Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

We collect the following types of information to create and deliver personalized books:

1.1 Personal Information You Provide

We may collect your name, both the recipient's name (for gift books) and your own. Your email address is collected for communication purposes, order confirmations, and digital delivery of your book. Your shipping address is required for physical book delivery. During the book creation process, we collect story details, preferences, and personalization information you provide. If you choose to upload images for your book cover or dedication page, we will collect those as well.

1.2 Payment Information

We collect payment details, including billing and shipping addresses. Payment processing is handled securely by PayPal. We do not store your complete payment information directly as it is handled entirely by our payment processor.

1.3 Cookies and Local Storage

We use cookies and local storage on our website for the following purposes:

• Essential Cookies: These are necessary for the website to function properly. They include session management and authentication cookies provided by our hosting platform (Supabase), as well as local storage used to save your book creation progress so you can resume if interrupted.
• Analytics Cookies: We use PostHog to understand how visitors interact with our website. This helps us identify areas for improvement and enhance the user experience. Analytics data is used in aggregate form and is not sold to third parties.
• Marketing Cookies: We use Meta Pixel (Facebook Pixel) to measure the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns and to deliver relevant ads. This technology may collect information about your browsing activity on our website and share it with Meta (Facebook) for ad targeting and measurement purposes.

2. How We Use Your Information

The information we collect is used strictly for:

• Creating and personalizing your book using AI technology
• Generating custom book covers based on your preferences
• Sending order confirmations and digital copies of your book
• Processing secure payments through PayPal
• Printing and shipping physical books to your specified address
• Providing customer support and responding to inquiries
• Improving our services and user experience

We do not sell, rent, or use your data for purposes beyond providing the services you requested.

3. Sharing Information with Third Parties

We only share your information with trusted third parties essential to fulfilling your order:

• Printing & Shipping (Lulu): We share necessary details such as your name, address, and book content with our print-on-demand partner to produce and deliver your physical book.
• Payment Processing (PayPal): Payments are securely processed through PayPal, which complies with industry-leading encryption and security standards.
• AI Services (OpenAI): Story content and preferences are processed through OpenAI to generate your personalized book content and cover designs.
• Hosting (Vercel & Supabase): Your data is securely stored on industry-leading cloud platforms with robust security measures.

No other third parties have access to your personal information.

4. Data Usage and Responsibility

We collect and use your personal information strictly for the purpose of creating and delivering your personalized book. Your information is stored when you create an account or place an order, and it is used solely to process your payment, create your personalized book, and ship your order. We retain draft information to allow you to resume book creation at any time. If you have questions about the information you provided or require assistance, please contact us.

5. Data Retention and Security

Personal data is stored securely to track orders, facilitate future orders, and ensure service quality. Our website operates over HTTPS, ensuring all data transmitted between you and our servers is encrypted. All data is stored on secure platforms (Supabase) with industry-standard encryption and access controls. You may request deletion of your account and associated data by contacting our support team.

6. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have certain rights regarding your personal data, including:

• The right to access your personal information
• The right to correct inaccurate information
• The right to request deletion of your data
• The right to object to certain processing activities
• The right to data portability

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at support@betheauthor.com.

7. Legal Compliance

BeTheAuthor strives to comply with applicable privacy laws, including GDPR for European users and CCPA for California residents. If additional regulations become applicable to our business, we will update this policy accordingly and notify users of any significant changes.

8. Children's Privacy

BeTheAuthor is intended for users aged 18 and older. While our platform can be used to create children's books, the service itself is designed for adult users. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13.

If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under 13 without verification of parental consent, we will take steps to promptly delete that information from our servers.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child under 13 has provided personal information to us, please contact us at support@betheauthor.com so we can take appropriate action.

9. Policy Updates

This Privacy Policy may be updated periodically to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. Significant updates will be communicated through our website. Updates will include a new effective date at the top of the policy. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your data.

10. Contact Us

For any questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact us:

• Email: support@betheauthor.com
• Contact Form: Contact Us Page

We are committed to addressing your inquiries transparently and promptly.