Last updated: July 5, 2026
I take your privacy as seriously as I take my stories. You’re on an adults-only site reading things you may not want the world to know you read — I get it. Here’s exactly what I collect, why, and what I’ll never do with it.
This site, readsterling.com, is operated by an India-registered sole proprietorship, publishing as S. H. Sterling (“I”, “me”, “Sterling”). Questions: sterling@readsterling.com.
What I collect
What you give me directly: – Name or alias and email — when you register an account, join my newsletter (Sterling Letters), submit a form (Drop Me A Line, Finish With Me, Tell Me What You Want, complaints), or RSVP to a Sterling Date. An alias is fine. I’d rather you be comfortable than identifiable. – Your messages — form submissions and anything you write in the on-site chat during Sterling Dates. – Age confirmation — when you register, I record that you confirmed being 18 or older, and when.
What’s collected automatically: – Basic technical data (IP address, browser type, pages visited) through server logs, security, caching, and analytics tools. – Cookies — see the Cookies Policy for the full picture and your choices.
What I deliberately do not collect: payment details (books are sold on Amazon, and other retailers — their checkout, their data), government IDs, or anything I don’t need.
Why I collect it
- To run your account and show you member-only content
- To send you Sterling Letters — only if you signed up, and every email has an unsubscribe link that works
- To reply when you write to me
- To run Sterling Dates (RSVPs, reminders, the chat itself)
- To keep the site working, fast, and secure
- To meet legal obligations, including maintaining age-verification records for an adults-only site
Who handles your data for me
I use a small set of service providers to run this site. Your data may be processed by:
- Hostinger — website and email hosting
- Kit (ConvertKit) — newsletter delivery (US-based)
- Luma (lu.ma) — Sterling Dates RSVPs and event reminders (US-based)
- Google — analytics and site performance tools
- Meta/Instagram — if you interact with the Instagram feed embedded on the site
Some of these providers are outside India. Where data leaves India, it goes only to providers with standard contractual and security protections, as permitted under Indian law.
What I never do: sell your data, rent your data, or share your reading habits with anyone. No exceptions, no asterisks.
How long I keep it
- Account data: as long as your account exists
- Newsletter data: until you unsubscribe
- Form submissions: up to 24 months, then deleted
- Age-consent records: as long as your account exists, as a legal record
- Chat messages: Sterling Dates conversations are periodically cleared; I don’t maintain permanent public archives
Your rights
Under India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (and equivalent laws where you live), you can:
- Ask what data I hold about you
- Ask me to correct or delete it
- Withdraw consent (unsubscribe, delete your account)
- Complain — first to me from this page or by writing to sterling@readsterling.com, and if I disappoint you, to the Data Protection Board of India
To delete your account and data, email sterling@readsterling.com from the registered address. I’ll confirm within 7 days.
Adults only
This site is for adults 18 and over (or the age of majority where you live). I don’t knowingly collect data from minors. If you believe a minor has registered, tell me immediately and the account and its data will be deleted.
Changes
If I change this policy, the date at the top changes and material changes get a mention in Sterling Letters. Continued use of the site means you accept the current version.
Now go read something indecent. Your secret’s safe with me.
— S. H. Sterling