What we keep, and why
Reading to Ruth is run by Tara Button. We keep only what we need to run a family's player, we never sell it or use it for advertising, and we delete it when you ask.
Who we are
Reading to Ruth (a Fairly Told venture) is run by Tara Button in the UK, who is responsible for your information. Questions, or a request to see or delete what we hold: hello@readingtoruth.com.
What we keep
- About the person who pays: name, email address, and a record of what was bought. Card details are held by our payment provider, Stripe; we never see the full card number.
- About the listener: a first name, the books on their shelf, where they are in each book, and when they have been listening (the listening diary the family can see), plus their screen and voice settings.
- About the family: the names and email addresses of family members who add books or messages, so each one says who it is from and so we can send the weekly update.
- What the family sends: voice messages, text pasted in to be read aloud, notes that go with a gift, and any audio files you upload.
- Book orders: the title, the price and who asked for it, so we can buy the book on your behalf and put it on the shelf.
Why we keep it
To provide the service you paid for: running the player and the family page, delivering books and messages, sending your links, receipts and the weekly update, and answering your emails. That is our lawful basis: we need it to carry out our agreement with you. Where a listener's sight, hearing or memory is involved, we use that only to set the player up in the way the family asks.
Who helps us run it
| Service | What it does for us |
|---|---|
| Stripe | Takes payments and stores cards. |
| Cloudflare | Hosts the website and the player. |
| Google (Workspace) | Stores each family's shelf, settings and listening diary, and sends our emails. |
| Supabase | Stores audio: books, voice messages and readings. |
| ElevenLabs | Turns pasted text and book announcements into speech. |
| Anthropic | Helps write the opening of the weekly family update from that week's listening. |
| Libro.fm | The bookshop we buy audiobooks from on your behalf. |
Each handles your information only to do that job for us. Some of them store data outside the UK, under the safeguards UK law requires.
How it is protected
Each family's player and family page live at private web addresses that are not published or listed anywhere, and the family page also needs your PIN. Voice messages and readings are kept for your listener alone. There are no advertisements and no tracking cookies on this site.
The player and family page remember a few things on the device itself, such as the place in each book and your PIN, so you don't have to enter it every time. Nothing on this site follows you elsewhere on the internet.
How long we keep it
For as long as the family uses Reading to Ruth. When you stop, or when the listener dies, tell us: we send the family the voice messages and any books they bought, then delete the rest. Payment records are kept for six years because the law requires it.
Your rights
You can ask to see what we hold, correct it, have it deleted, or take a copy with you. Email hello@readingtoruth.com and we'll reply within a month, usually much sooner. If you're unhappy with how we've handled your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.
Last updated 5 October 2026.