1. Introduction

FicTopia (the "Application") is a product of FicTopia team. This fiction reading application places a high priority on user privacy. The present Privacy Policy outlines our practices regarding the collection, utilization, and protection of your information during your engagement with the Application. Your access to and use of the Application constitutes acceptance of these stipulated terms.

2. User Age Limitations

This Application is not intended for individuals below the age of 13. We consciously avoid collecting personal data from anyone known to be under 13 years of age.

For users residing in the European Union or the United Kingdom, the minimum age requirement is 16, subject to any differing provisions for parental consent within local jurisdictions.

Should any usage by an underage individual be identified, the corresponding account and all linked data will be permanently erased within a 72-hour period.

3. Types of Information Collected

3.1 Information Gathered AutomaticallyTechnical Device Data: Information such as your device's operating system version, its model, IP address, and a resettable advertising identifier.Analytics on Usage: Data points including the rate at which you complete chapters, which app features you use, and error reports (collected via Google Analytics for Firebase).Cookies and Similar Technologies: We use session cookies to maintain your logged-in state and employ analytics tools, like Amplitude, which utilizes aggregated data.

3.2 Information You Provide VoluntarilyAccount Registration: Details provided during sign-up, including your chosen username, email address, a securely hashed password, and optional profile information such as reading preferences.Login via Social Platforms: When registering through integrated services like Google, Apple, or Facebook, we receive basic profile information (e.g., your name and email address) associated with that account.Transaction Information: Records of your purchases and associated billing address, handled securely by our payment processor, Stripe, which adheres to the PCI-DSS security standard.Content You Generate: This encompasses your bookmarks, progress within stories, any comments you post, and original stories uploaded by you, all of which are stored in an encrypted format.

4. Disclosure of Information to Third Parties

We engage with the following categories of third-party services essential to our operations:Cloud Infrastructure Provider: Amazon Web Services (AWS), which hosts user-uploaded story data in an encrypted state.Customer Support Platform: Zendesk, which manages user support communications; support tickets and responses are retained for a period of 90 days.

Legal Obligations: Information may be disclosed when legally compelled to do so, such as in response to a valid court order or other similar legal process.

Corporate Transactions: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, user data may be transferred to the succeeding entity. Affected users will receive a 30-day advance notification.

5. Legal Grounds and Processing Objectives

We handle your personal information based on specific legal grounds to achieve the following purposes:Provision of Services: To enable synchronization of your reading progress across different devices you use and to provide tailored story recommendations.

Enhancement of Services: To analyze generalized reading patterns, which helps us improve our content recommendation systems.Security and Protection of Rights: To identify and prevent potentially fraudulent activities and to address instances of copyright infringement within user-submitted content.

6. Measures to Protect Your Data

We have implemented a range of security measures to safeguard your information, including:

Internal Controls: Access to user data by our staff is restricted through role-based permissions, and we conduct security assessments twice a year.

Data Encryption: User-uploaded stories are protected using AES-256 encryption, while data being transmitted is secured with TLS 1.2 or higher protocols.

Vulnerability Disclosure: We welcome responsible security reports through a bug bounty program; potential vulnerabilities can be reported to contact@fictopia.net.

7. Duration of Data Storage

Data Retention Policies:

Accounts actively in use: Personal data is retained for the duration of your account's existence.Dormant accounts: User accounts that show no activity for a continuous period of 24 months are subject to deletion along with their data.

Data retained under legal obligations: Records of financial transactions are kept for a duration of 7 years to comply with statutory tax and accounting requirements.

8. User Rights

As a user, you have the ability to exercise certain rights regarding your data:

Right to Access and Portability: You can download a copy of your personal reading history through the path: Settings > Privacy > "Export My Data".

Right to Rectification and Erasure: You can update your profile information directly within the application. To request account deletion, please contact us at contact@fictopia.net; such requests are typically processed within two weeks.

Control over Analytics: You can opt out of certain data collection for analytics purposes by adjusting your device settings. On iOS, enable "Limit Ad Tracking", and on Android, select "Opt out of Ads Personalization".

9. Modifications to This Policy

Should we make significant updates to this policy (for instance, changes concerning how data is shared with third parties), we will communicate these changes to users through prominent in-app notifications or via email, providing a 30-day notice before the changes become effective.

10. How to Contact Us

For any inquiries, or to exercise your rights under data protection laws such as the GDPR or CCPA, please reach out to us via email at:contact@fictopia.net

11. Governing Language Version

In the event of any discrepancy between different language versions of this Policy, the English language version shall prevail and is the legally binding text. Translations provided in other languages are for convenience purposes only.

12. Data Controller Information

The FicTopia Development Team, serves as the data controller.

Contact email: contact@fictopia.net