Privacy at a glance
Profile fields and public works are shown according to product visibility settings and the choices you make.
Payment card credentials are handled by payment providers. Folinq keeps transaction records and status needed for the service.
You can request account and data deletion from the dedicated deletion page, subject to limited legal, security and transaction-retention needs.
1. What information Folinq processes
Account and identity information
When you create or use an account, Folinq may process your name, username, email address, password hash, account status, preferred language, verification state, invitation/referrer information and login history. If you choose to add them, profile information may include biography, education, publishing name, country, city, website and social links, contact details, birth-related fields, gender or marital-status fields and other profile attributes offered by the product.
Works, books and user-generated content
We process content you publish or upload, including text, images, PDF files, audio, video, book information, comments, reactions, recommendations, follows, shelf activity, polls, submissions, initiatives and other community interactions.
Messages and support requests
Private messages, message attachments, replies, reactions and support requests are stored so the messaging and support features can work. They are not public merely because they are stored.
Technical and usage information
To protect the service and understand product performance, Folinq may process IP-derived or header-provided country/city signals, encrypted or hashed IP-related identifiers, browser and device information, user agent, entry and current paths, session duration, page views, acquisition/UTM information when available, signed-in user ID and similar operational telemetry. Precise GPS geolocation is not required for normal Folinq use.
2. Why we use this information
- Create and operate accounts, profiles, feeds, shelves, publishing tools, messaging and community features.
- Authenticate users, prevent abuse, investigate suspicious activity and protect account integrity.
- Deliver and personalize content discovery, recommendations, notifications and language preferences.
- Process book transactions, preorders, credits or other service records where those features are available.
- Respond to support, reports, legal requests, intellectual-property claims and safety incidents.
- Measure reliability, diagnose errors, improve performance and understand aggregate product usage.
3. What may be public and what stays private
Your public username, display name, avatar, biography, publishing identity, public works, public books, comments, reactions and other activity you intentionally publish may be visible to other people and, for public pages, potentially to search engines. Visibility depends on the relevant feature and your settings.
Passwords, private contact fields, private messages, verification codes and security credentials are not intended for public display. Some profile fields have privacy controls; setting a field to private limits its display but does not prevent the service from storing it when needed to provide the feature.
4. Messages, uploads and community content
Folinq stores messages and uploaded files so recipients can receive them and conversation history can function. Content may be processed automatically for delivery, file handling, abuse prevention, security checks, indexing needed by the product and operational backups. Reports may cause relevant content to be reviewed by authorized administrators.
Do not place secrets, passwords, payment-card details or information about another person that you are not authorized to share in works, comments or messages.
5. Cookies, sessions and persistent Android sign-in
Folinq uses secure cookies and server-side sessions to keep you signed in, protect forms and maintain language and security state. Authentication cookies are configured as HttpOnly where appropriate so page scripts cannot directly read them.
6. Books, purchases and payment records
Where purchases, preorders or contributions are available, Folinq may store the item, parties, amount, currency, status, timestamps and transaction/reference identifiers needed for accounting, support, fraud prevention and access to purchased content. Sensitive payment-card credentials are handled by the payment provider rather than stored by Folinq.
Availability of payment methods may differ between the web version and app-distribution versions because platform-store policies can apply.
7. When information is shared with service providers or others
Folinq may share the minimum information necessary with infrastructure, email, authentication, storage, payment, security or support providers that help operate the service. If you choose Google or Yahoo sign-in, those providers process the authentication flow under their own policies. Payment providers likewise process payment credentials under their own terms.
Information may also be disclosed when required by applicable law, a valid legal process, protection of users, investigation of fraud or abuse, or defense of Folinq’s legitimate rights. We do not disclose more than reasonably necessary for that purpose.
8. How long information is kept and how deletion works
Retention depends on the type of data and why it exists. Active account and content data is generally kept while needed to provide the service. Security logs, backups, transaction records, reports and records needed to resolve disputes or satisfy legal obligations may be kept for a limited additional period.
You can request deletion at the account-deletion page. Deletion may remove or anonymize eligible account data, but data that must be preserved for security, fraud prevention, transaction integrity, legal obligations, backups or the rights of other users may remain only for the necessary period.
Open account deletion page9. Your privacy controls
- Edit profile information and supported visibility settings.
- Delete or edit your own content where product controls allow it.
- Manage notification preferences and language settings.
- Block or report users/content using the available safety tools.
- Request account/data deletion and contact support for privacy questions or correction requests.
10. Safety, reporting and child protection
Folinq provides reporting and moderation tools for spam, harassment, impersonation, privacy violations, copyright/plagiarism concerns and other harmful conduct. Reports can include enough context for authorized administrators to review the issue.
Child sexual abuse and exploitation content or conduct is prohibited. Folinq maintains a dedicated child-safety standard describing reporting and response expectations.
Read Child Safety Standards11. Security measures and realistic limits
Folinq uses measures such as password hashing, encrypted or protected sensitive fields, secure cookies, CSRF protection, access controls, request throttling, file validation, security headers, logging and backups where appropriate. No internet service can guarantee absolute security, so users should also use a strong unique password and protect their device and email account.
12. Changes, questions and contact
We may update this policy as Folinq features, legal requirements or operational practices change. Material changes will be reflected on this page with an updated review date and, when appropriate, an in-product notice.
For privacy questions, correction requests, account access problems or reports, use the Folinq support page.
Contact Folinq support