ArchFic
Legal

Privacy Policy

Last updated 20 October 2026

ArchFic is an independent, fan-made reader for Archive of Our Own (AO3), built by HDFoundry. We are not affiliated with the Organization for Transformative Works (OTW) or AO3. This policy explains how the app handles your information.

The short version

ArchFic works fully without an account: your reading data stays on your device. Signing in is optional and lets your library, follows, reading progress, saved searches, private notes, and settings follow you across devices, and lets us send update notifications. When you sign in, we keep a copy of your own ArchFic data on our servers to sync it back to you. The free tier shows ads; Premium removes them. We don't sell your data, and we never store any AO3 fanwork content. When you connect AO3, you sign in on AO3's own page, so we never see your AO3 password. We also use Firebase services for app operation, analytics, and crash reporting.

Data stored on your device

The following data is kept on your device. If you are signed out, it stays only on your device and is never transmitted to HDFoundry servers. If you sign in, the items marked below are also backed up to our servers (see the next section):

  • App preferences: theme, font size, TTS settings, display language (synced)
  • Reading progress: last chapter, scroll position, and read status per work (synced)
  • Library and collections: works you save and organize into collections (synced)
  • Follows: works and authors you follow (synced)
  • Saved searches: search queries and filters (synced)
  • Private notes: notes and quoted passages attached to works or chapters (synced)
  • Reading activity: reading events and kudos by work ID (synced)
  • Downloads: works saved for offline reading (device only)
  • AO3 session cookies: stored in encrypted storage to keep you signed in to AO3 (device only)
  • Cloudflare bypass cookies: temporary cookies used to pass AO3's security checks (device only)

When you sign in: backup, sync & notifications

Signing in is optional, and it's there for your convenience, not for tracking. If you don't sign in, nothing leaves your device. If you do sign in, we save a copy of your own ArchFic data to your account so it can follow you to a new phone, survive a reinstall, and stay in sync across your devices, and so we can notify you when a work you follow updates. Here's exactly what that copy holds:

  • Your account: a sign-in identifier and basic profile (such as email and display name) from your sign-in provider, plus your AO3 username if you link AO3. We never receive or store your AO3 password.
  • Your own ArchFic data: your library and collections, follows, reading progress and activity, saved and recent searches with filters, private work and chapter notes (including quoted passages), kudos by work ID, and settings. These are kept as references and information you provide so we can sync them across your devices.
  • Push notification token: a device token and related device details used to deliver notifications you enable.
  • Update info for your follows: for works you follow, we keep public details (title, author, fandom, tags, rating, chapter counts) and check AO3 for new chapters so we can send your notification.

That is the purpose of account sync: syncing your own data back to you. We don't sell your data. Advertising services may process device and advertising identifiers and information about ad requests or interactions to serve and measure ads, subject to your consent choices and applicable platform controls.

We never store AO3 fanwork content. ArchFic does not store, host, copy, cache on our servers, or redistribute the text of any fanfiction: chapters always load straight from AO3 to your device. Our servers hold only the metadata above.

You're in control: turn off sync, sign out, or request deletion of your account and server-side data (see Data retention and deletion).

Analytics, app configuration and crash reporting

ArchFic uses Firebase Analytics and Firebase Crashlytics to collect anonymous, aggregated data for internal diagnostics and app improvement. This includes:

  • Device type, OS version, and app version
  • Feature usage and screen views (Analytics)
  • Crash stack traces and error reports (Crashlytics)
  • Performance metrics such as app start time and frame drops

Firebase Remote Config delivers app configuration, and Firebase In-App Messaging can display messages within the app. Firebase Cloud Messaging supports push notifications. These services may process app instance, device, configuration, and messaging delivery information as needed to operate. Google Signals integration is disabled. We do not send your AO3 password to Firebase.

Advertising

The free tier displays ads provided by third-party advertising partners. Premium removes ads. These advertising services and their SDKs may collect or receive device information, IP address, app and ad interaction information, consent status, and an advertising identifier (such as the Android advertising ID) to select, deliver, measure, and prevent fraud in advertising. They process this information under their own privacy policies. We do not use your synced library, notes, searches, or reading history to build advertising profiles.

Where required by law (for example in the EEA and UK), the app asks for your advertising consent and lets you change it later. Your choices affect which ads and related processing are available. Advertising identifiers and controls are also subject to your device and platform settings.

Purchases and subscriptions

ArchFic Premium subscriptions are purchased and billed by Apple through the App Store or Google through Google Play. We do not receive your payment card details. The store and its payment provider process payment; we receive purchase and entitlement status, such as whether Premium is active, to provide the subscription features and remove ads. The stores may provide transaction identifiers and subscription dates for purchase verification and restoration. Manage, cancel, or restore purchases through the relevant store account.

Permissions

  • Internet: required to fetch content from AO3 and, if you sign in, to sync your data
  • Notifications: only if you sign in and enable them, to alert you when a work you follow posts a new chapter

Third-party services

  • Archive of Our Own (ao3.org): all fanfiction content originates here and is loaded directly to your device. See AO3's Terms and Privacy Policy.
  • HDFoundry sync service: if you sign in, stores your account metadata (described above) to enable Backup & Sync and notifications. Hosted by HDFoundry; no AO3 fanwork content is stored.
  • Google Firebase (Authentication, Cloud Messaging, Analytics, Crashlytics, Remote Config, and In-App Messaging): account sign-in, notifications, app configuration and in-app messages, usage analytics, and crash diagnostics. See Google's Privacy Policy.
  • Advertising partners: ad delivery and measurement for the free tier.
  • Apple App Store and Google Play: subscription billing and purchase management. We receive purchase/entitlement status, not payment card details.

Data retention and deletion

Data on your device can be cleared at any time via Settings, then Reset All Settings, or by uninstalling the app. Anonymous analytics and crash data are retained according to Google's data retention policies.

How to delete your account and data

If you have signed in, you can request deletion of your ArchFic account and the data tied to it in the app: Settings, then the account section, then Delete account. You can also email us. Here is what happens:

  • Your request stays pending for 7 days. You can cancel it at any time in the app during that time.
  • If you keep signing in and using the app during those 7 days, the request is cancelled automatically after 7 days and your account and data are kept.
  • If the account stays inactive, the request is approved automatically after 7 days. The ArchFic team may also review and approve or reject a request earlier.
  • Once approved, your account and its server-side data are deleted permanently: library, collections and sync data, notification and device records, and preferences tied to the account.

Data that exists only on your own device stays on the device until you remove it or uninstall the app.

Your rights

If you use ArchFic without signing in, we hold no personal data about you on our servers and you control everything on your device. If you sign in, you can delete your server-side data at any time from Settings or by contacting us. Depending on your location, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or restrict processing of your personal data; we will honor valid requests. For any request related to Firebase data, contact us and we will help submit the appropriate request to Google.

Children's privacy

ArchFic is not directed at children under 13 (or the applicable age of digital consent in your country). We do not knowingly collect data from children. If you believe a child has provided personal information, contact us and we will address it promptly.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The latest version is always available in the app under Settings, then Privacy Policy and on this page, with an updated date above.

Contact

Questions about this privacy policy? Email [email protected].