Effective as of August 7, 2026.
California Notice at Collection: See the California Notice at Collection below for important information about your rights under California law.
Author's Republic and our subsidiaries and affiliates ("Author's Republic", "we", "us" or "our") provides a platform to help authors, publishers, and rights holders produce and distribute audiobooks. This Privacy Policy describes how Author's Republic processes personal information that we collect through our digital or online properties or services that link to this Privacy Policy (including as applicable, our website, mobile application, and social media pages) as well as our marketing activities, live events and other activities described in this Privacy Policy (collectively, the "Service"). The Service is only intended to be used by authors, narrators, publishers, and rights holders, not readers nor listeners of the audiobooks they create.
NOTICE TO EUROPEAN USERS: Please see the Notice to European Users section for additional information for individuals located in the European Economic Area or United Kingdom (which we refer to as "Europe", and "European" should be understood accordingly) below.
You can download a printable copy of this Privacy Policy here.
When you use the Service, we may obtain various types of information related to you and your use of the Service. This may include information that directly identifies you, such as your name, address, or contact information (this type of information may be called “personal information,” “personal data,” or “personally identifiable information”). We, our service providers, and third parties may aggregate or anonymize information that we collect in connection with your use of the Service; this information is not “personal information,” “personal data,” or “personally identifiable information.” Certain pieces of information we obtain (for example, government-issued ID numbers) may be considered “sensitive” under privacy laws. The information we obtain generally consists of information you give us about yourself, information automatically collected about your interactions with the Service and on third-party websites or other media, and information we get from other sources.
Information you provide to us. Personal information you may provide to us through the Service or otherwise includes:
Third-party sources. We may combine personal information we receive from you with personal information falling within one of the categories identified above that we obtain from other sources, such as:
Automatic data collection. We, our service providers, and our business partners may automatically log information about you, your computer or mobile device, and your interaction over time with the Service, our communications and other online services, such as:
For more information concerning our automatic collection of data, please see the Tracking technologies section below.
Some of the automatic collection described above is facilitated by the following technologies:
For information concerning your choices with respect to the use of the above technologies, see the Your choices section, below.
We may use your information for the following purposes:
Service delivery and operations. We may use your personal information to:
Service personalization, which may include using your personal information to:
Service improvement and analytics. We may use your personal information to analyze your usage of the Service, improve the Service, improve the rest of our business, help us understand user activity on the Service, including which pages are most and least visited and how visitors move around the Service, as well as user interactions with our emails, and to develop new products and services. For example, we use Google Analytics for this purpose. You can learn more about Google Analytics and how to prevent the use of Google Analytics relating to your use of our sites here: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en.
Research and development. We may use your personal information for research and development purposes, including to analyze and improve the Service and to develop new products and services. We do not use audio file data uploaded by you to develop AI Voice Technology (i.e. text-to-speech software that utilizes computer-generated voice technology).
Marketing and advertising. We, our service providers and our third-party advertising partners may collect and use your personal information for marketing and advertising purposes:
Events, promotions and contests. We may use your personal information to:
Compliance and protection. We may use your personal information to:
Data sharing in the context of corporate events or business transactions, we may share certain personal information in the context of actual or prospective corporate events or business transactions – for more information, see How we share your personal information, below.
Further uses, in some cases, we may use your personal information for further uses, in which case we will ask for your consent to use your personal information for those further purposes if they are not compatible with the initial purpose for which information was collected.
We will keep your personal information for as long as we have a relationship with you. Once our relationship with you has come to an end, we will retain your personal information for a period of time that enables us to:
We may share your personal information with the following parties and as otherwise described in this Privacy Policy, in other applicable notices, or at the time of collection.
In this section, we describe the rights and choices available to all users. Users who are located in California can find additional information about their rights below.
Residents of states with applicable privacy laws are afforded certain rights with respect to their personal information. Depending on where you live, and subject to certain exceptions, you may be entitled to the rights described below. Please note that if you submit a request to exercise any of the below privacy rights (a “Privacy Rights Request”), we may request additional information to enable us to process your request. We will use the information you provide to make Privacy Rights Requests to verify your identity, locate your personal information that we may hold about you, and to fulfill your request.
Right to Access Your Personal Information. Under applicable privacy laws, you have the right to know the types and the specific pieces of the personal information we hold about you. To exercise this right, please send an email to [email protected].
Right to Delete Your Personal Information. In some circumstances, you may ask us to delete your personal information. Please note that this is not an absolute right under applicable privacy laws, and we may not be able to delete all or some of your personal information. To request that we delete your personal information, please send an email to [email protected].
Right to Correct Your Personal Information. You may request that we modify or update your personal information if it is inaccurate. Please be aware that not all personal information is able to be corrected, and we reserve the right to deny a request to correct your information where exceptions apply. To request that we modify or update your personal information, please send an email to [email protected].
Right to Request List of Third Parties. Under certain state privacy laws, eligible individuals may request that we provide a list of “third parties” to whom we may “disclose” personal information. To request this list, please send an email to [email protected].
Right to Opt Out. Applicable privacy laws may provide you with the right to limit or opt out of the use of your personal information for certain purposes, including the below:
Right to Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Advertising: As part of the Service, we may provide your personal information to third parties in ways that may constitute “sales” under applicable laws. You may request that we not “sell” or provide your personal information to others for “targeted advertising” purposes on a go-forward basis.
If you would like to submit a request to opt out of “sale” or “targeted advertising” that occurs through cookies and similar technologies on our website, please click on the “Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads)” link in the footer of the website and follow the instructions.
Right Regarding Sensitive Personal Information. Certain pieces of personal information that we have about you may be considered “sensitive” under applicable laws, such as government-issued ID numbers. If you decline such information, we may not be able to provide certain services. We limit the use of this information to what is reasonably necessary to provide the Service to you and for purposes permitted by applicable law (e.g., to ensure security and integrity). Certain jurisdictions may provide individuals with the right to opt-in, opt-out, or limit the use and disclosure of “sensitive” personal information. Where we process sensitive personal information solely to verify your identity, prevent and detect fraud, ensure the security and integrity of the Service, and provide the Service you have requested, that processing is not subject to these rights under applicable law.
Right to be free from discrimination. You may exercise any of the above rights without fear of being discriminated against.
Privacy Rights Appeals Process. Certain U.S. state privacy laws afford eligible residents the right to appeal a denial of a Privacy Rights Request in whole or in part. Please email [email protected] to submit a Privacy Rights Request appeal.
Authorized Agents. You may designate an authorized agent to make a request in relation to the privacy rights listed above. In the request, you or your authorized agent must provide us with sufficient information for us to verify both the identity of your agent and that your agent has been authorized to act on your behalf. This may result in your Privacy Rights Request taking additional time to process. If you are an authorized agent working on behalf of a consumer, you will need to follow the above processes and submit the relevant forms with the consumer’s information for us to process a Privacy Rights Request. Please note that for certain Privacy Rights Requests, the consumer you are working on behalf of will need to verify access to the email account used to submit the Privacy Rights Request in order for us to move forward with processing that request.
Access or update your information. If you have registered for an account with us through the Service, you may review and update certain account information by logging into your My Account section, and update information such as email address, tax information, and personal identification.
Opt-out of marketing communications. You may opt-out of marketing-related emails by following the opt-out or unsubscribe instructions at the bottom of the email, or by contacting us at [email protected]. Please note that if you choose to opt-out of marketing-related emails, you may continue to receive Service-related and other non-marketing emails.
Blocking images/clear gifs: Most browsers and devices allow you to configure your device to prevent images from loading. To do this, follow the instructions in your particular browser or device settings.
In addition to the rights afforded throughout this Privacy Policy, you may be able to limit use of your information for interest-based advertising through the following settings/options/tools:
You will need to apply these opt-out settings on each device and browser from which you wish to limit the use of your information for interest-based advertising purposes. We cannot offer any assurances as to whether the companies we work with participate in the opt-out programs described above.
Do Not Track/Global Privacy Control. We do not currently take steps to respond to browser “Do Not Track” signals as no uniform standard to respond to such signals has been developed at this time. We do, however, respond to the Global Privacy Control (“GPC”) to the extent required by applicable law, and allow eligible individuals to convey opt-out preferences when we detect the signal. You can learn more about the GPC on the Global Privacy Control website.
Linked third-party platforms. If you choose to connect to the Service through your social media account or other third-party platform, you may be able to use your settings in your account with that platform to limit the information we receive from it. If you revoke our ability to access information from a third-party platform, that choice will not apply to information that we have already received from that third party.
Delete your content or close your account. You can choose to delete certain content through your account. If you wish to request to close your account, please contact us.
The Service may contain links to websites, mobile applications, and other online services operated by third parties. In addition, our content may be integrated into web pages or other online services that are not associated with us. These links and integrations are not an endorsement of, or representation that we are affiliated with, any third party. We do not control websites, mobile applications or online services operated by third parties, and we are not responsible for their actions. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of the other websites, mobile applications and online services you use.
We employ technical, organizational and physical safeguards designed to protect the personal information we collect. However, security risk is inherent in all internet and information technologies and we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information.
The Service is not intended for use by anyone under 18 years of age, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children or minors under the age of 18. If you are a parent or guardian of a child from whom you believe we have collected personal information in a manner prohibited by law, please contact us. If we learn that we have collected personal information through the Service from a child without the consent of the child's parent or guardian as required by law, we will comply with applicable legal requirements to delete the information.
We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time. If we make material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you by updating the date of this Privacy Policy and posting it on the Service or other appropriate means. Any modifications to this Privacy Policy will be effective upon our posting the modified version (or as otherwise indicated at the time of posting). In all cases, your use of the Service after the effective date of any modified Privacy Policy indicates your acknowledging that the modified Privacy Policy applies to your interactions with the Service and our business.
Any dispute concerning the Service (including our use of your personal information) will be resolved per the dispute resolution provision in the Terms of Service, which govern your use of the Service. Please take a few minutes to read the Terms of Service before using the Service.
Your California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) Rights
If you are a California resident, specific additional disclosures are required under the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (collectively, "CCPA") and you have additional rights regarding your personal information.
This section applies only to California residents. It describes how we collect, use and share Personal Information of California residents in operating our business, and their rights with respect to that Personal Information. The section describes the personal information that we collect, the sources from which we collect it, the purposes for which we use it, the circumstances under which we disclose personal information, and with whom we disclose it. For purposes of this section, "Personal Information" and "Sensitive Personal Information" have the meanings given in the CCPA.
Your California privacy rights. As a California resident, you may have the rights listed below. However, these rights are not absolute, and in certain cases we may decline your request as permitted by law. To exercise your California privacy rights, please send an email to [email protected] and include your name, email address, and California postal address.
Right to Know and Access Your Personal Information. You can request the following information about how we have collected and used your Personal Information during the past 12 months:
To submit a request, please send an email to [email protected] and include your name, email address, and California postal address.
Right to deletion. In some circumstances, you may ask us to delete your personal information. Please note that this is not an absolute right under applicable privacy laws, and we may not be able to delete all or some of your personal information. To submit a request, please send an email to [email protected] and include your name, email address, and California postal address.
Right to Correction. You can ask us to correct inaccurate Personal Information that we have collected about you. Please be aware that not all personal information is able to be corrected, and we reserve the right to deny a request to correct your information where exceptions apply. To submit a request, please send an email to [email protected] and include your name, email address, and California postal address.
Right to opt out. The CCPA provides California residents with the right to limit or opt out of the use of your personal information for certain purposes, including the below:
Right to Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Advertising: As part of the Service, we may “share” your personal information with third parties for targeted advertising purposes or in ways that may constitute “sales” under the CCPA. You may request that we not “sell” or “share” your personal information on a going-forward basis for these purposes.
If you would like to submit a request to opt out of “sale” or “targeted advertising” that occurs through cookies and similar technologies on our website, please click on the “Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads)” link in the footer of the website and follow the instructions.
Right To Limit Processing of Sensitive Personal Information. Certain pieces of personal information that we have about you may be considered “sensitive” under CCPA, such as government-issued ID numbers. We limit the use of this information to what is reasonably necessary to provide the Service to you and for purposes permitted under the CCPA (e.g., to ensure security and integrity). If you decline to provide such information, it may affect the delivery of the Service or make us unable to provide services to you. Where we process sensitive personal information solely to verify your identity, prevent and detect fraud, ensure the security and integrity of the Service, and provide the Service you have requested, that processing is not subject to the right to limit.
Right to be Free from Discrimination. You are entitled to exercise the rights described above free from discrimination.
Authorized Agents. For any CCPA rights, you may designate an authorized agent to make a request in relation to the privacy rights listed above. In the request, you or your authorized agent must provide us with sufficient information for us to verify both the identity of your agent and that your agent has been authorized to act on your behalf. This may result in your Privacy Rights Request taking additional time to process. If you are an authorized agent working on behalf of a consumer, you will need to follow the above processes and submit the relevant forms with the consumer’s information for us to process a Privacy Rights Request. Please note that for certain Privacy Rights Requests the consumer you are working on behalf of will need to verify access to the email account used to submit the Privacy Rights Request in order for us to move forward with processing that request.
Categories of Personal information that we process. We have summarized the Personal Information we collect and may disclose to third parties by reference below to both the categories defined in the "Personal information we collect" section of this Privacy Policy above and the categories of Personal Information specified in the CCPA (Cal. Civ. Code §1798.140(v)) and describes our practices currently and during the 12 months preceding the effective date of this Privacy Policy. Information you voluntarily provide to us, such as in free-form webforms, may contain other categories of Personal Information not described below.
Notes about the information in the table below:
| Personal information we collect | Category of Personal Information | Categories of third parties and other entities to whom we provide personal information for a business purpose | Business or Commercial Purpose for Collecting and Providing the Category of Personal Information | Third parties to whom we “sell” or "share" personal information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contact data | Identifiers (online) Identifiers (other) Commercial information California customer records |
Service providers Payment processors Advertising partners Linked Third Parties Authorities and others Business transferees Business and marketing partners Other users and the public |
To provide and improve the Service To communicate with you Create and manage your account To prevent fraud and protect the security and integrity of the Service To comply with legal obligations |
Advertising partners (to facilitate online advertising) Business and marketing partners |
| Profile data | Identifiers (online) Identifiers (other) Commercial information California customer records |
Service providers Payment processors Advertising partners Linked Third Parties Authorities and others Business transferees Business and marketing partners Other users and the public |
To provide and improve the Service To comply with legal obligations |
Advertising partners (to facilitate online advertising) Business and marketing partners |
| Communications data | Identifiers (online) Identifiers (other) Commercial information California consumer records Internet or Network Information |
Service providers Payment processors Advertising partners Authorities and others Business transferees Business and marketing partners |
To provide and improve the Service To provide customer support To communicate with you To comply with legal obligations |
None |
| Marketing data | Commercial information Financial information California consumer records |
Service providers Payment processors Advertising partners Authorities and others Business transferees Business and marketing partners |
For marketing purposes To communicate with you |
Advertising partners (to facilitate online advertising) Business and marketing partners |
| Audiobook data | Commercial information California consumer records |
Service providers Payment processors Advertising partners Authorities and others Business transferees Business and marketing partners |
To provide and improve the Service Provide customer service To comply with legal obligations |
Business and marketing partners |
| Payment data | Commercial information Financial information California consumer records |
Service providers Payment processors Advertising partners Authorities and others Business transferees Business and marketing partners |
To provide and improve the Service To prevent fraud and protect the security and integrity of the Service To comply with legal obligations |
None |
| Financial data | Commercial information Financial information California consumer records |
Service providers Payment processors Authorities and others Business transferees Business and marketing partners |
To provide and improve the Service To prevent fraud and protect the security and integrity of the Service To comply with legal obligations |
None |
| Government-issued identification data | Identifiers California consumer records Sensitive personal information (government-issued ID numbers) Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar information |
Service providers Payment processors Authorities and others Business transferees |
To provide and improve the Service To prevent fraud and protect the security and integrity of the Service To comply with legal obligations |
None |
| Identity verification image data | Identifers Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar information |
Service providers Authorities and others |
To provide and improve the Service To prevent fraud and protect the security and integrity of the Service To comply with legal obligations |
None |
| Device data | Identifiers (other) Internet or Network Information |
Service providers Payment processors Advertising partners Linked Third Parties Authorities and others Business transferees Business and marketing partners Other users and the public |
To provide and improve the Service To prevent fraud and protect the security and integrity of the Service To comply with legal obligations |
Advertising partners (to facilitate online advertising) Business and marketing partners |
| Online activity data | Identifiers (other) Commercial information Internet or Network Information |
Service providers Payment processors Advertising partners Linked Third Parties Authorities and others Business transferees Business and marketing partners Other users and the public |
To provide and improve the Service To prevent fraud and protect the security and integrity of the Service To comply with legal obligations |
Advertising partners (to facilitate online advertising) Business and marketing partners |
| Communication interaction data | Identifiers (online) Identifiers (other) Commercial information California consumer records Internet or Network Information |
Service providers Payment processors Advertising partners Linked Third Parties Authorities and others Business transferees Business and marketing partners Other users and the public |
To provide and improve the Service | None |
| Data derived from the above | Inferences | Service providers Advertising partners Authorities and others Business transferees Business and marketing partners |
To provide and improve the Service | Advertising partners (to facilitate online advertising) Business and marketing partners |
Retention. For each of the categories listed above, we will retain your personal information for as long as needed or permitted, depending on the purpose for obtaining that data and consistent with applicable laws. We will keep your personal information for as long as we have a relationship with you (e.g., to provide you with the Service or to complete transactions that you request). Once our relationship with you has come to an end, we will retain your personal information for a period of time that enables us to:
California law allows residents to request a list of all the third parties to which we have disclosed certain personal information (as defined by California’s Shine the Light law) during the preceding year for those third parties’ direct marketing purposes. We do not disclose personal information of a consumer to third parties for third parties’ direct marketing purposes if the consumer has exercised an option that prevents that information from being disclosed. If you are a California resident and would like to submit a request under California’s Shine the Light law, please send an email to [email protected].
Contact Us. If you have questions or concerns about our Privacy Policy or information practices, please contact us using the contact details set forth in the How to contact us section, above.
Where this Notice to European users applies. The information provided in this "Notice to European users" section applies only to individuals located in the EEA or the UK (EEA and UK jurisdictions are together referred to as "Europe").
Personal information. References to "personal information" in this Privacy Policy should be understood to include a reference to "personal data" (as defined in the GDPR) – i.e., information about individuals from which they are either directly identified or can be identified. The personal information that we collect from you is identified and described in greater detail in the section "Information we obtain."
Controller. Author's Republic Inc is the controller in respect of the processing of your personal information covered by this Privacy Policy for purposes of European data protection legislation (i.e., the EU GDPR and the so-called 'UK GDPR' (as and where applicable, the "GDPR")). See the How to contact us section above for our contact details.
Our legal bases for processing. In respect of each of the purposes for which we use your personal information, the GDPR requires us to ensure that we have a "legal basis" for that use. Our legal bases for processing your personal information described in this Privacy Policy are listed below.
We have set out below, in a table format, the legal bases we rely on in respect of the relevant Purposes for which we use your personal information – for more information on these Purposes and the data types involved, see How we use your personal information above.
| Purpose | Categories of personal information involved | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Service delivery and operations | Contact data Profile data Communications data Audiobook data Government-issued identification number data Payment data Financial information data |
Contractual Necessity |
| Research and development | Any and all data types relevant in the circumstances | Legitimate interest (understanding customer interests, improving relationships and experience, delivering relevant content, measuring effectiveness). Consent, in respect of any optional cookies used for this purpose. |
| Direct marketing | Contact data Account data Profile data Payment data Communications data Marketing data |
Legitimate Interests (promoting our operations and goals and sending marketing communications). Consent, where required by applicable data protection laws. |
| Compliance and protection | Any and all data types relevant in the circumstances | Compliance with Law. Legitimate interest (where Compliance with Law is not applicable) in following legal process, co-operating with authorities, and protecting rights, property and safety. |
| Further uses | Any and all data types relevant in the circumstances | The original legal basis relied upon, if the relevant further use is compatible with the initial purpose. Consent, if the further use is not compatible with the initial purpose. |
No obligation to provide personal information. You do not have to provide personal information to us. However, where we need to process your personal information either to comply with applicable law or to deliver our Services to you, and you fail to provide that personal information when requested, we may not be able to provide some or all of our Services to you. We will notify you if this is the case at the time.
No sensitive personal information. We ask that you not provide us with any sensitive personal information (e.g., information related to racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religion or other beliefs, health, criminal background or trade union membership) on or through the Services, or otherwise to us.
Security. We have put in place procedures designed to deal with breaches of personal information. In the event of such breaches, we have procedures in place to work with applicable regulators. In addition, in certain circumstances (including where we are legally required to do so), we may notify you of breaches affecting your personal information.
Retention. We will keep your personal information for as long as we have a relationship with you. Once our relationship with you has come to an end, we will retain your personal information for a period of time that enables us to: Maintain business records for analysis, understanding market trends and/or audit purposes and to improve the Service; comply with record retention requirements under applicable laws or other relevant legal or regulatory requirements; defend, establish, exercise or bring any existing or potential legal claims; carry out fraud detection and prevention; and address any complaints regarding the Service, our products and services. We will delete your personal information when it is no longer required for these purposes. If there is any information that we are unable, for technical reasons, to delete from our systems, we will put in place appropriate measures to prevent any further processing or use of the data.
International Data Transfers. Information collected through the Service will be processed in and subject to the laws of the United States, which may not provide the same level of protection for your personal information as your home country. If we transfer personal data from the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, and Switzerland, we put in place safeguards. In particular, such safeguards include the European Commission-approved standard contractual clauses. For more information on these safeguards, please contact us at the details provided in the “Contact Us” section above.
General. European data protection laws give you certain rights regarding your personal information. If you reside in Europe, you may ask us to take any of the following actions in relation to your personal information that we hold:
Exercising These Rights. You may submit these requests by email to [email protected]. We may request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and process your request. Whether or not we are required to fulfill any request you make will depend on a number of factors. Typically, you will not have to pay a fee to exercise your rights; however, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive.
Your Right to Lodge a Complaint with your Supervisory Authority. In addition to your rights outlined above, if you are not satisfied with our response to a request you make, or how we process your personal information, you can make a complaint to the data protection regulator in your habitual place of residence.