Privacy Policy | Liberty Electro

Effective Date: November 9, 2025

Plain-English summary

At Liberty Electro LLC, your privacy is part of your freedom. We collect only the information we need to run memberships, process awards, and operate the shop — for example your name, email, and mailing address for checks. We never sell your data. You can ask us to delete your data at any time. Stories remain your intellectual property; we only get a license to publish and promote them. Read the full policy below for details.

1. Who we are

Liberty Electro LLC (“we,” “our,” or “us”) operates https://libertyelectro.com, an independent digital magazine and creative community. This policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal information. For privacy inquiries, email contact@libertyelectro.com.

2. What personal data we collect

Membership accounts

When you register for a free or paid membership we collect your name, email, username, and password. For paid tiers (Contributor, Benefactor, Diehard) we also collect billing information (billing address, phone) to process payments. We may store the last four digits and expiry of your card for reference; full card numbers are handled by Stripe and are not stored on our servers.

Story submissions

When you submit a story, essay, comic, or other creative work we collect your submission content plus contact details (name, email). This enables review, publication, and (if selected) award payment.

Shop purchases

Our shop (T-shirts and merchandise) is powered by WooCommerce. For orders we collect name, email, billing/shipping address, phone number, and order details to fulfill and ship purchases.

Technical & behavioral data

We collect IP addresses, browser and device information, referral sources, and basic usage data (page views, session length) via Independent Analytics and server logs. We use cookies to manage login sessions, cart contents, and user preferences.

3. How we use your information

We use your data to:

Create and manage membership accounts
Publish, promote, and pay for selected submissions
Process and fulfill shop orders
Process payments and prevent fraud
Respond to support requests and inquiries
Comply with legal and tax obligations
Improve site performance and user experience

4. Payments and financial data

Payments are processed securely by Stripe. Stripe receives the payment information necessary to process transactions; Liberty Electro does not store full credit card numbers. For story awards, we currently pay contributors by mailed check from our U.S. office, or, where available, through secure third-party payment services. If you are an international recipient, third-party payment options (e.g., PayPal, Wise) may be used at our discretion to facilitate payment.

5. Cookies, analytics & performance

We use cookies to manage sessions, remember logged-in users, and keep cart contents. We use Independent Analytics for privacy-focused, anonymized site analytics—no personally identifying information is stored in those reports.

To improve load times and reliability we use LiteSpeed Cache and may use QUIC.cloud for temporary caching. Cache files are temporary and may store copies of pages; these files are not accessed by third parties except as needed for technical support. See QUIC.cloud Privacy Policy for details.

6. Who we share data with

We only share data with trusted service providers who help operate the site and deliver services:

Stripe — payment processing (see Stripe Privacy Policy).
Paid Memberships Pro — membership management and billing.
WooCommerce — shop and order management.
WooCommerce Tax — tax calculation and reporting.
ChemiCloud — hosting and email services.
Independent Analytics — anonymized analytics.
LiteSpeed Cache / QUIC.cloud — caching & performance.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data to marketing lists or advertisers.

7. Data retention

We retain personal data only as long as necessary to provide services and comply with legal obligations. Typical retention periods include:

Order and transaction records: up to 7 years (tax and accounting)
Membership accounts: retained while active
Contact form entries: up to 6 months
Submission records: retained for editorial and award purposes
Analytics: stored in aggregated, non-identifiable form

8. Who has access to your data

Authorized site administrators, account managers, and shop managers may access user and order information to fulfill orders, process refunds, and provide support. Access is granted only on a need-to-know basis.

9. Data transfers & international visitors

Your information may be processed and stored in the United States and by third-party service providers located worldwide. If you are located in the EU or UK, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place for transfers (standard contractual clauses, or reliance on processors that provide adequate protections). By using our services, you consent to the transfer of information to the U.S. as described here.

10. Your rights (GDPR & other rights)

If you are an EU/UK resident, you have rights under data protection laws, including the right to access, correct, delete, restrict processing, and portability of your personal data. You also have the right to withdraw consent where we rely on it, and to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority.

California residents also have rights under the CCPA / CPRA, including the right to request disclosure of categories of personal information collected and the right to request deletion of personal information (with certain exceptions).

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at contact@libertyelectro.com. Please include a description of your request and any relevant account information so we can respond promptly.

11. How we protect your data

We use SSL/TLS encryption for data in transit and secure hosting for data at rest. Payment processing is handled by PCI-compliant providers such as Stripe. Administrative access is limited and protected by strong passwords. While we take reasonable measures to protect data, no online system is completely risk-free.

12. Data breach procedures

In the unlikely event of a data breach, we will notify affected users and relevant authorities as required by law and take steps to secure our systems. If you believe your data has been compromised, contact us immediately at contact@libertyelectro.com.

13. Children’s privacy

Liberty Electro is not directed to children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from minors. If you believe a child has provided personal information, please contact us and we will take steps to remove it.

14. Cookies & cookie policy

We use cookies for sessions, cart persistence, and basic functionality. If you wish to manage cookies, you can change your browser settings to refuse cookies, although parts of the site may not function correctly. For plugin-specific cookies (membership, WooCommerce), refer to the plugin settings and documentation.

15. WooCommerce Tax & other plugins

We use WooCommerce and WooCommerce Tax to manage orders and calculate tax. Using these extensions may involve sharing order and location data with external tax services to compute accurate tax rates. We also use LiteSpeed Cache / QUIC.cloud for performance and Independent Analytics for anonymous statistics.

16. Shop (T-shirts & merchandise)

When you buy merchandise from the Liberty Electro shop we collect shipping and billing details to fulfill orders. We may share limited order data with shipping partners if necessary to deliver products. Order data is retained for tax and accounting purposes.

17. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted here with an updated effective date. Continued use of the site after changes indicates you accept the revised policy.

18. Contact

If you have questions or wish to exercise your rights, email us at contact@libertyelectro.com. We try to respond to privacy requests promptly and in accordance with applicable law.

Liberty Electro LLC — Independent digital magazine