Privacy Policy

Our Key Commitments

• We never sell your personal information
• We never use your manuscripts or creative content to train AI or machine learning models
• We collect only data necessary to provide the Platform
• You can export or delete your data at any time
• You own your content, always
• We use industry-standard encryption to protect your data

1. Information We Collect

We collect what you give us (name, email, manuscripts), what is generated by your usage (feature clicks, page views), and basic device info (browser type). We never collect SSNs, biometric data, or info from children.

Information you provide

• Account info: Name, email, password, profile details
• Payment info: Billing address and payment method (processed by Stripe; we never store full card numbers)
• Content: Manuscripts, covers, metadata, descriptions, and other materials you upload or create
• Communications: Support messages and interactions with Dorothy (our onboarding assistant)
• Publishing info: Book titles, author names, ISBNs, genre selections, preferences

Information collected automatically

• Device info: Browser type, OS, device type, screen resolution
• Log data: IP address, pages viewed, features used, referring URLs
• Usage data: Features accessed, session duration, tool usage patterns
• Cookies: As described in Section 6
• Credit usage data: Features used, credit costs per operation, daily and monthly consumption patterns, top-up purchase history. Used solely to operate the billing system and detect abuse.

Information from third parties

• Authentication providers (Google, Apple): Name, email, profile picture
• Payment processor (Stripe): Transaction confirmations, billing status
• Distribution partners: Sales data and royalties if you connect accounts

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your data to run the platform, process payments, improve our tools, and send important updates. That is it.

• Operate the Platform: Store and process your content, provide editing/design/publishing tools, handle exports and distribution
• Process payments: Subscriptions, credits, invoices, refunds, royalty tracking, fraud prevention
• Manage credits and billing: Track monthly credit pool usage, daily refresh credit allocation, top-up credit balances, rollover eligibility, and subscription tier entitlements.
• Improve the Platform: Analyze aggregate usage patterns, fix bugs, develop features (we never use individual manuscripts or content for this)
• Communicate: Account notifications, customer support, product updates and tips (you can opt out of non-essential emails)
• Security: Detect fraud, prevent abuse, comply with legal obligations

3. How We Share Your Information

We share data only with service providers who help run the platform and distribution partners you choose. We never sell your data.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We share it only with:

• Service providers: Cloud hosting (AWS/Google Cloud), payment processing (Stripe), credit and billing infrastructure, email delivery, analytics. All bound by data processing agreements.
• Distribution partners: When you publish, we share book metadata, files, covers, and pricing with retailers (Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, Apple Books, etc.) at your direction only.
• Legal requirements: Court orders, government requests, or to protect rights/safety. We notify you when legally permitted.
• Business transfers: In a merger or acquisition, your data may transfer with 30 days advance notice.

4. Data Retention

We keep data while you have an account. After deletion, data is removed within 90 days (except payment records kept 7 years for tax law).

• Account and content data: Duration of account + 90 days after deletion
• Payment records: 7 years (tax/financial law requirement)
• Usage/analytics data: Up to 3 years, anonymized
• Support communications: 2 years after resolution

5. Data Security

We encrypt everything in transit and at rest, limit employee access, and will notify you within 72 hours of any breach.

We protect your data with TLS 1.2+ encryption in transit, AES-256 encryption at rest, role-based access controls, regular security audits and penetration testing, and a documented incident response plan with 72-hour breach notification. No system is 100% secure, but we take every reasonable precaution.

6. Cookies

We use essential cookies (required), functional cookies (your preferences), and analytics cookies (usage data). No advertising cookies ever. You can opt out of non-essential cookies.

• Essential cookies: Required for the Platform to function (auth, security, sessions). Cannot be disabled.
• Functional cookies: Remember your preferences (theme, language, settings). You can opt out.
• Analytics cookies: Understand usage patterns (page views, feature usage). You can opt out.

We do not use advertising, retargeting, or third-party tracking cookies.

7. Your Rights

You can access, correct, delete, and export your data anytime. EU and California users have additional specific rights.

All users

• Access, correct, or delete your personal data
• Export your content and data in standard formats
• Opt out of marketing communications
• Withdraw consent at any time

EEA and UK users (GDPR)

• Right to restriction of processing and data portability
• Right to object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Right not to be subject to solely automated decisions
• Right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority

California residents (CCPA)

• Right to know what personal info is collected and how it is used
• Right to delete and correct personal info
• Right to opt out of sale (we do not sell data, but the right applies)
• Right to non-discrimination for exercising privacy rights

To exercise any rights, email support@self-publish.ai. We respond within 30 days.

8. International Data Transfers

Self-Publish.ai is US-based. If you are outside the US, your data transfers to our US servers. We use Standard Contractual Clauses to protect EU user data.

The Platform operates from the United States. International users consent to data transfer to the US. For EEA/UK/Swiss users, transfers are protected by EU-approved Standard Contractual Clauses and data processing agreements with all service providers.

9. Children

The Platform is not intended for anyone under 18. We do not knowingly collect data from minors. If we discover we have, we will delete it immediately. Contact support@self-publish.ai to report.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. For material changes, we will email you at least 30 days before they take effect and post a notice on the Platform. Continued use after the effective date means you accept the updated policy.

11. Contact Us

Self-Publish.ai Inc. 712 H St NE, PMB 817, Washington, DC 20002 Email: support@self-publish.ai Phone: (240) 888-9593 By using Self-Publish.ai, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.