Legal & Privacy
Privacy Policy — W.E. Books (The Wonder Emporium Inc.)
The Wonder Emporium Inc., d/b/a W.E. Books ("W.E. Books," "we," "us," or "our"), a Texas limited liability company headquartered in Houston, Texas, respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect from customers/readers ("you") through our website, the WE Books mobile and web reading/listening application (the "App"), and related services (collectively, the "Service"), how we use and share it, and the choices and rights available to you.
This Privacy Policy applies to customers/readers. If you are an author using the Platform to publish and sell content, a separate section (Section 12) describes how author-specific information is handled, and our Author Terms of Service also apply to you.
By using the Service, you agree to the collection and use of information as described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.
1. Information We Collect
1.1 Information You Provide Directly
- Account information: name, email address, password (stored in hashed/encrypted form), and optional profile details.
- Payment information: billing name, billing address, and payment card or payment method details. Full card numbers are collected and stored by our third-party payment processor, not directly by us (see Section 4).
- Shipping information:for Print orders, your shipping name and address, which we share with our print fulfillment partner, Lulu Press, Inc. ("Lulu"), solely to produce and ship your order.
- Communications: messages you send to customer support, survey responses, or content you submit such as reviews and ratings.
- Membership/subscription selections: the subscription tier you choose and your billing preferences.
1.2 Information Collected Automatically
- Device and usage data: IP address, browser type, device identifiers, operating system, and general log data (pages visited, features used, crash reports).
- Reading and listening activity:which titles you access, reading progress, bookmarks, highlights, listening progress, and similar in-app engagement data, used to power features like "continue reading," recommendations, and royalty allocation for membership reads (see our Author Terms of Service, Section 4.5).
- Cookies and similar technologies: used on our website for functionality, analytics, and (where you consent) marketing purposes. See Section 6.
1.3 Information from Third Parties
- Our payment processor may share limited transaction status information with us (e.g., payment succeeded/failed) without exposing your full card details.
- If you sign in or interact with the Service through a third-party platform (e.g., a social login), we may receive basic profile information from that platform, consistent with your settings there.
1.4 Children's Information
The Service is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 without verifiable parental consent. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us personal information, please contact us at support@thewonderemporium.com so we can delete it.
2. How We Use Your Information
We use the information described above to:
- Create and manage your account and membership subscription;
- Process purchases, subscription billing, and Print order fulfillment;
- Deliver eBooks and audiobooks to you through the App and sync your reading/listening progress across devices;
- Calculate and allocate membership-based royalties to authors (using aggregated or title-level engagement data, not your individual identity, for that specific purpose);
- Provide customer support and respond to your inquiries;
- Send transactional communications (order confirmations, renewal notices, password resets) and, where you have opted in, marketing communications about new titles, promotions, or features;
- Personalize recommendations and improve the Service through analytics;
- Detect, investigate, and prevent fraud, unauthorized access, or violations of our Terms of Service; and
- Comply with legal obligations, including tax and accounting recordkeeping for purchases.
3. Legal Bases for Processing (EEA/UK Users)
If you are located in the European Economic Area or United Kingdom, we process your personal data on the following legal bases: performance of a contract (e.g., processing your purchase or subscription), our legitimate interests (e.g., improving the Service, preventing fraud), your consent (e.g., marketing emails, certain cookies), and compliance with legal obligations (e.g., tax recordkeeping).
4. How We Share Your Information
We do not sell your personal information for money. We share information only as follows:
- Payment processors: to securely process purchases and subscription billing.
- Print fulfillment partner (Lulu): your shipping information and the relevant order details are shared with Lulu solely to produce and ship Print orders.
- Cloud hosting and infrastructure providers: who store and process data on our behalf under contractual confidentiality and security obligations.
- Analytics and email service providers: to help us understand usage patterns and send communications, under contracts limiting their use of your data to providing services to us.
- Legal and safety purposes: where required by law, subpoena, or court order, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of W.E. Books, our users, or the public.
- Business transfers: in connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, or sale of assets, subject to standard confidentiality protections.
We do not share your individual reading/listening history or purchase history with authors; authors receive only aggregated or title-level sales and engagement data as described in our Author Terms of Service.
5. Data Retention
We retain your account and transaction information for as long as your account is active and as needed to comply with our legal, tax, and accounting obligations (generally at least the retention period required for U.S. federal and Texas state tax recordkeeping). If you close your account, we will delete or anonymize personal information that is no longer needed for these purposes, except information we are required to retain by law.
6. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
We use cookies and similar technologies on our website for:
- Essential functionality: keeping you logged in, remembering cart/checkout state;
- Analytics: understanding how visitors use our site, e.g., via tools like Google Analytics; and
- Marketing: where you consent, to measure the effectiveness of promotional campaigns.
You can control non-essential cookies through our cookie consent banner (where applicable) and through your browser settings. Disabling essential cookies may prevent parts of the Service from working properly.
7. Your Privacy Rights
7.1 U.S. State Privacy Rights (e.g., California CCPA/CPRA, and similar state laws)
Depending on your state of residence, you may have the right to:
- Know what personal information we have collected about you and how it's used;
- Request deletion of your personal information, subject to certain legal exceptions;
- Correct inaccurate personal information;
- Opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information (we do not sell personal information for money; to the extent certain analytics/advertising cookies are considered "sharing" under applicable law, you can opt out via our cookie settings); and
- Not be discriminated against for exercising these rights.
To exercise these rights, contact us at support@thewonderemporium.com. We will verify your identity before fulfilling requests involving access or deletion.
7.2 GDPR/UK GDPR Rights (EEA/UK Users)
If applicable to you, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, restrict, or port your personal data, and to object to certain processing. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. Contact us at support@thewonderemporium.com to exercise these rights.
7.3 Marketing Opt-Out
You can unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time using the unsubscribe link in those emails. You will still receive transactional emails related to your account and purchases.
8. Data Security
We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect your personal information, including encryption of payment data by our payment processor and access controls on internal systems. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
9. International Data Transfers
We are based in the United States, and information we collect is processed and stored in the United States. If you access the Service from outside the United States, your information will be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States, which may have different data protection laws than your country of residence.
10. Third-Party Links
The Service may contain links to third-party websites (including author social media or promotional links). This Privacy Policy does not apply to those third-party sites, and we encourage you to review their privacy practices separately.
11. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the updated policy with a new "Last Updated" date, and for material changes, provide notice via email or an in-app/site notice. Your continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
12. Author-Specific Data Handling
If you are an author on the Platform, we additionally collect and process information necessary for royalty payments and tax compliance, including your banking routing/account numbers and tax identification information (W-9/W-8 forms), as described in our Author Terms of Service, Sections 6 and 8. This information is used solely for payment processing, tax reporting, and related compliance purposes, and is handled with the same security safeguards described in Section 8.
13. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your privacy rights, contact us at:
Email: support@thewonderemporium.com
Mail: The Wonder Emporium Inc., Houston, Texas
Legal Review & Compliance Note
This document is a working draft prepared for The Wonder Emporium Inc. / W.E. Books and has not been reviewed by an attorney. Before publishing, please have counsel confirm: (1) whether CCPA/CPRA's specific thresholds apply to your business size and, if so, whether additional disclosures (like an annual privacy rights metrics report) are required; (2) whether you need a formal Data Processing Addendum with your payment processor, cloud host, and Lulu; and (3) whether your reading/listening analytics practices require an additional cookie or tracking-specific consent banner given your target states and countries.