Privacy policy

This explains what personal information The Sunday Instalment collects, why, and what you can do about it. We keep it to the minimum we need to run your account and send you stories.

Who we are

The Sunday Instalment (sundayinstalment.com) is run by Hadnum Holdings Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales, which is the data controller for your information. You can contact us at hello@sundayinstalment.com.

What we collect

• Your account: first name, email address and a scrambled (hashed) version of your password. We never see or store your actual password.
• Your membership: whether you're a member, when it renews or ends, and a reference to your customer record at Stripe. We never see or store your card details; Stripe handles those.
• Your reading: which episodes you've opened, how far you got, your reading settings, lines you've saved as favourites, and any reactions or comments you post.
• Printed newsletter: if you ask about a printed edition, your email address, and if you choose to give it, your postal address.
• Gifts: if you buy a gift, your name and email, and the name, email and message you give for the person receiving it.
• Technical information: our hosting provider keeps short-term server logs (such as IP addresses) to keep the site running and secure.

Why we use it

• To run your account and membership, and to let you read the episodes you've paid for (this is necessary to provide the service you've asked for).
• To email you about your account, such as password resets and receipts (also necessary to provide the service).
• To email you when a new episode is out. You can turn this off at any time in your account or with the link in any of those emails (our legitimate interest in telling readers about new episodes, which you can opt out of).
• To send the printed newsletter, or tell you about it, only if you've asked (your consent).
• To keep the site secure and work out what readers enjoy, using totals such as how many people finished an episode (our legitimate interest).

We don't sell your information, show you adverts, or use tracking or advertising cookies.

Who we share it with

We use a small number of trusted services to run the site. They only use your information to provide their service to us:

• Stripe, to take payments and manage memberships.
• Render, which hosts the website and its database.
• Resend, which sends our emails.
• Google Fonts, which supplies the typefaces the site uses; your browser connects to Google to load them.

Some of these services store data outside the UK, including in the United States. Where they do, they use legal safeguards approved for UK data, such as standard contractual clauses.

Cookies and storage

We use one essential cookie to keep you logged in. If you're not logged in, your reading settings are saved in your own browser. There are no analytics or advertising cookies, so there's nothing to accept or decline.

How long we keep it

• Your account information is kept until you delete your account.
• Payment records are kept by Stripe for as long as the law requires (usually six years, for tax purposes).
• Printed newsletter sign-ups are kept until we decide whether to print, or until you ask us to remove you.

Your rights

You can see, correct, download or delete your information at any time:

• Change your name and email in your account.
• Download a copy of your data from your account.
• Delete your account, which also removes your reading history, favourites and comments, from your account.

You also have the right to object to or restrict how we use your information. Email us and we'll reply within one month. If you're unhappy with how we've handled your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.

Changes

If we change this policy in a way that matters, we'll update the date at the top and let members know by email.