.
• Only your first name and the first initial of your last name will appear on the site (in PMs, forums, or Profiles).

However, in order to receive books from other members, you must provide a shipping address. 

• PBS will release your shipping address to a sending member ONLY for the duration of an active transaction.
• When the transaction is completed (or canceled, or the book is declared lost en route), your address will no longer be accessible from the website.
• Please note: The requestor is responsible for providing a working, current mailing address that will reliably receive packages containing books.
  • So: it is not allowed to ask for a book to be sent to a correctional facility
  • And: it is necessary that the addressee (name) on the package match the name of a known resident of that address

You can take further precautions to protect your privacy, from the Account Settings:

• You can hide your city/state in the Member Directory and your PBS Profile (Note: The Member Directory is accessible only to members enrolled in Limited or Standard Membership.)
• You can hide your transactions statistics on your Profile
• You can hide your booklists on your Profile
• The PBS Personal Message System allows you to communicate with other members without sharing your email address.
• You can set multiple aspects of your account to different levels of privacy--you can grant more (or less) access to other members as you wish.  See Privacy Controls for details about the privacy controls in your account settings.

If you are concerned about privacy issues, this is what we recommend:

• Use only a first initial (full last name must be provided) when you register
• Hide your city/state in the Member Directory and on your PBS Profile
• Do not share personal email addresses/mailing addresses in the Forums
• Consider using a PO box or work address to receive your PBS shipments
• Do not give out your email address when you refer others to the club--give them your PBS Nickname instead.

We know that the Internet contains search engines that permit access to private information such as telephone number, but it is NOT OKAY to use information obtained in such a manner to contact another PBS member. It is NOT OKAY to contact another member outside of a swap without his/her consent. If such contact is initiated without the express permission of the other member, the offender's PBS account may be terminated permanently.

Related Links:

What's in the Account Settings?
How do I contact another member?
How do I refer others to PaperBackSwap?
Privacy Controls