Legal
Privacy policy
Draft awaiting legal review. It describes how Lanternbee works today but is not yet binding.
This policy explains what personal data Lanternbee collects, why, and your rights. The controller is [Lanternbee legal entity and address — to be completed]. Contact: [privacy contact email — to be completed].
Who this covers
- Authors who have a Lanternbee account. Lanternbee is the controller of your account data.
- Readers who buy from a store or join its newsletter. The author who runs the store is the controller of your data; Lanternbee processes it for them under a data processing agreement. Lanternbee is also controller for a small set of data it needs to run the platform securely (for example abuse prevention and the reader library sign-in).
- Visitors to lanternbee.com.
What we collect and why
| Data | Why | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Author name, email, password hash, two-step sign-in settings | Run your account and keep it secure | Contract |
| Store settings, catalogue, files | Run your store | Contract |
| Plan and billing records | Charge for plans and keep accounting records | Contract, legal obligation |
| Reader email, name, orders, library, Kindle address, newsletter consent | Deliver books and run the store for the author | The author’s instructions (we are processor) |
| Waiting-list and contact form messages | Answer you and let you in from the waitlist | Consent, legitimate interest |
| Technical logs (IP address, browser, pages requested) | Security, fraud prevention and fixing problems | Legitimate interest |
| Visitor statistics on lanternbee.com (pages seen, the site you came from, browser, country, page speed) | Learn which pages help and improve the site | Legitimate interest |
| Optional cookies on lanternbee.com (Google Analytics, Meta Pixel), only if you press Accept | See how people find us and measure our ads | Consent |
Visitor statistics on lanternbee.com come from Cloudflare Web Analytics. It sets no cookies, does not follow you to other sites and does not build a profile of you; we only see totals, such as how many people opened a page. The optional cookies are explained below.
Email addresses are replaced by a one-way code in our logs. Payment card details are handled by Stripe and never reach Lanternbee.
If you choose Continue with Google, Google tells us your name, your email address and that Google has confirmed it, plus an account number that lets us recognise you next time. We use them only to sign you in (and, for a new author, to fill in the sign-up form). We do not get your Google password, contacts or anything else, and we keep the link until you disconnect Google or delete your account. Google’s own privacy policy covers what Google does.
Who we share data with
We use providers for hosting, storage, payments, email and monitoring, each under a contract that protects the data. The current list is on the sub-processors page. Where data leaves the EEA or UK, the transfer is covered by standard contractual clauses or an adequacy decision.
We do not sell personal data. We never use authors’ or readers’ data for advertising. If you accept cookies on lanternbee.com, Google and Meta learn that your browser visited our pages, which lets us see how people find us and whether our own ads work (see Cookies). If you say no, they learn nothing from our site.
How long we keep it
- Account data: while your account is open, then up to 90 days after closing.
- Invoices and payment records: as long as tax law requires (usually 6 to 10 years).
- Reader data: as the author decides, and deleted when the author closes the store or a reader asks for erasure.
- Logs: up to 30 days.
Your rights
You can ask for a copy of your data, correct it, delete it, restrict or object to its use, and take it elsewhere. Readers can download their data and delete their account from the reader library settings at any time. Authors can export their data from the admin. To exercise any right, email [privacy contact email]. You can also complain to your data protection authority.
Cookies
Cookies are small files a website keeps in your browser. lanternbee.com works fully without any of them.
Always on, no cookies. We count visits with Cloudflare Web Analytics. It sets no cookies and keeps nothing in your browser, so it does not need your permission.
Optional, only if you say yes. We may use two kinds of cookies. When we do, a small box at the bottom of the page asks first, and nothing loads until you press Accept:
| Cookie | Who provides it | What it is for | Lasts |
|---|---|---|---|
Google Analytics (_ga) |
See which pages people visit and how they found us | Up to 2 years | |
Meta Pixel (_fbp) |
Meta (Facebook, Instagram) | Measure whether our ads on Facebook and Instagram work | Up to 3 months |
Google and Meta handle what they collect under their own privacy policies.
Changing your mind. Press Cookie settings at the bottom of any page and choose again. If you choose No thanks, Google and Meta stop loading on every page from then on and we remove their cookies from your browser. We remember your choice in your browser for 12 months, then ask again.
More detail, including the cookies in the admin and the reader library, is in the cookie policy.
Changes
We will post changes here and email authors about material changes.