Privacy Policy
Effective date: 6 October 2026 · Version 1.1
SinoChapter is operated by Pax Sinica Publishing Limited, Hong Kong (“we”). This policy explains how we handle personal information when you browse, create an account, subscribe or contact us.
Company correspondence address: Flat 14, 29/F, Ho King Commercial Centre, 2–16 Fa Yuen Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Information we collect and why
- Accounts: your email address, membership status, signup and account records, and any name you choose to provide. We use these to authenticate you, provide access and manage your membership. An email is necessary to create an account; browsing public pages does not require one.
- Payments: Stripe processes payment details, billing information and fraud-prevention data. We receive subscription, transaction and limited payment-method information needed for billing and support. We do not receive your full card number or security code.
- Technical information: our hosting and payment providers may process IP addresses, device/browser details, requests, security logs, cookies and similar technologies to deliver and protect the service.
- Support: messages and information you provide to handle queries, refunds, privacy requests or corrections. Please do not send card details or unnecessary sensitive information.
Email and analytics
Account sign-in, billing and essential service messages support your membership. Optional promotional email requires a separate choice; agreeing to membership terms is not marketing consent. You can withdraw an email subscription using the unsubscribe link or account preferences without cancelling a paid membership.
We have disabled Ghost's optional web analytics, email-open and email-click tracking, member-source tracking and outbound link tagging. Hosting and payment security records may still be processed. Our Cookie Policy explains the technologies used to operate accounts and payments.
How information is shared
Ghost provides our publishing, hosting, membership and email infrastructure. Stripe provides payments, subscription billing and fraud prevention. Their service providers may process information to perform these functions. We may also share necessary information with professional advisers, or where legally required to meet obligations or protect legal rights. We do not sell member information or provide it to advertisers for their own marketing.
Information may be processed outside Hong Kong, including in Europe and the United States, depending on the provider. See Ghost's privacy information and Stripe's privacy information. Stripe may independently determine some uses for payment security and legal compliance.
Our reasons for processing
Where applicable data-protection law requires a legal basis, we rely on performance of the membership contract for account and subscription services; legal obligations for financial records and required disclosures; legitimate interests for proportionate security, fraud prevention and support; and consent for optional marketing or tracking where required. You may withdraw consent without affecting earlier lawful processing.
Retention and security
We retain account information while needed to provide your membership and resolve outstanding matters. After an account deletion request, we delete or anonymise information no longer needed, subject to legal requirements, disputes and provider backup cycles. Relevant Hong Kong business transaction records are retained for at least seven years; this does not mean every browsing or account record is kept for seven years. A minimal suppression record may be retained to respect an email opt-out.
We use hosted services and access controls to protect information. No online service can guarantee absolute security.
Your choices and rights
Contact hello@sinochapter.com to request access, correction, account deletion or information about processing. Depending on applicable law, you may also have rights to erasure, portability, restriction, objection and withdrawal of consent. We may need proportionate verification of account ownership. We respond within applicable statutory deadlines and explain any lawful limits.
Deleting an account, cancelling paid renewal and unsubscribing from email are different actions. If you want to close a paid account, ask us to cancel renewal and close the account together; records required by law may remain. You may complain to Hong Kong's Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data or your applicable local regulator.
Changes and contact
We update the effective date when this policy changes and notify members of material changes where appropriate. For privacy enquiries, contact Pax Sinica Publishing Limited at hello@sinochapter.com.
Reading library and audio — 7 October 2026
The website saves reading positions, listening positions and bookmarked guides in your browser so you can resume. This device history is kept for up to one year of inactivity and can be exported or cleared in My library. It may be visible to someone using the same browser profile. Audio playback uses the controls and media services provided by your browser.
Cross-device saving is being prepared. When activated for members, our Cloudflare Workers and D1 service will receive Ghost’s short-lived signed member identity token over an encrypted connection and use it to authenticate your library. The token contains your member email; our reader database will use a secret-keyed identifier rather than store your email or name. Reading positions and bookmarks will be retained for up to one year after their last update. Cloudflare processes service requests on our behalf; its infrastructure may process data outside Hong Kong. This feature does not store copies of guides or payment-card details in the reader database.
Optional reading and listening measurement will remain off unless you enable it in My library. If enabled, we will record the guides you finish and days you read or listen to understand returning use. Those events are retained for 90 days. Turning the option off removes your stored usage events. Saving progress works independently of that choice.
Optional cancellation feedback uses a fixed list of reasons and is retained for 90 days; sending feedback does not cancel a subscription. Payment processing remains with Ghost and Stripe. When billing reporting is connected, verified renewal and cancellation event counts, without customer contact or card details, will be retained in the reader service for one year. You can request further assistance at hello@sinochapter.com.