Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Nextale FZE collects, uses, shares and protects personal information when you use nextale.com, the Nextale apps, Nextale Studio and related services (the "Service"), or when we contact you about publishing on Nextale.

1. Who we are

Nextale FZE is a free zone establishment registered in the Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone, United Arab Emirates, under licence no. 4432313.01, with its registered address at Business Centre, Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates ("Nextale", "we", "us" or "our"). Nextale FZE is the controller of the personal information described in this policy.

For privacy questions or requests, email privacy@nextale.com.

2. Information we collect

2.1 Information you give us.

• Account: email address, password (stored in protected, hashed form) or the details you share when signing in with Apple or Google, display name and profile photo if you add them, and confirmation that you are 18 or older (and your date of birth, if we ask for it).
• Purchases: what you bought and when, price and currency, coin balance and coin use, plan status, transaction IDs, and the billing country and postal code your payment provider shares with us. Card details go directly to Stripe, Apple or Google; we never see full card numbers.
• Activity you choose to share: likes, saves, follows and shares, and comments or other posts where those features are available.
• Communications: messages you send our support or creator teams, survey answers and feedback.
• Waitlist: your email address if you join our launch waitlist, used only to tell you when Nextale launches.
• Referral programs: your referral link, who referred you and the rewards earned.

2.2 Additional information from creators.

• Identity and verification: legal name, date of birth, nationality and address, identity documents and a selfie or liveness check processed by our verification provider, and sanctions screening results. For companies: company details and information about owners and directors.
• Tax: tax residence, tax forms (such as IRS Form W-9 or W-8BEN), tax identification numbers and VAT numbers.
• Payouts: bank or payout account details, earnings and payout history.
• Content and Studio activity: videos, audio, artwork and metadata you submit, the AI tools you disclose, rights documents and releases you provide, review and moderation outcomes, and the images and voices of people who appear in your content.

2.3 Information collected automatically.

• Device and app: device model, operating system, app version, browser type, language and time zone.
• Identifiers: IP address, cookie and device identifiers, push notification tokens, and advertising identifiers (IDFA on iOS, Advertising ID on Android) where you allow them.
• Approximate location: country, region or city derived from your IP address. We don't collect precise GPS location.
• Usage: titles and episodes you view, watch time and progress, searches, clicks, screens viewed, notifications opened, and which ad or link brought you to Nextale.
• Diagnostics: crash reports, performance data and server logs.

2.4 Information from other sources.

• Apple, Google and Stripe: confirmations of purchases, renewals, refunds and chargebacks, and fraud signals.
• Sign-in providers: your name and email address (Apple may provide a private relay address).
• Advertising and attribution partners: which campaign led to your visit or app install, and aggregated campaign results.
• Verification, sanctions and payout providers: verification results and payout status for creators.
• Public sources: to find creators whose work may suit Nextale, we collect publicly available information from public social media profiles and websites: name or handle, profile link, bio, follower counts, public posts and public business contact details. We tell you where we got it when we first contact you, and you can ask us to stop at any time.

3. How we use information

The table shows why we use personal information and, for people in the EU, EEA and UK, the legal basis we rely on.

Where we rely on legitimate interests, you can object, as described in Section 9.

4. Automated processing

We use your viewing activity to recommend titles. We also use automated tools to detect prohibited content, rights matches, fraud and invalid activity, including activity affecting creator earnings. Decisions with significant effects, such as closing an account or withholding a creator's earnings, are reviewed by a person, and you can contest them by contacting us.

5. Cookies, SDKs and advertising

We and our partners use cookies, pixels and software development kits (SDKs) in our website and apps:

• Essential: to sign you in, keep the Service secure, complete purchases and remember your settings.
• Analytics: to understand how the Service is used and improve it.
• Advertising: pixels and SDKs from advertising partners, such as Meta, TikTok and Google, to measure which ads bring people to Nextale and to show ads for Nextale on other platforms.

Where the law requires consent, we ask for it before setting non-essential cookies, and you can change your choice through our cookie banner or your browser settings. On iOS, we ask your permission before using your advertising identifier. On Android, you can reset or opt out of your Advertising ID in your device settings. We treat a Global Privacy Control signal from your browser as a request to opt out of targeted advertising (Section 9.3).

6. How we share information

• Service providers that process information on our behalf and under our instructions, including providers of hosting and databases (such as Supabase), video hosting and delivery (such as Cloudflare), website forms, email delivery, identity verification, creator payouts, content moderation and rights checks, analytics, affiliate tracking and customer support.
• Payment and app store providers (Stripe, Apple and Google), which also process payment information under their own privacy policies.
• Advertising and measurement partners, as described in Section 5.
• Creators, who see aggregated audience statistics, such as views, watch time and countries. We don't give creators your email or payment information.
• Other users, who can see your display name, profile photo and public activity, such as comments.
• Authorities and others for legal and safety reasons: to comply with law or valid legal requests, to report child sexual exploitation to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and other authorities, and to protect the rights and safety of Nextale, our users or others.
• Business transfers: in a merger, acquisition, financing or sale of assets, information may be transferred to the new owner under this policy.
• With your consent or at your direction.

We don't sell personal information for money. Some US state laws treat sharing information with advertising partners through pixels and SDKs as "selling" or "sharing" personal information for targeted advertising. You can opt out as described in Section 9.3.

7. International transfers

Nextale FZE is based in the United Arab Emirates. Our service providers store and process information in the United States, the European Union and other countries, which may have different data protection laws from your own. When we transfer personal information out of the EU, EEA, UK or other regions with transfer rules, we use appropriate safeguards, such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses and the UK International Data Transfer Addendum. You can ask for a copy by emailing privacy@nextale.com.

8. How long we keep information

We keep personal information only as long as we need it for the purposes in this policy:

9. Your rights and choices

9.1 Your rights. Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

• access the personal information we hold about you and get a copy, including in a portable format;
• correct inaccurate information;
• delete your information;
• object to processing based on legitimate interests, and to direct marketing at any time;
• restrict how we use your information;
• withdraw consent at any time, without affecting processing before you withdrew it;
• not be subject to decisions with significant effects based solely on automated processing; and
• complain to the data protection authority where you live or work.

9.2 US state privacy rights. If you live in California or another US state with a consumer privacy law, you may have the right to know what personal information we collect, use and disclose; to access, correct and delete it; to opt out of its "sale" or "sharing" and of targeted advertising; and to limit the use of sensitive personal information. We use sensitive personal information, such as creators' identity documents, payout account details and account login details, only for permitted purposes such as verification, security and payouts. We won't discriminate against you for exercising your rights. If we deny your request, you can appeal by emailing privacy@nextale.com with the subject "Appeal".

9.3 Opting out of targeted advertising, "sale" and "sharing". You can:

• email privacy@nextale.com with the subject "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information";
• turn on Global Privacy Control in your browser, which we treat as an opt-out for that browser;
• decline tracking when the iOS app asks, or turn off ad personalization in your Android settings; and
• turn off advertising cookies in our cookie banner, where shown.

9.4 Marketing. You can unsubscribe from marketing emails using the link in each email, and turn off push notifications in your device or app settings. We'll still send service messages, such as receipts and renewal notices.

9.5 How to make a request. Use the settings in the app where available, or email privacy@nextale.com from the email address on your account. We'll verify your identity before acting on a request. You may use an authorized agent if they provide proof of your authorization. We respond within one month, or within the period the law where you live allows (for example, 45 days in California), and tell you if we need more time. We don't charge for requests unless they are clearly unfounded or excessive.

10. Deleting your account

You can delete your account in your account settings in the app, or by emailing privacy@nextale.com from the email address on your account. Deletion is permanent: your coins, unlocked episodes and viewing history are lost and can't be restored. If you have a plan through Apple or Google, cancel it with them separately. After deletion, we handle your information as described in Section 8.

11. Children

Nextale is for adults aged 18 and over and is not directed at children. We don't knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If we learn that we have, we'll delete it and close the account. If you believe a minor has given us personal information, contact privacy@nextale.com.

12. Security

We use technical and organizational measures to protect personal information, including encryption in transit, access controls and providers that maintain recognized security standards. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure. If a personal data breach affects you, we'll notify you and the relevant authorities where the law requires. Please keep your password safe and don't reuse it on other services.

13. Regional information

13.1 EU, EEA and UK. Nextale FZE is the controller. Section 3 lists our legal bases, Section 7 our transfer safeguards and Section 9 your rights. In the UK, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk). In the EU and EEA, you can complain to the data protection authority in your country.

13.2 California notice at collection. In the last 12 months, we collected the categories of personal information below. Section 2 lists our sources, Section 3 our purposes, Section 6 who we disclose information to and Section 8 how long we keep it.

13.3 United Arab Emirates. As a UAE company, we process personal information in line with the UAE Personal Data Protection Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021) where it applies. You can exercise the rights in Section 9 by contacting us.

14. Third-party services

The Service links to and works with third-party services, such as Apple, Google, Stripe and social media platforms. Their own privacy policies govern how they handle your information.

15. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy. We'll post the new version on this page with a new "Last updated" date. If a change materially affects you, we'll notify you by email or in the app before it takes effect.

16. Contact

Nextale FZE
Business Centre, Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Licence no. 4432313.01

• Privacy questions and requests: privacy@nextale.com
• Legal notices: legal@nextale.com
• General support: play@nextale.com