Privacy Policy

1. Information we collect

Account information

• Email address (required to create an account)
• Password (stored securely and hashed — we never see or store your plain-text password; if you sign in with Google, we don't receive or store your Google password at all)
• If you sign in with Google, we receive basic profile information Google shares with us (such as your email address) to create and link your account.

Poet profile information (optional, only if you choose to add it)

• Amharic name, English name, birth year, and short biography — only collected if you fill in your poet profile on the Profile page, which is required only if you want to submit your own poems.

Content you submit

• Poems, poet details you propose for other poets, reports you file, and poems you favorite.

Automatically collected information

• Basic technical data needed to operate the Platform (such as authentication session tokens), handled by our infrastructure providers described below. We do not run third-party advertising trackers or sell any data to advertisers.

2. How we use your information

We use your information to:

• Create and manage your account and authenticate your logins.
• Let you submit poems, favorite content, and manage your poet profile.
• Route submissions through moderation and contact you about their status (e.g. approved, rejected, needs correction).
• Send account-related emails (e.g. email or password change confirmations) — these are handled automatically by our authentication provider.
• Maintain the security and integrity of the Platform (e.g. investigating reported content or abuse).

We do not use your personal information for advertising, and we do not sell your data to third parties.

3. Who we share information with

We use the following third-party service providers to operate Medbl. Each processes data on our behalf, under their own security and privacy practices:

• Supabase — hosts our database, handles authentication (including Google sign-in), and stores account and content data.
• Vercel — hosts and serves the Medbl website.
• Google — provides the optional "Sign in with Google" feature. If you use it, Google processes the authentication request according to its own privacy policy.

We do not share your personal information with any other third party except:

• When required by law, legal process, or to protect the rights, safety, or property of Medbl, our users, or the public.
• If Medbl is involved in a merger, acquisition, or transfer of assets, in which case we'll make reasonable efforts to notify users.

4. Public information

Content you submit and get approved (poems, and if you're a poet, your poet profile details you choose to fill in) becomes publicly visible on the Platform — that's the nature of a public poetry archive. Your account email address itself is never shown publicly.

5. Your choices and rights

• Access and correction: you can view and update your poet profile details, email, and password at any time from your Profile page.
• Deletion: you can request deletion of your account and associated personal data by contacting us at salimhabeshawi@gmail.com. Note that publicly published poems attributed to you (or to a poet you represent) may be retained if their removal would misrepresent the historical/cultural record — we'll work with you in good faith on what's appropriate given the situation.
• Favorites: you can remove any poem from your favorites at any time; this data is private to your account.

6. Data retention

We retain account and content data for as long as your account is active, or as needed to provide the Platform's services. If you delete your account, we'll remove personal account data within a reasonable period, except where retention is needed for legal, security, or legitimate archival reasons as described above.

7. Security

We rely on our infrastructure providers' security practices (including encrypted password storage and database access controls) to protect your data. No system is perfectly secure, and we can't guarantee absolute security, but we take reasonable measures to protect your information.

8. Children's privacy

Medbl is not directed at children, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from children under the age required to legally consent to data processing in their jurisdiction. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us and we'll take appropriate action.

9. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be reasonably communicated (e.g. a notice on the site). Continued use of Medbl after changes take effect means you accept the updated policy.

10. Contact

Questions about this Privacy Policy or your data? Reach us at salimhabeshawi@gmail.com.