ImaginCAT Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 18, 2026

ImaginCAT (imagincat.com, the "Website") is a free online library of illustrated books. This Policy also covers the ImaginCAT apps for iPhone and iPad (the "Apps"; together with the Website, the "Service"). The Service is operated by AuthorCat LLC, a Florida limited liability company with its principal place of business in Orlando, Florida, United States of America ("we", "us", or "our"). This Policy explains what information we collect when you use the Service and what choices you have. The AuthorCat writing application and authorcat.com are covered by a separate privacy policy at https://authorcat.com/privacy/.

1. You can read without an account

You do not need an account to read open books, and we do not ask readers without an account for their name or email address. The Service does not show advertising and does not use advertising pixels. An account is needed only to keep a shelf and your place across devices, to like books and scenes, and to write comments (section 2A).

2. Information we collect

Analytics information. We use Google Analytics (provided by Google LLC), Yandex Metrica (provided by YANDEX LLC), and Cloudflare Web Analytics (provided by Cloudflare, Inc.) to understand how readers find and use the library. This information may include the pages, books, and chapters you open, the referring website or campaign, clicks on links and page elements (such as choosing a set of illustrations or sharing a page), approximate location derived from your IP address, and device, browser, and language information. Session recording (Yandex Metrica "Webvisor"), Google Signals, and Google advertising features are turned off. Section 3 describes the related cookies and your choices.
Usage and diagnostic events. When you use the Service, our own servers record events such as pages and screens opened, time spent reading, illustrations opened, searches (including the words you search for), filters, shares, language changes, errors, and page speed, together with the book and chapter, the library language, and a random session identifier. On the Website, the session identifier is kept in your browser's session storage and disappears when you close the tab; in the Apps, it is created anew each time the App starts. It is not a cookie, a device identifier, or an advertising identifier. With each event our server records your IP address, the country derived from it, your browser or device type, and the time. We use events to see how the library is read in each language, to find and fix errors and slow pages, to plan capacity, and to protect rankings and the Service from abuse and automated traffic.
Reading time. To rank books by reading time, the Website counts seconds of active reading for each book and adds them to a daily total for that book. The counter uses no cookie and no browser storage and does not record your IP address or any identifier. If you are signed in, reading time is also counted as coming from a signed-in reader and is used to keep your place in the book.
Preferences stored on your device. If you choose a language or a set of illustrations, the Website remembers your choice in cookies named lib_lang and lib_set, kept for one year. Your reading position and your answer to the cookie notice (lib_consent) are kept in your browser's local storage. This information stays on your device and is used only to show you the Website the way you chose; the lib_lang and lib_set cookies are sent to our server so that it can open the right page and illustrations.
Account information. If you create an account, we collect the information described in section 2A.
Staff sign-in. Library staff and invited testers sign in with a one-time code sent to their email address. For them we keep the email address, a session cookie, and a log of the changes they make.
Technical logs. Our hosting, network security, and content delivery provider (Cloudflare) keeps standard server logs, which may include IP addresses, for security and reliability.
Sharing. The Share buttons are ordinary links. Nothing is sent to X, Reddit, Pinterest, Facebook, or other platforms until you click one; after that, the platform's own privacy policy applies.

2A. Your account and comments

Signing in. You can sign in with Google (on the Website and in the Apps) or with Apple (in the Apps). We receive your name, your email address, and an account identifier from Google or Apple. We do not receive your password or access to your contacts, files, or other data. If you use Sign in with Apple and choose to hide your email, we receive a relay address created by Apple.
Your library. We keep your shelf ("Reading", "Want to read", "Finished"), your place in each book across devices, the books and scenes you like, and the ratings and reports you give to books, illustrations, and comments. When you sign in, the reading positions saved in your browser are moved to your account.
Comments. When you write a comment, we keep its text, the book and chapter, the time, any edits, and your account. Comments are public: anyone can read them together with your display name (initially the name from your Google or Apple account; you can change it in your profile). If a comment is reported or hidden, we keep the reports and the moderator's decision.
Your email address is used to sign you in and to write to you about your account and the Service. It is not shown to other users.

3. Cookies and analytics choices

Google Analytics sets cookies whose names begin with _ga, kept for up to two years.
Yandex Metrica sets cookies whose names begin with _ym, kept for up to one year, and may use local storage and cookies associated with Yandex domains.
Cloudflare Web Analytics does not set cookies.
Usage and diagnostic events and the reading-time counter (section 2) do not use cookies.
The lib_lang, lib_set, reader sign-in, and staff session cookies are needed for features you ask for and are not used for analytics.

Visitors in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland, and visitors whose region we cannot determine. We determine your approximate region from the network location of your request. In these cases the Website asks for your consent before any analytics cookie is set. Until you accept, Yandex Metrica is not loaded, Google Analytics receives only cookieless signals (such as the page viewed and the fact that consent was not given) through Google Consent Mode, and Cloudflare Web Analytics counts the visit without cookies. You may change or withdraw your choice at any time through the "Cookie settings" link at the bottom of each page; withdrawing consent deletes the analytics cookies set by the Website.

Visitors in other regions. Analytics cookies are set when you visit the Website. You may block or delete cookies in your browser settings or use the opt-out tools that Google and Yandex provide, such as the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on (https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout). Blocking cookies does not affect your ability to read.

4. How we use information

We use the information described above to run, secure, and improve the Service, to understand which books and illustrations readers enjoy, to rank books, to choose what to add to the library, to keep your account and show your comments, to moderate comments and handle reports, and to comply with the law. We do not sell personal information and do not use it for advertising.

5. Who receives information

We share information only (a) with service providers that help us run the Service — hosting, network security and content delivery, cloud storage, email for sign-in codes, sign-in providers (Google and Apple), and the analytics providers named in Section 2, each of which also processes analytics information under its own privacy policy; (b) where required by law, legal process, or a government request, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of AuthorCat LLC, the Service, or its users; (c) in connection with a merger, reorganization, or transfer of all or part of our business, in which case this Policy will continue to apply; and (d) with other users and the public, for the comments and display name you choose to post.

6. Retention

Google Analytics keeps event-level analytics information for up to 14 months; Yandex Metrica keeps information under its own retention practices. Usage and diagnostic events with IP addresses are kept for 30 days; IP addresses in daily summaries used to detect abuse are kept for 90 days and then removed; daily totals without IP addresses or identifiers are kept for up to 400 days. Reading-time totals per book and day do not identify anyone and may be kept for as long as the library operates. Preferences on your device stay until you clear them or they expire. Account information, your shelf, likes, and comments are kept while you keep your account. If you delete a comment, it disappears from the Service at once and is erased from our database within 30 days. If you delete your account, we erase your account information, shelf, likes, and comments within 30 days; replies by other users stay, and your comment is shown as deleted. Records of hidden comments, reports, and moderation decisions are kept for up to 12 months after the decision, to handle appeals and repeated abuse. Backups are overwritten within 30 days. Staff sign-in records are kept while the staff member has access and for as long as needed to keep a record of changes to the library. Server logs are kept by our provider for its standard periods. We may keep information longer where the law requires it.

7. Your rights

You may ask us for access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information by writing to the address below. You can delete a comment, change your display name, and delete your account yourself in your profile on the Website and in the Apps. Events and IP addresses are not linked to a name or an account, so we may be unable to find information about you in them unless you give us details that let us identify it (for example, the IP address and time). We will respond within a reasonable time and as required by applicable law.

If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, our legal bases are: your consent, for analytics cookies and for Yandex Metrica; the performance of our agreement with you, for your account, shelf, likes, and comments; and our legitimate interests in operating, securing, and improving the Service, in understanding its overall use without cookies, in diagnosing errors, in moderating public comments, and in protecting rankings and the Service from abuse (usage and diagnostic events and IP addresses). You have the right to access, rectify, erase, restrict, or object to the processing of your personal information, the right to data portability, the right to withdraw consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing before the withdrawal, and the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority.

8. International transfers

The Service is operated from the United States, and information is processed and stored in the United States. Google may process analytics information in the United States and other countries. Yandex processes Yandex Metrica information on servers in the Russian Federation. There is no European Commission adequacy decision for Russia, and data protection there may not be equivalent to the protection you have at home. If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, Yandex Metrica is loaded only if you accept analytics cookies; by accepting, you explicitly consent to this transfer.

9. Children

The Service is a library for a general audience and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. You must be at least 13 to create an account or write comments. If you are under 16 and live in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, please ask a parent or guardian before accepting analytics cookies. If you believe a child has given us personal information, write to us and we will delete it.

10. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy. The current version is always on this page with its date. We will make reasonable efforts to point out material changes on the Website.

11. Contact

AuthorCat LLC, Orlando, Florida, USA — hello@authorcat.com