Privacy Policy

1. Scope of This Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how VMH and CSC collect, use, retain, disclose, and protect information associated with the website, accounts, purchases, digital entitlements, VMH Lumière, downloads, forms, and communications.

2. Operating Entity

Valois Media Holdings is a publishing brand operated by Cook Services Company, LLC, an Indiana limited liability company. CSC is responsible for the operation of the Services described in this Policy.

3. Information Customers Provide

We collect information you choose to provide, including names, email addresses, passwords in hashed form, contact messages, newsletter choices, account preferences, and information submitted when requesting support or asserting rights.

4. Account Information

Account records may include a customer ID, normalized email address, display name, verification status, creation and login timestamps, password-security values, failed-login counts, temporary lock information, session version, and preferences.

5. Purchase and Entitlement Records

We may retain transaction identifiers, payer email, product, amount, currency, status, retailer or payment source, order timestamps, entitlement status, download counts, and related metadata needed to verify and fulfill purchases.

6. Reading Progress and Reader Preferences

VMH Lumière may save progress percentage, reading location, last-read time, theme, typography settings, bookmarks, or other reader-state information so that eligible customers can continue reading across sessions or supported devices.

7. Contact and Newsletter Information

Contact-form submissions may include your name, email, subject, and message. Newsletter records may include consent version, subscription status, source, unsubscribe requests, and do-not-email records. Contacting support does not automatically subscribe you to marketing.

8. Automatically Collected Technical Information

The Services may process browser type, device characteristics, referral data, timestamps, request metadata, error logs, security events, and similar technical information necessary to deliver pages, diagnose problems, and prevent abuse.

9. Cookies and Local Browser Storage

The website may use browser storage or similar technology for authentication sessions, interface preferences, reader settings, and operational state. Third-party checkout or retailer pages may use their own cookies and tracking technologies.

10. How Information Is Used

Information is used to create and secure accounts, verify email, authenticate sessions, verify purchases, grant entitlements, deliver books, save reading progress, provide support, send transactional messages, manage subscriptions, maintain records, investigate abuse, and comply with law.

11. Payment Processing

Direct checkout is provided through PayPal. VMH may receive transaction details needed for verification and fulfillment, but VMH does not store complete payment-card numbers, card security codes, or full bank credentials in Google Sheets.

12. Google Workspace and Apps Script

Google Sheets, Google Drive, Google Apps Script, and Gmail or related Google services may be used to store operational records, protected files, account data, transaction references, entitlements, reader progress, logs, and communications.

13. GitHub Pages Hosting

The public website may be hosted through GitHub Pages. Public repository files must not contain account passwords, protected eBooks, payment secrets, or private customer records. GitHub may independently process technical request data under its own policies.

14. Third-Party Retailers

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other linked retailers independently collect and process information for purchases made on their platforms. VMH receives only the information separately provided or lawfully available for customer support or catalog administration.

15. Promotional Communications

Promotional email is sent only where an applicable consent or other lawful basis exists. You may unsubscribe using the provided method or by contacting VMH. A do-not-email record overrides an active promotional subscription for the same address.

16. Transactional Communications

Even after a promotional unsubscribe, VMH may send account verification, password reset, purchase confirmation, entitlement, security, policy, and customer-service messages needed to administer an account or transaction.

17. Data Sharing

Information may be shared with service providers that support hosting, email, payments, storage, security, fulfillment, and customer service; with professional advisers; in a business transfer; or where required to comply with law, protect rights, prevent fraud, or address safety.

18. Data Retention

Records are retained for periods reasonably necessary for customer access, fulfillment, security, accounting, tax, legal compliance, dispute handling, rights management, and operational continuity. Retention periods vary by record type and legal requirement.

19. Security Practices

VMH uses measures such as password hashing, per-user salts, application secrets, signed and expiring tokens, access-controlled Drive files, server-side transaction checks, rate limits, lockouts, minimal logging, and separation of public and private configuration. No system can guarantee absolute security.

20. Customer Privacy Choices

You may unsubscribe from promotional email, choose whether to create an account, control certain reader settings, and contact VMH with questions about information associated with your email address.

21. Account Correction and Deletion Requests

You may request correction or deletion of eligible account information by contacting VMH. We may verify identity before acting. Some records may be retained where required for transaction history, accounting, fraud prevention, legal obligations, security, or rights management.

22. Children’s Privacy

The Services are not directed to children under 13, and VMH does not knowingly request personal information from children under 13. A parent or guardian who believes a child submitted information should contact VMH.

23. External Links

The website may link to retailers, contributors, service providers, and external resources. VMH is not responsible for the privacy, content, security, or availability of a third-party site.

24. International Processing

Information may be processed and stored in the United States. Customers accessing the Services from another country understand that data-protection rules may differ from those in their location, subject to applicable law.

25. Changes to This Policy

VMH may update this Policy as services, legal requirements, or practices change. The effective date at the top identifies the current published version.

26. Contact Information