Privacy Policy

Our Approach

Pendrilo is built by authors, for authors. Your manuscript is yours — we don't sell it, we don't train AI models on it, and we don't use it for advertising. This policy explains what data we do collect and why.

1. Information You Provide

Account information. When you create an account we collect your email address, username, a password hash (we never store passwords in plain text), and optionally a display name.

Your Content. Manuscripts, chapters, story codex entries, cover designs, notes, snapshots, beta-reader shares, and other writing you create or upload. Your Content is stored privately and is not accessible to other users except through share links you create.

Newsletter list. If you join our newsletter, we store your email address and the source of the signup.

Payment information. Billing is handled by a third-party payment processor (Stripe). Pendrilo never sees or stores your full card number. We keep a record of your purchases (what was bought, when, and the receipt reference) to provide support and honor our money-back guarantee.

2. Information Collected Automatically

Technical logs. Standard web-server logs that include your IP address, browser user-agent, the pages you visited, timestamps, and similar request metadata. We use these for security, debugging, and capacity planning.

Cookies. Pendrilo uses a session cookie to keep you logged in and a CSRF-protection cookie to prevent cross-site request forgery. We do not use third-party advertising or tracking cookies.

Usage telemetry. Aggregate counts such as total words written or chapters created may be used to operate the Service (for example, to compute writing-streak stats on your dashboard). These do not include manuscript content.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information described above to:

• Operate the Service and provide its features to you
• Authenticate you and keep your account secure
• Take backups and snapshots of Your Content so you can restore earlier versions
• Process purchases and refunds through our payment processor
• Communicate about the Service — outages, security issues, important updates, and receipts
• Send new account holders a short series of onboarding emails about using Pendrilo, and occasional product news — every such email includes a one-click unsubscribe, and opting out never affects your account
• Detect, prevent, and respond to abuse, fraud, or violations of our Terms
• Comply with legal obligations

4. How We Share Information

We do not sell your personal information.

We share information only in the following limited circumstances:

• Service providers we use to operate Pendrilo — for example, the hosting provider that runs our servers, the email provider that delivers our mail, and the payment processor that handles billing. These providers are contractually obligated to handle data only on our instructions.
• Legal requirements — when required by law, court order, or to protect the rights and safety of users and the Service.
• Business transfers — if Pendrilo is acquired or merged, your information may be transferred to the successor entity. Any successor will be bound by this Policy unless and until it's amended.

5. Beta-Reader Share Links

When you create a beta-reader share link, anyone with the URL (and the passphrase, if you set one) can view the chapters you've made available. Comments left by beta readers are visible to you in your editor.

If you delete a share link, access ends immediately for anyone who held the URL.

6. Data Retention

We retain Your Content for as long as your account is active. If you close your account, Your Content is removed from active systems within 30 days, with backup copies expiring within 90 days.

Newsletter emails are retained until you unsubscribe or ask to be removed. Purchase records are retained as long as needed for tax, accounting, and legal purposes.

Technical logs are typically retained for 90 days, then deleted or aggregated.

7. Your Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Correct inaccurate data
• Delete your account and personal data (with the retention windows above)
• Export Your Content — Pendrilo gives paid accounts a one-click JSON backup of any book, and you can always request a copy of Your Content through our contact form
• Object to certain processing, or restrict it

To exercise any of these rights, reach us through our contact form. We'll respond within a reasonable time, and within the timeframes required by applicable law.

8. Children's Privacy

Pendrilo is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has provided us information, contact us and we will delete it.

9. International Users

Pendrilo's servers are operated in the United States. If you use the Service from outside the U.S., you understand that your information will be transferred to and processed in the U.S., where data-protection laws may differ from those in your country.

10. Security

We use industry-standard security practices including encrypted transport (HTTPS), hashed passwords, and access controls on internal systems. No service is perfectly secure — if we discover a breach that affects you, we will notify you in accordance with applicable law.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be announced on this page and, when reasonable, by email. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page shows the most recent revision.

12. Contact

Questions, requests, or concerns about your privacy? Reach us through our contact form.