Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

ChapterChase (chapterchase.com) is an online platform for reading and publishing novels, operated by CHAPTERCHASE (OPC) PRIVATE LIMITED, a company registered in India (CIN U47912RJ2026OPC114362). In this policy, "ChapterChase", "we" and "us" mean that company.

This policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, how long we keep it, and the choices you have. It applies to our website, our mobile applications, and our forums and blog (together, the "Platform").

2. Information we collect

2.1 Information you give us

• Account details: a username, display name and email address. If you register with email, you also choose a password, which we store only as a one-way hash — we never store or see it in readable form.
• Profile details you choose to add: such as a bio, profile picture, banner, location and links to your other profiles.
• Content you publish: novels, chapters, reviews, comments, forum posts and replies. Content you publish is public by design.
• Messages to us: support requests and reports you send us.

2.2 Information we receive when you sign in with Google

Signing in with Google is optional. If you choose it, Google shares the following with us, and nothing else:

We request only Google's basic sign-in permissions (openid, email and profile). We do not request access to, and cannot see, your Gmail, Google Drive, Google Photos, contacts, calendar, YouTube or any other Google service.

2.3 Information from other sign-in options

If you sign in with GitHub, we receive the same kinds of basic profile information (your name, email address, profile picture and account ID) and use them in the same way. Passkeys you register are stored as public-key credentials; we never receive your fingerprint, face data or device PIN.

2.4 Information collected automatically

• Reading activity: the novels and chapters you open, your bookmarks and your reading progress, so we can let you continue where you left off.
• Technical data: IP address, browser and device type, and the pages you visit, used to run, secure and improve the Platform.
• Mobile app: if you allow notifications, a push-notification token for your device, used only to send you the notifications you turned on.

2.5 Payments

If you buy a subscription or Pran Points, the payment is handled by our payment providers (Polar, PayPal, or Google Play for purchases in our Android app). They collect your payment details directly. We receive a record of the transaction — such as what you bought and whether it succeeded — but never your full card number. Pran Points are virtual items for use on the Platform only and have no cash value.

3. How we use your information

• To create, secure and maintain your account, and let you sign in.
• To provide the Platform: your library, bookmarks, reading progress, publishing tools, reviews, comments and forums.
• To process purchases and manage subscriptions and Pran Points.
• To send account, security and transactional emails, and — only if you opt in — updates and news.
• To keep the Platform safe: preventing spam, fraud and abuse, and enforcing our Terms.
• To understand how the Platform is used so we can fix problems and improve it.
• To comply with our legal obligations.

4. How we use and protect Google user data

The information we receive from Google (described in section 2.2) is used only to create and operate your ChapterChase account, as described above. Specifically, we:

• do not sell Google user data;
• do not use Google user data to serve or personalise advertising;
• do not use Google user data to train artificial-intelligence or machine-learning models;
• do not share Google user data with third parties, except the service providers that host and run the Platform on our behalf (section 5), when you ask us to, or when the law requires it;
• do not allow humans to read your Google user data, except where you have given consent, where it is needed for security or to investigate abuse, or where the law requires it.

ChapterChase's use and transfer to any other app of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

5. How we share information

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only in these situations:

• Public content: your username, display name, profile picture and anything you publish (novels, reviews, comments, forum posts) are visible to other visitors.
• Service providers that process data on our instructions to run the Platform: Cloudflare (hosting and content delivery), Aiven (database hosting), Upstash (caching), Cloudinary (image storage and delivery), Resend (email delivery), and the payment providers listed in section 2.5.
• Legal reasons: when required by law, or to protect the rights, safety and security of our users, the public or ChapterChase.
• Business transfers: if ChapterChase is involved in a merger or acquisition, your information may transfer as part of it, and this policy will continue to apply to it.

6. Cookies and advertising

We use cookies that are necessary to keep you signed in and to keep the Platform secure.

We show ads through Google (Google Ad Manager and AdSense). Google and its partners may use cookies to show ads based on your visits to this and other websites. This advertising does not use the information we receive when you sign in with Google. You can manage personalised advertising at Google Ads Settings and learn more at How Google uses information from sites that use its services.

7. How we store and protect information

All traffic to the Platform is encrypted in transit using HTTPS. Your data is stored with our hosting providers in access-controlled systems, passwords are stored only as one-way hashes, and access to personal information is limited to what is needed to run the Platform. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to protect your information and will notify you and the relevant authorities of a breach where the law requires it.

8. How long we keep information, and how to delete it

We keep your account information, including the information received from Google, for as long as your account exists. When your account is deleted, your account record — including your name, email address, profile picture and Google account ID — is permanently deleted. Some records may be kept longer where the law requires it (for example, transaction records for tax purposes).

To delete your data:

• By email: write to help@chapterchase.com from the email address on your account with the subject "Account deletion request". We will delete your account within 30 days and confirm when it is done. Tell us if you also want the content you published removed.
• Revoke Google access: you can remove ChapterChase's access to your Google Account at any time from myaccount.google.com/permissions. This stops Google sharing your information with us in future; to remove what we already hold, also delete your ChapterChase account as described above.

9. Your rights

Depending on where you live — including under India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, the EU and UK GDPR, and California privacy law — you may have the right to access, correct, update or delete your personal information, to withdraw consent, and to object to or restrict certain uses of it. You can update most of your information in your account settings. For anything else, email help@chapterchase.com and we will respond within 30 days. You also have the right to complain to your local data protection authority.

10. Children

ChapterChase is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. Where local law sets a higher age for consent, users below that age need the consent of a parent or guardian. If you believe a child has given us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

11. International transfers

ChapterChase is operated from India, and our service providers may process data in other countries. Wherever your information is processed, it is protected as described in this policy.

12. Content and copyright

ChapterChase hosts public-domain works (for example from Project Gutenberg), work published by independent authors, and translations contributed by users. If you believe your copyright has been infringed, see our DMCA Policy or contact help@chapterchase.com.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We will post the new version on this page and change the "Last updated" date above. If a change materially affects how we use information we have already collected, we will notify you by email or on the Platform before it takes effect.

14. Contact us

• Email: help@chapterchase.com
• CHAPTERCHASE (OPC) PRIVATE LIMITED, 68/156 Sector 6, Pratap Nagar, Sanganer, Jaipur, Rajasthan 302033, India
• CIN: U47912RJ2026OPC114362

See also our Terms and Conditions and Refund Policy.