1. Short Version

Novelist is a service operated by Mackley Studios, Inc. In this Privacy Policy, "Novelist," "we," "us," and "our" refer to Mackley Studios, Inc.

• Novelist does not sell personal information or manuscript content.
• While you write, Novelist stores manuscript changes in the browser on the device you are using. This keeps editing fast and helps recover your work if the page closes or reloads.
• When you use Studio without an account, manuscript content and related project data stay in that browser profile and are not sent to Novelist's cloud-sync service. Anyone with access to your operating-system account and browser profile may be able to access that local data.
• Signed-in accounts may use cloud sync and online backup for manuscripts, snapshots, timelines, anchors, preferences, and related project records.
• Payments are processed by Stripe. Novelist does not store full card numbers or bank account details.
• Novelist does not use manuscript content to train AI models. Future versions may offer optional AI-assisted writing features that send relevant manuscript text to an AI provider to generate assistance you request. Novelist will explain what is sent, why it is needed, and how it is handled before you use such a feature. Any future use of manuscript content for model training would require separate, affirmative consent.

2. Information We Collect

Account information

If you create a Novelist account, we may collect:

• name, email address, and a salted cryptographic hash used to verify your password; Novelist does not store your password in readable form
• Google account identifiers, email verification status, name, and profile image
• session records, sign-in timestamps, and rate-limit records used to prevent abuse
• preferences such as theme, recent fonts, history limits, and manuscript order
• account access status, Alpha access requests, and launch-update communication choices
• records showing acceptance of the Terms of Service and this Privacy Policy

Manuscript and project information

Novelist stores manuscript drafts, snapshots, timelines, anchors, review changes, comments, media references, thumbnails, proofing preferences, and related project metadata in browser storage as you work. When you sign in and use cloud features, Novelist may also transmit, process, and store these categories of project information through its cloud-sync and backup services. Cloud records may include project bundles, operation history, snapshots, preferences, backup records, and related data needed to keep projects synchronized and recoverable across devices.

Browser storage is protected by the security boundary of your device, operating-system account, and browser profile. Clearing site data, deleting the browser profile, or ending a private-browsing session can remove local project data. Browser-granted persistent storage reduces automatic eviction when storage is low, but it does not prevent deliberate browser data clearing. Keep an exported project archive of important work.

Billing information

If you subscribe to a paid plan, Stripe processes payment details. Novelist may store Stripe customer identifiers, subscription identifiers, plan tier, billing interval, subscription status, renewal/cancellation status, and webhook-processing records needed to manage access and support billing.

Technical and support information

Novelist may process request metadata, browser and device information, security logs, diagnostics you choose to provide, support messages, and local debug exports you intentionally create or send for troubleshooting.

3. How We Collect And Use Information

We receive information directly from you when you create an account, write, subscribe, contact support, or change settings. We also receive information from:

• your browser, through cookies, local storage, IndexedDB, and sync requests
• Google, if you choose Google sign-in
• Stripe, when you start checkout, update billing, or manage a subscription
• Resend, when Novelist sends account or launch-list email

We use this information to:

• provide, secure, and operate Novelist
• create accounts, authenticate users, and maintain sessions
• manage Alpha access requests and notify you when account access changes
• send launch and product updates when you choose to receive them
• save local writing work, sync project data, and restore backups
• apply plan limits and account entitlements
• process subscriptions, billing portal access, and Stripe webhook updates
• respond to support requests and troubleshoot problems
• prevent fraud, abuse, and unauthorized access
• comply with legal obligations and enforce our terms

4. How We Share Information

We share information only as needed to run Novelist, comply with the law, protect the service, or complete actions you request. Service providers may include:

• Stripe for checkout, subscriptions, invoices, payment methods, and billing portal access
• Google when you choose Google sign-in
• Resend for transactional account messages and opted-in launch updates
• Cloudflare for application hosting, serverless processing, databases, object storage, security, and cloud-sync infrastructure

We do not sell personal information or manuscript content. We do not share manuscript content for cross-context behavioral advertising.

5. Third-Party Services

Third-party services handle some information under their own terms and privacy policies. Stripe handles payment information under its own privacy policy atstripe.com/privacy. Google handles Google sign-in data under Google's own privacy terms. Cloudflare processes application, account, security, and cloud-sync data as Novelist's infrastructure provider. Resend processes the email address and message content needed to deliver Novelist account and launch-list messages.

Novelist does not permit advertising networks to collect information through the app. Google and Stripe may receive information when you intentionally use Google sign-in, Stripe Checkout, or the Stripe Customer Portal. Their collection is governed by their own notices and your settings with those services.

6. Cookies And Tracking

Novelist uses cookies only when needed to sign you in, keep your account secure, and remember your active session. Novelist does not use advertising cookies or allow advertising networks to track your activity through the app.

Your browser also saves manuscript data and preferences on your device so Novelist can save your work and recover edits. This storage supports app features; it is not used to follow you across websites. Because Novelist does not use cross-site tracking, browser signals such as Do Not Track do not change how the app behaves.

7. Data Retention

• Clearing browser data. Clearing Novelist's site data removes manuscripts and settings stored in that browser only. It does not delete cloud-synced projects or account records. After you sign in again, projects that remain in the cloud may be downloaded back to the browser.
• Deleting a project. To permanently remove a cloud-synced project, delete it through Novelist while connected so the deletion reaches the cloud. If you have synced Novelist on more than one device, Novelist removes the local copy from each other device when it next connects and syncs. You may instead clear Novelist's site data on an offline device to remove its local copy without waiting for sync. A deletion marker and commit record may remain for the life of the account to prevent a device with an older local copy from restoring the deleted project.
• Deleting your account. Delete account permanently removes your cloud-synced projects and account records, cancels active billing, and clears Novelist's site data in the browser where you complete the deletion. Browser copies on other devices are not remotely erased and must be cleared separately if they remain after account deletion. Deleted cloud content is removed from active systems and is not available for ordinary recovery. Residual copies may remain temporarily in provider-managed disaster-recovery systems until they are overwritten under the provider's backup cycle; they are isolated from ordinary use during that time. Novelist may retain a minimal deletion marker to prevent an in-flight or stale sync client from recreating deleted cloud content.
• Novelist sessions expire after 2 days of inactivity. Temporary Google sign-in state expires after 15 minutes. Authentication rate-limit windows expire after 10 minutes, and expired entries are removed during authentication cleanup.
• Subscription and transaction records are generally retained for seven years for tax, accounting, and compliance purposes. Particular records may be retained longer when required by law or reasonably necessary for an active audit, dispute, legal claim, or fraud investigation. Records are deleted or de-identified when they are no longer needed for those purposes. Stripe may retain payment records under its own retention obligations.
• Emails, messages, and files you send to Novelist support are kept only as long as needed to respond to your request, document its resolution, protect the service, resolve disputes, or comply with legal obligations.

8. Your Rights And Choices

You can manage your information directly in Novelist. Studio lets you edit, export, and delete manuscripts. Anonymous users can delete their current local workspace from Studio Settings. From Settings, signed-in users can permanently delete their account, cloud-synced manuscripts, and Novelist data stored in the current browser. These self-service tools are the primary way to access, correct, export, or delete your information. If applicable law provides an additional privacy right that cannot be exercised through the app, or if you cannot access your account, contact Novelist support.

Novelist does not sell personal information or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.

9. International Privacy Information

Novelist is operated from the United States. Because Novelist uses Cloudflare's global network, requests and information may be processed in the United States or other countries. The locations used for request processing may differ from the locations where account and project records are stored. For more information about how Cloudflare handles information, see the Cloudflare Privacy Policy.

When information is processed in another country, Novelist follows applicable privacy laws and requires its service providers to protect that information.

If European Economic Area or United Kingdom privacy law applies, Novelist uses personal information to provide and secure the service, meet legal obligations, and carry out purposes you consent to. You may withdraw that consent at any time and have the right to contact your local data protection authority about concerns.

10. Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational measures to protect information, including password hashing, HTTP-only session cookies, CSRF protection, request validation, and trusted payment redirects. These safeguards reduce risk, but no online service can eliminate every security threat. Protect your account by using a unique password, securing your devices, and limiting access to the browser profiles where you use Novelist.

11. Children's Privacy

Novelist is a general-audience writing service and is not intended for children under 13. You must be at least 13 years old to use Novelist. We do not knowingly collect personal information from younger children. If we learn that we have done so, we will disable the account and promptly delete the information unless the law requires us to retain it.

12. Changes To This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The updated version will be indicated by a revised effective date. If changes are material, we will provide notice through the site, app, account email, or another reasonable method before the change takes effect. If a change requires consent, we will request it separately rather than treating continued use as consent.

13. Contact

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or Novelist's data practices, contact Mackley Studios, Inc. at support@mackleystudios.com.