Your words are yours.

Who we are

PennyWrite is a writing app for Mac and iPad, made by PennyWrite (operated by Christopher Mayberry). In this policy, "we" and "us" mean PennyWrite, and "the app" means the PennyWrite apps for Mac and iPad.

What we collect

Nothing about you. The app has no account or sign-in, and it contains no analytics, tracking, advertising or crash-reporting code from us or anyone else. We don't collect, sell or share personal data, and we can't see what you write. The one exception is a question you choose to ask Story Coach, which is sent to an AI service to be answered (see below) and isn't kept by us.

Your writing

• Your library (novels, characters, ideas, settings and progress) is saved as files on your device: in Documents/PennyWrite on a Mac, or in the Files app on iPad.
• If you choose to keep your library in a cloud folder, such as iCloud Drive, Google Drive or Dropbox, the files are synced by that provider, and that provider's privacy policy applies to them. PennyWrite only reads and writes the folder you pick.
• The app keeps daily backups of your library in a Backups folder next to it. They stay wherever your library is.
• Exports (EPUB, PDF, RTF, Markdown and so on) are saved or shared only where you choose.

Story Coach (optional)

Story Coach is an optional AI feature. Nothing is sent until you ask the coach a question. It can answer in one of two ways:

Built-in coach (PennyWrite Pro)

• The first time you ask, the app asks your permission. After that, when you ask a question, the app sends your question and the parts of your book needed to answer it (for example your logline, synopsis, outline, characters or the scene you ask about) to our Story Coach server (coach.pennywrite.com, run on Cloudflare), which passes it to Google's Gemini API to write the answer and streams the answer back.
• To check that you have PennyWrite Pro, the app also sends Apple's signed record of your purchase. It contains purchase details such as the product, dates and a transaction ID, but not your name, email or payment details.
• Our server doesn't store your question, your book text or the answer. To apply the daily limit, it keeps only a counter for each purchase, under a scrambled (hashed) ID, for up to 3 days. Cloudflare processes technical data such as IP addresses to deliver and protect the service; see Cloudflare's privacy policy.
• Google processes the request under the Gemini API terms and Google's privacy policy. We use Google's paid API service, under which Google doesn't use your prompts or answers to improve its products. Google may keep them for a limited time to detect abuse.
• You can take back your permission at any time in Settings › Story Coach AI.

Your own Anthropic key (advanced option)

• If you turn on "Use my own Anthropic (Claude) API key" in Settings, the app sends your question and the needed parts of your book directly from your device to Anthropic, using your key. It doesn't pass through our servers.
• Your API key is stored in your device's Keychain, not in your library file, and is sent only to Anthropic, which processes the data under its own terms and privacy policy: anthropic.com/legal/privacy. Usage is billed to your Anthropic account.

Purchases

Purchases in the App Store are processed by Apple, under Apple's privacy policy. Apple tells us about sales in aggregate but doesn't give us your name or payment details.

If you buy PennyWrite for Mac directly on pennywrite.com, checkout is run by Stripe as the merchant of record, under Stripe's privacy policy. Stripe handles your payment details; we never see your card. To give you a license and support it, we keep:

• your email address and the name you gave at checkout, your license key, and the Stripe purchase reference;
• for each Mac you activate (up to 5): a scrambled (hashed) identifier for that Mac and the Mac's name, so you can see and free up your seats.

We use your email to send your license key and receipts, and to answer you. We don't send marketing email unless you opt in, and we don't sell or share this data. Ask us at [email protected] to see or delete it (we keep what the law requires for tax records).

The direct-download app checks for updates at pennywrite.com (it sends the app version and macOS version, like any update check) and refreshes your license about once a week.

This website

pennywrite.com uses no cookies, analytics or tracking scripts, and it loads no third-party fonts or scripts. It's served through Cloudflare, which provides security and performance (for example blocking attacks and caching pages). Cloudflare and our web host process technical data such as IP addresses in server logs to deliver and protect the site; see Cloudflare's privacy policy. If you email us, we use your email only to reply to you.

Children

PennyWrite doesn't collect personal data from anyone, including children under 13 (or the equivalent age where you live). Because Story Coach sends the text you ask about to an AI service (Google's Gemini, or Anthropic with your own key), children shouldn't use it without a parent's permission. If you believe a child has sent us personal information by email, contact us and we'll delete it.

Your choices and rights

Since your data stays on your device and in your own cloud folders, you're in control: you can view, copy, export or delete it at any time. Deleting the app and your PennyWrite folder removes it entirely. If you emailed us and want that correspondence deleted, just ask.

Changes to this policy

If we change how PennyWrite handles data, we'll update this page and the effective date above before the change takes effect.

Contact

PennyWrite (operated by Christopher Mayberry)
Email: [email protected]