Privacy Policy

Last reviewed on 2026-05-02

Who we are

Characters.biz ("Characters.biz", "we", "us", "our") operates the website at characters.biz. This Privacy Policy describes what information is collected when you use the site, why it's collected, who it's shared with, and the choices and rights you have. If you have a question about anything here, email privacy@characters.biz.

Information we collect

Characters.biz is primarily a reading site — there is no account system, no login, and no newsletter signup. The information collected falls into a few narrow categories:

  • Information you send us. If you email the editorial team (for example, a correction, submission, or privacy request), we receive the content of your message, your email address, and anything you choose to include.
  • Information collected automatically. Like most websites, our server receives standard request metadata from your browser: IP address, user agent, referring page, the URL you requested, and a timestamp. This information is used to run, secure, and improve the site.
  • Analytics data. We use Google Analytics to understand which pages readers visit, how they arrive, how long they stay, and roughly where in the world they are. Google Analytics processes this on our behalf; details and controls are in the "Analytics" and "Your choices" sections below.
  • Advertising data. Third-party ad partners, including Google, may collect information about your visit to serve and measure advertising. This is covered in detail in the "Advertising and Google AdSense" section below.

We don't knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you believe a child has sent us information, contact us and we will delete it.

How we use information

We use the information described above to:

  • Operate, maintain, and secure the website.
  • Understand how the site is used and which pages need improvement.
  • Respond to reader email and correspondence.
  • Display advertising and measure its performance, through our ad partners.
  • Comply with law, enforce our Terms of Service, and prevent fraud or abuse.

We don't sell reader data. We don't build profiles of individual readers for marketing purposes. Aggregated, non-identifying statistics may be shared or published (for example, "the most-read franchise page this quarter was Jujutsu Kaisen").

Cookies and similar technologies

Cookies are used for analytics and advertising. A full breakdown — the categories, which partners set which cookies, and how to opt out — is in our Cookie Policy. In summary: we set Google Analytics cookies to measure traffic, and our ad partners (including Google) set their own cookies to serve and measure advertising.

Analytics

We use Google Analytics (property G-ZH4907WS7B) to understand site usage in aggregate. Google Analytics receives request metadata and cookie identifiers and processes it on our behalf. We do not use Google Analytics to identify individual readers, and we have not enabled Google Signals or advertising reporting features linked to your Google account.

If you want to exclude your visits from Google Analytics entirely, install the opt-out browser add-on at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

Advertising and Google AdSense

Characters.biz is supported by advertising. Pages display ads served by third parties, including Google, and may include other ad-network scripts. Ad partners use cookies, device identifiers, and similar technologies to:

  • Serve ads they believe are relevant to you, based on your previous visits to our site and to other websites ("personalised advertising").
  • Measure whether an ad was shown, clicked, or led to an outcome.
  • Detect invalid activity, fraud, and bots.

Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this website or other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visit to our sites and/or other sites on the internet. You can opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings.

Google publishes its own advertising and privacy policies, which describe in detail how Google processes ad-related data. They are available at:

You can also opt out of many advertising cookies at once via industry programs at youronlinechoices.com (Europe), optout.aboutads.info (Digital Advertising Alliance, US), or optout.networkadvertising.org (Network Advertising Initiative).

Third parties we use

We use a small number of third-party services to run the site:

  • Google Analytics — for aggregate usage analytics.
  • Google AdSense and partner ad networks — for ad serving and measurement.
  • Hosting and DNS providers — to serve the site to your browser.

Each of these providers has its own privacy policy and handles data in accordance with it. We encourage you to review their policies if you want to understand the full picture.

Your rights under GDPR (EEA, UK, Switzerland)

If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, the General Data Protection Regulation (or UK GDPR) gives you the following rights with respect to personal data we hold about you:

  • Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
  • Rectification — ask us to correct inaccurate data.
  • Erasure — ask us to delete data, where legal grounds allow.
  • Restriction — ask us to limit the ways we process data.
  • Objection — object to processing, including for direct marketing or analytics.
  • Portability — receive your data in a structured, machine-readable form.
  • Withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent, withdraw it at any time.
  • Complain — lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

To exercise any of these rights, email privacy@characters.biz. We will respond within the statutory period (typically one month).

Your rights under CCPA / CPRA (California)

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (as amended by the CPRA), including:

  • The right to know what personal information we collect, use, disclose, and (if applicable) sell or share.
  • The right to delete personal information, subject to certain exceptions.
  • The right to correct inaccurate personal information.
  • The right to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information for cross-context behavioural advertising.
  • The right to limit the use of sensitive personal information.
  • The right not to be discriminated against for exercising any of these rights.

Where ad partners process data for personalised advertising, that may be treated as "sharing" under California law. To opt out, use the Google Ads Settings link above, the industry opt-out programs, or send a Global Privacy Control signal from your browser — we honour it where applicable. You can also email privacy@characters.biz with the subject line "CCPA request".

Data retention

We keep email correspondence for as long as it's useful to respond, follow up, or keep an audit trail of corrections, typically up to 24 months. Server access logs are kept for a short period for security and debugging (typically 30 to 90 days) and are then deleted or anonymised. Analytics data is kept per Google's retention settings, typically 14 months in our configuration. Ad partners retain advertising data under their own policies.

Data security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect information in our custody: HTTPS for data in transit, access controls on administrative systems, and limited retention. No system on the internet can be guaranteed fully secure; if you learn of a vulnerability or incident, please report it to privacy@characters.biz.

International transfers

Our servers and service providers (including Google) may process data in jurisdictions outside your country of residence, including the United States. Where GDPR applies, international transfers rely on appropriate safeguards such as the EU Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent.

Changes to this policy

We update this Privacy Policy when our practices change meaningfully. The "Last reviewed" date at the top reflects the most recent update. Material changes will be signalled at the top of this page. Continued use of the site after an update means you accept the updated policy.

Contacting us

For privacy questions, access requests, deletion requests, or complaints: