Plain Dharma is a free reading site and app, dedicated to the public domain. We try to keep things simple and to ask for as little as possible — but the site does use a few ordinary services to run, and if you choose to, you can create an account to sync your highlights and notes. This page explains, plainly, what we collect, when, and why. We do not sell your data.
Analytics
The website uses Google Analytics to understand, in aggregate, how the site is used — which pages people read, where visitors came from, an approximate location derived from your IP address, and basic device and browser information. To do this, Google Analytics sets cookies and uses identifiers in your browser. This data helps us see what's working and what to improve. It is handled under Google's privacy policy. We may add similar product-analytics tools in the future (for example, Mixpanel) for the same purpose; if we do, this page will say so.
Accounts and sign-in
You can read everything without an account. An account is entirely optional, and only exists to sync your highlights and notes (“Margin Notes”) across your devices. Sign-in is passwordless: you enter your email address and we send you a magic link to click. We store your email address to identify your account. Sign-in and the data below are provided by Supabase, our hosting and authentication provider, under Supabase's privacy policy.
Highlights and notes
When you are signed in, the highlights and notes you make while reading are saved to our database (Supabase) and linked to your account so they sync across your devices. What we store for each one: the passage you highlighted and a little surrounding text, the note you wrote (if any), the highlight color, and the times it was created and changed. Your notes are private to you. When you are not signed in, your highlights and notes stay only in your browser (in local storage) and are never sent to us.
Sharing
If you share a passage, you share a link to the public reading page along with the quoted passage — by copying the link, copying the passage, or using your device's share sheet. Sharing never publishes your private notes, and the other person needs no account to read what you shared.
Newsletter
If you subscribe on the home page, we use the email address you submit to send you a welcome message and the occasional update — no more than a handful a year. The email is delivered through Resend, our email provider. We do not keep a contact list or mailing-list database: your signup simply sends those emails. Your address is used only to write to you, and is never sold or shared.
Contact form
If you use the form on the Contribute page, the name, email, and message you submit are emailed to the site owner through Resend so they can read it and reply. The message is not stored in any database.
Donations
Donations on the download page are handled by Stripe. Your payment details go directly to Stripe and are governed by Stripe's privacy policy. Plain Dharma never sees your card number. Stripe creates a customer record for the donation so we can recognize repeat donors in our dashboard.
Cookies and local storage
Besides any highlights and notes you haven't synced, the site uses your browser's local storage to remember your choices — your light/dark theme and reading preferences — so the page looks the way you left it. Google Analytics also sets cookies, as described above. We don't use cookies for advertising.
The mobile app
The app reads the same content from plaindharma.com — the text, illustrations, and audio are streamed from the site. If you choose to download readings for offline listening, those files are stored only on your own device and are never uploaded anywhere.
Data we share
We do not sell your data. To run the service we rely on a few trusted providers, which process data only on our behalf: Google Analytics (usage analytics), Supabase (accounts and the storage of your synced highlights and notes), Resend (sending the newsletter and contact-form emails), and Stripe (donation payments). Each is named, with a policy link, in the relevant section above.
Children
Plain Dharma is suitable for all ages and does not knowingly collect any information from children.
Your choices
You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time using the link in any email, and you can sign out of your account whenever you like. To delete your account, your synced highlights and notes, an email you've sent us, or for any privacy question, reach us through the Contribute page.
Changes
We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, this page will reflect the current version and the date above will change.
Like everything on Plain Dharma, this page is released under CC0 / public domain.