Welcome to WritingRiver ("we," "us," or "our"). We are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our website and services (collectively, the "Service"). Please read this privacy policy carefully. If you do not agree with the terms of this privacy policy, please do not access the Service.

1. Information We Collect

We may collect information about you in a variety of ways. The information we may collect via the Service includes:

A. Personal Data

While using our Service, we may ask you to provide us with certain personally identifiable information that can be used to contact or identify you ("Personal Data"). This may include, but is not limited to:

• Email address
• First name and last name (Optional or if provided)
• Account credentials (Username, hashed password)
• Subscription and billing information (Processed by a third-party payment processor, see Section 4)
• Theme preferences (e.g., dark mode)
• Contact information provided through support requests or contact forms.

B. Project Content and Inputs

The core function of WritingRiver involves you inputting and generating content related to your writing projects. This includes:

• Information provided during onboarding (e.g., genre, subgenre, goals, target audience, core concepts).
• Inputs into outlining tools (e.g., premise, plot points, character details, setting descriptions, world-building rules, answers to Dynamic Questioning).
• Text generated through user interaction with AI features (e.g., AI suggestions you approve, generated chapter drafts based on your outlines).
• Uploaded content, such as reference book details, sample chapters, or previous works for analysis or style replication.
• Voice-to-text inputs if you use that feature.
• Feedback and decisions made when interacting with tools like BERT (e.g., ideas submitted for analysis, chosen suggestions).
• Content generated by tools like the Front/Back Matter Builder based on your inputs.
• If you use the Book Success Scoring Tool, the full manuscript draft you upload for analysis.
• Content processed by the Book Summarizing Tool or YouTube Scraper (if you provide book files or URLs).
• Version history of your inputs and generated content (Feature in Development).

We treat your Project Content as confidential. See Section 2 for how this specific data is used.

C. Usage Data and Technical Information

We may automatically collect information about your device and how you interact with our Service ("Usage Data"). This Usage Data may include information such as your computer's Internet Protocol (IP) address, browser type, browser version, the pages of our Service that you visit, the time and date of your visit, the time spent on those pages, unique device identifiers, feature usage patterns, error logs, and other diagnostic data.

D. Information from Third Parties

We may receive information about you from third-party services, such as our payment processor, regarding your subscription status.

2. How We Use Your Information

Having accurate information permits us to provide you with a smooth, efficient, and customized experience. Specifically, we may use information collected about you via the Service to:

• Create and manage your account.
• Provide, operate, and maintain the WritingRiver Service and its features (including the AI tools like BERT, CLEO, Chapter Builder, etc.).
• Process your subscription payments through our third-party payment processor.
• Generate outlines, chapter drafts, analysis reports (BERT, CLEO, Success Score), summaries, and other content based on your inputs and requests within the Service.
• Personalize your experience (e.g., applying theme preferences, tailoring AI suggestions based on your project details and past inputs).
• Communicate with you, including responding to support requests, sending service updates, newsletters (if opted-in), and administrative emails.
• Monitor and analyze usage and trends to improve the Service functionality, user experience, and AI model performance. Crucially, your specific Project Content (outlines, drafts, unique inputs) is NOT used to train general AI models shared with or used for other users unless we obtain your explicit, separate consent or the data is properly anonymized and aggregated such that it cannot be linked back to you or your specific work. Data from tools like the Book Summarizer and YouTube Scraper may be used to improve the underlying knowledge base and algorithms of the Service generally.
• Ensure the security and integrity of our Service, prevent fraudulent transactions, and protect against unauthorized access or activity.
• Perform real-world validation checks via targeted web searches for the CLEO tool when necessary to verify coherence (e.g., checking technological feasibility for a specific time period mentioned in your content).
• Compile anonymous statistical data and analysis for use internally or with third parties for service improvement.
• Comply with legal obligations and enforce our terms and policies.
• Fulfill any other purpose for which you provide it or give consent.

3. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We may share information we have collected about you in certain situations:

• With Service Providers: We may share your information with third-party vendors, consultants, and other service providers who perform services for us or on our behalf and require access to such information to do that work (e.g., payment processing, data hosting, email delivery, error tracking, analytics). These providers are contractually obligated to safeguard your data and only use it for the purposes we specify.
• For Payment Processing: We use third-party payment processors (e.g., [Insert Payment Processor Name like Stripe or Paddle]) to handle subscription payments. We do not store your full credit card details. Your payment information is provided directly to our payment processors, whose use of your personal information is governed by their privacy policy.
• By Law or to Protect Rights: If we believe the release of information about you is necessary to respond to legal process, to investigate or remedy potential violations of our policies, or to protect the rights, property, and safety of others, we may share your information as permitted or required by any applicable law, rule, or regulation.
• Business Transfers: We may share or transfer your information in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business to another company.
• With Your Consent: We may disclose your personal information for any other purpose with your consent.
• Aggregated or Anonymized Data: We may share aggregated or anonymized information (which does not directly identify you) for research, analysis, or service improvement purposes.

4. Data Security

We use administrative, technical, and physical security measures to help protect your personal information and Project Content. While we have taken reasonable steps to secure the information you provide to us, please be aware that despite our efforts, no security measures are perfect or impenetrable, and no method of data transmission can be guaranteed against any interception or other type of misuse. Any information disclosed online is vulnerable to interception and misuse by unauthorized parties. Therefore, we cannot guarantee complete security if you provide personal information.

5. Data Retention

We will retain your Personal Data and Project Content only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. We will retain and use your information to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations (for example, if we are required to retain your data to comply with applicable laws), resolve disputes, and enforce our legal agreements and policies. Typically, your Project Content is retained while your account is active and may be deleted upon account closure, subject to backup policies and legal requirements.

Usage Data is generally retained for a shorter period, except when this data is used to strengthen the security or improve the functionality of our Service, or we are legally obligated to retain this data for longer periods.

6. Your Data Rights

Depending on your location, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information. These may include the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you.
• Request correction of inaccurate personal information.
• Request deletion of your personal information.
• Object to or request restriction of processing your personal information.
• Request transfer of your personal information (data portability).
• Withdraw consent (if processing is based on consent).

You can usually manage your account information and some Project Content through your account settings. To exercise other rights, please contact us using the contact information provided below. We will respond to your request in accordance with applicable law.

7. International Data Transfers

Your information, including Personal Data and Project Content, may be transferred to — and maintained on — computers located outside of your state, province, country, or other governmental jurisdiction where the data protection laws may differ from those in your jurisdiction. If you are located outside [Your Company's Country, e.g., the United Kingdom] and choose to provide information to us, please note that we transfer the data, including Personal Data, to [Server Location Country, e.g., the United States] and process it there. We will take appropriate steps to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

8. Children's Privacy

Our Service is not intended for use by children under the age of 13 (or 16 in the European Economic Area). We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under this age. If you become aware that a child has provided us with Personal Data, please contact us. If we become aware that we have collected Personal Data from children without verification of parental consent, we take steps to remove that information from our servers.

9. Third-Party Websites

The Service may contain links to third-party websites or services that are not operated by us. If you click on a third-party link, you will be directed to that third party's site. We strongly advise you to review the Privacy Policy of every site you visit. We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party sites or services.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page. For significant changes, we may also notify you through email or via a notice within the Service.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us:

• By email: [email protected]