"The Author's Helper" (the "Service," "we," "us," or "our") is a software-as-a-service platform for independent book authors, operated by Bob Sims as a sole proprietorship in Hilliard, Ohio, United States. We expect to transition operations to an Ohio limited liability company in the future, at which point this Policy will be updated to reflect the new entity. We are the data controller for personal information collected through the Service.
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, contact us at: info@theauthorshelper.com
We collect only what is necessary to provide and improve the Service.
| Data | Why we collect it |
|---|---|
| Full name and pen name | To personalize your account and dashboard |
| Email address | For account login, transactional email, and support |
| Password (hashed) | To authenticate your account. We never store plain-text passwords. |
| Website URL | Optional — for your author profile |
| Book titles, metadata, and cover images | To populate your book management tools and provide context to AI features |
| AI prompts and outputs | Text you submit to our AI features and the drafts the AI returns (book descriptions, press releases, social posts, taglines, trailer narration, sell sheets, cover letters, etc.) |
| Trailer assets | Audio, image, and text inputs you supply to the trailer renderer |
| Event details | Author events you create (signings, readings, podcasts, etc.) and email reminders you schedule |
| Post content and campaign data | To schedule and send your marketing content |
| Contact lists | To send email campaigns on your behalf |
When you connect a third-party account (TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, LinkedIn, or Mailgun for newsletter sending) we receive OAuth access tokens and, depending on the platform, basic account identifiers such as a Page ID, Open ID, or username. Tokens are stored encrypted at rest. We use them solely to publish content you create in the portal to your connected accounts and to label "connected as @yourhandle" inside our user interface.
| Platform | Data received | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| TikTok | Access token, refresh token, Open ID, display name | Publishing book trailers and posts to your TikTok account |
| Facebook / Instagram (Meta) | Page access token, Page ID, Instagram Business Account ID | Publishing posts to your Page and Instagram account |
| Threads | Access token, user ID | Publishing posts to your Threads account |
| Bluesky | App password (encrypted) or access token, handle | Publishing posts to your Bluesky account |
| Access token, refresh token, member ID | Publishing posts to your LinkedIn profile | |
| Mailgun | API key (encrypted), domain, sending name | Sending newsletter emails to your subscriber list on your behalf |
If you subscribe to a paid plan, payment is processed by Stripe, Inc. Stripe collects and handles your card information directly. We do not see, store, or transmit your full card number, CVC, or expiration date. We do receive and store a Stripe customer ID, the last four digits of your card, the card brand, and your subscription status (active, trialing, past due, canceled).
We do not use cookies for tracking or advertising. We do not use Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, or any third-party tracking on the portal.
We use your data only for the following purposes:
We do not use your data for advertising purposes. We do not build profiles about you for sale to third parties. We do not share your data with data brokers.
Your data is stored in a MySQL database hosted on GoDaddy infrastructure in the United States. OAuth tokens for connected social platforms are stored encrypted in the database, tied to your individual account. No author can access another author's tokens or data.
The following service providers (sub-processors) process data on our behalf. Each receives only what it needs to do its job, and none may sell your data, train AI models on it, or use it for advertising or profiling.
| Provider | Purpose | What we share |
|---|---|---|
| GoDaddy | Web hosting, database hosting, domain registration (United States) | All Service data is stored on infrastructure operated by GoDaddy. |
| Anthropic, PBC | AI content generation (Claude API, United States) | The text of your AI prompts and any context you include (e.g. book metadata). Per Anthropic's API terms, your data is not used to train their models. |
| Stripe, Inc. | Subscription billing and payment processing | Your name, email, card information (collected by Stripe directly), subscription tier, billing address (if provided). |
| Mailgun (Sinch Email) | Outbound transactional and (optionally) author-newsletter email delivery | Recipient email address, message subject, message body. |
| Shotstack | Renders book-trailer videos | The text, images, and audio assets that make up the trailer being rendered. |
| Connected social platforms (TikTok, Meta, Threads, Bluesky, LinkedIn) | Publishes your content to your account on each platform | The post content (text, image, or video) you choose to publish, plus the access token you authorized. |
All processors are contractually bound to use your data only as directed by us and to maintain appropriate security measures. We may also disclose information if required by law, a court order, or a valid government request, or to protect our rights or the safety of others.
We do not sell or rent your information. We do not use your content to train AI models. We do not share your information with advertisers.
We retain your data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account:
You have the following rights regarding your personal data:
To exercise any of these rights, email us at info@theauthorshelper.com. We will respond within 30 days.
California residents have specific rights under the CCPA / CPRA, including the right to know what personal information we collect, the right to delete it, the right to correct it, and the right not to be discriminated against for exercising any of these rights. We honor all of these rights for every user, regardless of where they live. We do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined under California law.
If you are in one of these regions, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and analogous laws give you the right to access, rectify, erase, restrict, or port your personal information, and to object to its processing. Our legal bases for processing are: (a) performance of our contract with you, (b) your consent (which you may withdraw at any time), (c) compliance with our legal obligations, and (d) our legitimate interests in operating and improving the Service.
The Service is hosted in the United States. By using the Service, you consent to your information being transferred to and processed in the U.S. We will work in good faith with users in these regions to address requests; if you have a complaint we cannot resolve, you have the right to lodge it with your local data protection authority.
When you connect your social media or email-sending accounts, your use of those platforms is governed by their own privacy policies. We encourage you to review:
We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these platforms. We only transmit to them the content you explicitly create and choose to publish or process through our Service.
The Service is intended for users who are 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18. If we become aware that we have collected data from a person under 18 we will delete it promptly. If you believe we have collected data from a minor, please contact us at info@theauthorshelper.com.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by email to your registered address at least 14 days before they take effect. Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.
The date at the top of this page always reflects when the policy was last updated.
For any privacy-related question, request, or concern:
We aim to respond to all privacy inquiries within 5 business days.