Who is responsible
Alisa Petrova is responsible for the WritersStudio processing described here. For privacy questions and requests, contact support@writersstudio.app. This policy covers the desktop application, official website, update checks, and support correspondence.
Your manuscripts stay on your computer
WritersStudio does not upload manuscripts, project titles, character names, notes, images, file paths, or clipboard contents for analytics. Your projects remain in the folders you choose. Any cloud folder or backup service you choose yourself operates under that service’s terms.
Optional usage analytics
Analytics is off by default. It starts only after you choose to enable it in the application. Refusing or withdrawing consent does not restrict local features.
With consent, the app sends events about starts and updates, creating and opening projects, first document creation and meaningful editing, exports, character and timeline creation, split views, and broad project-open or export failures. A meaningful edit is detected locally; the text and locally calculated counts are not sent.
Events contain random installation, session, and event identifiers; event type and time; application version; a broad operating-system category; interface language; and the limited feature, result, or error categories applicable to that event. A separate random credential authenticates deletion requests. Random identifiers make this pseudonymous usage data, not guaranteed anonymous data.
The purpose is to understand which features are used, whether people return to the app, and where supported operations fail. We do not collect advertising identifiers, record screens or keystrokes, replay sessions, or join analytics to support emails. We do not use this data for advertising or sell it.
Your controls
Disable analytics stops new event collection and clears queued events. It keeps the existing random identity and deletion credential locally so you can still request deletion of earlier server data. Disabling alone is not a server deletion request.
Reset identity requests deletion of the old identity and starts an unrelated one while analytics remains enabled. Delete collected data turns analytics off and requests deletion without creating a replacement. Pending deletion requests survive restart and retry when the network is available. The app shows whether deletion is pending, completed, or needs attention.
Keep local application data until a requested deletion completes. Removing that data first can remove the credential needed to authenticate the request. Contact support if you need help; we do not identify analytics records by your email address.
Where analytics is processed
The primary Telemetry server and database are hosted by Hetzner Online GmbH in Nuremberg (NBG1), Germany, European Union. Access is restricted to the operator and authorised infrastructure services. Backups are encrypted and managed separately by the operator; no additional cloud backup provider is used.
User IP addresses are not stored in telemetry events, application logs, or reverse-proxy HTTP access logs. HTTP access logging is disabled, and IP, User-Agent, Referer, and Cookie headers are not forwarded to the application. Network infrastructure necessarily processes connection metadata to deliver requests and protect the service. Hetzner may process such metadata for network operation, security, and attack prevention under its own policies.
How long data is kept
Raw telemetry events are retained for 90 days.
Deletion-protection records are retained for 120 days so delayed retries or a restored backup do not recreate deleted data. They are used for that protection, not product analytics.
Encrypted backups expire within 30 days. Deletion from an active database does not rewrite every existing backup immediately. Deletion protections must be applied before a restored backup is used, and remaining backup copies expire within that 30-day limit.
On your device, the event queue holds at most 500 events for no more than 30 days. Pending deletion credentials are kept until deletion is confirmed; they are separate from the event queue.
Update checks and GitHub
Update checks are separate from analytics and do not depend on analytics consent. The packaged application checks the public GitHub Releases API about 30 seconds after startup and then no more often than every six hours. A manual check is available in Settings. Requests contain no manuscript data, account token, or analytics identity. GitHub receives the connection IP and the generic WritersStudio-Update-Checker user agent.
The app keeps a small local cache of release information, check times, and reminder choices. It does not automatically download or install an update. The website also contacts GitHub to display available releases. Opening release pages or downloading installers is governed by GitHub’s privacy statement; GitHub may process information internationally.
Website and support
The website stores your chosen language and colour theme in your browser’s local storage. It does not use advertising trackers or send desktop analytics events. Website hosting and GitHub requests still involve ordinary network metadata.
If you email support, we receive your email address, message, and anything you choose to attach. We use them to respond and resolve the request, not to identify analytics installations or send marketing. Correspondence is kept as long as needed to handle the request and necessary follow-up, or to meet a legal obligation. Please omit private manuscripts and unnecessary personal data. Public GitHub issues are visible to others.
Website statistics stays off until you choose Accept or save selected categories in Configure. Reject is equally available; all optional categories start unchecked. Views, download clicks and other link clicks can be controlled separately. GPC, Do Not Track and unreadable storage override permission. Invalid, expired or future-dated choices do not grant consent. Previous opt-out flags remain refusals until you explicitly change your choice. Clearing browser storage returns to no consent. These statistics are not used for cross-site tracking or joined to application or GitHub download identities.
With your permission, events include their type and time, language, site version, a temporary page ID, retry IDs and predefined source/campaign and action categories. The page ID links events only during this page opening. Full URLs, raw search parameters, document content and browser/device details are not sent. Raw events are retained for up to 90 days. Connection metadata, including your IP address, necessarily reaches the hosting infrastructure; absence of a name is not a guarantee of absolute anonymity.
Your choice is saved only in this browser for 180 days. You can change it using Website statistics in the footer. Withdrawal stops future sending and pending retries; it does not erase events already received. App analytics and GitHub download counters are separate.
Legal basis and your rights
Optional analytics relies on your consent. Support correspondence is used to answer your request; essential website delivery and update checks serve the legitimate interest of providing and maintaining the application, subject to your applicable rights. We do not use analytics to make decisions with legal or similarly significant effects about you.
Depending on applicable law, you may request access, correction, deletion, restriction, or portability of your personal data, object to processing based on legitimate interests, and complain to a competent data-protection authority. You can withdraw analytics consent in Settings at any time; this does not change the lawfulness of earlier processing. Contact support@writersstudio.app for help. We may need proportionate verification to avoid exposing or deleting another person’s data.
If you cannot give valid consent under the law that applies to you, leave analytics off. Local writing remains available.
Policy changes
Each policy version has a dated permanent link. A material change to analytics processing requires a new choice in the application before collection resumes. Previously published versions remain available.