Introduction

Your privacy is important to us. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect when you use BookFellows, how we use it, and your rights regarding your personal data.

Urgnt Limited is based in New Zealand and complies with the Privacy Act 2020. We also respect privacy laws in other countries where our users are located, including the GDPR for European users and similar regulations worldwide.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Give Us

When you create an account or use BookFellows, you provide us with:

• Account information: Your name, email address, and password
• Profile information: Optional details like your profile picture and bio
• Content you create: Studies, lessons, questions, answers, and notes
• Communications: Messages you send us or discussions within groups
• Payment information: If you subscribe to a paid plan (processed securely by our payment provider)

1.2 Information We Collect Automatically

When you use BookFellows, we automatically collect:

• Usage data: How you interact with the platform (pages visited, features used, time spent)
• Device information: Browser type, operating system, device identifiers
• Log data: IP address, access times, error logs
• Cookies and similar technologies: See our Cookie Policy for details

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

• Provide the service: Create and manage your account, save your work, and enable features
• Improve BookFellows: Understand how people use the platform and make it better
• Communicate with you: Send important updates, respond to your questions, and share relevant information
• Process payments: Handle subscriptions and billing (through secure payment processors)
• Ensure security: Protect against fraud, abuse, and security threats
• Comply with legal obligations: Meet our legal and regulatory requirements

We will not sell your personal information to third parties. We only share your data as described in this policy or with your explicit consent.

3. How We Share Your Information

3.1 Within BookFellows

Your content is shared according to the privacy settings you choose:

• Private by default: Your answers and notes are private unless you choose to share them
• Class sharing: When you join a class, you can choose to share your work with that class
• Study creator sharing: When you participate in study -- either solo or in a class -- you can choose to share your answers witht the creator of that study
• Released studies: If you release a study into one or more groups that you belong to, it can be viewed by other BookFellows members that are also members of those groups

3.2 Service Providers

We work with trusted service providers who help us run BookFellows:

• Authentication: Clerk (for secure user authenticaion and management)
• Database and hosting: Convex and Vercel hosting providers
• Payment processing: Polar (for secure customer plan and billing management)
• Email: Resend (for sending in-service emails)
• AI services: OpenAI (for StudyBot generationfeatures)

These providers are carefully selected and only have access to the information they need to perform their services. They're required to protect your data and use it only for the purposes we specify.

3.3 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or government request, or if we reasonably believe disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others.

4. International Data Transfers

BookFellows is based in New Zealand, but we serve users around the world. Your information may be stored and processed in New Zealand, Australia,the United States, or other countries where our service providers operate. When we transfer data internationally, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information according to this Privacy Policy and applicable laws.

5. How Long We Keep Your Information

We keep your information for as long as you have an account with us. When you delete your account:

• Your personal information is permanently deleted with immediate effect
• Your studies and content are removed from the platform with immediate effect
• Some information may be retained for longer if required by law (like payment records for tax purposes)

We also may keep aggregated, anonymized data for analytics purposes, which cannot be used to identify you.

6. Your Privacy Rights

You have several rights regarding your personal information:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
• Correction: Update or correct your information if it's inaccurate
• Deletion: Delete your account and personal information at any time
• Export: Download your data in a portable format
• Object: Object to certain uses of your information
• Withdraw consent: Where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time

To exercise these rights, you can use your account settings or contact us at rich@bookfellows.net.

If you're in the European Union, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. In New Zealand, you can contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.

7. Security

We take security seriously and use industry-standard measures to protect your information:

• Encryption of data in transit and at rest
• Secure authentication through Clerk
• Regular security assessments
• Limited access to personal data by our team
• Secure cloud infrastructure

While we strive to protect your information, no system is completely secure. Please use a strong, unique password and keep it confidential.

8. Children's Privacy

BookFellows is designed for users aged 13 and older. We don't knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we discover that we've accidentally collected information from a child under 13, we'll delete it promptly. If you believe we have information from a child under 13, please contact us.

For users between 13 and 18, we encourage parents and guardians to be involved in their children's online activities.

9. Marketing Communications

We may send you emails about BookFellows features, updates, and tips. You can opt out of marketing emails at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any email or adjusting your account settings. We'll still send you important service-related emails (like password resets or billing notifications) even if you opt out of marketing.

10. Third-Party Links

BookFellows may contain links to other websites (like Bible Gateway for scripture references). We're not responsible for the privacy practices of these external sites. We encourage you to read their privacy policies before providing them with your information.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make significant changes, we'll notify you by email or through the platform. The updated policy will show the new "Last Updated" date at the top.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your information, please contact us:

We'll do our best to respond to your inquiry within 30 days.