Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information you provide directly. When you create an account, we collect your email address, password (stored as a secure hash, never in plain text), username, and display name. You may optionally provide a bio, location, avatar image, cover image, and website or social links on your profile. We also store content you create — articles, drafts, comments, and tags you apply to your own content.

1.2 Information from third-party sign-in. If you choose to sign in with Google or Facebook, we receive your email address, name, and profile picture from that provider, as permitted by their authentication flow. We do not receive or store your Google or Facebook password — authentication happens directly between you and that provider.

1.3 Information collected automatically. We collect usage data (pages viewed, articles read, features used, timestamps of activity), interaction data (likes, saves, comments, follows, shares), and technical data (IP address, browser type, device type, general location inferred from IP at city or country level, not precise location).

1.4 Cookies and similar technologies. We use browser storage to keep you logged in (access and refresh tokens) and to remember basic preferences such as light or dark mode. We do not use third-party advertising trackers.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Create and maintain your account
• Authenticate you and keep your session secure
• Display your content, profile, and activity to other users as intended by the platform features (e.g. public articles, public author profiles)
• Send you account-related emails (email verification, security notices, password-related actions)
• Maintain and improve the Service, including diagnosing technical issues
• Enforce our terms of service and moderate content that violates platform rules

We do not sell your personal information to third parties, and we do not use your data to serve third-party advertising.

3. How We Share Information

We share information only in the following circumstances:

3.1 Public by design. Content you choose to publish publicly (articles set to public visibility, your public profile, your username, your public activity such as follows) is visible to other users and, depending on your visibility settings, to the public internet. This is a core function of the Service, not a third-party disclosure.

3.2 Service providers. We use the following third-party services to operate ArtiSea. Each processes only the data necessary for their specific function:

We do not permit these providers to use your data for their own independent purposes beyond providing the service to us.

3.3 Legal requirements. We may disclose information if required by law, subpoena, or other legal process, or if we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of ArtiSea, our users, or the public.

3.4 Business transfers. If ArtiSea is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, user information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify users of any such change.

4. Your Choices and Rights

• Access and update: you can view and edit your profile information at any time from your account settings.
• Delete your account: you can permanently delete your account and associated data from Settings. Deletion requires re-confirming your identity (password, or re-authentication via Google or Facebook if you signed up that way).
• Control visibility: you choose the visibility of each article you publish (public, unlisted, or private).
• Email preferences: transactional emails (verification, security) cannot be turned off, as they are necessary for account security. Any future marketing emails will include an unsubscribe option.

If you are located in a jurisdiction with additional statutory rights (such as the EU/UK under GDPR or California under CCPA), you may have further rights regarding your data, including the right to request a copy of your data or object to certain processing. Contact us using the details in Section 9 to exercise these rights.

5. Data Retention

We retain your account information for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we remove or anonymize your personal information within 30 days, except where retention is required for legal, security, or fraud-prevention purposes.

6. Children’s Privacy

ArtiSea is not directed at children under 13 (or the relevant minimum age in your jurisdiction), and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under that age. If we learn that we have collected such information, we will delete it.

7. Security

We use industry-standard measures to protect your information, including password hashing, encrypted connections (HTTPS), and access controls on our systems. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify users via email or a prominent notice on the Service before the changes take effect. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.

9. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how your data is handled, contact us at support@artisea.network.