Privacy Policy

Effective date: August 7, 2026

Indie Author Magazine is published by Athenia Creative Services, LLC ("we," "us," or "our"), 6820 Apus Dr, Sparks, NV 89436, USA. This policy explains what information we collect when you read the magazine online, subscribe to our newsletters, become a member, or order the print edition — and what we do with it.

The short version: we collect what we need to deliver a magazine and memberships, we don't sell your personal information, and we don't hand your data to third-party ad networks.

Information we collect

Information you give us

Membership account. When you sign up as a free or paid member, we collect your name and email address. Paid memberships are billed through Stripe; your full card number never touches our servers. Stripe's handling of your data is governed by its own privacy policy.
Print subscriptions. When you order the print edition, we collect your shipping name and address and share them with our print and fulfillment partners — that's the only way the magazine reaches your mailbox. We ship worldwide, so your address may be processed by fulfillment partners in your region.
Newsletter signups and forms. When you subscribe to a newsletter or submit a form, we collect the information you enter — usually your name and email address.
Correspondence. When you email us, pitch an article, or open a support request, we keep the correspondence so we can respond and keep our records straight.

Information collected automatically

Usage data. Our servers and analytics record IP address, browser type, device type, pages visited, and referring URLs. We use our own first-party traffic analytics plus Google Analytics to understand readership in aggregate. You can opt out of Google Analytics with Google's browser add-on.
Advertising measurement. Sponsor banners across our sites are served by our own first-party ad server — not a third-party ad network. It logs impressions and clicks (with IP address and browser information) so we can report accurate numbers to sponsors. It does not build behavioral profiles of you, follow you to other websites, or auction your attention to anyone.
Referral tracking. If you arrive through a partner's referral link, we set a first-party cookie for a limited period so the referring partner is credited if you make a purchase.

How we use your information

To deliver what you signed up for: the magazine, newsletters, memberships, and print issues.
To send you member email — new issues, features, and offers. Every marketing email includes an unsubscribe link, and unsubscribing never affects transactional email like receipts.
To answer questions and support requests.
To credit partners for referrals.
To understand readership in aggregate and improve the magazine.
To protect the site and our readers — preventing spam, fraud, and abuse.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with third parties for their own marketing.

We share personal information only with service providers that help us publish, and only what they need to do their jobs:

Payment processing — Stripe processes membership and purchase payments.
Print and fulfillment — printing and shipping partners receive names and addresses for print orders.
Email delivery — our email delivery providers send the newsletters and notifications you've signed up for.
Hosting and infrastructure — our websites and databases run on servers located in the United States.
Analytics — Google Analytics, as described above.
Partner platform — our partner program runs on a platform provider that stores referral records for partners and referred purchases.

We may also disclose information if required by law, or as part of a business transfer such as a merger or acquisition, in which case this policy would continue to apply to your data.

Cookies

Login and session cookies — keep you signed in to your member account. Essential; membership can't work without them.
Analytics cookies — help us count visits and understand readership.
Referral cookie — records a partner referral for a limited period.
Ad delivery cookies — our ad server may set a cookie to manage which sponsor banners you see.

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Blocking essential cookies will prevent you from signing in.

How long we keep your data

We keep account data while your membership is active. Order and payment records are kept as long as tax and accounting law requires. Email subscription records are kept until you unsubscribe, plus a suppression record so we don't accidentally email you again. Server logs and analytics data are retained on rolling schedules and then deleted or anonymized.

Your rights and choices

Access, correction, and deletion. You can update your details from your account page. You can also ask us for a copy of your personal data, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete your account and associated data — email us at the address below.
Email opt-out. Use the unsubscribe link in any marketing email, or ask us and we'll do it for you.
EEA and UK readers. Where the GDPR or UK GDPR applies, you additionally have the rights to restrict or object to processing and to data portability, and the right to lodge a complaint with your supervisory authority. Our legal bases are performance of a contract (memberships, print orders), consent (marketing email), and legitimate interests (site security, aggregate analytics, sponsor reporting).
California residents. We do not sell or "share" personal information as defined by the CCPA/CPRA, and we don't use your data for cross-context behavioral advertising. You have the rights to know, delete, and correct, and we will never treat you differently for exercising them.

Where your data lives

We are a US company and our servers are in the United States. If you read from outside the US, your information will be transferred to and processed in the US (and, for print orders, shared with fulfillment partners who ship to your region).

Children

Indie Author Magazine is written for adults building author careers. The site is not directed to children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.

Changes to this policy

If we make material changes to this policy, we'll update the effective date at the top and, for significant changes, notify members by email or a site notice.

Contact us

Questions, requests, or complaints about privacy:

Athenia Creative Services, LLC
6820 Apus Dr
Sparks, NV 89436, USA
Email: publisher@indieauthormagazine.com