Last Updated: February 5, 2026
Privacy Policy
Writing Prizes (“we,” “us,” or “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information when you use our website, subscribe to our Writing Competition Alerts service, or purchase digital products.
Information We Collect
We collect the following types of information:
Information You Provide:
- Email address – Required for subscription service and digital product delivery
- Name – Collected during subscription signup and product purchases
- Payment information – Processed entirely by PayPal; we do not store or have access to your credit card details
Information Automatically Collected:
- Usage data – We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our website, including pages viewed, time spent on site, and navigation patterns
- Technical data – IP address, browser type, device type, and operating system
- Cookies – Our website uses cookies to improve functionality and analyze site traffic (see Cookies section below)
How We Use Your Information
We use your personal information for the following purposes:
To Provide Our Services:
- Send monthly Writing Competition Alerts to active subscribers
- Deliver purchased digital products (templates, guides, tools)
- Process payments through PayPal
- Respond to customer support requests
To Improve Our Services:
- Analyze website usage and visitor behavior through Google Analytics
- Improve our competition curation and content quality
- Troubleshoot technical issues
Legal Compliance:
- Comply with applicable laws and regulations
- Maintain records for accounting and tax purposes
- Respond to legal requests or prevent fraud
We do not:
- Sell your personal information to third parties
- Share your data with advertisers or marketers
- Use your information for purposes not listed in this policy
How We Share Your Information
We share your information only with trusted service providers necessary to operate our business:
Brevo (Email Service Provider):
- Stores subscriber email addresses and names
- Sends our monthly competition alert emails
- Servers located in the European Union (France, Germany, Belgium)
- GDPR-compliant and ISO 27001:2013 certified
PayPal (Payment Processor):
- Processes all subscription and product payments
- We do not store or access your payment card information
- Handles subscription billing and cancellations
Google Analytics:
- Analyzes website traffic and user behavior
- Data is anonymized and aggregated
These service providers are contractually obligated to protect your data and may only use it to provide services to Writing Prizes.
Cookies
Our website uses cookies to enhance your browsing experience and analyze site performance. Cookies are small text files stored on your device.
Types of cookies we use:
- Essential cookies – Required for basic website functionality
- Analytics cookies – Google Analytics tracks how visitors use our site to help us improve it
You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect website functionality. Most browsers accept cookies automatically, but you can usually modify your browser settings to decline cookies if you prefer.
Data Retention
Active Subscribers: Your information is retained for as long as your subscription remains active.
Cancelled Subscriptions: After you cancel, we retain your email address and subscription history for up to 90 days to handle any billing disputes or support requests, then permanently delete your information from our systems.
Digital Product Purchases: Purchase records are retained for accounting, tax compliance, and customer support purposes in accordance with applicable laws (typically 7 years for financial records).
Inactive Accounts: If you have not engaged with our services (opened emails, made purchases, or contacted us) for 12 months, we may delete your information.
Your Privacy Rights
You have the following rights regarding your personal information:
Right to Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
Right to Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to Deletion: Request deletion of your personal information. We will comply unless we have a legitimate reason to retain it (such as unresolved billing issues or legal obligations).
Right to Object: Object to how we process your data.
Right to Data Portability: Request your data in a portable format to transfer to another service.
Right to Withdraw Consent: Unsubscribe from emails or cancel your subscription at any time.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at [email protected]. We will respond within 30 days.
For EU Residents: Under GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), you have additional protections. If you are unsatisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.
For California Residents: Under CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act), you have the right to know what personal information we collect, request deletion, and opt out of data sales. We do not sell personal information.
Data Security
We take reasonable measures to protect your personal information:
- Encryption: Our website uses HTTPS/SSL encryption via Cloudflare
- Secure servers: Data is stored on secure servers with restricted access
- Payment security: All payment processing is handled by PayPal, a PCI DSS compliant payment processor
- EU-based email servers: Brevo stores subscriber data on encrypted servers in the European Union
Despite these measures, no internet transmission is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Email Delivery and Spam Filters
Writing Prizes is not responsible if our emails are filtered, blocked, or delivered to your spam folder by your email provider. To ensure you receive our competition alerts:
- Add [email protected] to your email contacts
- Whitelist the domain writingprizes.com
- Check your spam, junk, and promotions folders regularly
If you are not receiving our emails after subscribing, contact us immediately so we can assist you.
Children’s Privacy
Our services are intended for users 18 years of age and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If we discover that we have inadvertently collected information from a minor, we will delete it immediately. If you believe we have collected information from someone under 18, please contact us at [email protected].
Third-Party Links
Our website may contain links to third-party websites (such as competition submission platforms, literary journals, or writing resources). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these external sites. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing any personal information.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, services, or legal requirements. When we make significant changes, we will notify subscribers via email and update the “Last Updated” date at the top of this page.
Your continued use of our services after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy. We encourage you to review this page periodically.
Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, want to exercise your privacy rights, or need to contact us about your personal information:
Email: [email protected]
Response Time: Within 30 days for privacy-related requests
Writing Prizes
2847 NW Thurman Street, Suite 12
Portland, OR 97210
(503) 555-0147