Privacy Policy

Our approach

Pendrilo is made by Pendrilo, LLC, based in Oklahoma, United States.

Pendrilo is built by authors, for authors. The Pendrilo programs run on your own computer, and your work stays there. We never see your manuscripts, maps, covers, comics, fonts or recordings unless you choose to send something to us. We do not sell your information or Your Content, use it for advertising, or use it to train artificial-intelligence models.

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use and share it, and the choices you have. It covers:

• the Programs: Pendrilo Studio, Pendrilo Formatter, Pendrilo Maps, Pendrilo Cover Wrap, Panelhouse, Pendrilo Type and Pendrilo Audiobook Studio;
• the website at pendrilo.com, your Pendrilo account, and the online features: Pendrilo Online, beta-reader links, ARC campaigns, author pages and author mailing lists.

Words like “Your Content” and “Online Services” mean the same as in our Terms of Service.

1. The Programs on your computer

Your files stay on your computer. The Programs save your work as files on your own computer, in the folders you choose. They autosave and keep earlier versions inside those files. We don’t receive copies, and the Programs don’t send us your files, their names or their contents.

No tracking. The Programs contain no analytics, advertising or usage tracking. They don’t report what you do in them.

The Programs connect to the internet only for the things below.

Update checks. When a Program starts (at most once a day), and when you choose Help → Check for Updates, it downloads a small update file from updates.pendrilo.com. The request names the Program but sends nothing about you or your computer. As with any web request, our server sees your IP address. If you click Update, the Program downloads the new installer.

License activation. If you enter a paid license key, the Program sends it to our reseller, Lemon Squeezy, to activate it, along with your computer’s name and a scrambled machine code that identifies the computer without revealing anything else about it. While you are online, the Program checks the license about once a day using the key and its activation number.

Feedback and crash reports. If a Program crashes, it writes a crash report to a folder on your computer. Nothing is sent unless you choose to. When you use Help → Send Feedback and click Send, we receive:

• your message;
• your email address, only if you type one;
• a picture of the Program’s window, only if you tick that box (you see it first);
• the latest crash report, only if you tick that box;
• the Program’s name and version, your operating system, and the kind of license in use (for example “trial” or “licensed”).

Feedback never includes your files or their contents unless they appear in a picture you choose to attach.

Pendrilo Online (Studio). If you connect Studio to your Pendrilo account, it sends us only what you choose to publish or share: book details, chapter text, the cover and the reader links you create (see Section 2). The sign-in for your connected computer is kept in your operating system’s secure credential store.

Optional downloads. Some features download extra files from third parties only when you ask for them. For example, Read Aloud’s natural voices in Studio come from Hugging Face and GitHub. Those sites receive the request, including your IP address, under their own privacy policies.

Help links. Help → User Guide and similar links open pages on our website in your web browser.

2. Information you give us online

Account. Your email address, name or pen name, password (stored only as a secure hash, never as plain text), time zone, and the computers you have connected to your account.

What you publish or share. Chapters, book details, covers and author-page content that you publish from Studio or add on the website, and the beta-reader links and ARC campaigns you set up. Your Content is not public unless you make it so: author pages are public, and shared links can be opened by anyone who has them.

Beta sign-ups. When you join the beta, we store your email address, what you write, your computer type, when you signed up, and whether and how often you downloaded the Programs from your beta page.

Feedback and support. What you send through Help → Send Feedback, the contact form and support requests, including any attachments.

Newsletter and email preferences. Your email address, where you signed up, your preferences, and the records we need to deliver email and honor unsubscribe requests.

Readers’ information. If you use beta-reader links, ARC campaigns or an author mailing list, we store the information you or your readers provide, such as readers’ names, email addresses, comments, invitations and replies. You are responsible for having permission to add someone’s information and to email them.

Payments. Licenses for the Programs are sold by Lemon Squeezy, which acts as the merchant of record. Lemon Squeezy collects your payment details, billing address and tax information directly. We never see your full card number. We receive what we need to support your purchase: your name and email address, what you bought, the license key, its activations, and payment and refund status.

3. Information collected automatically on the website

Server and security logs. Our hosting provider and our website record IP addresses, browser details, the pages and addresses requested, times and errors. We use them to keep the website secure and working, to limit abuse (for example, too many sign-in attempts), and to fix problems.

Account activity. We record sign-ups, sign-ins, email verification, connected computers, and when you publish or share something. Administrators can see this for individual accounts.

Reader activity. Beta-reader and ARC features record visits, downloads, comments and review status. The author who shared the link or runs the campaign can see this.

Cookies and browser storage. We use a session cookie to keep you signed in and to protect forms. Your browser may also remember settings such as light or dark mode. We don’t use advertising or tracking cookies.

4. How we use information

We use information to:

• run the website, your account and the online features;
• deliver updates and check licenses;
• run the beta: send your download link, a check-in email, and news about new versions;
• read and act on feedback and crash reports, and answer support requests;
• deliver the reader links, ARC emails and mailing-list emails you set up;
• send account, security and important service notices;
• send product news and other promotional email where permitted, following your preferences;
• prevent fraud and abuse, and enforce our Terms;
• meet legal obligations.

Where the law requires a legal basis, we rely on performing our agreement with you, our legitimate interests in running and protecting the Service, legal obligations, or your consent.

5. How we share information

We do not sell your personal information or Your Content. We share information only in these cases:

Service providers. Companies that host our website, store backups, and deliver email process information only to provide those services to us.

Lemon Squeezy. Handles purchases, taxes, receipts, license keys and license checks. It processes information as described in the Lemon Squeezy Privacy Policy and may use it for its own purposes, such as fraud prevention and legal compliance.

External website resources. Some pages load fonts from Google Fonts or code libraries from jsDelivr, and the Episodes page plays videos through YouTube’s privacy-enhanced mode. These providers receive your IP address and browser details when your browser requests those files.

AI writing tools for our own content. We use AI services from Anthropic and OpenAI to help write our blog posts, help articles and newsletters. They receive only the material we give them. They never receive your files, your published chapters or your readers’ information.

Sharing you ask for. When you publish an author page, share a reader link or run an ARC campaign, we show your content to the readers you chose, or to everyone for public pages.

Legal and safety reasons. When the law requires it, or when reasonably necessary to investigate fraud, protect people’s rights or safety, or respond to a security threat.

Business transfers. If Pendrilo is sold or merged, information may transfer to the new owner, subject to this Privacy Policy and the law.

6. Beta-reader and ARC links

Anyone with a link, and its passphrase if you set one, can open what you shared through it. Readers may forward links. Turning off or deleting a link stops new access through it, but can’t retrieve copies, downloads or screenshots readers already have.

Readers’ comments and activity are visible to the author who shared the link. Authors should collect only the reader information they need and respect readers’ email preferences.

7. How long we keep information

On your computer. Files the Programs create stay on your computer until you delete them. We can’t access or delete them.

Your account and published content. We keep these while your account is open. When you close your account, we remove your account and published content from our live systems.

Backups. We keep rolling backups of the website for 30 days. Content removed from the live site may remain in a backup until that backup expires, up to 30 days later.

Feedback and crash reports. We keep these until we have dealt with them, then delete them or keep them only as long as they help us fix the problem.

Unverified accounts. Accounts whose email address is never confirmed are removed automatically after a period of time.

Purchase, support and security records. We keep these as long as needed for accounting, resolving disputes, preventing abuse and meeting legal obligations, including after you close your account.

Email preferences. After you unsubscribe, we keep your email address on a do-not-email list so we don’t email you again by mistake.

Server logs. Kept only as long as needed for security and troubleshooting. We may keep totals that no longer identify anyone.

8. Your rights and choices

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

• see the personal information we hold about you;
• correct it;
• have it deleted, subject to legal exceptions;
• receive it in a portable format;
• object to or restrict some uses of it;
• withdraw consent where we rely on it;
• complain to your data-protection authority.

Your files. The Programs already keep your work on your computer, in files you control. You can copy, back up or delete them at any time without asking us.

Turning things off. You don’t need an account to use the Programs. Feedback and crash reports are only sent when you choose. You can disconnect a computer from your account at any time on your account page.

Email. Use the unsubscribe link in any promotional email, or contact us. Unsubscribing doesn’t close your account. We may still send account, security and purchase messages.

Requests. Contact us through our contact form or at support@pendrilo.com. We may need to confirm your identity first. We will reply within the time the law requires.

9. Children

The Service is not directed to children under 13, and we don’t knowingly collect their personal information. If you believe a child under 13 has given us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

10. Where information is processed

Pendrilo, LLC is based in Oklahoma, United States, and our website is hosted in the United States. Lemon Squeezy, our email provider and other service providers may process information in other countries under their own arrangements.

These countries may have data-protection laws that differ from where you live. Where the law requires safeguards for international transfers, we follow them.

11. Security

We protect information with password hashing, access controls and encrypted connections. The update files and installers the Programs download are digitally signed, and each Program checks the signature before it trusts an update.

No system is completely secure. Use a strong password, and keep your own backups of important work. If a security incident requires notice under the law, we will provide it.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy as the Service changes. We will tell you about important changes through the website, the Programs or email, as the law requires. The “Last updated” date shows the latest revision.

13. Contact

The company responsible for Pendrilo and this Privacy Policy is Pendrilo, LLC, based in Oklahoma, United States.

For privacy questions, or requests to see or delete your information, use our contact form or email support@pendrilo.com.