WriterHabits
Privacy Policy — Effective May 18, 2026
1. Introduction
WriterHabits ("we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our website and services ("Services"). Please read this policy carefully. By using our Services, you consent to the practices described herein.
2. Information We Collect
Information You Provide
| Data Type | Examples | Purpose |
|---|
| Account information | Name, display name, email address, password (encrypted) | Account creation and authentication |
| Profile information | Theme preferences, notification settings, backup preferences, time preferences | Personalizing your experience |
| User content | Writings, projects, goals, goal progress, groups, labels, comments | Providing the core Services |
| Payment information | Billing invoice details (processed by Stripe). | Subscription management |
| Phone number | Mobile number (if SMS opted in) | Delivering SMS notifications |
| Support requests | Subject, message content | Responding to your inquiries |
Information Collected Automatically
| Data Type | Examples | Purpose |
|---|
| Usage data | Pages visited, features used, timestamps | Improving the Services |
| Device information | Browser type, operating system, screen size, device type | Optimizing the user experience |
| Session data | Session identifiers, IP address, referrer pages | Analytics and security |
| Writing metadata | Word counts, session lengths, writing frequency, group engagement | Providing progress tracking and statistics |
Information We Do Not Collect
We do not collect or store your credit card numbers, government-issued identification, or biometric data.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect for the following purposes:
- Provide the Services — hosting your writings, tracking goals, displaying progress statistics, and enabling group collaboration
- Send notifications — delivering email and SMS notifications that you have configured
- Process payments — managing subscriptions and billing through our payment processor
- Improve the Services — analyzing usage patterns to enhance features, performance, and user experience
- Ensure security — protecting against unauthorized access, fraud, and abuse
- Communicate with you — responding to support requests and sending essential service updates
- Comply with legal obligations — meeting our legal and regulatory requirements
4. Data Sharing and Disclosure
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties.
We may share your information only in the following limited circumstances:
- Service providers — we share data with trusted third-party providers who assist in operating the Services, including:
- Sharing with WriterHabits groups — if you choose to share writings with other WriterHabits members, or share writings with WriterHabits groups, other WriterHabits members can view your shared writings and comments, and can add comments to your writings
- Legal requirements — if required by law, subpoena, court order, or governmental regulation
- Safety — if necessary to protect the rights, safety, or property of WriterHabits, our users, or the public
5. Data Storage and Security
Storage
Your data is stored on secure servers with appropriate access controls and backup procedures.
Encryption
- In transit — all data transmitted between your browser and our servers is encrypted using TLS/SSL
- Passwords — user passwords are encrypted and are never stored in plain text
- Payment data — credit card information is processed and stored exclusively by our payment processor, Stripe. We never have access to your credit card number.
Security Measures
We implement industry-standard security measures including optional two-factor authentication (2FA) and OAuth2 authentication. However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
6. Data Visibility and Sharing Controls
You control the visibility of your content:
- Private (default) — all writings are private by default and visible only to you
- Sharing with other WriterHabits members — you may explicitly share specific writings with other WriterHabits members for reading, review, and critique
- Sharing with WriterHabits groups — you may explicitly share specific writings with WriterHabits groups you belong to
- Comments and chat — comments and chat messages you post in groups are visible to the other group members
You can change sharing settings or un-share your writings at any time (comments, chat messages, and references to shared writings persist in group meeting history).
7. Cookies and Tracking
Cookies
We use browser cookies for the following purposes:
- Session management — a session cookie keeps you signed in, allowing you to visit the WriterHabits website over time without having to sign in each time (of course, you may sign out at any time for enhanced security)
- Preferences — cookies and server-side session storage store your color theme, project filter, page state, and other display preferences
What We Do Not Use
We do not use third-party advertising cookies, ad networks, or tracking pixels to track your Internet activity outside of the WriterHabits website.
8. Your Rights
You have the following rights regarding your personal information:
- Access — you can view your personal information on the Settings page at any time
- Correction — you can update your name, display name, email, and other account information through the Settings page
- Deletion — you can delete your account and all associated data on the Settings page (upon deletion, your data will be permanently removed within 30 days, subject to our backup retention schedule)
- Data portability — you can download your writings in multiple formats (free subscription: text, Word; paid subscription: PDF, Markdown, HTML, RTF) at any time from multiple pages on the WriterHabits website (e.g. Writings page, Writing Editor, Projects page, Backup settings, etc.)
- Opt out of communications — you can disable optional notifications at any time on the Notifications and Settings pages
To exercise any of these rights, use the relevant features in our Services or contact us at support@writerhabits.com.
9. Data Retention
We comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the European Union's GDPR (the strictest widely applied standard for data privacy and retention).
- Active accounts — we retain your data for as long as your account is active
- Account deletion — if you delete your account, your personal data and content will become unavailable immediately and will be removed from the website within 30 days (you can make a request to un-delete your account within 30 days)
- Inactive accounts — non-paid accounts with no activity for 180 days will be flagged for deletion — we will attempt to notify users with inactive accounts by email before permanently purging data
- Backups — encrypted backups of all WriterHabits user data are created nightly, copied to a separate secure server, and may persist for up to 90 days before being permanently purged (this is industry standard practice for data restores and disaster recovery)
- Log files — log files are used for security audits and the day-to-day operation of WriterHabits
- Accounting records — paid subscription data, including member invoices is retained for WriterHabits accounting requirements and financial audits
- Legal compliance (tax, law enforcement, fraud) — we may retain certain data as required by law
- Anonymized and aggregated data — anonymized and aggregated data is used for operational analysis, including performance monitoring and metrics to help improve our Services
10. Children's Privacy
Our Services are not directed to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 years of age. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13, we will promptly delete that information. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us at support@writerhabits.com.
11. International Users
Our Services are operated from the United States. If you are accessing our Services from outside the United States, please be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States, where data protection laws may differ from those in your jurisdiction. By using the Service, you consent to such transfer and processing.
12. California Privacy Rights (CCPA)
If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA):
- The right to know what personal information we collect and how it is used
- The right to request deletion of your personal information
- The right to opt out of the sale of personal information — we do not sell your personal information
- The right to non-discrimination for exercising your privacy rights
To exercise these rights, contact us at support@writerhabits.com.
13. European Users (GDPR)
If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom, or Switzerland, you have additional rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):
- The right to access, rectify, or erase your personal data
- The right to restrict or object to processing
- The right to data portability
- The right to withdraw consent at any time
- The right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority
Our legal basis for processing your personal data includes: performance of a contract (providing our Services), your consent (optional notifications and SMS text messages), and our legitimate interests (improving our Services and ensuring security).
14. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by posting the updated policy on the Service with a revised effective date. Your continued use of the Service after such changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.
15. Contact Us
If you have any questions about our Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us: