Who we are
Lytepen is a reading and writing platform. This policy explains what we collect, why, and what you can do about it. If anything here is unclear, write to contact@lytepen.com and a person will answer.
What we collect
Your account. Your name, email address and a password you choose — or, if you sign in with Google or Apple, the name and email they give us. We never see your Google or Apple password.
Your handle and profile. The username you pick, and anything you add: a bio, a profile photo, a cover image.
What you write and read. Posts, reviews, highlights, club and private messages, and which books and chapters you have opened. Reading progress is stored so you can pick a book back up.
Payments. Wallet top-ups on the web go through Paystack. Paystack receives your email address to identify you as a customer; your card details go to Paystack directly and never reach us. In the Android app, wallet credit is bought through Google Play: Google takes the payment, and RevenueCat confirms the purchase to us. We receive which credit pack you bought, when, and Google's order number, never your payment details. We store what you paid and what you bought, not how you paid.
Your phone number — only if you ask. Contact discovery is off unless you turn it on. When you do, your phone scrambles each number into a one-way code before anything is sent, and only those codes leave the device. We never receive a phone number, yours or anyone else's, and we do not keep your address book. Turning it off deletes the code.
Device and usage information. If you allow notifications we store a push token so we can send them. We record which screens are opened and which actions are taken, to understand what people use.
What we do not collect
We do not collect your location. We do not read your contacts unless you press the button that says so, and then only phone numbers — not names, emails, addresses or photos. We do not sell your data to anyone, for any purpose.
Who else sees it
Paystack processes payments on the web and receives your email address.
Google Play processes purchases made in the Android app, under Google's own terms and privacy policy.
RevenueCat confirms Google Play purchases to us. It receives your account ID and the purchase, not your name or email address.
PostHog receives product analytics. Events carry your account ID and whether you are a reader or a writer — not your name, your email, or anything you have written.
Sentry receives crash reports. It is configured not to attach personal information to them.
Cloudflare hosts the service, the database and uploaded files.
Expo delivers push notifications on our behalf.
Google and Apple, if you choose to sign in with them.
Each of these is a service we use to run Lytepen, not a party we share your data with for their own purposes.
What other people see
Your name, handle, profile photo, bio, posts, reviews and public reading activity are visible to other readers. Turning on a private profile limits reading activity and posts to your followers.
Private messages are visible to the people in the conversation. Club messages are visible to that club's members. We can read message content when we have to — investigating a report, or complying with a legal obligation — but we do not do so routinely.
You are findable by name and handle. You are findable by phone number only if you turned that on.
How long we keep it
Your account and its content stay until you delete your account. Deleting it removes your profile, posts, reviews, messages, reading history, wallet balance and any purchased books. This cannot be undone.
Some records outlive the account where the law requires it — payment records, for tax and anti-fraud obligations. Moderation reports are kept so a pattern of behaviour does not disappear when one account does.
Your choices
You can edit or delete your profile, posts and messages from inside the app, and delete your account entirely from Account settings.
You can turn contact discovery on or off at any time. You can turn off any category of notification.
You can ask us for a copy of your data, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it, by writing to contact@lytepen.com.
Children
Lytepen is not for children under 13. Some books are marked 18+ and are hidden unless an adult chooses to see them.
Changes
When this policy changes we will show you the new version in the app. If the change is significant we will ask you to accept it before continuing.
Contact
Questions, complaints, or requests about your data: contact@lytepen.com.