Privacy Policy

01. Who we are

Read The Fiction operates ReadTheFiction.com, a website for reading original fiction and listening to available chapter recordings. This policy describes information used by this website. For questions about privacy, use our Contact Us form.

02. Information we use

When you visit

Our hosting and delivery services process technical information needed to provide and protect the website, such as an IP address, requested page or audio file, browser information and request time. Google Analytics helps us understand visits, pages viewed, device types, general location and interactions with the site.

When you read or listen

The reader saves your current book, chapter, reading position, font size and light or dark display preference in your browser’s local storage. The audio player may also remember playback preferences or position in your browser. These browser settings are separate from our analytics service.

When you request chapter audio

We save the requested book and chapter, request time and a hashed browser identifier. This lets us count reader demand and avoid counting the same browser’s request for the same chapter twice. You do not need to provide a name or email. The audio-request record does not store your IP address, name, email address, account ID or raw browser identifier. Hosting services may still process ordinary connection logs.

When you contact us

We receive your email address, optional name, selected topic, message and any information you choose to include. Contact-form messages are saved in a private WordPress inbox and emailed to us as notifications. We use these to respond and address your question or report. A temporary hashed connection identifier helps limit spam; raw IP addresses are not stored in the contact-message records. Please avoid sending sensitive information that is not needed for your request.

03. Cookies & local storage

Cookies and local storage help the website remember information between visits. The current features use:

• Reader storage: reading progress, display preferences and remembered audio requests. These remain in your browser until cleared or replaced.
• Audio-request cookie: a random browser identifier, set when you request audio, with an expiry of up to one year. A hash of that identifier is used in the request records.
• Analytics cookies: Google Analytics may use cookies to distinguish visits and measure website activity.
• WordPress cookies: used for login and administrative preferences when someone signs in to manage the website.

You can clear or block cookies and site storage through your browser settings. Doing so may reset your reading place, playback preferences or remembered requests. Reading the published text does not require an account.

04. Service providers

We use Hostinger for website hosting, Cloudflare for audio delivery and storage, and Google Analytics for website measurement. Contact-form email notifications and our email replies are handled by Gmail. These services process information as needed to deliver their services; their infrastructure may be located in different countries.

Our Google Analytics configuration disables Google signals and advertising-personalization signals. Google may receive information such as the page URL, IP address and browser identifiers when its tag loads. Learn more in Google’s explanation of information from partner sites and Google’s Privacy Policy.

Information may also be disclosed where required by law or needed to address abuse, protect the website or safeguard rights. External websites linked from this site have their own privacy practices.

05. Keeping information

Reading preferences and progress remain in your browser until you clear them or they are replaced. Audio-request history is retained to track demand and recording decisions, including requests for chapters that later receive audio. Contact messages and email correspondence are kept as needed to handle enquiries and maintain relevant records.

Technical logs, analytics and backups follow the settings and retention practices of the relevant services. Retention can vary by record and provider. We use access controls and service-provider security measures to protect information; no online system can guarantee absolute security.

06. Your choices

You can manage or remove browser cookies and local storage at any time. Google also provides a Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to request access, correction, deletion or limits on the use of personal information. Use our Contact Us form to ask about information we hold. We may need enough detail to verify and locate a record. Audio requests are recorded against a hashed browser identifier, so an email address alone cannot identify your requests. We will explain what we can locate and what steps are available.

07. Younger readers

Read The Fiction is a general fiction site with stories that may include mature themes; it is not designed for children under 13. We do not ask children to submit personal information. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, contact us so we can investigate and address it.

08. Updates & contact

We may update this policy as the website or its services change. The effective date above identifies the latest version.