1. Who we are
Kinu Reader is operated by T Hoang & L M Lincoln (ABN registered in Australia). If you have any questions about this policy, please reach us at admin@kinureader.com.
2. What we collect and why
We collect only what we need to provide the service:
- Email address — used to verify account ownership and send essential service emails (e.g. password resets, account deletion confirmation). We do not send marketing emails without your opt-in.
- Username — a display name you choose yourself. It does not have to be your real name.
- Password — hashed immediately using a one-way algorithm. We never store or can read your plaintext password, which means even in the unlikely event of a data breach your password is protected.
- User-uploaded stories — any content you upload belongs to you. We store it solely to display it back to you within the app.
- Reading progress & vocabulary data — tracked to personalise your experience (e.g. remembering where you left off, flagging words you're learning). This data is private to your account.
We do not collect your real name, phone number, location, or any device identifiers beyond what is technically necessary to run the service.
3. Payments
Premium features are purchased through our website. All payment processing is handled by Stripe, a third-party payment provider. We never see, store, or handle your card details — they go directly to Stripe and are subject to Stripe's privacy policy.
We retain only a record that a subscription exists (so we can unlock features for your account). When you delete your account, this billing record is permanently removed.
4. Where your data is stored
Your data is stored on servers provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS). It is not sold, rented, or shared with any other party. AWS infrastructure is used solely to operate Kinu Reader and is not accessible to third parties.
5. Your content
Stories and other content you upload to Kinu Reader remain yours. We do not claim ownership of user-generated content. We will never use your uploaded stories for advertising, AI training, or any purpose beyond displaying them back to you within the app.
6. Your rights and controls
You have full control over your data:
- Export your data — from your account page, you can download a copy of all data associated with your account at any time.
- Delete your account — from your account page, you can permanently delete your account. This requires email verification to protect against accidental or unauthorised deletion. Upon deletion, we permanently remove your email address, username, password hash, uploaded stories, reading progress, vocabulary data, and all billing records. Your email address can be freely used to register a new account afterwards.
We recommend exporting your data before deleting your account, as deletion is permanent and cannot be undone.
7. Data retention
We retain your data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, all associated data is permanently purged. We do not keep backups of deleted user data beyond standard short-term database backup windows (typically 30 days), after which your data is unrecoverable.
8. Children's privacy
Kinu Reader is intended for users aged 13 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has created an account, please contact us at admin@kinureader.com and we will promptly delete the account and associated data.
9. Cookies and analytics
We use only the cookies necessary for the app to function (e.g. keeping you logged in). We do not use third-party advertising cookies or behavioural tracking. We may collect basic, anonymised usage statistics to understand how the app is performing, but this data is not linked to your personal identity.
10. Changes to this policy
If we make material changes to this policy, we will notify active users by email and update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Continued use of Kinu Reader after a change takes effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
11. Contact us
For any privacy-related questions, requests, or concerns, please email us at admin@kinureader.com. We'll do our best to respond promptly.