Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy for WizRead (“Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), describes how and why we might collect, store, use, and/or share (“process”) your personal information when you use our services (“Services”), including when you:

• Visit our website at https://wizread.io or any website of ours that links to this Privacy Policy
• Download, install, and use the WizRead Desktop application
• Engage with us in other related ways, including customer support, feedback submissions, or community interactions

Questions or concerns? Reading this Privacy Policy will help you understand your privacy rights and choices. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, please do not use our Services. If you still have any questions or concerns, please contact us at support@wizread.io.

SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS

• What personal information do we process? When you visit our website, use our desktop app, or interact with our Services, we may process account details (username, email, avatar), synced stats and streaks, support inquiries, and technical usage metadata depending on how you interact with us.
• Are your books private? Yes. Your imported book files, reading annotations, and personal notes remain stored locally on your computer and are not transmitted to WizRead servers.
• Do we process sensitive personal information? We do not collect or process sensitive personal information (such as racial or ethnic origin, genetic data, health data, or religious beliefs).
• Do we collect information from third parties? When you choose to sign in with Google or Apple, we receive basic authentication profile information from those providers to authenticate your account.
• How do we process your information? We process your information to provide, maintain, and sync your reading statistics/streaks, authenticate accounts, respond to support requests, ensure security, and improve our software.
• Do we sell your information? No. We do not sell your personal information and do not share it with third parties for cross-context behavioral advertising.
• What are your rights? Depending on where you reside (e.g., EEA, UK, Switzerland, California and other US states), you have rights to access, correct, port, or delete your personal data.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. WHAT INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?
2. HOW DO WE PROCESS YOUR INFORMATION?
3. WHAT LEGAL BASES DO WE RELY ON TO PROCESS YOUR INFORMATION?
4. WHEN AND WITH WHOM DO WE SHARE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?
5. DO WE USE COOKIES AND OTHER TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES?
6. HOW DO WE HANDLE YOUR SOCIAL LOGINS?
7. HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION?
8. HOW DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION SAFE?
9. WHAT ARE YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS?
10. DO WE COLLECT INFORMATION FROM MINORS?
11. CONTROLS FOR DO-NOT-TRACK FEATURES
12. DO UNITED STATES RESIDENTS HAVE SPECIFIC PRIVACY RIGHTS?
13. DO WE MAKE UPDATES TO THIS NOTICE?
14. HOW CAN YOU CONTACT US ABOUT THIS NOTICE?
15. HOW CAN YOU REVIEW, UPDATE, OR DELETE THE DATA WE COLLECT FROM YOU?

1. WHAT INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?

A. Local-First Reading Data (WizRead Desktop)

WizRead Desktop is designed to prioritize your privacy. The books you open (e.g., EPUB, PDF files), their full-text content, your custom reading lists, bookmarks, highlights, and annotations are stored locally on your computer inside a local SQLite database. We do not upload your book files or full reading contents to our remote servers.

B. Personal information you disclose to us

We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide to us when you create an account, authenticate in the desktop application, express interest in obtaining information, submit feedback, or contact us.

• Account Information: Display name, username, email address, and encrypted password credentials when registering an account.
• Profile Details: Optional custom avatar image and bio if you choose to personalize your profile.
• Reading Metrics & Profile Visibility: Reading streaks, reading goals, level progress, follower connections, and notifications synced to your account. Upon account registration, your community profile and reading statistics are public by default to enable social reading features and follower connections; you can switch your profile to Private at any time in your Profile Settings to hide detailed stats and streaks from non-followers.
• Communications & Feedback: Full name, email address, and message content when submitting requests via our Contact Us page or feedback forms.

C. Payment and Donation Data

WizRead offers voluntary support and donation options. All payment transactions are processed securely through our third-party payment provider, Buy Me a Coffee (which uses Stripe and PayPal). WizRead does not collect, process, or store your credit card numbers, bank details, or CVVs. You can review Buy Me a Coffee’s privacy policy at buymeacoffee.com/privacy-policy.

D. Information automatically collected

When you visit our website or use the desktop application, certain technical information is collected automatically:

• Log and Technical Data: Server request logs, IP addresses, operating system version, browser type, application version, timestamp of requests, and diagnostic error reports.
• Desktop Telemetry & Aggregate Diagnostics: To maintain software stability, detect performance issues, and monitor app health, WizRead Desktop periodically sends basic diagnostic telemetry containing: application version, OS platform and architecture, language and theme preferences, anonymous aggregate metrics (e.g., total count of books in library, EPUB/PDF ratio, total count of highlights/notes/bookmarks created—never transmitting the actual files, titles, or text contents), reading session duration, and an anonymous device identifier.
• Coarse (Imprecise) Geolocation Only: We do NOT collect, request, or access precise GPS-level location data. We only process coarse, network-level location (such as country and broad region) derived automatically from your IP address for security, rate-limiting, and interface localization.
• Website Usage Analytics: On our website (wizread.io), we use Microsoft Clarity to capture how you interact with our pages through behavioral metrics, heatmaps, and session replay to improve website usability.

2. HOW DO WE PROCESS YOUR INFORMATION?

We process your personal information for a variety of reasons, depending on how you interact with our Services:

• To create, manage, and authenticate user accounts across devices.
• To synchronize reading streaks, statistics, and follow relationships for registered users.
• To respond to user inquiries, support requests, and bug reports.
• To provide dictionary and reference lookups requested by the user within the desktop reader.
• To detect, prevent, and mitigate technical errors, abuse, security incidents, and fraud.
• To deliver software updates and verify application release integrity.

3. WHAT LEGAL BASES DO WE RELY ON TO PROCESS YOUR INFORMATION?

Under European data protection laws (GDPR / UK GDPR), we process your personal data under the following legal bases:

• Performance of a Contract: Necessary to deliver the Services you have requested, such as creating your account and syncing reading metrics.
• Legitimate Interests: Necessary for our legitimate business interests in securing, maintaining, debugging, and improving our software, provided these do not override your fundamental rights.
• Consent: Where you have given explicit consent for specific processing, such as voluntary feedback submissions or optional analytics cookies.
• Legal Obligations: Necessary to comply with statutory, tax, or regulatory requirements.

4. WHEN AND WITH WHOM DO WE SHARE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data. We only share personal information with third-party service providers who assist in operating our Services under strict data processing agreements:

• Other Community Users: If your profile is set to Public (default on account registration), other WizRead users can view your display username, avatar, reading streaks, level statistics, and public book lists. Switching your profile to Private restricts this information.
• Backend Cloud Infrastructure & APIs: Google Cloud Platform (Cloud Run), located in the Milan, Italy region (europe-west8), European Union.
• Database & Feedback Storage: Google Cloud / Firebase Firestore, hosted in European Union data centers.
• Website Analytics: Microsoft Clarity (for aggregated, privacy-conscious usability analysis).
• Payment Processing for Donations: Buy Me a Coffee / Stripe / PayPal (for handling voluntary project donations).
• Public Authorities: If required by applicable law, court order, or governmental regulation.
• Business Transfers: In connection with any merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition.

5. DO WE USE COOKIES AND OTHER TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES?

We may use cookies and similar technologies on our website to ensure functionality and analyze traffic. For detailed information on the specific cookies we use and your choices, please visit our Cookie Policy.

Microsoft Clarity

We partner with Microsoft Clarity to capture how you use and interact with our website through behavioral metrics, heatmaps, and session replay to improve our site design and product. Website usage data is captured using first and third-party cookies and other tracking technologies to determine the popularity of pages and online activity. For more information about how Microsoft collects and uses your data, visit the Microsoft Privacy Statement.

6. HOW DO WE HANDLE YOUR SOCIAL LOGINS?

WizRead Desktop offers you the option to sign in using third-party social login providers (Google Sign-In and Sign in with Apple). If you choose to authenticate using these services, we receive your email address, verified ID token, and display name from the identity provider to create and authenticate your WizRead session. We do not receive access to your passwords or private account contents on those services.

7. HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION?

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Privacy Policy:

• Account Data & Real-Time Deletion: Retained for the lifetime of your account. When you delete your account in the WizRead Desktop application (via Settings → Delete Account), your account is deleted immediately in real time from our active production database. If you submit a manual deletion request by email, we process it promptly upon identity verification (within 30 calendar days as required by law).
• Disaster Recovery Backups: Routine encrypted database snapshots maintained solely for disaster recovery overwrite and purge data on an automated rotation schedule (typically within 30 days). Backup data is isolated, encrypted, and never restored to active production.
• Local Desktop Data: Books, annotations, and reading notes stored locally on your device in your SQLite database can be deleted immediately by you directly inside the app or by removing your local app database file.
• Support Inquiries & Feedback: Retained for up to 24 months to address your inquiries and improve our software, then securely deleted.
• Diagnostic Server Logs: Stored for a limited period (typically 30–90 days) for security monitoring, fraud prevention, and troubleshooting, then automatically rotated.

8. HOW DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION SAFE?

We implement reasonable technical and organizational security measures, including HTTPS encryption in transit, secure database authentication, password hashing, and restricted access controls. However, no internet transmission or electronic storage system is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. WHAT ARE YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS?

Depending on your jurisdiction (e.g., EEA, UK, Switzerland, Canada, or certain US states), you may have the following rights:

• Right of Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Right to Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
• Right to Erasure: Request the deletion of your personal information.
• Right to Restriction: Request limitation of how your data is processed.
• Right to Data Portability: Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Right to Object & Withdraw Consent: Object to processing based on legitimate interests or withdraw previously given consent.

To exercise these rights, please email us at support@wizread.io.

10. DO WE COLLECT INFORMATION FROM MINORS?

In Short: We do not knowingly collect personal data from or market to children under the age of digital consent (under 13 in the United States, under 14 in Italy, or under 16 in certain European Union jurisdictions) without verifiable parental consent.

WizRead Desktop has a general App Store rating of 4+ as an e-reading tool. The offline desktop application allows readers of all ages to read their own local book files without creating an account or transmitting any personal information to our servers.

To create an online account for cloud synchronization, streaks, or community features, users must be at least 13 years old (or 14 in Italy, or up to 16 where required by local EU law). Minors below the age of legal majority must obtain parental or legal guardian consent and supervision to register an account. If we become aware that personal data of a child below the statutory age has been collected without verifiable parental consent, we will promptly deactivate the account and delete the associated data. If you believe a child under the legal age has registered an account without parental consent, please contact us at support@wizread.io.

11. CONTROLS FOR DO-NOT-TRACK FEATURES

Most web browsers and some operating systems include a Do-Not-Track (DNT) or Global Privacy Control (GPC) setting. We respect standard browser privacy signals where required by applicable law.

12. DO UNITED STATES RESIDENTS HAVE SPECIFIC PRIVACY RIGHTS?

Residents of California (under CCPA/CPRA) and other US states (including Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia) have specific statutory rights regarding their personal information.

Categories of Personal Information Collected in the Past 12 Months

The table below details the categories of personal information collected by WizRead in the preceding 12 months, along with illustrative examples and whether they are collected:

No Sale or Sharing of Personal Information

WizRead does not sell personal information and has not sold personal information in the preceding 12 months. WizRead does not share personal information with third parties for cross-context behavioral advertising.

How to Exercise Your US State Rights

To submit a request to know, access, correct, or delete your personal information, please contact us at support@wizread.io or via our Contact Form. We will verify your request and respond within the statutory time frames (typically 45 days). You will not experience discriminatory treatment for exercising your privacy rights.

13. DO WE MAKE UPDATES TO THIS NOTICE?

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our legal obligations, software features, or practices. When updated, the revised version will be indicated by an updated “Last updated” date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically.

14. HOW CAN YOU CONTACT US ABOUT THIS NOTICE?

If you have any questions, comments, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:

15. HOW CAN YOU REVIEW, UPDATE, OR DELETE THE DATA WE COLLECT FROM YOU?

Based on applicable laws in your country of residence (such as GDPR in the EU/UK or state privacy statutes in the US), you have the right to request access to the personal data we collect from you, change or correct that information, or request permanent deletion (erasure).

How to Delete Your Data: You can delete your account and profile data at any time directly inside the WizRead Desktop application under Account Settings (which deletes your records from our active database immediately in real time), or submit a formal request by emailing support@wizread.io (processed within 30 calendar days).

Backups: Routine encrypted database snapshots maintained for disaster recovery overwrite and purge data on an automated lifecycle.