Legal Information & Policies

Pristine Verse is Sri Lanka's premier book reading community mobile application, built to connect readers, celebrate literature, and promote a culture of reading across Sri Lanka. The platform supports both Sinhala and English languages and serves readers of all ages and backgrounds.

Pristine Verse is developed and operated by Vishwa Kelum, a sole proprietor based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The application is distributed under the brand name "Pristine Verse" and is internally developed as "Readora."

Platform Services

• Book reading community with social features (clubs, wisdom feed, reviews)
• Book marketplace for buying, selling, and swapping books
• GK/IQ Brain Training with bilingual question bank
• Scholar Hub for educational material sharing
• Reading progress tracking, diary, and goal-setting tools
• Beyond Books media tracker (movies, dramas)
• Gamification features including leaderboards, achievements, and reading pets
• Premium subscription tiers (Pro Reader and Scholar Plus)

Contact Information

Information We Collect

We collect the following types of information when you use Pristine Verse:

Account & Profile Information:

• Full name and display name
• Email address
• Gender (used for gender-specific community safety features — cannot be changed after registration)
• Profile photo (uploaded to Cloudinary secure storage)
• Bio, location (city-level only), reading personality
• Date of account creation

Reading & Activity Data:

• Books added to your library and reading status
• Reading sessions (pages read, time spent reading)
• Personal reading diary entries and mood tags
• Reading goals and life targets
• Reviews, wisdom posts, and comments you create
• Books you have swapped, sold, or purchased
• Brain Training (GK/IQ) question attempts and scores
• Beyond Books media tracking entries

Community & Social Data:

• Club memberships and interactions
• Messages sent through in-app messaging
• Followers and following relationships
• Posts you have liked, saved, or reposted
• Notifications and preferences

Device & Technical Data:

• Device type and operating system version
• Expo push notification tokens
• App usage patterns and feature interactions
• IP address (for security purposes only)
• Crash reports and error logs

Payment Data:

• Subscription tier and billing cycle
• Payment transaction status and dates
• We do NOT store card numbers, CVV, or bank account details. All payment processing is handled securely by PayHere (Sri Lanka's licensed payment gateway).

How We Use Your Information

• To create and manage your Pristine Verse account
• To provide personalized book recommendations and content
• To operate community features (clubs, feeds, marketplace)
• To track reading progress and award XP, achievements, and badges
• To process subscription payments and manage your tier benefits
• To send push notifications about activity relevant to you
• To enforce community safety (gender-specific spaces, content moderation)
• To improve the app through analytics and usage data
• To respond to your support requests
• To prevent fraud and ensure platform security

Third-Party Services We Use

• PayHere — Payment processing for subscriptions and marketplace transactions. PayHere is licensed by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
• Cloudinary — Secure cloud storage for profile photos, book cover images, and shop banners.
• Google Books API — Book search, metadata, and cover images.
• TMDB (The Movie Database) — Movie and drama information for the Beyond Books feature. Attribution: "This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB."
• Groq AI — AI-powered features including book recommendations, content moderation assistance, and Scholar Hub tools.
• HuggingFace — Multilingual content moderation to ensure safe community interactions.
• Project Gutenberg (Gutendex) — Free public domain book access.
• Expo (Push Notifications) — Mobile push notification delivery.
• Railway — Secure cloud backend hosting (Colombo-region servers).
• Cloudflare — DNS management and DDoS protection.

We do not sell your personal data to any third party. Data shared with third-party services is strictly limited to what is necessary for that service to function.

Data Storage & Security

• All data is stored on Railway-managed PostgreSQL servers with encryption at rest
• All data transmission uses HTTPS/TLS encryption
• Passwords are hashed using bcrypt (never stored in plain text)
• Authentication uses JWT tokens with 7-day expiry
• Admin access requires IP whitelisting and two-factor authentication
• Profile photos and media are stored on Cloudinary with secure access controls

Your Privacy Rights

• Access: Request a copy of all personal data we hold about you
• Correction: Update or correct your personal information via app settings
• Deletion: Delete your account at any time from Settings → Delete Account. All personal data will be permanently removed within 30 days.
• Data Export: Request an export of your reading data, diary entries, and activity history
• Opt-out: Disable push notifications at any time from device settings
• Privacy Controls: Control who can follow you, see your library, and interact with your posts through in-app privacy settings

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at support@pristineverse.com.

Children's Privacy

Pristine Verse is a reading community platform open to users of all ages. We are committed to providing a safe environment for younger readers. Users of all ages are welcome, and the platform actively moderates content to ensure it is appropriate for all age groups.

For marketplace transactions and subscription purchases, users who are minors are advised to seek parental guidance before making any purchases.

We do not knowingly collect sensitive personal data from children without parental awareness. If you believe a child's data has been collected inappropriately, please contact us at support@pristineverse.com.

Gender Data & Community Safety

Gender information is collected at registration and is used solely to maintain safety in gender-specific community spaces (e.g., ladies-only reading clubs). This field is locked after registration as a safety measure and can only be changed through an official support request with a valid reason. Gender data is never used for advertising purposes.

Data Retention

• Active account data: retained while your account is active
• Deleted account data: permanently removed within 30 days
• Payment transaction records: retained for 7 years (Sri Lankan financial regulation compliance)
• Content moderation logs: retained for 12 months

Policy Updates

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make significant changes, we will notify you through an in-app notification and update the effective date at the top of this page. Continued use of the app after notification constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Acceptance of Terms

By downloading, installing, or using the Pristine Verse mobile application, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use the application.

Eligibility

Pristine Verse is available to users of all ages. Users of all backgrounds, ages, and reading levels are welcome to join our community. For marketplace transactions and subscription purchases, users who are minors should have parental guidance.

User Account Responsibilities

• You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account credentials
• You must provide accurate information during registration
• You may not create multiple accounts to abuse free trial benefits
• You may not share your account with other users
• You must notify us immediately if you suspect unauthorized access to your account
• Your gender cannot be changed after registration (community safety policy)

Acceptable Use

You agree to use Pristine Verse only for lawful purposes. You must NOT:

• Post hate speech, discriminatory content, or content that promotes violence
• Harass, bully, threaten, or intimidate other users
• Share sexually explicit content of any kind
• Impersonate another user, public figure, or Pristine Verse staff
• Post spam, misleading information, or fraudulent content
• Attempt to hack, reverse-engineer, or disrupt the platform
• List books you do not own or intend to sell on the marketplace
• Create fake reviews, ratings, or engage in review manipulation
• Use the platform for any commercial purpose other than permitted marketplace selling
• Scrape, copy, or redistribute platform data without written permission

User-Generated Content

You retain ownership of content you create on Pristine Verse (reviews, wisdom posts, diary entries, etc.). By posting content, you grant Pristine Verse a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to display, distribute, and promote your content within the platform.

You are solely responsible for the accuracy and legality of content you post. Pristine Verse reserves the right to remove any content that violates these terms.

Intellectual Property

• The Pristine Verse app, logo, brand name, and all original content are owned by the developer
• Book metadata, covers, and descriptions are sourced from Google Books API and respective publishers
• Movie/drama data is sourced from TMDB under their terms of use
• You may not copy, reproduce, or distribute any part of the Pristine Verse platform without permission

Account Suspension & Termination

Pristine Verse reserves the right to suspend or permanently terminate accounts that:

• Violate these Terms of Service or Community Guidelines
• Receive 3 or more valid community strikes
• Engage in fraudulent marketplace activity
• Attempt to abuse the free trial or founding member discount system
• Engage in any illegal activity through the platform

Suspended accounts may appeal the decision by contacting support@pristineverse.com within 14 days.

Platform Availability

We strive to maintain 99% uptime but cannot guarantee uninterrupted service. We are not liable for temporary outages due to maintenance, technical issues, or circumstances beyond our control. We will notify users of planned maintenance through in-app notifications.

Limitation of Liability

Pristine Verse is provided "as is." To the maximum extent permitted by Sri Lankan law, we are not liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of the platform. Our total liability shall not exceed the amount you paid for subscription services in the preceding 3 months.

Governing Law

These Terms of Service are governed by the laws of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. Any disputes shall be resolved in the courts of Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Changes to Terms

We may modify these terms at any time. We will notify users through in-app notifications at least 7 days before significant changes take effect. Continued use of the app after the effective date constitutes acceptance.

Available Plans

Plan	Monthly	Yearly	Features
🆓 Free Reader	LKR 0	LKR 0	Core community features
⭐ Pro Reader	LKR 199	LKR 1,990	Enhanced Brain Training + Analytics
🎓 Scholar Plus	LKR 299	LKR 2,990	Maximum limits + Scholar Hub

Free Trial

• New users are eligible for a 3-day free Pro trial — one time only, never repeatable
• The trial provides full Pro Reader features
• No payment information is required to start the trial
• At the end of the trial, the account automatically reverts to the Free tier
• Scholar Plus does not have a free trial
• Users who abuse multiple accounts to obtain multiple trials will have accounts suspended

Billing & Payment

• All payments are processed securely through PayHere, Sri Lanka's licensed payment gateway
• Accepted payment methods: Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, eZCash, mCash, bank transfers (as supported by PayHere)
• Subscriptions are manually renewed — there is no automatic recurring charge
• You will receive renewal reminders 5 days, 2 days, and 1 day before expiry
• All prices are in Sri Lankan Rupees (LKR) inclusive of any applicable taxes
• Yearly plans are charged as a single upfront payment

Subscription Expiry & Grace Period

• Upon expiry, a 2-day grace period is provided with full access and a warning banner
• After the grace period, the account reverts to Free tier limits
• Your data is never deleted. All diary entries, goals, reviews, and activity are permanently preserved regardless of subscription status
• You can resubscribe at any time to regain premium access to your existing data

Promotional Discounts

• Pristine Verse may offer promotional discount codes on special occasions (e.g., Avurudu, Vesak, New Year)
• Promotional codes cannot be combined with the Founding Reader discount
• Promotional discounts are time-limited and subject to availability
• Codes are entered at the payment screen before checkout

Cancellation

• You may cancel your subscription at any time from Settings → Subscription
• Access to premium features continues until the end of the paid period
• Cancellation does not trigger a refund for the current billing period
• Founding Reader discount is permanently associated with your account — it is retained even if you cancel and resubscribe

Mid-Cycle Plan Changes

• Upgrading from monthly to yearly or changing tiers takes effect at the start of the next billing cycle
• Mid-cycle upgrades are not supported to maintain billing simplicity
• Contact support@pristineverse.com if you need assistance with plan changes

Digital Subscription Refunds

However, we will consider refund requests in the following exceptional circumstances:

• You were charged twice for the same subscription period (billing error)
• Payment was deducted but subscription was not activated (technical failure)
• You did not receive the service you paid for due to a platform outage exceeding 72 consecutive hours

Refund requests must be submitted within 7 days of the payment date to support@pristineverse.com with your payment reference number.

Marketplace Physical Book Refunds

For physical book transactions in the marketplace:

• Disputes between buyers and sellers are mediated by Pristine Verse upon request
• If a book's condition does not match the listing description, the buyer may raise a dispute within 48 hours of delivery confirmation
• Pristine Verse will review evidence provided by both parties and make a fair determination
• For Cash on Delivery (COD) orders, the buyer may refuse delivery if the book condition is clearly misrepresented
• For PayHere-paid marketplace orders, refunds are processed back to the original payment method within 7-14 business days if a dispute is resolved in the buyer's favour

Marketplace Boost (LKR 99 / 7 Days)

• Boost listing payments are strictly non-refundable
• Boost activates immediately upon payment confirmation
• If a boost fails to activate due to a technical error, a full credit or re-boost will be provided

How to Request a Refund

Email support@pristineverse.com with:

• Your registered email address
• PayHere payment reference number
• Description of the issue
• Any supporting screenshots or evidence

We aim to respond to all refund requests within 3 business days.

Seller Eligibility

• Any registered Pristine Verse user may apply to become a seller
• Personal sellers must provide a valid NIC number and two contact numbers for verification
• Business sellers must provide shop details and may optionally provide a Business Registration number for an "Official Business" badge
• Sellers are responsible for the accuracy of all listing information

Listing Rules

• Only physical books may be listed for sale or swap
• Book condition must be accurately described (New / Like New / Good / Fair)
• Listing photos must be actual photos of the book being sold
• Sellers may not list books they do not physically possess
• Bundles may contain 2–10 books per listing
• Discounts are optional but must be between 5% and 70% of the original price
• Sellers may boost listings for LKR 99 per 7 days (maximum 3 simultaneous boosts)

Transaction Rules

• Payment options: Cash on Delivery (COD) or PayHere online payment
• Offer negotiations are limited to 2 rounds maximum
• Offers expire after 24 hours if not responded to
• Delivery must be confirmed by both buyer and seller
• If the buyer does not confirm delivery within 7 days of the seller marking shipped, delivery is auto-confirmed
• Sellers must fulfill all orders placed before any subscription or listing suspension
• 3 unfulfilled orders result in permanent seller account suspension

Prohibited Items

• Pirated, counterfeit, or illegally reproduced books
• Books promoting hate speech, terrorism, or illegal activities
• Non-book items (unless explicitly permitted in future updates)
• Digital files or e-books (physical books only)

Seller Ratings

Sellers are rated by buyers across four dimensions: Packaging Quality, Delivery Speed, Condition Match, and Communication. Ratings directly impact trust badges and seller visibility. Attempts to manipulate ratings through fake transactions will result in permanent suspension.

Our Community Values

Pristine Verse is built on the belief that reading brings people together. We are committed to maintaining a welcoming, respectful, and intellectually enriching community for all Sri Lankan readers — regardless of language, age, background, or reading preference.

Content Standards

• Be respectful: Disagree with ideas, not people. Personal attacks are not tolerated
• Be honest: Write genuine reviews. Do not post fake or incentivized reviews
• Be constructive: Criticism should be helpful and specific, not malicious
• Be inclusive: Welcome readers of all backgrounds, languages, and reading levels
• Be safe: Do not share personal contact information publicly

Prohibited Content

• Hate speech targeting race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexuality, or disability
• Sexually explicit or pornographic content of any kind
• Graphic violence or content glorifying self-harm
• Political propaganda or divisive political content
• Spam, chain messages, or repetitive promotional content
• Content that infringes copyright (sharing full book texts, etc.)
• Misinformation presented as fact

Reporting & Moderation

• All users can report content or users they believe violate these guidelines
• Reports are reviewed by our moderation system and admin team
• Pristine Verse uses AI-assisted content moderation with human review for serious cases
• Moderation decisions can be appealed by contacting support@pristineverse.com
• Repeated violations result in strikes (3 strikes = permanent suspension)

Gender-Specific Community Spaces

Pristine Verse supports gender-specific reading clubs and spaces as a community safety feature. Access to these spaces is determined by the gender provided at registration. This feature exists to protect the safety and comfort of all community members, particularly in spaces designed for women readers.

Brain Training & Trivia Integrity

• Do not use external tools or assistance during Brain Training sessions
• Do not exploit bugs or vulnerabilities to gain unfair Brain Score advantages
• Leaderboard positions must reflect genuine performance
• Accounts found cheating will be permanently banned from leaderboards

How to Reach Us

We are committed to responding to all queries within 48 hours on business days.

Specific Queries

• Payment issues: support@pristineverse.com — include PayHere reference number
• Account issues: support@pristineverse.com — include registered email
• Marketplace disputes: support@pristineverse.com — include order details and evidence
• Privacy requests: support@pristineverse.com — include "Privacy Request" in subject
• Appeals: support@pristineverse.com — include "Appeal" in subject line
• Author verification: support@pristineverse.com — include "Author Verification" in subject

Feedback & Suggestions

Pristine Verse is built by Sri Lankan readers, for Sri Lankan readers. We genuinely value every piece of feedback. If you have suggestions for new features, improvements, or concerns about the platform, please reach out to us. Your feedback directly shapes the future of Pristine Verse.