Privacy Policy

Last updated: 13 May 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Decade Studios Pte. Ltd. ("OpenNovel", "we", "us", or "our") collects, uses, stores, and discloses your information when you use OpenNovel — including our website at opennovel.co, our web application, browser extensions, mobile app, and related services (collectively, the "Service").

By using the Service, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.

1. Who We Are

OpenNovel is operated by Decade Studios Pte. Ltd., a company registered in Singapore. For the purposes of the EU General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"), Decade Studios Pte. Ltd. is the Data Controller of your Personal Data.

You can contact us at any time at support@opennovel.co.

2. Information We Collect

Information you provide

  • Account details — your email address, name, and authentication identifier when you sign up (including via Google sign-in).
  • Billing information — when you purchase a paid plan, our payment processor collects your payment card details. We do not store full card numbers ourselves.
  • Content you submit — source texts, URLs, EPUBs, glossaries, translation edits, and other content you upload, paste, or generate through the Service.
  • Communications — anything you send us by email, contact form, Discord, or support channel.

Information collected automatically

  • Usage Data — pages visited, features used, translation history, actions taken, timestamps, and similar product analytics.
  • Device & technical data — IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device identifiers, and referring URLs.
  • Cookies and similar technologies — see Section 6 below.

Information from third-party sign-in

If you register or sign in using Google, we receive your name, email address, and a unique identifier from Google. We do not receive your password. You can revoke this access at any time through your Google account settings.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

  • Provide, operate, and maintain the Service, including translating your content;
  • Create and manage your account, authenticate you, and prevent fraud or abuse;
  • Process payments and manage subscriptions;
  • Respond to your requests, questions, and support inquiries;
  • Send you transactional messages (account, billing, security, and service notifications) and, where permitted, marketing emails — you can unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time;
  • Monitor and analyse usage to improve the Service, debug issues, and develop new features;
  • Comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms of Use.

4. Translation Content and AI Providers

OpenNovel is a translation tool. To translate the content you submit, we send that content to third-party large language model ("LLM") and machine translation providers.

The set of providers we use may change over time as we add, replace, or remove models. We choose providers whose terms prohibit using API inputs and outputs to train their models by default. However, providers may briefly retain content to provide the service, detect abuse, or meet legal obligations, in accordance with their own privacy policies. By using the Service, you acknowledge that the content you submit will be transmitted to these providers for processing.

Please do not submit sensitive personal data (such as government ID numbers, financial account details, or health information) as content to be translated. The Service is not designed for that purpose.

5. Third-Party Service Providers

We share Personal Data with carefully selected service providers who help us operate the Service. Each is bound by contractual confidentiality and data-protection obligations and may only process your data on our instructions. The categories of providers we use include:

  • Cloud hosting, database, and storage providers — to host the Service and store your account and content.
  • Authentication providers — to let you sign in (including via Google).
  • Payment processors — to handle subscriptions, billing, and merchant-of-record obligations. We do not store full payment card details.
  • Email delivery providers — to send transactional and, where permitted, marketing emails.
  • Analytics providers — to understand how the Service is used and improve it.
  • LLM and translation providers — to process the content you submit for translation, as described in Section 4.

We may also disclose your information: (i) to comply with applicable law or valid legal process; (ii) to enforce our Terms of Use or protect the rights, property, or safety of OpenNovel, our users, or others; (iii) in connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, or sale of all or part of our business, in which case we will provide notice before your Personal Data becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

6. Cookies and Similar Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies (such as local storage and pixels) for the following purposes:

  • Strictly necessary — to authenticate you, keep you logged in, and remember your session.
  • Functional — to remember your preferences (e.g. language, glossary settings).
  • Analytics — to understand how the Service is used and improve it (via Google Analytics).

Most browsers let you refuse or delete cookies through their settings. Blocking strictly necessary cookies will prevent the Service from functioning correctly.

7. Legal Bases for Processing (EEA Users)

If you are in the European Economic Area, we rely on the following legal bases under the GDPR:

  • Performance of a contract — to provide the Service you have signed up for.
  • Legitimate interests — to operate, secure, improve, and market the Service in a way that does not override your rights.
  • Consent — for optional analytics, marketing communications, and any other processing for which we ask your consent. You can withdraw consent at any time.
  • Legal obligation — to comply with applicable laws, tax rules, and lawful requests by authorities.

8. International Data Transfers

Our service providers operate globally, which means your information may be processed in countries outside your own — including the United States, the European Union, and elsewhere.

Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards and contractual protections to ensure your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Policy when it is transferred internationally.

9. Data Retention

We retain your Personal Data only for as long as is necessary to provide the Service, comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. When data is no longer needed, we delete or anonymise it. Backups containing residual copies of your data are rotated and overwritten on a regular cycle (typically within 90 days).

10. Security

We use commercially reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your Personal Data, including encryption in transit, access controls, and infrastructure provided by reputable vendors. However, no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

11. Your Rights

EEA users (GDPR)

Subject to applicable law, you have the right to: access your Personal Data; request correction of inaccurate data; request erasure (the "right to be forgotten"); restrict or object to processing; data portability; and withdraw consent. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.

How to exercise your rights

To exercise any of these rights, email us at support@opennovel.co from the email address associated with your account. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling your request and will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law.

12. Data Deletion Requests

You can request deletion of your Personal Data at any time by emailing support@opennovel.co with the subject line "Data Deletion Request". Include your account email address so we can locate your data.

When we receive a verified deletion request, we will:

  • Verify your identity to prevent unauthorised deletion;
  • Process your request within 30 days of verification, or sooner where required by law;
  • Delete your Personal Data from our active systems — including account details, email address, name, translation history, and usage data;
  • Notify you once the deletion has been completed.

We may retain limited information after deletion where required by law (e.g. tax and accounting records), for fraud prevention and security, in anonymised or aggregated form, or in routine backups pending rotation (typically within 90 days).

13. Children's Privacy

The Service is not directed to children under the age of 16, and we do not knowingly collect Personal Data from anyone under 16. If you believe a child under 16 has provided us with Personal Data, please contact us at support@opennovel.co and we will delete it.

14. Links to Other Websites

The Service may contain links to third-party websites that are not operated by us. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those sites. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing any information.

15. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and, where the changes are material, we will provide additional notice (such as a banner in the Service or an email). Your continued use of the Service after the changes take effect constitutes your acceptance of the updated Policy.

16. Contact Us

If you have any questions, requests, or complaints about this Privacy Policy or our handling of your Personal Data, please contact us: