Privacy policy

Who is responsible

This site promotes the novel The Chain by Frank Able. The data controller for any email address you submit is Vexilla Press, the book's imprint. You can reach us at hello@readthechain.com.

What we collect

If you join the early reader list, we collect the email address you enter and the fact that you gave consent, together with the date and time of that consent. We also record basic signup context such as the page, referrer, and campaign parameters when present, so we can understand which reader outreach worked. We do not ask for your name or any other personal information on the public signup form.

Why we collect it

We use your email address to send you the first chapter of the book, occasional launch updates, and behind-the-scenes notes on the systems that inspired the story. The first-chapter link is unique to your email address, so we can keep the file inside the confirmed reader list and see whether the chapter link was opened. We do this on the basis of the consent you give when you tick the box on the form.

How long we keep it

We keep your address until you unsubscribe, or until six months after the book launches, whichever comes first. After that it is deleted.

Who else sees it

Your address is stored on our own infrastructure and sent using our email service provider, acting as our processor. We do not sell your address, and we do not share it for anyone else's marketing.

Analytics

We count page visits with Umami, an open-source analytics tool that runs on our own servers, so we can see how many people find the site and which pages they read. We store no data about you to do it: no cookies, no stored IP addresses, no advertising trackers, and nothing that identifies you. The counts are aggregate numbers, pages viewed, referring site, browser type, and country, and they never leave our infrastructure. The only personal data we ever hold is the email address you give us if you choose to register for the reader list, as described above. Some features do remember things on your own device, which never reach us; those are listed under What your browser stores, below.

What your browser stores

A few features remember things on your own device, using your browser's local storage. None of it is ever sent to us, none of it is used to identify or track you, and each one is written only when you choose to use that feature. Clearing site data in your browser removes all of it.

• Decode the Chain saves how many blocks you have solved so you can return and continue. It is a single number, written only at the moment you solve a block. The puzzle page has a "Reset progress" link that deletes it.
• Reading Mode saves the playlist you picked, an estimate of your reading pace, and the last chapter you tapped with its timestamp, so the music can keep up with you.
• If you connect Spotify to Reading Mode, the access token for your Spotify account is held only for the current browsing session and is erased when you close the tab. The longer-lived refresh token is never written to your device at all. Neither is ever sent to us, and the Disconnect button on that page clears both immediately.
• After you join the reader list, your browser notes that for the rest of the session so the signup bar stops following you around. It disappears when you close the tab.

Spotify

Reading Mode is optional and does nothing until you choose to connect it. Connecting authorises this site to control playback on your own Spotify account, and your use of Spotify is governed by Spotify's own terms and privacy policy. We never see your Spotify login and we never receive your listening history. You can disconnect at any time from the Reading Mode page, or by removing the app from your Spotify account settings.

Your rights

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in any email we send, or by emailing hello@readthechain.com. Under the GDPR you may also ask us to show you the data we hold about you, correct it, delete it, or restrict how we use it, and you may withdraw consent at any time. To do any of these, contact hello@readthechain.com. You also have the right to complain to your local data protection authority.

Changes

If this policy changes, the updated version will appear on this page.

Last updated: 31 July 2026.