Privacy Policy
Last updated: October 12, 2026
This policy explains what personal information Marginalia (the "Service") collects, how it's used, who processes it, how long it's kept and what rights you have. The Service is run by Jason Wang, who is the controller of your personal information and can be reached at [email protected].
In short
- We don't store the text you paste or the rewrites. When you rewrite, your text is sent to our model provider for processing and the result goes straight back to your browser.
- We keep only what's needed to run your account, charge for rewrites and prevent abuse: your email, word balance, activity, orders and the word count of each rewrite.
- We don't use advertising or analytics cookies, and we don't sell your personal information.
1. What we collect
Account information
- Your email address. To stop one inbox from opening several accounts, we also keep a normalized form of it (lower case, without anything after a "+", and for Gmail addresses without dots).
- If you sign in with Google, the account identifier and name Google gives us.
- Your interface language, word balance, and when your account was created and last updated.
- A keyed hash of the network address you signed up from, used only to limit how many gifts one network can claim. The hash is computed with a key kept only on our server and can't be turned back into the address.
Sign-in information
- Sign-in codes are stored only as hashes. They work for 10 minutes and are deleted after 24 hours.
- Your signed-in state is a random token in a cookie. The server stores only a hash of the token; it expires after 30 days and is deleted as soon as you sign out.
Words and payments
- The word ledger: the type of each change (gift, rewrite, refund, top-up, payment refund and so on), the amount, the balance after it and the time.
- Orders: the word pack, amount, currency, status and time, plus the checkout and order identifiers Creem gives us.
- Card and other payment details are handled directly by Creem; we never receive them.
Rewrite records
- For each rewrite: the word counts of the original and the result, the model used, the model tokens used, whether it succeeded, and the time. We use these to count usage, work out costs and fix problems. They contain no text.
Kept to prevent abuse
- Addresses that have received the new-account gift, as a keyed hash of the normalized address (made with the same server key, so it can't be used to look up an email). It stays after an account is deleted, so the same address can't claim the gift again.
- The identifiers of payment notifications we've already processed, so a payment is never credited twice.
Kept only on your own device
- Your last 10 rewrites, including the text and the results, are saved only in your browser's local storage (localStorage), where we can't see them. You can clear them at any time under History, or by clearing your browser data.
- While you're away signing in with Google or paying, any text you haven't submitted is kept in your browser tab's session storage (sessionStorage) and removed when you come back.
Service logs
- We don't keep access logs. The service's own logs record only start-up messages and errors, never your text or visitors' IP addresses, and are kept for 14 days.
- The site is delivered through Cloudflare, which processes visitors' IP addresses and request information for security; see section 3.
2. Why we use it and our legal bases
| Purpose | Legal basis (where laws such as the GDPR apply) |
|---|---|
| Creating and running your account, signing you in | Performing our contract with you |
| Rewriting text, charging and returning words | Performing our contract with you |
| Handling purchases, refunds and chargebacks | Performing our contract; meeting legal obligations for accounting and tax |
| Preventing repeated gift claims, bulk sign-ups, abuse and attacks | Our legitimate interest in protecting the Service and other users |
| Counting usage, working out costs and fixing problems | Our legitimate interest in running and improving the Service |
| Answering your questions | Performing our contract, or our legitimate interest |
We don't make automated decisions about you or build profiles, and we don't use your text to train models.
3. Who we share it with
We share only what each provider needs to do its job:
| Provider | What for | Information involved | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alibaba Cloud Model Studio | Rewriting text | The text you submit (sent only during a rewrite; we don't store it) | Singapore |
| Creem | Payments, tax, receipts and refunds (Creem is the merchant of record and handles payment information independently) | Your email, order details and what you enter at checkout | See Creem's privacy policy |
| Resend | Sending sign-in code emails | Your email address | United States |
| Sign-in with Google (only if you choose it) | Google account identifier, email and name | United States | |
| Cloudflare | Delivering and protecting the site: every visit reaches our server through Cloudflare's encrypted tunnel, including the text you submit for a rewrite (passed through, not stored) | IP address, request content, browser signals | Worldwide |
| Cloudflare Turnstile | Human verification against bulk sign-ups | IP address and browser signals | Worldwide |
Each provider handles information under its own privacy policy. We don't sell or rent your personal information. Where the law requires it, or to protect our or others' legal rights, we may provide necessary information to the competent authorities.
4. International transfers
The site and its database run on the operator's own computer in Singapore, not with a third-party cloud host, and some providers are in the United States and elsewhere, so your information may be processed outside the country or region where you live. We choose providers with reasonable safeguards and, where the law requires, use protections such as standard contractual clauses.
5. How long we keep it
| Information | How long |
|---|---|
| Account information, word ledger and rewrite records | While your account exists; deleted when you delete your account |
| Sign-in sessions | 30 days, or until you sign out |
| Sign-in codes | Expire after 10 minutes; deleted after 24 hours |
| Orders | Detached from your account when you delete it, and kept for 7 years for accounting and tax |
| Hashes of addresses that received the gift | Kept indefinitely, to prevent repeat claims |
| Service logs (no text or IP addresses) | 14 days |
| Database backups | Overwritten after 30 days |
6. Your rights
Depending on the law where you live, you may have the right to access and get a copy of your information, correct it, delete it, restrict or object to some uses, and receive it in a commonly used format.
- Deletion: choose "Delete account" on the account page. Your account, sessions, word ledger and rewrite records are deleted immediately. Orders are kept as described above but are no longer linked to you.
- Access, correction, export and other requests: email [email protected]. We'll reply within 30 days and may ask you to confirm your identity.
- You also have the right to complain to the data protection authority where you live.
7. Cookies
We use only these essential cookies, and no advertising or analytics cookies:
| Name | Purpose | Lifetime |
|---|---|---|
| mg_session | Keeps you signed in | 30 days |
| mg_oauth | Security check while signing in with Google | 10 minutes |
| mg_locale | Remembers the interface language you chose | 1 year |
When human verification is turned on, Cloudflare Turnstile may set its own cookies or use similar technologies for its security check.
8. Security
We take reasonable technical measures to protect your information: HTTPS throughout, sign-in tokens and codes stored only as hashes, collecting only what's needed, and a server that opens no ports to the internet and is reached only through Cloudflare's encrypted tunnel. No system is perfectly secure, though. If a security incident affects your rights, we'll notify you promptly as the law requires.
9. Children
The Service isn't meant for anyone under 16. If you believe we've collected information about a minor without a guardian's consent, contact us and we'll delete it.
10. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy. We'll announce material changes on the site or by email before they take effect.
11. Contact
For questions about this policy or your personal information, email [email protected].