Privacy Policy

1. A Short Summary

• Your favourites, reading history and reading preferences (font size, line spacing, night mode) are stored locally in your browser using localStorage.
• WattPades does not require an account to read, and we do not operate a user-generated upload service today.
• We do not sell, rent or trade your personal information with anyone.
• Clearing your browser data, or using a private browsing window, removes or isolates the local data described above.

2. Information We Collect

Information stored on your device (localStorage). When you tap the heart icon on a story or finish a chapter, WattPades saves a small amount of text in your browser's local storage so that My Shelf and "continue reading" can work. This includes book IDs you favourited, the last chapter you opened for each book, and display preferences. This data never leaves your device unless you choose to share it.

Automatically collected technical data. Like virtually every website, our hosting infrastructure keeps standard server logs (IP address, browser type, pages requested, time of request). We use this only to operate the site, diagnose errors and defend against abuse. Logs are retained briefly and are not combined with any other data to identify you.

Information you send us voluntarily. If you email us for support, report content, or send a copyright notice, we receive the content of your message and your email address, and we use them solely to respond to your request. We do not add you to marketing lists.

3. How We Use Information

We use the limited data described above only for these purposes:

• To power on-device features you ask for: favourites, reading history, night mode, font and line-height settings.
• To keep the service running, secure and reliable.
• To respond to support, content and copyright enquiries.
• To understand, in aggregate, which genres readers enjoy so we can curate better stories — never to profile you personally.

4. Cookies & Local Storage

WattPades does not set advertising cookies itself. The main browser storage we rely on is localStorage, which powers the features in Section 3. localStorage is not transmitted to our servers and can be cleared at any time through your browser settings — doing so removes your saved bookshelf and reading history on that browser.

Analytics cookies: to understand how readers use the library, we may use Google Analytics 4. When enabled, Google Analytics stores a small first-party cookie (_ga) that lets us count visits and see which pages are popular. It is configured without advertising identifiers, and you can block or delete it at any time through your browser settings.

Advertising cookies (future): if we ever enable third-party advertising such as Google AdSense, Google and its partners may use cookies — including the DoubleClick cookie — to serve ads based on prior visits to this and other websites. Before any such advertising is activated, and wherever the law requires it (for example in the EEA and the UK), we will show a consent banner and obtain your permission before these cookies are set. This page will be updated again before advertising goes live.

5. Third-Party Services

Our pages load fonts from Google Fonts so that text renders beautifully. When your browser fetches those fonts, Google receives a standard request that may include your IP address, governed by Google's own privacy policy. We do not control and are not responsible for the privacy practices of any third-party service whose resources our pages may load.

Google Analytics 4

Google Analytics helps us measure aggregate traffic and understand which stories readers enjoy. Google processes this data under its own privacy policy; IP addresses are used in standard form and we do not merge analytics data with personal identifiers. You can learn more about how Google uses data from partner sites at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.

Google AdSense & personalised advertising (future)

Should we display advertising, third-party vendors — including Google — will use cookies to serve ads based on a user's prior visits to this website or other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to readers based on their visits to wattpades.com and/or other sites on the Internet. Readers may opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings (adssettings.google.com) or www.aboutads.info. As noted in Section 4, we will obtain consent where the law requires it before enabling personalised advertising in the EEA, UK or other regulated regions.

6. Sharing & Disclosure

We do not sell or rent personal information. We disclose information only (a) with your consent; (b) to service providers who help us operate the site under strict confidentiality; (c) when required by law or to protect the rights, property or safety of WattPades, our readers, or the public; or (d) in connection with a merger, acquisition or sale of assets, in which case you will be notified of any change in control or data practices.

7. Children's Privacy

WattPades is a general-audience reading service and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Romance fiction on this site involves adult relationships; if you are under 16, please enjoy with a parent or guardian's guidance. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, contact [email protected] and we will delete it promptly.

8. Your Rights Under GDPR (EEA & UK)

If you are located in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, you have the rights described below under the General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"). We honour the same rights for visitors from any jurisdiction where they apply by law or by our choice.

• Right of access (Art. 15): you may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you. Because WattPades does not run an account system, most of the data is local to your device; anything you sent us by email we will happily export.
• Right to rectification (Art. 16): if anything we hold about you is wrong, tell us and we will correct it.
• Right to erasure / "right to be forgotten" (Art. 17): ask us to delete personal data we hold, and we will do so within 30 days, subject to legal retention obligations.
• Right to restrict or object to processing (Arts. 18 & 21): you can object to processing based on our legitimate interests, and you can ask us to pause processing while a concern is investigated.
• Right to data portability (Art. 20): receive personal data you provided to us in a structured, commonly used electronic format.
• Right to withdraw consent (Art. 7(3)): where we rely on consent (for analytics or future personalised advertising), withdrawing it is as easy as clearing your browser data or contacting us.
• Right to lodge a complaint (Art. 77): you may complain to your local data protection authority. We would, however, prefer the chance to resolve any issue directly with you first.

To exercise any of these rights, email [email protected] with the subject line "GDPR request" and the right you wish to exercise. We respond within 30 days at no cost.

9. Your Rights Under CCPA/CPRA (California)

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act ("CCPA") and the California Privacy Rights Act ("CPRA") grant you the following rights:

• Right to know what categories of personal information we collect, the sources, the business purposes, and the categories of third parties with whom we share it.
• Right to delete personal information we have collected from you, subject to the exceptions in CCPA §1798.105(d).
• Right to correct inaccurate personal information (effective January 1, 2023).
• Right to opt out of sale or sharing — WattPades does not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioural advertising, so there is nothing to opt out of today. If that ever changes, a "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" link will appear on every page footer.
• Right to limit use of sensitive personal information — we do not collect sensitive personal information as defined by CPRA.
• Right to non-discrimination for exercising any of the above rights.

You may exercise these rights by emailing [email protected] with the subject "CCPA request". We will respond within 45 days. California residents may also designate an authorised agent to act on their behalf, subject to verification.

Shine the Light (Cal. Civ. Code §1798.83): California residents may request information about the categories of personal information disclosed to third parties for those third parties' direct marketing purposes. WattPades does not disclose personal information to third parties for their own direct marketing.

10. Data Security

We use HTTPS encryption across the site, keep our hosting environment patched, restrict administrative access to authorised personnel only, and retain server logs no longer than necessary. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, but we work hard to protect the little data we hold.

11. Data Retention

We keep personal data only as long as needed for the purposes described in this policy, then delete or anonymise it:

• localStorage items (favourites, reading progress, display preferences): retained on your device until you clear your browser data or use the in-app "Clear shelf" control.
• Server access logs: retained for up to 30 days for security and debugging, then rotated out.
• Support / copyright email correspondence: retained for up to 24 months to handle follow-up questions and demonstrate our compliance, then archived or deleted.
• Aggregated analytics: retained up to 26 months in identifiable form, after which it is stored only in aggregate statistics that can no longer identify you.

12. Affiliate & Referral Links

Some pages on WattPades contain outbound links to book retailers, audio-book services, or merchandise partners. When you click such a link and complete a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Affiliate links are clearly marked and the affiliate programme operator (for example, an Amazon Associates tag) may set its own cookies to attribute the referral. The commission does not influence which books we feature or rank — editorial selection is independent.

13. AI-Generated Content Disclosure

WattPades is a curated reading library. The plot summaries, editorial reviews and metadata shown alongside each novel are written and reviewed by human editors. Where artificial-intelligence tools are used to assist with translation or copywriting, the output is reviewed by a human editor before publication. We do not use generative AI to create original narrative fiction on this site, and we do not sell or upload user content to AI training pipelines.

14. EU & UK Representative

Under Article 27 of the GDPR, controllers not established in the Union must appoint an EU representative. WattPades is operated by a small publishing team; for the moment we handle EU/UK requests directly through the contact email below. If you would prefer to correspond with our formally appointed representative, email [email protected] with the subject "EU/UK representative" and we will route you to the appropriate contact.

15. International Visitors

WattPades is read from all over the world. Your browser connects to our hosting infrastructure wherever it is located, and by using the site you consent to that standard technical processing. We commit to treat all visitors' data with the same care regardless of their country, and to honour the strongest applicable privacy regime (GDPR or CCPA) for every visitor, regardless of where they live.

16. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy as the site evolves. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date below and, for material changes, call them out on our homepage. Continued use of the site after changes means you accept the updated policy.

17. Contact Us

Questions about this policy or your data? We are happy to help: