Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how NovelCanon (“we”, “us”) collects, uses, and shares personal data when you use the service. The short version: your manuscripts are yours, we never use your writing to train AI, and your AI provider key is encrypted and only ever decrypted in memory to make a request you asked for.

Information we collect

• Account data — your email address, name, and authentication data, handled by our authentication provider (Clerk).
• Content you create — manuscripts, scenes, characters, worldbuilding notes, story facts, and related project data you store in the app. If you enable tone matching, the writing samples you upload are also stored and converted into vector embeddings so the AI can draft in your voice.
• Usage & analytics data — product analytics events and device/log data, collected through PostHog, used to understand how the product is used and to improve it. Where consent is required, analytics runs cookieless (nothing stored on your device) until you allow it — see our Cookie Policy.
• Payment data — processed by Polar, our Merchant of Record. We receive subscription status and billing metadata; we never see or store full card details.
• Your AI provider key (bring-your-own-key) — stored encrypted at rest using envelope encryption and decrypted only in server memory for the duration of a request you initiate. Keys are never logged, cached beyond the request, or returned by our APIs.

How we use your data

We use personal data to provide and secure the service, sync and back up your projects, process subscription payments, respond to support requests, understand aggregate product usage, and comply with legal obligations. We do not sell your personal data, and we do not use your writing to train AI models.

AI processing & bring-your-own-key

AI features send relevant parts of your project (for example the current scene and story context) directly to the AI provider you choose — OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, or OpenRouter — using your own API key, under that provider’s API terms. The major providers do not train on API traffic by default. When you reach third-party models through OpenRouter, we explicitly ask those providers not to retain or train on your data, but we cannot guarantee compliance by every downstream provider; for maximum privacy, use a direct API key. Tone matching additionally uses a platform OpenAI key to generate embeddings of your writing samples; this traffic is likewise API traffic that OpenAI does not train on by default.

Sub-processors & third parties

We share data with service providers that help us operate the service:

• Clerk — authentication and account management
• Supabase — database hosting
• Vercel — application hosting
• Cloudflare R2 — file storage for imports, exports, and backups
• Polar — payments (Merchant of Record)
• PostHog — product analytics
• Resend — transactional email
• Upstash — rate limiting and caching
• Sentry — error monitoring
• OpenAI — vector embeddings for tone matching (platform key)
• The AI provider you select — AI generation via your own key

Cookies & tracking

See our Cookie Policy for details on the cookies and similar technologies we use and how to manage them.

Data retention & deletion

Your content is retained while your account is active so the service can function. You can delete individual projects at any time, and you can delete your entire account from your account settings — deletion is self-serve and removes your account data and content from our systems, after which residual copies are purged from backups on a rolling basis. You can export your full manuscript and a complete project backup at any time before deleting.

Your rights

Depending on your location (for example under GDPR/UK GDPR or CCPA/CPRA), you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or port your personal data, to object to or restrict certain processing, and to opt out of sale or sharing (we do neither). To exercise any of these rights, email us at support@novelhearth.com from the address on your account, or use the in-app export and account-deletion tools.

International transfers, security & children

Our service providers may process data in the United States and other countries; where required, transfers rely on appropriate safeguards such as standard contractual clauses. We protect data with encryption in transit, encryption at rest for sensitive values (API keys use per-user envelope encryption), and access controls. The service is not directed at children under 13, and you must be at least 13 (or the higher minimum age in your jurisdiction) to use it.

Changes & contact

We may update this policy as the service evolves; material changes will be announced in the app or by email. Questions: support@novelhearth.com.