Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 6, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains what information NextLine collects, why we collect it, how we use and protect it, and the choices and rights you have. It applies to the NextLine website and apps (the "Service").

1. Information We Collect

Account information. Your email address (or Google account, if you sign up that way), username, password (stored as a one-way hash — we never store or see your plain-text password), and your account creation date.

Profile information. Anything you choose to add: display name, bio, avatar, banner image, website, location.

Content you create. Posts, continuations, comments, likes, bookmarks, collections, and any direct messages you send — including images you upload with them.

Device and usage information. IP address, browser and device type, pages visited, and general usage patterns, collected automatically to keep the Service secure and working properly (see Security, below).

Cookies. We use essential cookies to keep you signed in and remember your preferences (like light/dark theme). We don't use third-party advertising cookies.

Analytics. We may use privacy-respecting analytics to understand how people use NextLine in aggregate (e.g. which features are popular) — this doesn't involve selling your data or building an advertising profile of you.

2. Cloudinary (Image Storage)

When you upload an avatar, banner, or an image attached to a post or message, it's stored and delivered through Cloudinary, a third-party image hosting provider. Cloudinary processes these images on our behalf under its own security and privacy practices; we don't sell image data to Cloudinary or anyone else.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information above to: run and improve the Service (show your feed, deliver notifications, power search); keep your account secure (rate-limiting, fraud and abuse detection, sending you a one-time code to verify your email or reset your password); communicate with you about your account (security alerts, moderation decisions, changes to these policies); and enforce our Terms & Conditions and Community Guidelines.

We do not sell your personal information.

4. Security

We use industry-standard measures to protect your data, including password hashing, rate limiting on sensitive actions (login, password reset, OTP requests), and encrypted connections (HTTPS) between your device and our servers. No system is 100% secure, so we can't guarantee absolute security, but we take it seriously and will notify affected users as required by law if we discover a breach affecting your personal information.

5. Data Retention

We keep your account data for as long as your account is active. Content you post stays up until you remove it or delete your account. Security and audit logs (like login attempts) are kept for a limited period for fraud prevention, then routinely cleared.

6. Account Deletion

You can permanently delete your account anytime from Settings → Delete account. Deleting your account:

• Removes right away: your bookmarks, collections, follows and followers, blocks, your notifications, your membership in direct-message conversations, your login credentials (password and any linked Google sign-in), and your gamification history (XP, badges, streaks, challenge entries).
• Anonymizes: your profile — name, username, avatar, banner, bio, website, and location are all cleared, and your account is relabeled "Deleted user."
• Keeps, unchanged: the text of pieces and continuations you wrote, if other people have written continuations on top of them. NextLine is a branching, collaborative platform — permanently deleting the words themselves would also delete every branch other users built on top of your writing, which we won't do without their consent. Instead, that content stays up under the anonymized "Deleted user" byline, exactly as described in our Terms' Collaborative Writing Ownership section. Content you wrote that nobody continued is removed along with the rest of your account.
• Cannot be undone, and your old username is not reusable by anyone (including you).

If you're signed in on more than one device, other active sessions may take up to their normal expiry (up to 30 days if "Remember me" was checked) to fully log out after deletion, even though your login credentials are removed immediately and can't be used again.

7. Children's Privacy

NextLine isn't directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from children under that age (or the relevant minimum age in your country). If you believe a child has created an account, contact us at [privacy@nextlines.in] and we'll investigate and remove the account if appropriate.

8. Third-Party Services

We rely on a small number of trusted providers to run NextLine:

• Cloudinary — image storage and delivery.
• Google — optional sign-in ("Continue with Google").
• Our email provider — sending verification codes, password reset emails, and account notifications from info@nextlines.in.
• Our hosting and database providers — running the application and storing data securely.

Each of these providers only receives the information necessary to perform their function for us, and is bound by their own security and privacy practices.

9. Your Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to: access the personal information we hold about you; correct inaccurate information (most of this you can already do yourself in Settings); delete your account and data (Section 6); export a copy of your data; and object to or restrict certain processing. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at [privacy@nextlines.in]. We'll respond within the timeframe required by applicable law.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy as NextLine evolves. We'll update the "Last updated" date above and, for material changes, make a reasonable effort to notify you before they take effect.

11. Contact

Questions about this Privacy Policy or your data? Email [privacy@nextlines.in] or see our Contact page.