Privacy Policy
Last updated: [Month Day, Year]
This Privacy Policy explains how Codal collects, uses, shares, stores, and protects personal information.
Codal is a platform for creating, reviewing, publishing, exporting, verifying, preserving, and printing books. This policy applies to Codal's website, application, APIs, and related services.
1. Content ownership and privacy distinction
Your books, manuscripts, images, metadata, source documents, translations, annotations, covers, and project files remain your content or your organization's content.
Codal processes that content to provide the service. Project content may contain personal information if you or your collaborators include it. You are responsible for making sure you have the right to upload, process, publish, export, or distribute personal information contained in your content.
2. Information we collect
We may collect the following categories of information.
Account information
- name
- email address
- username
- password hash
- profile settings
- organization membership
- role and permission settings
- authentication and session information
Project and collaboration information
- projects you create or join
- workspace activity
- pages, changes, reviews, comments, issues, and release activity
- contributor attribution and privacy settings
- project metadata and publishing settings
- public/private visibility settings
Content and files
- manuscripts
- images
- source documents
- scans
- PDFs
- EPUBs
- covers
- metadata
- translations
- OCR outputs
- generated artifacts
- package exports
- verification files
- preservation bundles
Technical and usage information
- IP address
- device and browser information
- log data
- pages viewed
- actions taken in the application
- error logs
- performance logs
- security events
- cookie and session data
AI-related information
If AI features are enabled, we may process:
- prompts
- instructions
- selected project context
- AI outputs
- sources consulted
- AI run status
- approval/rejection activity
- audit logs
Communications
If you contact us, we may collect:
- your name
- email address
- message contents
- attachments
- support history
3. How we use information
We use information to:
- create and manage accounts
- provide the Codal service
- host and process projects
- enable collaboration, review, publishing, export, and verification
- generate EPUBs, PDFs, packages, metadata, preservation bundles, and print files
- enforce permissions and access controls
- provide support
- improve performance and reliability
- debug errors
- secure the service
- prevent abuse
- comply with legal obligations
- communicate with users
- operate AI-assisted features when enabled
4. Public content
If you make a project or release public, public information may include:
- title
- byline
- contributors or pseudonyms
- project description
- license
- public pages
- public releases
- public metadata
- OPID records
- package links
- OPDS/OAI metadata
- errata
- source/provenance information you publish
Public content may be viewed, downloaded, indexed, archived, mirrored, cited, or redistributed depending on your settings and license.
Do not publish content publicly unless you are authorized to do so.
5. How we share information
We may share information with:
Service providers
We may use vendors for hosting, storage, email, analytics, error logging, security, AI providers, payment processing, and infrastructure.
Organization administrators
If your account belongs to an organization, organization administrators may see information about your account, role, activity, and contributions within that organization.
Project collaborators
Project collaborators may see project content, comments, changes, reviews, contributors, and activity depending on their permissions.
Public viewers
Public project and release information is visible to anyone.
Legal and safety reasons
We may disclose information if we believe it is necessary to:
- comply with law
- respond to legal process
- enforce our Terms or policies
- protect rights, safety, or security
- investigate abuse, fraud, or security incidents
- respond to copyright or rights complaints
Business transfers
If Codal is involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, sale of assets, or similar transaction, information may be transferred as part of that transaction.
6. AI providers
If AI features are enabled, selected project content, prompts, and instructions may be sent to AI providers to generate outputs.
We will use the provider settings configured for the service or account. AI provider use may be subject to separate provider terms and privacy practices.
Do not use AI features with confidential or sensitive information unless you are authorized to do so and understand the applicable account settings.
7. Cookies and similar technologies
Codal may use cookies and similar technologies for:
- authentication
- session management
- security
- preferences
- analytics
- performance
- abuse prevention
You can control cookies through your browser settings, but disabling cookies may affect the service.
8. Data retention
We retain information as long as needed to provide the service, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, enforce agreements, maintain security, preserve audit logs, and support exports or published releases.
Project owners and organizations are responsible for managing project retention and exports.
Some information may remain in backups, audit logs, public releases, package exports, verification records, or preservation records even after deletion from active project views.
9. Security
We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards to protect information.
No system is completely secure. You are responsible for keeping your credentials safe, using appropriate permissions, and exporting/backing up content you need to preserve.
10. Your choices
Depending on your location and applicable law, you may have rights to:
- access personal information
- correct personal information
- delete personal information
- export personal information
- object to or restrict certain processing
- opt out of certain sharing or sales where applicable
- withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
To make a request, contact:
We may need to verify your identity before responding.
11. California privacy notice
If the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended, applies to Codal and to your information, California residents may have rights to know, access, correct, delete, and opt out of certain uses of personal information.
Codal does not sell personal information in the traditional sense. If we use advertising, analytics, or tracking tools that are considered "sharing" or "sale" under applicable law, we will provide required notices and choices.
12. EEA, UK, and international users
If GDPR-style laws apply, our legal bases for processing may include:
- providing the service under a contract
- legitimate interests such as security, reliability, support, and improvement
- compliance with legal obligations
- consent where required
If we transfer personal information internationally, we use appropriate safeguards where required.
13. Children
Codal is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.
If you believe a child under 13 has provided personal information to Codal, contact us at:
We may delete the information or take other appropriate action.
14. Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If changes are material, we will provide notice through the service, by email, or by updating the "Last updated" date.
15. Contact
Privacy questions or requests may be sent to: