Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

This Privacy Policy explains how Author Pages ("we," "us," or "our"), operated by John Shoufler through BooksAndGuidesPro.com, handles your personal information when you use our service at https://booksandguidespro.com/books/.

By using Author Pages, you agree to the collection and use of information as described in this policy.

2. Information We Collect

We collect different types of information depending on how you interact with the service.

Account & Profile Information

• Name and email address (provided during registration)
• Author profile details (bio, genre, social links)
• Book ISBNs and associated metadata
• Uploaded photos (author headshots, book covers)

Analytics & Page View Data

• IP address hash (we do not store your raw IP address)
• User agent string
• Country, region, and city (derived from IP at the time of the visit)
• Device type, browser, and operating system
• Referrer URL (the page that linked you to us)

Email Subscriber Information

• Email address and name
• Subscription source (which author page or book page the signup came from)

Payment Information

• Subscription and billing data is processed through MemberPress and Stripe. We do not store credit card numbers or full payment credentials on our servers. Stripe handles all card processing in accordance with PCI-DSS standards.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Create and maintain your author profile and book listings
• Generate verified retailer links from your ISBNs
• Provide page view analytics to authors (Plus and Pro plans)
• Deliver email subscriber lists to authors
• Process subscription payments
• Improve the service and fix technical issues
• Communicate important service updates

4. Cookies & Session Data

Author Pages uses a minimal number of cookies:

• PHP Session Cookie — Maintains your login session. Expires when you close your browser or after a period of inactivity.
• CSRF Token — A security token used to protect form submissions from cross-site request forgery attacks.

We do not use advertising cookies, tracking pixels, or third-party analytics cookies.

5. Third-Party Services

Author Pages integrates with the following third-party services:

• Google Books API — Used to look up book details from ISBNs you provide. Google's privacy policy applies to data processed by their API.
• Amazon Associates — Book buy-links to Amazon include our affiliate tag (shoufleraff0c-20). When you click an Amazon link, Amazon's privacy policy governs your interaction with their site.
• Stripe — Processes subscription payments securely. Stripe's privacy policy governs payment data handling.
• MemberPress — Manages membership plans and access levels through our WordPress installation.

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data with any third party for their marketing purposes.

6. Data Storage & Security

Your data is stored on a DigitalOcean virtual private server located in the United States. We take reasonable measures to protect your information, including:

• Encrypted connections via HTTPS/TLS for all data in transit
• Prepared database statements to prevent SQL injection
• CSRF protection on all form submissions
• IP addresses stored only as hashed values, not in raw form
• Uploaded files stored in access-controlled directories

No method of electronic storage or transmission is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Data Retention

We retain your account and profile data for as long as your account is active. Analytics data (page views) is retained to provide historical reporting to authors. If you delete your account, your profile, book listings, and associated analytics data will be removed from our systems.

Email subscriber data collected on behalf of authors is retained until the subscriber unsubscribes or the author deletes the record.

8. Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access — Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Correction — Update or correct inaccurate information through your account dashboard or by contacting us.
• Deletion — Request that we delete your personal data. To do so, email us at johnshoufler@booksandguidespro.com with the subject line "Data Deletion Request."
• Data Portability — Request your data in a portable format.
• Withdraw Consent — You may stop using the service at any time. Email subscribers may unsubscribe using the link in any email.

We will respond to data requests within 30 days.

9. Children's Privacy

Author Pages is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal data, please contact us at johnshoufler@booksandguidespro.com and we will promptly delete it.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Effective Date" at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Continued use of the service after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

11. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact:

John Shoufler
BooksAndGuidesPro.com / Author Pages
Email: johnshoufler@booksandguidespro.com