Privacy Policy
Last Revised: November 2, 2023
(Click here to see previous version)
If you are a California resident, please see our California Resident Privacy Notice for supplemental information and disclosures regarding rights of California residents
At Wattpad Corp. ("Wattpad" "we" or "us"), we are committed to protecting your privacy and keeping your information safe. Wattpad processes information about you in a few different ways. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose and keep information that can identify you ("Personal Information") when you create a Wattpad account and use wattpad.com (the "Site"), or our mobile applications, to post content to the Wattpad community, including stories you create, comments and messages (the "Services").
Note that our Terms of Service apply to this Privacy Policy. By creating an account with Wattpad, using the Services, or submitting any Personal Information Information via the Services, you are acknowledging that we will collect, use and disclose your Personal Information as described below in this Privacy Policy. If you do not want your Personal Information to be used in these ways, please stop using the Services.
This is important; we hope you will take time to read it carefully.
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What is Personal Information?
"Personal Information" is any information relating to an identified or identifiable individual. This may include, but is not limited to, your name, mailing address, telephone number, email address, Internet Protocol ("IP") address, age, and gender. Where applicable, we indicate whether and why you must provide us with your Personal Information, as well as the consequences of failing to do so. If you do not provide Personal Information when requested, you may not be able to benefit from our Services if that information is necessary to provide you with them or if we are legally required to collect it.
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What do we collect and Why do we use it?
In order for you to create an account with Wattpad and use our Services, we need to collect and process some Personal Information. Depending on your use of the Services, the Personal Information we collect about you may include:
What we collect:
Information that is necessary for the use of our Services, such as your username, email address, date of birth, and password.
If you register for Wattpad via third parties like Facebook and Google, they send us information that is necessary for your use of our Services, such as your email address and birthdate.
We use this Personal Information to:
- Create your Wattpad account and provide you with our Services
- Identify you across the Services (e.g. when you sign in, post a story, or make a comment)
- Make age-appropriate content available to you
- Provide you with technical and customer support services
- Communicate with you (e.g. letting you know about upcoming changes or improvements)
- Send you marketing emails. Where required by applicable law, we will only send you marketing emails with your consent
- Display the information as part of your Wattpad profile
- Calculate anonymous, aggregate statistics to better understand our users, improve our Services, and develop new features
What we collect:
Information you choose to give to us, such as your real name, gender, and location.
We use this Personal Information to:
- Display the information as part of your Wattpad profile
- Conduct surveys and calculate anonymous, aggregate statistics to better understand our users, improve our Services, and develop new features
- Conduct promotions (including contests and sweepstakes) and provide prizes and awards
- Personalize our Services and display relevant, tailored advertisem*nts, improving your ad experience
What we collect:
Information we automatically collect from your use of our Services, including:
- IP address
- Cookie data
- Device information
- Browser type
- Operating system
- Pages visited
- Actions performed e.g. voting
We use this Personal Information to:
- Personalize and customize your story discovery experience
- Measure your use and overall satisfaction with our Services
- Calculate anonymous, aggregate statistics to better understand our users, improve our Services, and develop new features
- Investigate and prevent reported issues, illegal activity, and breaches of our terms of service
- Help prevent spam, fraud, abuse, and other prohibited activity
- Display relevant, tailored advertisem*nts and improve your ad experience
- For security purposes
| What we collect: | We use this Personal Information to: |
|---|---|
Information that is necessary for the use of our Services, such as your username, email address, date of birth, and password. If you register for Wattpad via third parties like Facebook and Google, they send us information that is necessary for your use of our Services, such as your email address and birthdate. |
|
Information you choose to give to us, such as your real name, gender, and location. |
|
Information we automatically collect from your use of our Services, including:
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We also may use your Personal Information to enforce this Policy or our Terms of Service, to defend our legal rights and to comply with our legal obligations and internal policies.
For more information on our use of cookies, please refer to our Cookie Policy.
Aside from your username, which is required to set up your account and can be fictitious, we won’t display your Personal Information on the Site or reveal it to other Wattpad users (unless you choose to publicly display applicable information via your account settings) or rent or sell it to anyone unless the data has been anonymized. For more information on how signing up to the Wattpad community through third-party social media platforms works, visit our Signing up with Facebook/Google+ article.
Except for your email address, date of birth, chosen username, whether you are a reader, writer, or both and at least one preferred literary genre, which are required to create your Wattpad account, you can always opt not to disclose any Personal Information to us, but then you may be unable to use certain features on the Services. For more information, visit our Account Privacy article .
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Why do you ask for my date of birth?
Children under 13 are not permitted to use Wattpad (under 14 if they are residents of Quebec), and so this Privacy Policy makes no provision for their use of Wattpad Services. We collect date of birth to determine eligibility to use Wattpad.
If you are a parent or guardian and learn that your minor child has provided us with Personal Information without your knowledge or agreement, please contact us using the details below.
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Why do we collect and use your email?
We use email as an important way to communicate with you. You can manage your email notification preferences, such as messages and follower alerts, by adjusting your preferences in the Notifications section of your account Settings. You may also opt out or unsubscribe from any future email communications from within a link provided in each email we send you. However, please note that in all cases you will continue to receive all system e-mails (e.g., those regarding forgotten user passwords) and legal notices from us.
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What can other Wattpad users see?
Our Services are designed to help you share information with the Wattpad community. Any Personal Information that you voluntarily choose to include in a publicly accessible area of the Service will be available to anyone who has access to that content (including other Wattpad users), such as your username, name, the profile description you create, and your location, as well as the messages you post, whether on your profile or to other users, and the lists you create, people you follow, stories you write, links to your Facebook profile or other personal website and many other bits of information that result from your use of the Services.
We may use this information to make inferences, like what topics you may be interested in, to develop new products and services for the Wattpad community, and to customize the content we show you, including ads.
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Legal grounds
If you are located in the European Economic Area, Switzerland or the United Kingdom (“Europe”), we may use your Personal Information for the purposes set out below and will only process your Personal Information based on a valid legal ground, as identified in the table below.
Processing Activity
Create your Wattpad account and provide you with our Services.
Legal Ground for Processing if you’re in the EEA, UK or Switzerland
Processing necessary to perform our Terms of Service
Processing Activity
Identify you across the Services (e.g., when you sign in, post a story, or make a comment).
Legal Ground for Processing if you’re in the EEA, UK or Switzerland
We have a legitimate interest in using your Personal Information to provide our Services.
Processing Activity
Make age-appropriate content available to you.
Legal Ground for Processing if you’re in the EEA, UK or Switzerland
We have a legitimate interest in using your Personal Information to provide our Services.
Processing Activity
Provide you with technical and customer support services
Legal Ground for Processing if you’re in the EEA, UK or Switzerland
We have a legitimate interest in using your Personal Information to provide our Services.
Processing Activity
Communicate with you (e.g., letting you know about upcoming changes or improvement)
Legal Ground for Processing if you’re in the EEA, UK or Switzerland
Processing necessary to perform our Terms of Service
Processing Activity
Send you marketing emails
Legal Ground for Processing if you’re in the EEA, UK or Switzerland
Your consent where required by law
Processing Activity
Display your account information as part of your Wattpad profile
Legal Ground for Processing if you’re in the EEA, UK or Switzerland
We have a legitimate interest in using your Personal Information to provide our Services.
Processing Activity
Conduct surveys and calculate anonymous, aggregate statistics to better understand our users, improve our Services, and develop new features
Legal Ground for Processing if you’re in the EEA, UK or Switzerland
We have a legitimate interest in using your Personal Information to review and improve our Services.
Processing Activity
Conduct promotions (including contests and sweepstakes) and provide prizes and awards
Legal Ground for Processing if you’re in the EEA, UK or Switzerland
Your consent
Processing Activity
Personalize and customize your story discovery experience
Legal Ground for Processing if you’re in the EEA, UK or Switzerland
Your consent
Processing Activity
Measure your use and overall satisfaction with our Services
Legal Ground for Processing if you’re in the EEA, UK or Switzerland
Your consent
Processing Activity
Investigate and prevent reported issues, illegal activity, and breaches of our Terms of Service
Legal Ground for Processing if you’re in the EEA, UK or Switzerland
We, or a third party, have a legitimate interest in using your Personal Information to investigate and prevent reported issues, illegal activity, and breaches of our Terms of Service.
Processing Activity
Help prevent spam, fraud, abuse, and other prohibited activity
Legal Ground for Processing if you’re in the EEA, UK or Switzerland
We, or a third party, have a legitimate interest in using your Personal Information to help prevent spam, fraud, abuse, and other prohibited activity.
Processing Activity
Display relevant, tailored advertisem*nts and improve your ad experience
Legal Ground for Processing if you’re in the EEA, UK or Switzerland
Your consent
Processing Activity
For security purposes
Legal Ground for Processing if you’re in the EEA, UK or Switzerland
We, or a third party, have a legitimate interest in using your Personal Information for security purposes.
Processing Activity
Comply with tax and accounting obligations
Legal Ground for Processing if you’re in the EEA, UK or Switzerland
The processing is necessary for compliance with a legal or regulatory obligation.
Processing Activity
Establish, exercise and defend our legal rights
Legal Ground for Processing if you’re in the EEA, UK or Switzerland
We, or a third party, have a legitimate interest in using your Personal Information to help establish, exercise and defend our legal rights.
Processing Activity
Comply with legal obligations and law enforcement requests.
Legal Ground for Processing if you’re in the EEA, UK or Switzerland
The processing is necessary for compliance with a legal or regulatory obligation.
| Processing Activity | Legal Ground for Processing if you’re in the EEA, UK or Switzerland |
|---|---|
Create your Wattpad account and provide you with our Services. | Processing necessary to perform our Terms of Service |
Identify you across the Services (e.g., when you sign in, post a story, or make a comment). | We have a legitimate interest in using your Personal Information to provide our Services. |
Make age-appropriate content available to you. | We have a legitimate interest in using your Personal Information to provide our Services. |
Provide you with technical and customer support services | We have a legitimate interest in using your Personal Information to provide our Services. |
Communicate with you (e.g., letting you know about upcoming changes or improvement) | Processing necessary to perform our Terms of Service |
Send you marketing emails | Your consent where required by law |
Display your account information as part of your Wattpad profile | We have a legitimate interest in using your Personal Information to provide our Services. |
Conduct surveys and calculate anonymous, aggregate statistics to better understand our users, improve our Services, and develop new features | We have a legitimate interest in using your Personal Information to review and improve our Services. |
Conduct promotions (including contests and sweepstakes) and provide prizes and awards | Your consent |
Personalize and customize your story discovery experience | Your consent |
Measure your use and overall satisfaction with our Services | Your consent |
Investigate and prevent reported issues, illegal activity, and breaches of our Terms of Service | We, or a third party, have a legitimate interest in using your Personal Information to investigate and prevent reported issues, illegal activity, and breaches of our Terms of Service. |
Help prevent spam, fraud, abuse, and other prohibited activity | We, or a third party, have a legitimate interest in using your Personal Information to help prevent spam, fraud, abuse, and other prohibited activity. |
Display relevant, tailored advertisem*nts and improve your ad experience | Your consent |
For security purposes | We, or a third party, have a legitimate interest in using your Personal Information for security purposes. |
Comply with tax and accounting obligations | The processing is necessary for compliance with a legal or regulatory obligation. |
Establish, exercise and defend our legal rights | We, or a third party, have a legitimate interest in using your Personal Information to help establish, exercise and defend our legal rights. |
Comply with legal obligations and law enforcement requests. | The processing is necessary for compliance with a legal or regulatory obligation. |
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Where do we store your Personal Information?
Our Services are mainly provided from our offices in Canada. However, Personal Information that you submit through the Services may be transferred to countries other than where you reside (for example, to our servers in the United States) for processing and storage. In addition, our third-party service providers also may process or store your Personal Information on servers outside your country, including in Canada or the US.
By using any of the Services, or submitting any Personal Information via the Services, you authorize Wattpad and its authorized service providers to use and process your Personal Information in these countries. Please be aware that the privacy protections and the rights of authorities and Government agencies to access your Personal Information in some of these countries may not be equivalent to those in your country.
We comply with applicable legal requirements when transferring Personal Information to countries other than the country where you are located. If you are in the European Economic Area, Switzerland or the UK, we rely on the following mechanisms to transfer your Personal Information internationally: (i) an EU Commission adequacy decision, Swiss government adequacy decision or UK adequacy regulation (as appropriate), (ii) contractual protections for the transfer of your Personal Information, (iii) another valid data transfer mechanism. For more information about how we transfer Personal Information outside of Europe, or to obtain a copy of the contractual safeguards we use for such transfers, please contact us as specified below.
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Your rights
If you wish to access any Personal Information that we hold about you, or request that we correct or delete the Personal Information that we hold about you, you may contact us via email at privacy@wattpad.com. We will comply with such requests to the extent required by law or our policies, and subject to any limitations in our systems. To access, modify or delete the Personal Information you have provided to us, please log in and update your profile.
If you are located in the European Economic Area, Switzerland or the United Kingdom, you have the following rights in relation to your Personal Information:
Access and Portability. You may ask us to provide you with a copy of the Personal Information we maintain about you, including a machine-readable copy of the Personal Information that you have directly provided to us, and request information about its processing.
Rectification and Deletion. You may ask us to update and correct inaccuracies in your Personal Information, or to have the information anonymized or deleted, as appropriate. You may also access, modify or delete the Personal Information you have provided to use by logging in and updating your profile.
Restriction and Objection. You may ask us to restrict the processing of your Personal Information, or object to such processing.
Consent Withdrawal. You may withdraw any consent you previously provided to us regarding the processing of your Personal Information, at any time and free of charge. We will apply your preferences going forward and this will not affect the lawfulness of the processing before you withdrew your consent.
Complaint. You may lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, including in your country of residence, place of work, or where an incident took place.
You may exercise these rights by contacting us via email at privacy@wattpad.com. Please note that there are exceptions and limitations to each of these rights.
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How does Wattpad protect and retain my Personal Information?
We are continuously implementing and updating physical, organizational, contractual and technological security measures to protect your Personal Information from loss, theft, unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification. The only employees who are granted access to your Personal Information are those with a business "need-to-know" or whose duties reasonably require such information. On all Wattpad platforms, we support encryption on all transmissions to protect Personal Information submitted on our Site.
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How long does Wattpad keep my Personal Information?
We take measures to delete your Personal Information or keep it in a form that does not permit identifying you when this information is no longer necessary for the purposes for which we process it, unless we are required by law to keep this information for a longer period. When determining the retention period, we take into account various criteria, such as the type of products and services requested by or provided to you, the nature and length of our relationship with you, the impact on the services we provide to you if we delete some information from or about you, mandatory retention periods provided by law and the statute of limitations.
If you create an account with Wattpad, we will retain your Personal Information for as long as your account remains active. If you close your account, it will first be deactivated for a period of six months. When your account is deactivated, while it is not viewable on Wattpad, all of your public contributions and comments to the Wattpad community will remain (except that they will be anonymized).
For six months after deactivation, it is still possible to restore your account if it was accidentally or wrongfully deactivated, including re-associating your comments and contributions to your profile. After six months, we permanently delete your Personal Information from our systems, except that your anonymized comments and contributions will remain on the Service.
