Lantern & Spine is operated as an independent book club founded by Ulysess Ortiz. The public contact is contact@ulysessortiz.com.
Visitors and guided reading. The original guided-cycle room progress and challenge checklists use local browser storage so a visitor can return on the same device without creating an account. That local guided progress is separate from the Society account system and is not transmitted as account data by those guided-progress controls.
Society accounts. Adults who create a Chair use email/password authentication provided through Firebase Authentication. Society data may be stored in Google Firebase/Firestore so it can persist across visits. Depending on what a member chooses to use, this can include display name, profile fields, an optional profile portrait uploaded by the member, visibility settings, reading cabinet entries, reviews and ratings, recommendations, Lantern Index tags, Afterglows, Lantern Notes, Circles and Circle membership, Reading Room messages and reactions, reading-challenge state and completions, public Wall activity the member chooses to publish, reports, blocks, mutes, and private journal entries. Profile portraits are cropped and compressed in the member’s browser before the resulting image data is saved with the Society profile; the portrait follows that profile’s visibility setting.
House Librarian and Reading Shadow. Member recommendations, encouragement, challenges, and the private Reading Shadow may be generated from the member’s own Society activity, such as Cabinet status, ratings, tags, and recent reading signals. These are automated reading suggestions and patterns, not factual judgments about the member. The Reading Shadow remains private unless a future sharing control is explicitly chosen.
Public, member, and private choices. Public contributions may be visible to visitors. Member-visible contributions are intended for signed-in members. Private information is limited to the member and authorized moderation or system access where the feature requires it. A private journal entry is not a public post. Members should not place sensitive information into public fields.
Forms and hosting. Netlify may process site forms and technical logs. Firebase/Google processes authentication and Society database requests. External newsletter, retailer, event, or payment destinations operate under their own policies when used. Lantern & Spine does not collect raw payment-card information through the Society.
Young readers. Lantern & Spine does not offer child accounts as part of the Young Readers Circle. Younger-reader journeys are designed for adult-guided use, and account creation and communications are intended for adults.
Access, correction, or deletion. Members can edit supported Chair fields directly. For broader access, correction, or deletion requests, email contact@ulysessortiz.com with the subject “Lantern & Spine Privacy Request.” Identity may be reasonably verified before information is disclosed or deleted.
Effective: August 27, 2026.