Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy describes how The Reading Club (“we,” “us,” or “our”), operating at thereadingclub.in, collects, uses, and protects your personal information when you visit our website or use our services.

Information we collect

Information you provide

• Email address — when you join our waitlist or reserve a username.
• Username — if you choose to reserve one before launch.
• Account information — when the platform launches, we may collect your name, profile details, reading preferences, and authentication credentials (including via Google sign-in).
• User-generated content — posts, comments, reviews, event listings, book swap listings, and messages you create on the platform.

Information collected automatically

• Usage data — pages visited, features used, and general interaction patterns.
• Device and browser information — IP address, browser type, operating system, and referring URLs.
• Cookies and similar technologies — to maintain sessions, remember preferences, and understand how the site is used.

How we use your information

We use the information we collect to:

• Operate the waitlist and username reservation system.
• Provide, maintain, and improve the Reading Club platform.
• Send you service-related communications, including waitlist updates and launch announcements.
• Personalise your experience, including book recommendations and community suggestions.
• Moderate content and enforce our Terms and Conditions.
• Detect, prevent, and address fraud, abuse, and security issues.
• Comply with applicable legal obligations.

Third-party services

We use trusted third-party services to operate our platform:

• Google reCAPTCHA — to protect waitlist and username forms from automated abuse. Google may collect device and usage data subject to Google's Privacy Policy.
• Google Sign-In (planned) — for authentication when the platform launches.
• Hosting and database providers — to store and process data securely (e.g. Vercel, PostgreSQL hosting).

These providers process data on our behalf and are bound by their own privacy policies and applicable data protection requirements.

Data retention

We retain your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide our services. Waitlist data is kept until you request deletion or until it is no longer needed after platform launch. We may retain certain information as required by law or for legitimate business purposes such as resolving disputes.

Data security

We implement reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. No method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Your rights

Depending on applicable law — including India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 — you may have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you.
• Request correction of inaccurate data.
• Request deletion of your data.
• Withdraw consent where processing is consent-based.
• Lodge a complaint with a relevant data protection authority.

To exercise these rights, contact us at privacy@thereadingclub.in. We will respond within a reasonable timeframe.

Children's privacy

The Reading Club is not intended for children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have collected such information, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the revised policy on this page with an updated “Last updated” date. Continued use of our services after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact us

For privacy-related questions or requests, email privacy@thereadingclub.in.