Platform Policies

These Terms of Service govern your access to and use of Sọna Books, operated by Sọna Books Ltd (RC 9458090), a company incorporated in Nigeria. By creating an account, browsing, or purchasing on the platform, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the platform.

1.1 Scope and Where the Service Is Offered

Sọna Books is operated from Nigeria and is primarily intended for users in jurisdictions where its use is lawful. If you access the platform from outside Nigeria, you do so on your own initiative and are responsible for ensuring that your use complies with local laws. We may, at our discretion, restrict availability of specific titles, features, or payment options by region.

1.2 Eligibility

• You must be at least 13 years old to create an account.
• Users under 18 may not purchase or access books marked 18+. Age is determined from the date of birth you provide at signup. We may apply age-gating and may request additional confirmation where necessary.
• Users under 13 will be blocked from account creation.
• By registering, you confirm that the information you provide, including your date of birth, is accurate.

1.3 Your Account

• You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials.
• You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account.
• You must notify us immediately at support [at] readsona.com if you suspect unauthorised access.
• We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, engage in fraudulent activity, or access the platform through unauthorised means.
• For reader accounts, violations may result in a strike. A first strike may lead to suspension; repeated violations can lead to permanent bans. We retain evidence for enforcement actions and will provide notice by email.

1.4 Purchases and Access to Content

• When you purchase a book on Sọna Books, you are purchasing a non-exclusive, non-transferable, personal licence to read that book through the platform.
• Book prices are set in Nigerian Naira. Reader-facing checkout totals may include payment processing gross-up based on your account country, selected payment method, and, where relevant, the issuing region of your card.
• Your purchase gives you personal access to read the book through your Sọna Books account.
• Purchased books are accessible only through authorised Sọna Books reading environments linked to your account. Files cannot be downloaded, exported, or printed.
• Purchased books are protected with account-bound DRM and invisible watermarking tied to the buyer account. Attempting to extract or bypass these protections is a violation of these Terms and may constitute an offence under Nigerian law.
• We reserve the right to revoke access to content later found to infringe copyright, violate these Terms, or contravene Nigerian law, with notice provided where reasonably possible.

1.5 Prohibited Conduct

You agree not to:

• Upload, share, or distribute pirated, plagiarised, or unauthorised copies of any content.
• Attempt to extract, copy, or reverse-engineer any ebook file from the platform.
• Use automated tools, bots, or scrapers to access the platform or its content.
• Impersonate any person or entity, or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity.
• Use the platform for any unlawful purpose or in violation of applicable law.
• Upload, transmit, or distribute content that is defamatory, obscene, threatening, or violates the rights of any third party.

1.6 Imported Books

Sọna Books allows you to import personal EPUB files on supported mobile devices. Importing is not available on web. You may store imported files on your device or in your own linked iCloud Drive or Google Drive storage. Cloud-stored imports may be available across supported devices connected to the same account and storage provider. Imported files are not uploaded to Sọna Books servers. The app processes an imported file on your device to display and manage it, including extracting available book metadata and cover artwork. By importing a file, you confirm that you have the legal right to possess and read it. Sọna Books does not apply its store DRM to files you import.

1.7 Intellectual Property

All platform software, design, branding, and original content created by Sọna Books is our property and protected by applicable intellectual property laws. Book content belongs to the respective authors and publishers. Nothing in these Terms transfers any IP rights to you.

1.8 Platform Role and User Content

Sọna Books operates as a platform and distributor. For titles uploaded by third-party authors or publishers, we are not the original publisher or author of that work. The author or publisher remains responsible for rights clearance, the accuracy of age ratings and metadata, and the legality of the work in the jurisdictions where it is offered. We apply review and moderation to submitted titles, but that review does not transfer responsibility for the underlying content to us.

1.9 Content Ratings and Parental Responsibility

Book age ratings (for example 13+ or 18+) are informational labels applied by the author or publisher and reviewed by us. Access controls on the platform rely on the date of birth and account information provided at signup. Parents and guardians are responsible for supervising minors’ access to any device or account from which the platform can be reached.

1.10 Service Communications

Operational messages, including purchase confirmations, payout notifications, security alerts, book approval status, policy updates, and account-critical announcements, are considered part of the service and cannot be disabled while your account is active. We may use email and in-app or push notifications for service-related communication. If we introduce SMS, we may also use that channel. Marketing messages by email, SMS, push notification, or any similar channel remain opt-in and can be unsubscribed from at any time.

1.11 Availability and Changes

• We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the platform at any time, with or without notice.
• We will make reasonable efforts to notify users of material changes to these Terms via email or platform announcement.
• Continued use of the platform after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

1.12 Account Closure and Post-Termination Access

• Readers: if you request deletion of your account, your library access is removed and your personal data is handled as described in the Privacy Policy. Where an account is suspended for fraud or abuse, access to purchased content may be removed pending investigation, and may be restored at our discretion if an appeal succeeds.
• Authors and publishers: on closure or termination, your books are removed from the storefront within 30 days. Settled earnings are paid out once your balance meets the minimum and any outstanding fees are cleared. Buyers who have already purchased your titles retain their reading licence, so book files and associated metadata required to serve those licences may be retained.
• Some records, including transaction history, tax records, and evidence relating to fraud, safety, or legal matters, may be retained after closure as required by applicable law.

1.13 Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by Nigerian law, Sọna Books and its officers, employees, and affiliates are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of the platform. Our total liability in any matter arising from your use shall not exceed the greater of (a) the total amount you have paid to us in the twelve months preceding the claim or (b) NGN 10,000. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits any liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.

Send to Kindle depends on Amazon's independent personal-document service. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Sọna is not responsible for Amazon's availability, processing delays, rejection, conversion, device placement, account security, retention, or later handling of a document after Sọna has successfully submitted it to the Kindle address supplied by the reviewer. Sọna does not warrant that a Kindle copy will remain encrypted, access-controlled, or incapable of copying or redistribution after it leaves Sọna Reader. This paragraph does not exclude liability caused by Sọna's fraud, wilful misconduct, negligence where liability cannot lawfully be excluded, breach of applicable data-protection duties, or any mandatory consumer right.

1.14 Governing Law and Disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Any dispute shall first be subject to good-faith negotiation. If unresolved, disputes shall be submitted to the jurisdiction of the courts of Lagos State, Nigeria.

1.15 Contact

For legal matters: legal [at] readsona.com.

This Author Agreement applies to all individuals and entities who register as authors or publishers on Sọna Books. By completing the author signup process and accepting this Agreement, you agree to the terms below.

2.1 Eligibility and Verification

• Seller accounts must complete account verification before books can be published on the storefront.
• eARC-only accounts may run review-copy distribution without payout verification, but they must accept the rights, fraud, and account-responsibility terms before launching campaigns.
• Verification is based on the account and payout details you provide.
• Individual seller account holders must provide their legal name and valid payout details in their own name. This may be a personal bank account or, where supported, a mobile money account.
• Publisher seller accounts must provide valid registered business details and a bank account linked to the business details to get verified on Sọna Publish.
• eARC-only publisher accounts do not need business-bank verification unless they switch to seller mode, but they must provide an official publisher website, use a matching domain email where possible, and pass publisher identity review before launching eARC campaigns.
• We may request additional documentation where review cannot confirm the business details from the information provided.
• You can prepare and save books as drafts while verification is in review, but submission for approval is locked until verification is approved.
• Duplicate payout identities are not allowed. Accounts using the same payout account or payout account name as an existing verified author account may be rejected.
• Duplicate identities are not allowed. Accounts using the same names or bank account details as an existing verified publish account may be rejected.
• Public-facing names, including pen names, publisher names, and imprint names, must not impersonate another person or organisation, mislead readers, or create avoidable confusion with an existing account, pen name, publisher, imprint, or claimed catalogue. We may reject, hold for review, or require changes to names that appear duplicate, confusing, misleading, or unauthorised.
• We reserve the right to reject verification submissions and to request additional supporting information at any time.

2.2 Discounts, Gift Copies, and eARC Credits

• Discounts: authors may schedule temporary price reductions for live books. Discounted pricing is time‑bound and visible on the storefront during the scheduled window.
• Gift copies: authors may grant free, permanent access to a live book for specific recipients. Gift copies are non‑transferable and tied to the recipient’s account.
• eARC credits: authors and publishers may purchase credits and send advance review copies for eligible books. eARC copies are review-copy access, not purchases, and are tied to the recipient’s account. If a recipient does not yet have an account, they receive an invite to join Sọna Reader and the eARC is added to their account after signup.
• Send to Kindle is an optional eARC campaign feature controlled by the author or publisher on the Sọna website. Enabling it does not use a credit. Every Kindle delivery requested by a reviewer uses one additional eARC credit, including delivery of a newer manuscript version. Readers who do not request Kindle delivery create no Kindle charge.
• If a Kindle request is made while the campaign owner has no available eARC credit, the request may wait until a credit becomes available. The reader may continue using their in-app eARC access.
• If Sọna cannot submit the document through its email provider, the eARC credit used for that attempt is returned to the campaign owner's credit balance. This is a credit restoration, not a cash refund. Amazon may still delay or reject a document after submission, including where the reviewer has not correctly approved our sender; that downstream outcome is outside Sọna's control and does not itself establish that the Sọna submission failed.
• Granted eARC access may remain in the recipient’s library as review-copy access unless access must be removed for rights, safety, fraud, or policy reasons. It does not become a store purchase or retail licence.
• We reserve the right to suspend or revoke distribution privileges if abuse or fraud is detected.

2.2a eARC Distribution and Store Listings

• eARC distribution and store buying are separate paths. A reader may request, claim, or read an eARC without purchasing the book.
• Store listings are the retail path for books that readers buy, pre-order, or claim as free store titles. Store listings remain subject to Sọna’s normal metadata, file, pricing, and content approval checks.
• Standalone eARC campaigns can distribute advance review copies without listing the book on the Sọna store.
• Advance review copies are read in the Sọna Reader apps for iOS and Android. Full eARC copies are not available in the web reader and Sọna does not provide downloadable eARC files. Where an author enables Send to Kindle, a reviewer may request a personalised EPUB sent directly to the personal @kindle.com address saved in the private Send to Kindle section of their eARC Reviewer Profile.
• Before requesting Kindle delivery, the reviewer must add [email protected] to Amazon's Approved Personal Document Email List and confirm that step in Sọna. Amazon may reject or delay a personal document if its requirements are not met. Sọna can confirm submission to the saved Kindle address but cannot guarantee or observe when Amazon places the document on a particular device.
• A reviewer may successfully submit each available manuscript version to their Kindle once. When an author or publisher uploads a newer manuscript, claimed reviewers are notified in Sọna and, while Send to Kindle remains enabled, may request that version for the applicable credit. Uploading a replacement does not automatically send an external Kindle file. Each Kindle copy contains a visible advance-review-copy notice naming the recipient and a non-visible random forensic marker. Kindle copies may not be sold, shared, redistributed, uploaded, or used outside the review purpose.
• By enabling Send to Kindle, the author or publisher expressly acknowledges that the delivered file leaves Sọna Reader's account-bound encryption and access controls; that the visible notice and forensic marker support attribution but cannot prevent copying, disclosure, or redistribution; and that enabling the feature is their voluntary campaign-level decision. Sọna does not guarantee recovery, deletion, containment, or prevention of an externally delivered copy after successful submission.
• By saving a Kindle address and requesting delivery, the reviewer confirms that the address belongs to or is controlled by them, that [email protected] has been approved in the correct Amazon account, and that they are responsible for the security of their Amazon account, registered devices, and anyone who can access them. An incorrect address, missing approval, removed approval, Amazon rejection, or device/account configuration error after successful Sọna submission does not create an automatic credit restoration.
• eARC distribution and Discovery are available to authors and publishers in all countries. Selling on the store and receiving payouts require a supported payout country; accounts elsewhere use eARC-only mode to run campaigns and buy credits.
• eARC-only publisher accounts must pass publisher identity review before launching campaigns. This may include an official publisher website, a matching domain email where possible, and extra review when a free email provider is used.
• Reviewers opt in to a reviewer profile to request copies. Review follow-through is recorded as a feedback ratio that authors can see, and review-copy access may be removed for misuse.
• Authors may choose to list an eARC campaign in public Discovery. Discovery is free for 90 days per book. Renewing that book's public Discovery visibility after its window costs 10 eARC credits. Direct invites spend credits when the invite email is sent; Discovery requests spend credits when the author approves the reviewer.
• Unlisting an eARC campaign closes unsolicited public requests but keeps the campaign visible as a read-only listing; active invite links may still be used to claim copies. Archiving closes the campaign to new requests, invitations, and claims while retaining it as a past campaign. Reviewers who already received a copy keep their access and may submit or update feedback, subject to these Terms and any rights, safety, fraud, or policy restrictions. Authors may designate review channels for a campaign, including required channels where that option is offered.
• Turning an eARC into a sellable store book requires a separate store approval step. The finalised manuscript must be uploaded fresh and re-scanned for the store, so the advance review file is never sold as the final book.
• After the Final File Check, scheduled store listings and pre-orders are locked for the final week before release. Major file changes must wait until after launch and may require re-approval.

2.3 Licence to Sọna Books

By uploading a book to the platform, you grant Sọna Books a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to:

• Display, store, and deliver your book to readers who purchase it through the platform.
• Store and deliver eARC copies to recipients who are granted review-copy access through direct invites, Discovery requests, Read Now access, approved reviewer workflows, and optional author-enabled Kindle delivery.
• Personalise an author-enabled Kindle eARC with an advance-copy notice and non-visible random forensic marker, and transmit it only to the reviewer's saved Kindle address through the document-delivery providers needed to fulfil the request.
• Generate and serve a free sample chapter (first chapter only) to prospective readers, if you enable this feature.
• Apply industry‑standard DRM protection keyed to each buyer's account, and invisible per‑buyer markers, to protect your work on the platform.
• Display your name, pen name, author bio, profile photo, and book metadata on the platform and in associated marketing materials.

You retain full copyright to your work at all times. This licence does not prevent you from publishing your work elsewhere. You may withdraw a title from the platform at any time, subject to a 30-day wind-down period for in-progress transactions.

2.4 Royalties and Commission

• You set the sale price for each book in Nigerian Naira.
• You receive 80% of your book’s base price.
• Sọna Books retains 20% of the base price as its platform fee.
• Payment processing gross-up shown to readers is handled separately from the author/platform split and does not increase the author royalty base.
• Example: A book priced at NGN 3,000 means your earnings are NGN 2,400, and the platform fee is NGN 600.

2.4a Re‑Approval

After a book has been approved, you may submit revisions for re‑approval at no charge. Sọna reserves the right to introduce re‑approval fees in the future with advance notice to authors.

2.5 Payouts

• Payouts are issued to your verified payout details once you meet the minimum payout balance.
• You can select your preferred payout schedule in your dashboard, and we align payouts to the schedule you choose.
• Payouts are sent to the payout details you provided. It is your responsibility to keep those details current.
• We are not liable for failed payouts caused by incorrect payout details provided by you.
• Payout history is available in your Earnings dashboard. Failed payouts are flagged and will be retried or followed up by the team.

2.6 VAT and Taxation

• Where tax is applicable by law, required tax may be added to reader payments.
• Applicable tax handling does not reduce your agreed royalty split unless required by law.
• You are responsible for declaring and paying your own income tax on royalties received.
• We provide downloadable CSV exports of your earnings for your own tax records.

2.7 Content Warranties

By uploading content to Sọna Books, you warrant and represent that:

• You are the original author of the work, or you hold all rights necessary to publish it on this platform.
• The content does not infringe any copyright, trademark, trade secret, or other intellectual property rights of any third party.
• The content does not contain plagiarised material.
• The content does not violate any applicable law, including laws relating to obscenity, defamation, privacy, or CSAM (child sexual abuse material).
• The age rating you assign to a book accurately reflects its content.
• If you are a publisher uploading on behalf of an author, you have the contractual right to do so.

2.8 Content Review and Removal

• All uploaded content is subject to review before publication to ensure it meets our quality standards and complies with applicable guidelines.
• We use a combination of automated tools and manual review to assess submitted books for verification, moderation, and content integrity (including incomplete, misleading, or non-compliant submissions).
• We reserve the right to reject any content that violates these policies, without obligation to provide a detailed explanation.
• Content found to violate these policies after publication will be removed immediately. You will be notified where possible.
• Repeated violations, deliberate plagiarism, or uploading harmful content may result in permanent account suspension and withholding of pending earnings. We may also report serious violations to the required authorities.
• All content remains the property of its respective authors and rights holders. Submission to the platform does not transfer ownership.
• Content is processed solely for review and verification purposes in connection with the operation of the platform.

2.9 Copyright and IP Complaints

If you believe content on the platform infringes your copyright or other intellectual property rights, submit a report through the platform's Report function or email copyright [at] readsona.com with:

• A description of the copyrighted or protected work you claim has been infringed.
• A description of where the infringing material is located on the platform, and a link to it.
• Your contact information, including a physical or postal address if available.
• A statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use is not authorised by the copyright or rights owner, its agent, or applicable law.
• A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the rights owner or authorised to act on their behalf.
• Your physical or electronic signature.

Action on receipt. On receipt of a complete complaint, we may remove or disable access to the reported content while we investigate, without that action being an admission of liability. We will notify the uploader where reasonably possible.

Counter-notice. If you are the uploader and you believe content was removed in error, you may send a counter-notice to copyright [at] readsona.com identifying the removed content, the basis on which you believe the removal was mistaken, and your contact details. We may, at our discretion, restore the content if the counter-notice is facially sufficient and there is no legal or policy basis requiring continued removal.

Repeat infringers. Accounts that are the subject of repeated, valid infringement complaints, or that are found to have uploaded unauthorised content on more than one occasion, will have their upload privileges revoked and their accounts may be terminated. Pending earnings tied to infringing titles may be withheld.

Submitting a knowingly false complaint or counter-notice is itself a breach of these Terms and may have legal consequences.

2.9a Follower Data and Mailing List Exports

Readers who follow you agree that Sọna Books may share their name and email address with you. Where you export that data, you become an independent data controller for it and you agree that you will:

• use exported follower data only for legitimate author communications about your books and writing;
• provide a clear and working unsubscribe mechanism in every marketing email you send;
• comply with all applicable email marketing, privacy, and data protection laws in the territories you send to, including the NDPA 2023 where applicable;
• keep follower data secure and delete it when it is no longer needed for that purpose;
• not sell, rent, transfer, or otherwise redistribute follower data to any third party;
• honour any request from a reader to be removed from your list.

Exports are logged. Misuse of follower data is a breach of this agreement and may result in loss of export access, suspension, or termination under section 2.10.

2.10 Account Suspension and Termination

• We may suspend or terminate your author account at any time for material breach of this Agreement.
• On termination for cause (fraud, plagiarism, CSAM), all pending earnings may be withheld pending investigation.
• On voluntary termination by you, settled earnings will be paid out once your balance is cleared and any outstanding fees are paid.
• Books you have published will be removed from the storefront within 30 days of termination. Readers who have already purchased your books retain access.

2.11 Indemnity

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Sọna Books, Sọna Books Ltd, and our officers, employees, contractors, and affiliates from and against any and all claims, demands, suits, proceedings, damages, losses, liabilities, judgments, settlements, fines, penalties, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or related to:

• any content you upload, submit, or distribute through the platform, including any allegation that such content infringes copyright, trademark, trade secret, publicity, privacy, or other rights of any third party;
• any breach or alleged breach of the warranties and representations you give in Section 2.7;
• any inaccurate, misleading, or unlawful metadata, age rating, or attribution you provide;
• your decision to enable Send to Kindle for a campaign, except to the extent a claim is caused by Sọna's own breach of these Terms, unlawful processing, fraud, wilful misconduct, or liability that cannot lawfully be excluded;
• any breach by you of this Agreement, the Terms of Service, or applicable law; and
• any dispute between you and a reader, third-party rights holder, regulator, or other person arising from your use of the platform.

We may, at our discretion, assume the exclusive defence and control of any matter for which you are required to indemnify us, in which case you agree to cooperate fully with us. You will not settle any claim that affects Sọna Books without our prior written consent. This obligation survives termination of your account and of this Agreement.

Where a third-party rights holder presents valid legal documentation, we may, on request and where lawful to do so, share information necessary to identify the responsible uploader, in line with our Privacy Policy and applicable law.

This Privacy Policy explains how Sọna Books collects, uses, stores, and protects your personal data. We are committed to compliance with the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) 2023 and the regulations issued by the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC).

3.1 Who We Are (Data Controller)

Sọna Books (Sọna Books Ltd, RC 9458090) is the data controller for personal data collected through this platform. For data-protection enquiries, contact privacy [at] readsona.com.

3.2 Scope and Where the Service Is Offered

The platform is operated from Nigeria and primarily intended for users in jurisdictions where its use is lawful. If you access it from elsewhere, you are responsible for ensuring that your use complies with local law. This policy applies to personal data processed by us regardless of where you access the service from.

3.3 Data We Collect

Information you provide directly:

• Reader accounts: display name, email address, date of birth, country, and authentication credentials handled by our auth provider.
• Optional Kindle delivery details: a personal @kindle.com address, confirmation that our sender has been added to Amazon's approved list, delivery status, masked or hashed delivery references, and timestamps. The Kindle address is private and is not shown to authors or printed in the book.
• Individual author/publishing accounts: full legal name, email address, country, pen name, bio, profile photo, social links.
• Publisher accounts: registered business name, registration number, and business bank account details used for verification and payouts.
• Publish payout details: bank account details (account number, account holder name, bank name) or supported mobile money details (provider, mobile money number, registered name), used solely for processing payouts.
• Payment-related information needed to confirm transactions, calculate applicable processing charges, process payouts, detect fraud, respond to support requests, and keep financial records. Card and bank payment credentials used for reader payments are processed by our payment partners, not stored directly by us. We may receive or process limited payment metadata such as payment channel, card brand, issuing country, transaction reference, and authorization status for settlement, reconciliation, support, fraud prevention, or legal compliance.

Information collected automatically:

• Purchase history: which books you have bought, when, and at what price.
• Reading progress data: which books you have opened, your reading position, completion status, and timestamps.
• Platform usage data: pages visited, features used, session duration.
• Device and browser information: IP address, browser type, operating system, device type.

3.4 How We Use Your Data

• To provide and operate the platform: account creation, purchase processing, content delivery, reading progress sync, payout processing.
• To fulfil optional Kindle eARC requests, personalise the requested advance copy, submit it to the saved Kindle address, prevent duplicate sends, process corrections, and keep delivery and credit records.
• To communicate with you: purchase confirmations, payout notifications, book approval status, platform announcements. These operational messages cannot be disabled.
• To send marketing emails where applicable and permitted. You can unsubscribe at any time.
• To protect the platform: fraud detection, abuse prevention, DRM enforcement, CSAM scanning.
• To comply with legal obligations: responding to valid legal requests, NDPA compliance, tax record-keeping.

3.5 Personal Imported Books and Your Cloud Storage

The storage choices and rights that apply to imported books are described in Section 1.6. For privacy purposes, an imported EPUB remains on your device or in the personal iCloud Drive or Google Drive storage you select; it is not uploaded to Sọna's servers.

• When you choose cloud storage, the app accesses the relevant folder only to save and retrieve your imported books using the Apple or Google identity linked to your account.
• An email-only Sọna account cannot use cloud storage until you link the matching Apple or Google account.
• The app processes imported files on your device to provide reading and library features. Sọna's servers may store related account data, such as book metadata, cover references, reading position, highlights, notes, bookmarks, and completion status, so supported reading state can follow your account across devices.
• Switching to device-only storage or unlinking the Apple or Google account stops the app's further access to that cloud storage.

3.6 Lawful Basis for Processing (NDPA 2023)

We map our processing activities to lawful bases as follows:

You may withdraw consent for any processing that relies on consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

3.7 How We Share Your Data

We do not sell your personal data and do not use it for advertising on external platforms. We share limited data with the following categories of service provider, strictly as needed to operate the platform:

3.8 Following an Author

When you follow an author on Sọna Books, you stay up to date with their new books, and you also agree that we may share your name and email address with that author.

• Authors may use these details to contact you directly outside Sọna Books, including adding you to their own mailing list for book updates and newsletters.
• Not every author will choose to export their followers, and following does not guarantee that you will be contacted.
• Once an author has exported your details, that author is the data controller for their own mailing list. They are responsible for complying with applicable email marketing and data protection laws, including providing an unsubscribe option.
• You can stop sharing your details with an author at any time by unfollowing them. Unfollowing does not withdraw details an author exported before you unfollowed, but it prevents any future export.

You can review every author you follow, and unfollow any of them, from your Following list in your Sọna Books account.

3.9 International Data Transfers

Although Sọna Books is operated from Nigeria, some of our service providers host or route data outside Nigeria, including in other African jurisdictions, the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, and the United States. When personal data is transferred outside Nigeria, we rely on one or more of the following safeguards:

• Contractual protections with our providers, including data processing terms that require appropriate confidentiality and security measures.
• Technical safeguards including encryption in transit, access controls, and least-privilege access.
• Selection of providers that operate under recognised data protection or security standards.

Where required, transfers are made in line with the NDPA 2023 and NDPC guidance on cross-border processing.

3.10 Data Retention

• Active account data is retained for as long as your account exists.
• Kindle delivery settings are retained while the reviewer account is active or until the reviewer changes or removes them. Delivery, credit, failure, and credit-restoration records may be retained for audit, fraud prevention, support, and dispute handling for as long as reasonably necessary.
• On account deletion, personal data is deleted within 60 days for reader account holders and 30 days for publish account holders, except where retention is required by law.
• Financial transaction records are retained for the period required by Nigerian tax and company law (currently 6 years).
• Fraud, safety, and IP-infringement evidence may be retained for as long as reasonably necessary to defend claims or enforce policies.
• Anonymised, aggregated analytics data may be retained indefinitely.

3.11 Your Rights Under the NDPA 2023

As a data subject, you have the right to:

• Access: request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Correction: request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Deletion: request deletion of your personal data, subject to legal retention requirements.
• Portability: receive your personal data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Objection: object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• Restriction: request that we limit processing in specific circumstances.
• Withdraw consent: withdraw consent for marketing and any other consent-based processing at any time.

3.12 How to Exercise Your Rights

• Send your request to privacy [at] readsona.com from the email address associated with your account, or from an address you can verify belongs to you.
• State which right you are exercising and, where possible, which account, data, or time period the request relates to.
• We may ask you to provide enough information to confirm your identity before we act on the request. This protects you from unauthorised access to your data.
• We aim to respond within 30 days. Complex or voluminous requests may take longer, in which case we will tell you and give an estimated timeline.
• We may decline or limit a request where it is manifestly unfounded or excessive, where a legal retention obligation applies, where it would compromise the rights of another person, or where it conflicts with ongoing fraud, safety, or regulatory investigations. We will explain the reason where we do.
• If you are unhappy with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) at ndpc.gov.ng.

3.13 Automated Decision-Making and Human Review

We use automated tools to support identity and bank verification, content moderation (including CSAM and plagiarism checks), and fraud and abuse detection. They may also apply temporary protective actions or help us identify matters that require further review.

• If you believe an automated action affecting your account or content is wrong, you may appeal using the relevant contact in the policy footer and request human review.
• Where the NDPA gives you a right concerning a solely automated decision with legal or similarly significant effects, we will honour that right.

3.14 Security Measures

We use appropriate technical and organisational safeguards designed to protect personal data against loss, misuse, and unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These safeguards are reviewed and updated as the platform and the risks it faces evolve.

No system is perfectly secure. You help protect your account by using a strong, unique password and keeping your credentials confidential.

3.15 Data Breach Notification

Where a personal data breach is reportable under applicable law, we will notify the Nigeria Data Protection Commission within the required timeframe and notify affected users where required. Where the applicable standard is 72 hours from awareness of a qualifying breach, we aim to meet that timeframe. User notifications will include a plain-language description of what happened, the likely impact, and the steps we are taking in response.

3.16 Children's Privacy

We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has created an account, please contact us at privacy [at] readsona.com and we will investigate and, where confirmed, delete the account promptly.

These guidelines apply to reviews, author profiles, book descriptions, messages, disputes, and all account activity on Sọna Books. We want a safe, respectful place for readers and authors.

4.1 Be Respectful

• No harassment, hate speech, threats, doxxing, or targeted abuse.
• Critique the work, not the person.

4.2 No Illegal or Harmful Content

• Illegal content, CSAM, or content that encourages harm is strictly prohibited.
• We may report illegal content and related account activity to the relevant authorities.

4.3 No Piracy or IP Infringement

• Do not upload, share, or distribute content you do not have the rights to use.
• Do not attempt to bypass DRM or distribute purchased ebooks outside the platform.

4.4 No Fraud or Manipulation

• No fake reviews, review swapping, impersonation, or attempts to manipulate rankings or payouts.
• No misuse of discounts, gift copies, or eARC distribution. eARC access is for review-copy reading and must not be presented as a purchase or used to manipulate store sales.

4.5 Enforcement

• We may remove content, suspend accounts, or permanently ban users for violations.
• We retain evidence needed to enforce these guidelines and will notify you by email where required.
• Our response will depend on the nature, severity, and frequency of the conduct, as well as any associated risk to users, rights holders, or the platform.

By accepting these Policies at signup, you acknowledge and agree to the refund and chargeback terms set out below.

5.1 Refunds for Digital Purchases

Because ebooks are digital goods delivered immediately, refunds are limited to the circumstances described below and any additional rights provided by applicable law.

5.2 Eligible Refund Circumstances

A refund will be issued where:

• Technical fault: the purchased ebook file is corrupted, unreadable, or fails to load in the Sọna Books reader after reasonable troubleshooting. Issues caused by your device, browser, or internet connection do not qualify.
• Wrong book delivered: the book added to your library is demonstrably different from the book you purchased.
• Applicable consumer law: any circumstance in which a refund is mandated by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act or other applicable law.

To help us investigate promptly, refund requests should ordinarily be submitted within 48 hours of the purchase date by contacting support [at] readsona.com with your order reference number and a description of the issue. We will investigate and respond within 2 business days. The 48-hour request period does not remove any longer or mandatory right available under applicable law.

Outside the circumstances above, we do not issue refunds for change of mind, not liking the content, purchasing the wrong book by mistake, or having already read a significant portion of the book.

5.3 Pre-Orders

• When you pre-order a title, payment is taken at the time of pre-order to reserve the copy and lock in any promotional price.
• The book is delivered to your library on the release date. You will be notified by email when it becomes available.
• If the release date is moved, we will tell you the new date. You may cancel your pre-order for a full refund at any time before the book is delivered to your library.
• If a title is withdrawn before release, all pending pre-orders for that book are refunded in full.
• Where an author withdraws a title with pending pre-orders, affected readers receive a full refund. A fixed NGN 100 processing fee per initiated refund may be deducted from that author's current or future earnings; it is not deducted from the reader's refund.

5.4 Chargeback Policy

A chargeback is a payment reversal initiated through your bank or card issuer. Where appropriate, we encourage you to contact us first so we have an opportunity to investigate and resolve the issue.

• You may contact support [at] readsona.com with the transaction details and allow us up to 5 business days to investigate.
• Where a chargeback concerns a legitimate purchase, we may submit relevant evidence of the transaction and digital delivery to your card issuer.
• Evidence we may submit includes: your purchase receipt, account login records, proof of digital delivery, and your acceptance of these Policies at signup.
• Accounts that raise fraudulent chargebacks may be suspended immediately pending investigation.
• Accounts found to have engaged in repeated or deliberate chargeback fraud will be permanently banned and may be reported to the payment processor, the relevant card network, and law enforcement.

If you believe a charge was made on your account without your authorisation, contact us immediately at support [at] readsona.com. We will investigate and, if the charge is confirmed as unauthorised, process a full refund promptly. Nothing in this section limits your statutory rights to dispute unauthorised transactions with your bank or card issuer.

5.5 Refund Processing

• For approved refunds, we will reach out to the relevant parties to complete settlement.
• On refund approval, access to the refunded book will be removed from your library.

5.6 Consumer Law

Nothing in this policy is intended to exclude or limit any right you may have under applicable consumer protection law. Where this policy conflicts with a mandatory consumer right, that right prevails.

These terms apply if you take part in Sọna Reading Desk, our reader-content programme that funds a book for readers who commit to writing an honest review. By requesting or accepting a Reading Desk book, you agree to the terms below in addition to the general Terms of Service in Section 1.

6.1 What Reading Desk Is

Sọna Reading Desk is a Sọna-funded programme, not a purchase, discount, or gift copy from the author. Sọna covers the book's list price on your behalf in exchange for a genuine review. The book is added to your library the same way a normal purchase would be, but no payment is taken from you.

6.2 Eligibility

• You must have an existing Sọna reader account with a verified email before requesting a book. Reading Desk does not create an account for you.
• The book must be a paid, in-catalogue Sọna title. Free books and eARC-only advance review copies are not eligible.
• You must not already own the book you are requesting.
• We may decline any request at our discretion, including where fund capacity is unavailable for that month.

6.3 One Book at a Time

• You may hold only one open Reading Desk claim at a time. Once you submit your review for the book you were granted, you become eligible to request another.
• You may receive at most one Reading Desk book per calendar month.

6.4 Title Availability

To keep funding spread across as many titles as possible, each individual book title can be granted through Reading Desk only once every three months, across all readers. If a title was claimed by any reader in the last three months, it is not available again until the three months have passed, regardless of who is requesting it.

6.5 Monthly Funding Cap

Reading Desk operates within a monthly Sọna-funded cap. Once that cap is reached for the month, no further books are granted until the next month's round opens. If the current round is full when you apply, your request is held for a future round rather than declined outright.

6.6 Your Review Obligation

• You must read the whole book and submit a genuine, honest review within 30 days of receiving it, with an automatic 7-day grace period (37 days total).
• Your review must reflect your own opinion. Reviews should be honest, specific, and fair. Praise is not required and is never a condition of receiving the book.
• Sọna may feature selected reviews on the book's page, in Reading Desk promotion, on Sọna's social channels, in the newsletter, or in the app. Featured reviews may be lightly edited for clarity, length, grammar, formatting, and platform fit, without changing your meaning, sentiment, or opinion.
• If you do not submit a review within the window above, you may be barred from future Reading Desk rounds.

6.7 No Cash Value and No Resale

• A Reading Desk grant has no cash value, cannot be exchanged for cash, credit, or any other book, and is non-transferable.
• You may not use a Reading Desk book to sell, lend, or distribute copies outside your Sọna account. The standard platform licence terms in Section 1.4 apply.

6.8 Fraud, Abuse, and Removal from the Programme

• Requesting books you do not intend to read or review, using multiple accounts to claim more than one book per month, submitting copied, plagiarised, or fabricated reviews, or any other attempt to manipulate the programme is a breach of these Terms and the Community Guidelines in Section 4.
• We may revoke a Reading Desk grant, remove a submitted review, or permanently bar an account from future Reading Desk rounds for abuse, without affecting your access to books already legitimately in your library.
• Repeated or serious abuse may result in the account-level enforcement described in Section 1.3, including suspension or permanent ban.

6.9 Changes to the Programme

Reading Desk is offered at Sọna's discretion and may be paused, changed, or discontinued at any time. We will make reasonable efforts to notify participants of material changes.

This Cookie Policy explains what cookies and similar technologies are used on Sọna Books and why.

7.1 What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work properly, remember your preferences, and provide usage information to site operators.

7.2 Cookies We Use

Essential cookies (cannot be disabled):

• Authentication session cookies: these keep you logged in across pages and sessions. Without them, the platform cannot function.
• Security cookies: used to detect and prevent fraudulent or abusive activity.

Functional cookies:

• Preference cookies: remember your reader settings (font size, background colour, dark mode) so they persist across sessions.

Analytics:

• We use analytics and advertising-measurement technologies to understand use of the platform, measure visits and actions, evaluate campaigns, and diagnose technical faults. These services may process identifiers and information about your browser, device, pages viewed, and actions taken. We do not sell this information or permit authors, publishers, or other users to access individual analytics records.

7.3 Consent and Controls

Essential cookies are required to sign in and use the service. Our measurement tags may operate with analytics and advertising storage denied to provide limited, cookieless measurement. If you allow optional cookies, those tags can use analytics and measurement storage to provide fuller reporting. Rejecting optional cookies does not disable core features or our privacy-limited cookieless measurement. You may change your choice at any time using the control below. You can also control or delete cookies through your browser settings, although disabling essential cookies will prevent you from logging in or using core platform features.

• Chrome: Settings, Privacy and security, Cookies and other site data
• Safari: Preferences, Privacy, Manage Website Data
• Firefox: Settings, Privacy and Security, Cookies and Site Data

7.4 Local Storage

In addition to cookies, the website may use browser local storage for reader preferences and sample-preview state locally on your device. Full-book reading is available in the Sọna Reader apps, where reading position and related account state may be synchronised through Sọna's service so it can follow your account across supported devices. Service providers that host or operate Sọna's infrastructure may process this data only as needed to provide those services. Authors and publishers do not receive a reader's individual store-book or personal imported-book reading history. For an eARC review copy, however, the author or publisher running that campaign can see the reviewer's reading progress, reading status, and latest reading activity for that copy so they can manage the review campaign.

7.5 Changes to This Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy as the platform evolves. Material changes will be communicated via email or platform notice.