Legal
How we handle your data
Last updated
This page explains how we protect your data, how long we keep it, and what to do if you want a copy of it or want it deleted.
How we protect your data
- Encryption in transit: MY-BOOK and the services behind it use HTTPS (TLS), and our email system checks the security certificates of the servers it sends through.
- Secure sign-in: sign-in tokens last 15 minutes and renew automatically while you're signed in. Signing out ends your session on that device.
- Hashed analytics keys: visitor IDs and network details are scrambled with a secret key before we store them. The anonymous daily code changes every day, so visits can't be linked from one day to the next.
- Signed email links: links to manage or stop emails are digitally signed, so they can't be guessed or changed to reach someone else's settings.
- Limits and spam protection: rate limits and automatic checks protect sign-ups, comments and other actions from abuse.
- Access controls: only authorised staff can use admin tools, and each person only gets the permissions their role needs.
- Audit logs: admins can view an author's dashboard in read-only mode. They can't sign in as you, and every view is logged with the admin's name and the time. Admin actions such as hiding a post or moderating comments are logged too.
Retention summary
We keep personal data only for as long as we need it. Most of these periods run automatically:
| Data | How long we keep it |
|---|---|
| Account and profile | While your account is open. When you ask us to delete it, we delete or anonymise it, apart from anything the law requires us to keep. |
| Posts, drafts and series | Until you or we delete them. We keep the 40 most recent versions of each post. |
| Comments and comment reports | Until the comment is deleted by you, the post's author or a moderator, or the post is deleted. |
| Likes, saves and follows | Until you remove them. Likes and saves are also deleted when the post is deleted. |
| Reading records (views, scroll depth and reading time) | 395 days (about 13 months) after your last visit to that post. |
| Share records | 30 days. Share totals on posts don't identify anyone. |
| Daily totals shown to authors | While the post exists. They are counts only and contain no personal data. |
| Newsletter subscription and consent record | While you're subscribed. After you unsubscribe we keep your address and unsubscribed status so we never email you by mistake, unless you ask us to erase it. |
| Log of emails we've sent you | 400 days (about 13 months). |
| Queued emails and background tasks | 30 days after they finish. |
| Email address checks | Usually 90 days for addresses that pass, and up to 12 months for addresses that fail. |
| Email delivery records | As long as we need them to run and secure our email service. You can ask us to delete yours. |
| Commenting blocks | Until the block ends or is lifted. |
| Messages sent through our contact page | As long as we need them to deal with your message. |
| Security and admin audit logs | As long as we need them for security and accountability. |
| Google Search Console figures | Cached for 6 hours. They are totals and contain no reader data. |
Deleting a post also deletes its comments, likes, saves, reading records and statistics.
Get a copy of your data or delete it
You can delete your posts and comments, and change your email choices, yourself at any time. For anything else:
- Contact us through our contact page. Tell us the email address of your account and whether you want a copy of your data, a correction or deletion.
- We'll check it's really you, for example by asking you to confirm from your account's email address.
- We'll reply within one month. It's free.
Copies include your account details, posts, comments and email subscription data, in a common format you can open or move to another service.
Deletion removes your account, posts, comments, likes, saves, follows and subscription data, except anything the law requires us to keep. Copies held by others, such as search engine caches, can take a little while to update.
If something goes wrong
- We investigate security incidents straight away, contain them and assess the risk to the people affected.
- If a personal data breach is likely to put people's rights at risk, we report it to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) within 72 hours of becoming aware of it.
- If the risk to you is high, we tell you without undue delay: what happened, what it means for you and what you can do.
- Afterwards, we review what happened and improve our safeguards.
Spotted a security problem? Please tell us through our contact page.
Who processes your data
We use carefully chosen providers for hosting, email and AI processing. They act on our instructions under contract. Our Privacy Policy explains who we share data with, how international transfers are protected and your rights.