The short version. This website doesn’t track you, show adverts or sell anything about you. If you email me, I use your message to reply. If you test Begin, your writing stays on your own device unless you choose to save a story to your account. If you test Untold Paths, your progress stays on your own device. You can download or delete everything at any time, and you can always ask me to do it for you.
Who I am
This website, scottgough.com, the Begin writing app and the Untold Paths storybooks are run by me, Scott Gough, in Swindon, England. I’m responsible for the personal information described here (in data protection terms, I’m the “controller”). You can contact me about anything in this policy at hello@scottgough.com.
Visiting this website
There are no analytics, tracking cookies or adverts on this site. I don’t build a picture of who visits or what they read.
The site is hosted by Cloudflare. To deliver pages to you and protect the site from attacks, Cloudflare processes technical information such as your IP address, the type of browser you use and the pages you request. Cloudflare does this on my behalf, under its data processing terms.
The fonts on this site are loaded from Google Fonts, so your browser connects to Google, which receives your IP address. Google’s privacy policy covers that.
Links to other websites, such as Amazon, Goodreads or social media, take you to sites with their own privacy policies. Nothing is shared with them unless you click through.
Emailing me
If you email me, including to ask for a place on the Begin or Untold Paths beta, I’ll receive your email address, your name if you include it and whatever you write. I use it only to reply to you and, for the beta, to give you access. My reason for using it (my “lawful basis”) is my legitimate interest in replying to people who contact me. I keep emails for as long as we’re in touch, and delete them within two years of our last contact unless you ask me to delete them sooner.
The Begin writing app
Begin is a beta app that helps people get started on writing a book. While it’s in testing, it’s only open to people I’ve invited. It’s intended for adults, so please don’t use it if you’re under 18.
Signing in
Begin is protected by a sign-in service called Cloudflare Access. I add your email address to the list of testers, and when you sign in, Cloudflare emails you a one-time code. Cloudflare keeps a record of sign-ins (your email address, the time and your IP address) so the service can stay secure. I do this because I have a legitimate interest in keeping the beta private and secure. If you’d like to stop testing, tell me and I’ll remove your email address from the list.
Your writing, on your device
By default, everything you write in Begin is kept in your web browser’s storage, on your own device. It isn’t sent to me or anyone else. Save files you download are yours to keep wherever you like. Clearing your browser’s data, or not using Begin in Safari for around a week, can remove what’s stored there, which is why Begin suggests saving a file now and then.
If you install Begin as an app, or use it offline, your device also keeps a copy of the app itself (its page, icons and fonts) so it can open without a connection. That copy contains none of your writing or personal information.
Saving a story to your account (optional)
You can choose to save a story to your Begin account so you can carry on from any device. Nothing is saved to your account unless you switch this on for that story and agree to it. If you do:
- What’s stored: the story itself (your answers, title, house rules, decisions, open items, key moments and chapter plan), the email address you signed in with, when it was created and last saved, and when you gave your consent.
- Why: so you can reach your story from any device and don’t lose it if your browser’s storage is cleared.
- Lawful basis: your consent. Because writing about your life can include sensitive details, such as your health or religious beliefs, I ask for your explicit consent before anything is saved. You can withdraw it at any time by stopping saving or deleting your stories.
- Where it’s kept: in a database run by Cloudflare on my behalf.
- Who can see it: only you can see your stories in Begin, and each request is checked against your sign-in, so nobody else can reach them through the app. As the person running Begin, I can technically access the stored data. I won’t read your writing unless you ask me to help with a problem, or the law requires me to.
- How long it’s kept: until you delete it. If the beta ever closes, I’ll give you at least 30 days’ notice to download your stories, and then delete everything that’s left.
People you write about
Your writing may include details about other people, such as family, friends or colleagues. Begin stores those details only as part of your story, and I don’t use them for anything. Before you share or publish your writing, it’s up to you to make sure the people in it are happy to be included. Begin’s open items will remind you as you go.
Reporting a problem
If you use “Report a problem” or “Report an issue” in Begin, it opens an email in your own email app for you to send to me. It includes the question you’re reporting and some technical details, such as which version of Begin you’re using. Your previous answer is only included if you tick the box to add it. I use reports only to improve Begin, and they’re kept like any other email.
The version of Begin that runs on Claude
There’s also a version of Begin that runs inside Claude, the AI assistant made by Anthropic, which uses AI to come up with questions. If you use that version, your answers are sent to Anthropic under your own Claude account to create the questions, and Anthropic’s privacy policy applies to that. The version on scottgough.com doesn’t use AI, and your answers aren’t sent anywhere to create questions.
The Untold Paths storybooks
Untold Paths is a set of interactive storybooks, where you make choices and roll dice to decide what happens. While it’s in testing, it’s only open to people I’ve invited. If you’re under 13, a parent or guardian needs to ask for the place on your behalf.
Signing in
Untold Paths uses the same sign-in as Begin: I add your email address to the list of testers, and Cloudflare emails you a one-time code when you sign in. Cloudflare keeps a record of sign-ins (your email address, the time and your IP address) to keep the service secure.
Your progress, on your device
The names you choose, your progress through each story and your settings (such as music and reading aloud) are kept in your web browser’s storage, on your own device. None of it is sent to me or anyone else, and there’s no account to save it to. Clearing your browser’s data removes it.
If you install Untold Paths as an app, or use it offline, your device also keeps a copy of the storybooks themselves (the pages, pictures, icons and fonts) so they open without a connection. That copy contains none of your progress or personal information.
The music is created on your device as you play. If you turn on reading aloud, it uses the voices built into your device or browser. Most of these work entirely on your device, but some browsers use an online voice service, in which case the text being read is sent to that browser’s provider, such as Google or Microsoft, under their own privacy policies.
If you turn on hands-free, the storybooks listen through your microphone after each page so you can choose by speaking. This uses your browser’s built-in speech recognition, and most browsers send what you say to their provider, such as Google or Apple, to understand it. Nothing you say is sent to me or stored by the storybooks, and the microphone is only used while the app shows that it’s listening. You can turn hands-free off at any time.
Who else handles your information
I use a small number of services to run this site and Begin. Each one only handles what it needs to.
- Cloudflare, for hosting, the sign-in for Begin and Untold Paths, and storing Begin stories saved to accounts.
- Google, for the fonts on this site.
- My email provider, for emails you send me.
Some of these companies may process information outside the UK. Where they do, they’re required to protect it with safeguards approved under UK data protection law, such as the UK’s International Data Transfer Addendum. I never sell your information or use it for advertising.
Keeping it secure
Everything travels over an encrypted connection. Begin requires you to sign in, and every request to your account is checked against your sign-in before anything is read, saved or deleted. Only you and I, as the person running Begin, can access your stories.
Your rights
You have the right to:
- see the personal information I hold about you and get a copy of it
- correct anything that’s wrong
- have it deleted, which is your “right to be forgotten”
- restrict or object to how I use it
- take it with you in a format you can use elsewhere
- withdraw your consent at any time, without affecting anything that was done before you withdrew it
I don’t make any automated decisions about you.
In Begin, you can exercise most of these rights yourself, straight away. On the welcome screen, Download everything in my account gives you a copy of all your saved stories, and Delete everything from my account permanently deletes them. You can also delete a single story from your list of saved stories, or stop saving a story to your account from the My work menu.
For anything else, or if you’d rather I did it for you, email hello@scottgough.com. It’s free, and I’ll reply within one month. To protect your information, I may ask you to write from the email address you use for Begin, or confirm who you are in another way.
Complaints
If you’re unhappy with how I’ve handled your information, please tell me first and I’ll do my best to put it right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK’s data protection regulator, at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.
Changes to this policy
If I change how I handle your information, I’ll update this page and the date at the top. If a change affects stories saved to your account, I’ll let you know before it takes effect.