Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy (the "Policy") describes what personal data the website annamozgovaya.com (the "Site") collects, what it is used for, who it is shared with, and how you can manage it. The Policy is an integral part of the Terms of Use and applies to all Users of the Site.

The controller of personal data processing (data controller under GDPR terminology) is Anna Mozgovaya, a legal entity registered in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. For any questions regarding the processing of personal data, please contact privacy@annamozgovaya.com.

Processing of Users' personal data is carried out in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR, Regulation (EU) 2016/679).

What data we collect

Data you provide yourself:

• upon registration — name, login, email, password (stored as an irreversible hash, not in plain text);
• in your profile, optionally — avatar and biography (author page);
• if you choose to use a pseudonym — a publicly displayed name instead of your real one;
• content you publish — the texts of works, comments on books and chapters, forum topics and replies ("Chat"), suggestions and votes in the "Workshop";
• correspondence with us — if you contact us through the Site's community, a feedback form, or by email.

Data collected automatically:

• technical session data — when you log into your account, the server stores the IP address and browser user agent associated with the active session (a standard mechanism of Laravel, the framework the Site runs on; needed for authentication and abuse prevention);
• chapter view statistics — to avoid counting repeat visits from the same reader as new views, the Site stores an irreversible hash (SHA-256) of your IP address together with the chapter number; the IP address itself is not stored and cannot be recovered from the hash;
• a cookie storing your chosen interface language — kept in the browser for up to one year;
• a cookie storing your analytics consent decision (cookie_consent) — kept in the browser for up to 12 months, see "Analytics and cookies" below;
• local reading position for unauthenticated readers ("continue reading") — stored in the browser (localStorage) on your device and never sent to the server.

What is required and what is optional. Name, login, email, and password are required to create an account — registration is not possible without them. Avatar, biography, and pseudonym use are entirely optional and do not affect your ability to use the Site.

Analytics and cookies

The Site uses Google Analytics and Yandex Metrica to collect anonymized visitor statistics.

Both services are loaded only after your explicit consent: on your first visit you see a banner offering "Accept" or "Decline". Until you make a choice, or if you decline, neither analytics script loads or sets any cookies. You can change your decision at any time by clearing the cookie_consent cookie in your browser settings — the banner will appear again on your next visit.

If you are logged in with administrator rights and working in the Site's admin panel, both analytics trackers are disabled automatically, regardless of your consent — this ensures that administrative visits do not skew the statistics of real visitors.

Google Analytics and Yandex Metrica are independent services with their own jurisdiction and privacy policies: the data processing they perform once you consent is governed by their own rules (Google Ireland Limited and Yandex LLC, respectively). We do not share your name, email, or other account data with these services — only anonymized technical visit data (as configured by the services themselves).

What we use the data for

• registration and account login, session management;
• displaying your profile, works, and comments to other Users to the extent you have chosen (for example, by enabling or disabling the display of your email on your author page, or enabling or disabling a pseudonym);
• granting and tracking access to chapters of works with restricted access (grants are issued manually by the Author or Administration based on the ID or email you provide);
• sending technical emails — email confirmation upon registration and similar system notifications;
• handling support requests, including copyright infringement complaints and content moderation;
• ensuring the security of the Site — preventing unauthorized access, abuse, and fraud;
• with your consent — collecting anonymized visitor statistics via Google Analytics and Yandex Metrica (see above).

We do not use your personal data for targeted advertising and do not sell it to third parties.

Legal bases for processing

• performance of the Terms of Use — for data required for registration, publishing works, and account operation;
• the Administration's legitimate interest — for ensuring the Site's security, preventing abuse, handling rights-infringement complaints, and maintaining anonymized chapter view statistics;
• your voluntary consent — for enabling Google Analytics and Yandex Metrica (see above), as well as wherever data display depends on your chosen profile settings (e.g., showing your email on your author page, using a pseudonym); you may change this decision at any time;
• compliance with legal obligations — where required by applicable law.

Who the data is shared with

We do not share personal data with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

Data is processed with the involvement of the following technical service providers, acting on our instructions or as independent controllers (with respect to analytics):

• hosting provider (ukraine.com.ua) — stores the Site's database and files (including book covers and avatars); the server is physically located in Germany;
• the hosting panel's email service (adm.tools) — used to send technical emails (email confirmation, system notifications);
• Google Analytics (Google Ireland Limited) and Yandex Metrica (Yandex LLC) — anonymized visitor statistics, enabled only with your consent (see "Analytics and cookies").

Other Users see the data about you that you choose to publish yourself (author profile, comments, forum topics and replies) according to the visibility settings you have selected.

International data transfers

Part of the technical infrastructure (hosting, data storage) is located outside the European Economic Area — in Ukraine, while the server is physically hosted in Germany. For such transfers, we take reasonable measures to protect data to the extent consistent with this Policy. If you have concerns about this or would like further details on specific safeguards, please write to privacy@annamozgovaya.com.

The Site's domain and hosting account are technically administered by a trusted technical partner acting on the Controller's instructions; this does not change who the data controller is — that remains the Controller identified at the beginning of this Policy.

Retention periods

• account data (profile, works, comments) — retained while the account is active;
• after account deletion at your request — personal profile data is deleted within a reasonable period not exceeding 30 days, except where longer retention of specific data is required by law; backups containing this data are overwritten as part of the normal backup rotation cycle, which may take additional time;
• technical session logs (IP address, user agent) — retained for no longer than 12 months;
• anonymized IP hashes for chapter view statistics — retained together with the book's statistics and are not tied to any account or its lifetime;
• works and comments left by you as an Author or commenter may remain on the Site after account deletion (see the Terms of Use), but cease to be linked to your personal data, unless you specifically request the deletion of that content as well.

Your rights

Under GDPR you have the right to:

• access your personal data and obtain a copy of it;
• request correction of inaccurate data;
• request erasure of your data ("the right to be forgotten") — subject to the limitations described above and in the Terms of Use;
• restrict processing in certain cases;
• object to processing based on legitimate interest;
• receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format (the right to data portability);
• withdraw previously given consent at any time where processing is based on consent (in particular, consent to analytics) — this does not affect the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.

To exercise any of these rights, write to privacy@annamozgovaya.com. We respond to such requests within the period established by GDPR (generally within one month).

If you believe that the processing of your data violates GDPR, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority. Since the Site's activity is actually carried out in Luxembourg, that authority is the Commission Nationale pour la Protection des Données (CNPD), Luxembourg. You are also entitled to contact the supervisory authority of your country of habitual residence or the place of the alleged infringement, where applicable law permits.

Automated decision-making

The Site does not use automated decision-making or profiling within the meaning of Article 22 GDPR. All decisions affecting access to works, content moderation, and accounts are made by a human (the Author or the Administration).

Data security

Passwords are stored as an irreversible hash, not in plain text. We take organizational and technical measures to protect personal data from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. Despite these measures, no method of transmission or storage over the internet can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Children's data

Registration on the Site is available to persons over 16 years of age (see the Terms of Use). We do not knowingly collect data from persons younger than this age. If you become aware that a minor under 16 has provided us with their data, please notify us at privacy@annamozgovaya.com and we will delete such data.

Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time. The current version is always available at this same address. In the event of material changes, we will make reasonable efforts to notify you on the Site.

Contact

For any questions related to the processing of personal data, please contact: privacy@annamozgovaya.com.