Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

NovelChat ("NovelChat," "we," "us," or "our") provides web and mobile experiences that let readers converse with AI-powered versions of their favorite fictional characters. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect your personal information when you visit novelchat.app, our mobile apps, or any other service that links to this policy (collectively, the "Service").

Because we operate globally, we follow key privacy regulations such as the EU/UK GDPR, the US CCPA/CPRA, and other applicable laws. "Personal information" (or "personal data") means any information that identifies, relates to, describes, or can reasonably be linked to an individual.

2. Information We Collect

Purposes reference:
A = Provide & secure Service B = Improve & develop C = Personalise experience
D = Legal & compliance E = Payments & accounting

3. Why We Process Your Data (Legal Bases)

For California residents, "legitimate interests" is equivalent to "business purpose" under the CCPA/CPRA. We do not sell your personal information.

4. How We Use Information

• Operate & Maintain the Service – authenticate you, load your chat history, save preferences, and resolve bugs.
• AI Processing – When you send a message, we transmit its text (anonymised where possible) to our AI providers (e.g., OpenAI, Anthropic) to generate a response. Providers process data only to deliver the requested output.
• Improve & Develop – aggregate usage metrics to understand which features users love (or struggle with) and optimise model performance, UI/UX, and scalability.
• Personalise Experience – remember themes, favorite characters, language settings, and show you relevant content or suggestions.
• Communicate With You – send service emails (e.g., verification, invoices, security notices) and, if you consent, product updates or surveys.
• Ensure Security & Enforce Terms – monitor suspicious activity, mitigate spam, and investigate violations of our Terms of Service.
• Comply With Law – meet audit, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations.

5. How We Share Information

We never share user-generated content publicly unless you choose to publish or share it.

6. International Data Transfers

We are headquartered in US, but many of our vendors operate in the US and other countries. Whenever we transfer personal data internationally, we rely on:

• Adequacy decisions (where applicable)
• SCCs or UK Addendum for EU/UK data
• Supplementary safeguards such as at-rest encryption and zero-trust access controls

7. Your Rights & Choices

To exercise a right, email privacy@novelchat.app or use the in-app Privacy Center. We respond within 30 days (or as required by law). You may also lodge a complaint with your supervisory authority.

8. Data Retention

We keep personal data only as long as necessary for the purposes described above:

• Account data – for the life of your account and up to 30 days after deletion to allow recovery (unless immediate purge is requested).
• Chat content – retained until you delete it or your account, or for 24 months of inactivity.
• Billing records – 10 years (tax/audit laws).
• Analytics logs – 18 months, then aggregated or anonymised.

9. Security Measures

We implement industry-standard safeguards:

• TLS 1.3 encryption for data in transit
• AES-256 encryption for data at rest
• Fine-grained role-based access (RBAC) on production systems
• Regular penetration tests and vulnerability scans
• 24/7 monitoring and automatic anomaly alerts
• Mandatory 2-factor authentication for staff consoles

Despite our efforts, no system is 100% secure, so we encourage you to use unique, strong passwords and enable 2FA on your account.

10. Children's Privacy

NovelChat is not directed to children under 13 (or the age defined by local law). We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If you believe a child has provided us data, contact privacy@novelchat.app and we will delete it promptly.

11. Cookies & Similar Technologies

We use:

• Essential cookies – sign-in sessions, fraud prevention
• Preference cookies – theme, language
• Analytics cookies – aggregated usage metrics
• Marketing pixels (only with consent) – measure campaign effectiveness

You can control cookies through your browser settings or our in-app cookie banner. Disabling some cookies may affect Service functionality.

12. Third-Party Links

The Service may link to external sites (e.g., Goodreads, publisher pages). We are not responsible for their privacy practices. Review their policies before providing personal data.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Policy to reflect legal, technical, or business changes. When we do, we will:

• Post the revised version with a new "Last updated" date.
• Notify you via email or in-app notice if changes are material (e.g., new data uses).
• Continued use of the Service after the update means you accept the revised policy.

14. Contact Us