Privacy Policy

We collect only what we need to publish your testimony and run the service, we keep it with care, and we never sell your data to anyone.

I. Who We Are

Real Encounters operates the website at signsfromheaven.online and its Spanish and French subdomains. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, with whom we share it, and what rights you have regarding it.

II. What We Collect

We collect only the information necessary to operate the service:

• Submission information that you provide when you submit a testimony: first name, country, age, email address, optional WhatsApp number, and the content of your story (text, audio recording, video recording, or uploaded files);
• Order information when you purchase a plan: your email address and billing details as required by our payment processor. We do not store your credit card number or security code — these are handled exclusively by Stripe;
• Automatic technical information when you visit the site: a daily-salted hash of your IP address (not the IP itself), user-agent string, the page path, referrer, timestamp, and a session identifier kept in your browser's sessionStorage (expires when you close the tab);
• Communications you send us by email in reply to our messages.

III. How We Use It

We use your information for the following purposes:

• Editorial review, editing, translation, and publication of the Real Encounters books, as described in our Terms of Service;
• Contacting you about the status of your submission and delivering ebooks and other plan benefits;
• Processing payments through our payment processor;
• Producing aggregated, non-identifying analytics to understand how the site is used (country, visited pages, referrers) so we can improve it;
• Preventing fraud, abuse, and spam, and enforcing our Terms of Service;
• Complying with legal obligations (tax records, judicial orders, LGPD/GDPR requests).

IV. Third Parties Who Process Your Data

To operate the service, we rely on a limited number of carefully selected providers, each engaged under appropriate data-protection terms. These include:

• A payment processor that handles card transactions (currently Stripe — you will see its name at checkout);
• A cloud database provider where submission records are stored;
• A hosting provider that runs the servers where media files are kept and from which transactional email is sent;
• Professional editors and translators who work on the books under a confidentiality obligation.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information with any other party, for marketing or for any other purpose.

V. Where Your Data Is Stored

Submission records and media files are stored on reputable cloud and hosting infrastructure selected for reliability and appropriate security controls. Payments are processed on the payment processor's own infrastructure. All connections to our services use industry-standard encryption (HTTPS / TLS) in transit.

VI. How Long We Keep It

We keep submission records, including the content of your story, indefinitely for possible inclusion in current and future editions, subject to the removal rights described below and in the Terms of Service. Payment records are retained as required by tax and accounting law in Brazil (currently five years for tax, seven years for other accounting records). Analytics data is retained in aggregated form only and does not identify you individually.

VII. Your Rights

You have the following rights regarding your personal information, in alignment with the Brazilian General Data Protection Law (LGPD) and the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

• Access — request a copy of the personal information we hold about you;
• Correction — ask us to correct inaccurate data;
• Deletion — before publication, request deletion of your Submission and personal information with no restrictions; after publication, we will remove your Submission from reprints, future editions, and derivative works (we cannot recall copies already distributed);
• Portability — receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format;
• Withdrawal of consent — withdraw your consent to future use (implies removal from future reprints and editions);
• Objection — object to specific processing based on your particular situation;
• Complaint — lodge a complaint with the Brazilian data protection authority (Autoridade Nacional de Proteção de Dados) or with the data protection authority of your country of residence.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at contact@signsfromheaven.online. We will respond within fifteen (15) business days.

VIII. Children

Our service is not directed to children under thirteen (13) and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under thirteen. Persons aged thirteen to seventeen may submit only with the consent of a parent or legal guardian.

IX. Cookies & Tracking

We do not use cookies. We use a small sessionStorage entry in your browser to assign a session identifier to aggregated analytics; this entry is automatically cleared when you close the tab. We do not track you across other websites and we do not use advertising or social-media trackers.

X. Security

We protect your information with industry-standard encryption in transit, restricted administrative access, and reasonable operational safeguards. No system is perfectly secure; in the event of a confirmed data breach affecting your personal information, we will notify you and the relevant authorities within seventy-two (72) hours, as required by LGPD.

XI. International Data Transfers

If you are located outside the countries where our providers operate, your data may be transferred to and processed there. These transfers are performed under appropriate safeguards to protect your rights under applicable law.

XII. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "Effective" date at the top reflects the current version. Material changes will be announced by email to users for whom we hold an email address.

XIII. Contact

Questions about this Privacy Policy or about your personal information should be sent to contact@signsfromheaven.online.