Privacy Policy

1. Who we are and the scope of this policy

This policy explains how ArcRoster ("ArcRoster," "we," "us") handles personal information across two contexts: (a) visitors to our website who request a beta invite, and (b) account holders who use the ArcRoster application ("the Service") to distribute Advance Reader Copies, together with the reviewers they invite. ArcRoster is a pre-launch product and this policy will evolve as the Service does; we will update the date above when it changes materially.

2. Controller and processor roles

Understanding who decides what happens to data matters for your rights:

• For website visitors and account holders, ArcRoster is the controller — we decide how your account, sign-in, and billing data are used.
• For reviewer data that an account holder uploads (names, email addresses, notes, and the access logs generated when reviewers download files), the account holder is the controller and ArcRoster acts as their processor, handling that data on their instructions to operate the Service.
• If you are a reviewer and want to exercise your rights over your data, contact the author or publisher who invited you; we will support them in responding. You may also contact us and we will route your request.

3. Information we collect

Depending on how you use ArcRoster, we collect:

• Beta signup: the name and email address you submit on our website.
• Account data: your name, email address, and a securely hashed password, or — if you sign in with Google — your name, email, and profile image from your Google account.
• Billing data: your subscription tier and customer records. Payments are processed by our payments provider (Polar); we do not store full card numbers on our systems.
• Content you upload: manuscripts (EPUB files), reviewer lists, campaign details, and any notes you add.
• Reviewer and delivery data: reviewer names, email addresses, your notes, participation and trust scores, and — each time a download link is used — the IP address, user-agent, outcome, and timestamp of the request. These access logs are kept as an evidence trail for abuse detection and leak investigations.
• Technical data: basic information your browser or device sends, such as IP address and request time, and the strictly necessary cookies described below.

4. Cookies and tracking

We keep this deliberately minimal. ArcRoster uses only strictly necessary, first-party cookies — one to keep you signed in, and one to remember your sidebar preference. We do not use Google Analytics, advertising pixels, or any third-party tracking or cross-site profiling, so no cookie-consent banner is required for non-essential cookies. We do not sell or share your personal information for advertising.

5. How we use information and our legal bases

We use personal information to:

• Provide and operate the Service — host and fingerprint files, deliver expiring download links, track participation, and run leak investigations (legal basis: performance of a contract / our and our users' legitimate interests).
• Authenticate you and keep accounts secure (contract; legitimate interest in security).
• Process subscriptions and payments (contract; legal obligation for tax and accounting).
• Send service and account emails — verification, password resets, reviewer invitations, and reminders (contract; legitimate interest). Reminder emails always include an unsubscribe link.
• Manage the beta and share occasional product updates (legitimate interest; consent where required). We do not sell or rent your information or use it for unrelated marketing.
• Detect abuse, attribute leaks, and protect our rights and those of our users (legitimate interest; establishing or defending legal claims).
• Comply with legal obligations.

6. Automated scoring and leak attribution

The Service calculates a participation/trust score for reviewers and, when an account holder uploads a suspected leaked file, attempts to attribute it to a recipient using an embedded fingerprint. These are decision-support tools shown with a confidence indicator, not automated decisions that produce legal effects on their own — an account holder reviews the results and decides what to do. Attribution can be inconclusive or, in rare cases, incorrect.

7. Who we share information with

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with the categories of service providers that help us operate the Service, under contract and only as needed for them to perform their function:

• Hosting, infrastructure, and file storage providers
• Database providers
• Payment and subscription billing providers
• Email delivery providers (for verification, reminders, and account messages)
• Authentication providers, if you choose to sign in with a third-party account

We may also disclose information where required by law or to protect our rights or those of our users. If you are an account holder, you can request our current list of subprocessors by contacting us.

8. International transfers

Some of our providers are located in the United States and other countries. Where personal data is transferred outside your region (for example, from the UK or EEA), we rely on appropriate safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses or the UK International Data Transfer Agreement. Contact us for more detail on the safeguards in place.

9. How long we keep data

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

• Beta signups: for as long as we run the beta and follow up with early testers.
• Account and billing data: for the life of your account and as required afterward for legal, tax, and accounting purposes.
• Manuscripts and reviewer lists: while your account is active; deleted within a reasonable period after you remove them or close your account, unless we must retain them by law.
• Download access logs and fingerprint-attribution records: these are kept as a long-term anti-piracy and evidentiary trail and may be retained for an extended period, including after a reviewer is removed, so that a leaked file can still be attributed. We retain only what is needed for that purpose.

10. Security

We protect data with measures appropriate to its sensitivity, including encryption in transit, hashed passwords, scoped and expiring download links, rate limiting on sensitive endpoints, and access controls. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to safeguard your information and will notify affected users and regulators of a personal-data breach where the law requires.

11. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, port, or restrict your personal data, to object to certain processing, and to withdraw consent. California residents have the right to know, delete, correct, and to opt out of any sale or sharing (we do not sell or share), plus a right to appeal. To exercise any right, email support@arcroster.com; we will respond within the timeframes the law requires and will not discriminate against you for exercising a right. Every marketing or reminder email also includes an unsubscribe link.

12. Account closure and deletion

You can ask us to close your account and delete your information at any time by emailing support@arcroster.com, and we will action it promptly, subject to any forensic, legal, or tax records we are required or permitted to retain (see 'How long we keep data'). If self-service deletion is available in your account settings, you can also use that.

13. Children's privacy

ArcRoster is intended for users aged 18 and over and is not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us information, contact us and we will delete it.

14. Changes and contact

If we make material changes to this policy we will update the date above and, where appropriate, notify you. Questions, requests, or concerns about this policy or your data? Email support@arcroster.com and we'll get back to you.