Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Novelist (“we,” “us,” “our”) respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal information when you use our platform.

2. Information We Collect

Account Information

When you create an account, we collect your display name, email address, and optionally a profile picture and bio. If you sign up via a third-party provider (e.g., Google, GitHub), we receive basic profile information from that provider.

Usage Data

We collect information about how you interact with the Platform, including pages visited, reading progress, bookmarks, reactions, comments, and search queries. This data helps us improve the reading experience and provide personalized recommendations.

Age Declaration

When you attempt to access age-restricted content, we record your declaration that you meet the minimum age requirement. We do not collect government-issued identification for age verification unless required by law in your jurisdiction.

Payment Information

If you subscribe to premium content, payment processing is handled by third-party providers (e.g., Stripe). We do not store your full credit card number. We retain transaction records for billing and accounting purposes.

Device & Technical Data

We automatically collect your IP address, browser type, operating system, device type, and referring URLs. We use cookies and similar technologies to maintain your session and preferences (such as theme and reader settings).

3. How We Use Your Information

• To operate and maintain the Platform.
• To personalize your experience (reading progress, bookmarks, theme preferences).
• To enforce age restrictions on mature content.
• To process payments and manage subscriptions.
• To communicate with you about your account, updates, and support requests.
• To detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and violations of our Terms of Service.
• To analyze usage trends and improve the Platform.

4. Sharing Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We may share data with:

• Service Providers — Third parties that help us operate the Platform (hosting, payment processing, analytics), bound by confidentiality agreements.
• Authors — Authors on the Platform may see aggregated, anonymized analytics about their readership (e.g., total reads, chapter completion rates). They do not receive your personal information unless you interact with them directly (e.g., comments).
• Legal Requirements — When required by law, court order, or to protect the rights and safety of Novelist, our users, or the public.

5. Cookies & Local Storage

We use cookies and browser local storage to maintain your login session, remember your theme preference (light/dark), reader settings, and reading progress. You can clear these through your browser settings, but doing so may affect your experience.

6. Data Retention

We retain your account data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we will remove your personal information within 30 days, except where retention is required by law (e.g., transaction records). Anonymized, aggregated data may be retained indefinitely.

7. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you.
• Request correction of inaccurate data.
• Request deletion of your data.
• Object to or restrict certain processing of your data.
• Export your data in a portable format.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@novelist.app.

8. Children’s Privacy

The Platform is not intended for children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn that we have collected such information, we will delete it promptly. Adult content is restricted to users who are 18 or older.

9. Security

We use industry-standard measures to protect your data, including encryption in transit (TLS) and at rest. However, no system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes via email or an in-app notice. Your continued use of the Platform after changes take effect constitutes acceptance.

11. Contact

For privacy-related questions or requests, contact us at privacy@novelist.app.