Privacy Policy
Last updated October 16, 2026
The short version: your scripts are yours. We keep what we need to run EnsembleWriter and to see which of our ads and pages bring people in. We do not sell personal information and we do not show ads inside the app. Email support@ensemblewriter.com and we will send you a copy of your data or delete it.
This policy explains how EnsembleWriter ("we", "us") handles personal information when you use EnsembleWriter at ensemblewriter.com (the "Service"). It forms part of our Terms of Service.
What we collect
When you write without an account
Scripts you write while signed out are stored in your own browser (local storage). They reach our servers only when you use a feature that needs them, such as exporting a PDF, importing a PDF or Read Aloud, and we do not keep them after that request. The exception is a share link: creating one stores a copy of that script on our servers so the link works. When you create an account, the scripts in your browser are saved to it; when you sign in to an existing account, we ask first.
When you create an account
- Account details: your email address, an optional display name, and your password, which we store only as a one-way hash.
- Your content: scripts, shot lists, beat boards, character notes and the settings that go with them.
- Collaboration: the people you invite, and who has access to which project.
- How you found us: the page you first landed on, the site that referred
you, and campaign tags or ad click identifiers in that first link (for example
utm_source, or the IDs advertising platforms add to ad clicks). - Account activity: the day you last used your account, and a record of which product emails we have sent to your account, so we do not send the same one twice.
- Plan and billing status: your plan, when you upgraded, and the customer and subscription IDs our payment processor gives us. We never see or store your card number.
- School plans: which school plan you belong to, and for school administrators the school's name, email domains and member list.
- Writing record: for each script, which parts were typed in the editor, pasted, imported or reached us some other way, and how many minutes each person spent editing it. To work this out we keep a second copy of the script's text alongside the record.
Automatically
- A sign-in cookie that keeps you signed in for up to 30 days.
- A visitor record: on your first visit, our site stores a random visitor ID in your browser and sends us that ID with the page you landed on, the referring site and any campaign tags. We do not store your IP address or browser details with it.
- Analytics and ad measurement from Google Analytics, Google Ads and other advertising platforms (see "Cookies and similar technologies" below).
- Server logs kept by our hosting provider, which record IP addresses, browser type and requests for security and troubleshooting.
How we use it
- To run the Service: store and sync your scripts, let collaborators edit together, export files, and keep your account secure.
- To send the emails the Service needs, such as invitations, password resets and school verification.
- To send occasional product news. Every one of these emails has an unsubscribe link.
- To understand which pages, features and ads bring people to EnsembleWriter, so we can improve them and decide where to advertise.
- To process payments for Pro and school plans.
- To prevent abuse and comply with the law.
We do not read your scripts except when you ask us for support with a specific project, or when we must to investigate abuse or comply with the law.
Who we share it with
We share personal information only with the service providers below, who handle it on our behalf to run the Service, and as the law requires. We do not sell personal information.
| Provider | What for | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Google Cloud | Hosting | Everything the Service stores and serves |
| Our database provider | Storing accounts and content | Account data and content |
| Stripe | Payments | Your email and payment details, which you enter on Stripe's page |
| Amazon Web Services (SES) | Sending email | Your email address and the message |
| A text and speech processing provider | Read Aloud voices; drafting a first pass of a shot list when you ask for one; cleaning up text from an imported PDF | The script text needed for that request |
| Google Analytics and Google Ads | Usage analytics and ad measurement | Pages viewed, events such as sign-up, a pseudonymous account ID, and device and browser data |
| Other advertising platforms | Ad measurement | Page views, the first time you start a script, and sign-up and purchase events, with device and browser data |
Other people see what you choose to share with them. Collaborators see your name, email and cursor in projects you share. Anyone with a share link can read that script, unless you add a password. When a script's writing record badge is on, its PDF exports and share page link to a public certificate page. That page shows the script's title, page count, the share of typed, pasted and imported text, total active writing time and how many people wrote it. It never shows names, email addresses or the script's text, and it is not listed in search engines. A school plan's administrators see members' names and email addresses, but not their scripts.
Cookies and similar technologies
| Name | Purpose | Type |
|---|---|---|
session | Keeps you signed in | Necessary |
share_auth_* | Remembers that you entered a share link's password | Necessary |
home_seen | Skips the welcome page on later visits | Functional |
| Local storage | Your signed-out scripts, editor preferences and offline copies | Necessary |
ensemble-visitor (local storage) | The visitor record described above | Analytics |
_ga, _ga_*, _gcl_* | Google Analytics and Google Ads | Analytics and advertising |
| Advertising platform cookies | Measure which of our ads bring visitors | Advertising |
You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings, and opt out of Google Analytics with Google's browser add-on. EnsembleWriter keeps working without the analytics and advertising ones.
How long we keep it
- Your account and content: until you delete them or ask us to delete your account. Deleting a project removes it from your account right away, along with its writing record and certificates. To have everything else attached to it erased as well, such as its shot list and beat board, email us.
- Sign-in sessions: 30 days. Password reset links: 1 hour. Invitations: 7 days.
- Billing records: as long as tax and accounting law requires.
- Server logs: according to our hosting provider's retention period, typically 30 days.
Your choices and rights
You can edit or delete your projects in the app, and change your email or password in Account Settings. To get a copy of your data, correct it, or delete your account and everything in it, email support@ensemblewriter.com from the address on the account. We will answer within 30 days.
Depending on where you live, you may have further rights. In the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and some US states, these include the right to access, correct, delete or port your data, and to object to or restrict how we use it. Our legal bases under the GDPR are: performing our contract with you (running the Service), our legitimate interests (security, improving the Service, measuring our marketing), and your consent where we ask for it. You can also complain to your local data protection authority.
Students and children
EnsembleWriter is for people 13 and older. Students under 13 may use it only through a school plan. In that case the school authorizes the account on the parents' behalf, as the US Children's Online Privacy Protection Act allows for services used for school, and the school is responsible for any consent its rules or local law require.
For school plan accounts we collect only what the Service needs (name, school email address and the student's work), use it only to provide EnsembleWriter to the school, and never sell it. We do not show ads in the Service. The analytics and ad measurement tags described in this policy currently load for every visitor, including school plan members. A school administrator can remove a student at any time, and a parent or the school can ask us to delete a student's account by emailing support@ensemblewriter.com.
If we learn that we have collected information from a child under 13 without a school's authorization, we will delete it.
Security
Connections to EnsembleWriter are encrypted (HTTPS), passwords are stored as hashes, and access to production systems is limited to the people who run the Service. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach affects your information, we will tell you as the law requires.
Where your data is processed
EnsembleWriter runs on servers in the United States. If you use it from elsewhere, your information is transferred to and processed in the United States, using safeguards such as the European Commission's standard contractual clauses where our providers offer them.
Changes to this policy
We will post changes here and update the date at the top. If a change is significant, we will also email account holders before it takes effect.
Contact
EnsembleWriter
support@ensemblewriter.com