Privacy Policy
Elsewhere – Short Literary Fiction
Effective Date: May 18, 2025
Last Updated: May 18, 2025
Terms & Conditions: Terms & Conditions
1. Introduction
Welcome to Elsewhere (“App,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). We are committed to protecting your personal information and your right to privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and what rights you have in relation to it.
Please read this policy carefully. If you disagree with its terms, please discontinue use of the App.
2. Who We Are
Elsewhere is a mobile application providing curated short literary fiction. For the purposes of applicable data protection law (including the EU General Data Protection Regulation, "GDPR"), the data controller is:
Elsewhere
Email: artemy.medvedev.ilyich@gmail.com
Website: www.elsewr.app
3. Information We Collect
3.1 Information You Provide Directly
- **Account information:** When you register, we collect your email address and any display name you choose to provide. If you sign in with Apple, we receive a unique user identifier and, optionally, your name and email address as permitted by Apple's Sign in with Apple service.
- **Communications:** If you contact us for support or feedback, we retain the content of your messages and your contact details.
3.2 Information We Collect Automatically
When you use the App, we automatically collect certain technical and usage data, including:
- Usage data: Stories viewed, reading sessions (start/end time, duration), stories completed or abandoned, genre preferences inferred from reading behavior, and in-app navigation patterns.
- Reading position data: Character offset and story progress, stored to allow you to resume reading where you left off.
- Subscription and purchase data: Subscription status, entitlement history, and transaction identifiers (processed via Apple App Store and RevenueCat). We do not receive or store your full payment card details.
- Crash and diagnostic data: Error logs and performance data used to identify and fix issues.
3.3 Information from Third Parties
- Apple: We receive authentication tokens and subscription transaction data from Apple when you use Sign in with Apple or make in-app purchases.
- RevenueCat: We receive subscription status, entitlement data, and webhook events (e.g., subscription renewals, cancellations, billing issues) from RevenueCat to manage your access to premium content.
- Analytics providers: We may use third-party analytics services to help us understand aggregate usage patterns.
4. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect for the following purposes:
| Purpose | Legal Basis (GDPR) |
| Creating and managing your account | Performance of a contract |
| Providing access to content and features | Performance of a contract |
| Processing subscriptions and payments | Performance of a contract |
| Personalizing story recommendations | Legitimate interests |
| Saving your reading position and progress | Performance of a contract |
| Sending transactional notifications (e.g., billing issues) | Performance of a contract |
| Improving the App through analytics and diagnostics | Legitimate interests |
| Attributing installs to marketing campaigns | Legitimate interests |
| Complying with legal obligations | Legal obligation |
| Communicating with you about support requests | Legitimate interests |
Where we rely on **legitimate interests**, we have balanced those interests against your rights and concluded they do not override your privacy rights. You may object to processing based on legitimate interests at any time (see Section 9).
We will ask for your **consent** where required by law (e.g., for certain cookies or marketing communications) and you may withdraw consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.
5. Story Recommendations
The App generates personalized story recommendations using data about your reading history, genre preferences, completion rates, and time-of-day reading patterns. This processing is carried out automatically. It does not produce any legal or similarly significant effects — it is solely used to surface stories we think you will enjoy. You may disable personalized recommendations by contacting us (see Section 13).
6. Data Retention
We retain your personal data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you with the App's services. Specifically:
- **Account data:** Retained for the duration of your account and deleted within 90 days of account deletion. - **Reading history and progress:** Retained for the duration of your account. - **Subscription records:** Retained for up to 7 years where required for financial and legal compliance. - **Crash and diagnostic logs:** Retained for up to 90 days. - **Support communications:** Retained for up to 2 years.
When data is no longer needed, we delete or anonymize it securely.
7. How We Share Your Information
We do not sell your personal data. We may share your information in the following limited circumstances:
7.1 Service Providers
We work with trusted third-party service providers who process data on our behalf, including:
- **Supabase** – database hosting and backend infrastructure - **Apple App Store** – payment processing and subscription management - **RevenueCat** – subscription and entitlement management - **Analytics providers** – aggregate usage analysis
All service providers are contractually required to process your data only on our instructions and in accordance with applicable data protection law.
7.2 Legal Requirements
We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to valid legal process (e.g., a court order or government request), or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Elsewhere, our users, or others.
7.3 Business Transfers
If Elsewhere is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your data may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you before your data is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.
7.4 With Your Consent
We may share your data in other ways if we have obtained your prior consent.
8. International Data Transfers
Elsewhere and some of our service providers operate outside the European Economic Area (EEA). Whenever we transfer personal data outside the EEA, we ensure an appropriate level of protection is in place, such as:
- Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission - Transfers to countries deemed adequate by the European Commission
You may request a copy of the relevant transfer safeguards by contacting us.
9. Your Rights
Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:
| Right | Description |
|---|---|
| **Access** | Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you |
| **Rectification** | Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data |
| **Erasure** | Request deletion of your data ("right to be forgotten") |
| **Restriction** | Request that we limit how we use your data |
| **Portability** | Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format |
| **Objection** | Object to processing based on legitimate interests |
| **Withdraw consent** | Withdraw consent where processing is consent-based |
| **Complaint** | Lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority |
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at artemy.medvedev.ilyich@gmail.com We will respond within 30 days (or as required by applicable law). We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.
If you are located in the EU/EEA, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.
10. Children's Privacy
The App is not directed to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected data from a child under 13, we will delete it promptly. If you believe we may have collected data from a child, please contact us at artemy.medvedev.ilyich@gmail.com.
11. Security
We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These include encrypted data storage (via Supabase), secure API communication over HTTPS, and access controls limiting who can access user data internally.
No method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security.
12. Third-Party Links and Services
The App may contain links to third-party websites or services. This Privacy Policy does not apply to those third parties. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party services you access through the App.
13. Your Choices and Controls
- **Account deletion:** You may delete your account at any time through the App's settings or by contacting us. Upon deletion, your personal data will be removed in accordance with Section 6. - **Notifications:** You may manage push notification preferences through your device's settings. - **Personalized recommendations:** You may opt out of personalized recommendations by contacting us. - **Analytics:** Where applicable law requires, we will seek your consent before collecting analytics data.
14. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by updating the "Last Updated" date at the top of this document and, where appropriate, by notifying you within the App. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.
15. Contact Us
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:
**Elsewhere – Privacy Team**
Email: artemy.medvedev.ilyich@gmail.com
Website: www.elsewr.app
For EU/EEA users, our representative for data protection matters can be reached at the same address.
*This Privacy Policy was last updated on May 18, 2025.*