Privacy Policy

Last updated November 1, 2026

Firstfruits Readers is run by True Bearing Press LLC, 226 Mill St, Saranac, MI 48881. This policy explains what we collect when you use the site, why, who sees it, and what you can do about it. It's part of our Terms of Use.

The short version: we collect what the site needs to get advance copies to readers and protect authors' books. We don't sell your information, we don't show ads, and we don't use tracking cookies.

1. What we collect

From everyone with an account

• Your name, email address, and password. We store only a scrambled (hashed) form of your password, so we can't see it.
• Your confirmation that you're 18 or older and that you accepted the reader covenant or author terms.
• When you created your account and last logged in.

From readers

• Your reading preferences: the genres you like, your preferred format, and the content levels you're comfortable with.
• The books you request, whether you finished them, and any private notes you write to authors, including a link to a public review if you choose to add one.
• Whether you've turned review reminders off.

From authors and publishers

• Your author or pen name, publisher, website, Amazon author page, and bio.
• The books you list: covers, files, descriptions, content ratings, release dates, and store links.

Automatically

• Downloads. Each time a copy is downloaded, we record the time, the browser and device type, and a scrambled form of the IP address. We keep the scrambled form, not the address itself.
• Log-in attempts. We record the email address tried, the time, whether it worked, and a scrambled form of the IP address, so we can slow down anyone guessing passwords.
• Server logs. Like almost every website, our hosting company's servers keep standard logs of visits, including IP addresses, pages requested, and browser type, for a limited time for security and troubleshooting.
• Emails we send. We keep a record of the emails the site sends you, so we can tell whether they arrived.

2. How we use it

• To run your account and deliver the books you request.
• To show you books that fit your preferences.
• To send the emails described in section 5.
• To mark each copy so a leaked file can be traced (section 4).
• To review new authors and books, look into reports, and enforce our Terms.
• To keep the site secure and working.

We don't sell or rent your information, use it for advertising, or build profiles of you for anyone else.

3. Who sees it

• Authors. When you request a book, its author or publisher sees your display name, your request, whether you downloaded and finished the book, how many advance copies you've finished on the site, and any private note you write to them. Authors don't see your email address.
• Other readers see nothing about you.
• Visitors see book listings and the author information shown with them.
• Us. We can see everything in your account, and we look at it only to run the site, help you, review authors and books, and look into problems.
• Companies that help run the site. Namecheap hosts the site and its database. SMTP2GO delivers our emails, so it handles your email address and the content of the emails we send you. Each of these companies has its own privacy policy. The site's fonts are served from our own server, so loading a page doesn't contact Google or any other outside company.
• When required. We'll share information if the law requires it, or when it's needed to protect someone's safety, someone's rights, or the site. If the site ever changes hands, your information would go with it, under this policy.

4. Marks in your copies

Every copy you download carries your name and email address, plus a hidden code unique to your copy. That means anyone who has your file can see your name and email in it, which is one more reason not to share it. If a copy turns up somewhere it shouldn't, we use the code to find out whose copy it was, and we may tell the book's author or publisher, as our Terms explain.

5. Email

We send email only about your account and the books you're involved with:

• account emails, such as confirming your address and resetting your password;
• notices about your requests, such as a copy being ready or a request being declined;
• for authors, notices about your listings and readers' requests, and a summary when a giveaway ends;
• for readers, at most two reminders after a book's release saying you're welcome to share what you thought.

Every reminder has a link to stop reminders for that book or for all books, and you can also turn them off in your preferences. We don't send newsletters or marketing email. If we ever start, it will be something you choose to join.

6. Cookies

We use one cookie, which keeps you logged in. We don't use tracking, analytics, or advertising cookies.

7. How long we keep it

We keep your account information while your account is open. When we delete an account, we delete its requests, notes, and download records with it. Copies may remain in the hosting company's backups for a short time, and in records of emails already sent. Book files stay on our server after a giveaway ends, so authors can run another one. Authors can ask us to delete a book's files at any time, and we delete them when we delete the author's account.

8. Your choices

• You can update your reading preferences and turn reminders off from your account. To change your name or email address, write to us.
• You can ask us for a copy of your information, to correct it, or to delete your account and the information connected to it. Write to hello@firstfruitsreaders.com. We'll do it for anyone who asks, wherever they live.

9. Security

The site runs over HTTPS, passwords are stored only in scrambled form, book files are kept where the web can't reach them, and download links are private, expire, and work only a few times. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to protect what you trust us with. If we learn of a breach that affects your information, we'll tell you.

10. Children

The site is only for people 18 and older. If we learn that someone under 18 has an account, we'll delete it.

11. Where your information is kept

We're in the United States, and the site and its information are stored in the United States. If you use the site from elsewhere, your information comes here.

12. Changes to this policy

When we update this policy, we'll change the date at the top. If a change is significant, we'll also tell account holders by email or on the site before it takes effect.

Questions

Write to hello@firstfruitsreaders.com, or to True Bearing Press LLC, 226 Mill St, Saranac, MI 48881.