Effective date: November 2026

Star Hearth Tales (“we”, “us”) publishes original science fiction and fantasy stories and short video clips at starhearthtales.com. This page explains what information is collected when you visit, how it is used, and the choices you have. If you have a question, write to hello@starhearthtales.com.

Who runs this site

Star Hearth Tales is an independent fiction site. It is hosted on WordPress.com, a service run by Automattic Inc. Some information described below is collected and processed by WordPress.com on our behalf, under the Automattic Privacy Policy.

Information collected when you visit

• Visit statistics. WordPress.com records basic, aggregated statistics about visits, such as pages viewed, referring sites, approximate country, and device or browser type. We see these as totals and trends, not as a record of who you are.
• Technical data. Like most websites, our host receives standard technical information, such as your IP address and browser details, to deliver pages, keep the site secure, and prevent spam and abuse.
• Cookies. WordPress.com uses cookies and similar technologies for statistics, security, remembering preferences, and, if you are logged in to WordPress.com, keeping you signed in. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings; some site features may not work as well if you do. See the Automattic Cookie Policy.

Information you choose to give us

• Email. If you write to us, we receive your email address and whatever you include in your message. We use it to reply and keep it only as long as needed for that conversation.
• Follows and newsletter. If you follow the site or subscribe to new-story emails, your email address is collected and stored by WordPress.com so it can send you updates. Every email includes an unsubscribe link, and you can manage subscriptions at any time through WordPress.com.
• Comments. If comments are turned on and you leave one, the name, email address, and website you enter are stored with your comment, along with your IP address and browser details to help detect spam. Your comment and name may be shown publicly; your email address is not. Comments may be checked by an automated spam service. You can ask us to remove a comment at any time.

Embedded videos and social media

Story pages and the Watch page may include videos or posts embedded from YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, or X. Embedded content behaves as if you had visited the other site directly. Those services may set their own cookies, collect data about you, and track your interaction with the embed, especially if you are logged in to them. Their use of your information is covered by their own privacy policies, not this one. Links to our social media accounts work the same way: once you leave this site, the other platform’s policy applies.

How we use information

We use the information described above to run and improve the site, understand which stories and clips readers enjoy, reply to messages, send updates you asked for, and keep the site secure. We do not use it to build advertising profiles.

Sharing

We do not sell or rent your personal information. We share it only with the service providers needed to run the site, such as WordPress.com, or when required by law.

How long information is kept

Emails are kept only as long as needed to handle your message. Subscriber details are kept until you unsubscribe. Comments, if any, are kept until they are removed. Statistics are kept by WordPress.com in aggregated form under its own retention practices.

Children

This site is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child under 13 has sent us personal information, contact hello@starhearthtales.com and we will delete it.

Your choices and requests

You can unsubscribe from emails at any time using the link in each email. You can also ask us what information we hold about you, or ask us to correct or delete it, by writing to hello@starhearthtales.com. We will respond as soon as we reasonably can. Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under local law, and we will honor valid requests.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, we will update this page and the effective date above.

Contact

Questions about privacy: hello@starhearthtales.com