🕊️ Legal Notice, Privacy Policy and Disclaimer

2.1 What data is collected

Depending on how you use the website, we may collect:

• Registration data: name, email address and password.
• Letter content: private or public texts created by the user.
• Recipient data: if you write a letter for someone else, the name and email of the person who will receive it (see section 2.9).
• Technical data: IP address, browser type, device and approximate country.
• Messages or contact forms: any information you send voluntarily.
• Teachers' worksheet: if you request the free classroom worksheet on the teachers page, your email and, if you choose to give them, your first name and the level you teach. We use them to give you the worksheet and, only if you tick the consent box, occasional emails with classroom resources (legal basis: your consent, which you can withdraw at any time with the unsubscribe link or by writing to us). We keep the exact consent text you accepted and the IP address of the request to prevent abuse. We collect no data about students: the activity is done on paper.

2.2 Purpose of processing

Your data is used exclusively to:

• Create, store and retrieve your letters.
• Publicly display letters you voluntarily choose to publish.
• Send reminders or notifications related to your letters.
• Ensure the security, maintenance and improvement of the service.
• Analyse the content of letters automatically for statistical and internal purposes (see section 2.8).
• Send news about the project (only if you give your consent).

Letter to the Future does not sell or transfer your personal data to third parties for commercial purposes.

2.3 Legal basis for processing

Processing is based on:

• Your express consent when you sign up or publish content.
• The performance of the service you request.
• The controller's legitimate interest in improving security and the user experience.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by writing to hello@lettertothefuture.org.

2.4 Data retention

Data is kept while your account is active or until you request its deletion. If you delete your account, your letters and associated data will be erased, except for data that must be kept for legal or security reasons, which will be kept in anonymised form.

For every email we send you (confirmations, reminders, the delivery of your letter, account notices…) we keep a technical record for 12 months: the destination address, the date, the type of email and whether it was delivered or failed. We never store the subject or the content there. It helps us detect delivery failures and help you if an email does not reach you.

2.5 Recipients and transfers

We only share your data with:

• Trusted technology providers (hosting, backups, email, basic analytics).
• OpenAI, L.L.C. — acts as a data processor for the automated analysis of letter content (see section 2.8) and to generate your future self's answers when you request them (see section 2.10). OpenAI processes the text under a data processing agreement in line with the GDPR and does not use it to train its models when accessed through the API.
• Public authorities where there is a legal obligation.

All providers comply with GDPR safeguards and maintain confidentiality agreements.

2.6 Your rights

You can exercise your rights of:

• Access to your personal data.
• Rectification or correction of errors.
• Erasure (the "right to be forgotten").
• Restriction of or objection to processing.
• Portability of your data.

To do so, write to hello@lettertothefuture.org with the subject "Data protection". We will reply within 30 calendar days at most.

2.7 Data security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures (password encryption, access control, backups). Although no system is infallible, we commit to notifying you of any relevant security breach in accordance with the GDPR.

2.8 Automated content analysis

To better understand how Letter to the Future is used and to improve it, the content of letters may be processed automatically and confidentially using natural language analysis tools. This process is for statistical purposes only: it helps us understand, in aggregate, what topics people write about so we can improve the platform.

Only a few general labels are obtained from each text:

• General topic category (e.g. relationships, work, health).
• Predominant emotional tone (e.g. hope, excitement, nostalgia).
• The life stage the text reflects (e.g. a new chapter, studies, a change).
• A short anonymous summary of the content.
• An indicative flag that lets us offer support resources if a text suggests someone is going through a particularly hard time.

Sole purpose: internal statistics and improving the platform. Results are always presented in aggregate and anonymised form, with no way of identifying specific users.

Legal basis: the controller's legitimate interest in improving the service and the user experience (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

2.9 Letters addressed to other people

Letter to the Future lets you write a letter for someone else (for example, a relative or a friend) and schedule its delivery on a future date. In that case, the writer provides us with the recipient's name and email address.

• Used only for delivery: the recipient's details are used solely to deliver the letter on the chosen date and show them their reading page. They receive no other communication and are not added to newsletters or mailing lists.
• Transparency on delivery: the delivery email states who wrote the letter, explains why they are receiving it and offers a direct contact channel in case they think it is a mistake.
• Sender's responsibility: the person writing the letter declares that they know the recipient and have a personal relationship that justifies sending it. This feature may not be used to send commercial communications, spam or content that may be offensive.
• Recipient's rights: the recipient can exercise their rights of access, erasure and objection (section 2.6) at any time by writing to hello@lettertothefuture.org.
• Retention: the letter content is stored encrypted, like every other letter, and no one reads it before delivery.

Legal basis: performance of the service requested by the sender (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR) and legitimate interest in delivering the personal communication (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).

2.10 Your future self: artificial intelligence features

Some features you choose to activate generate personalised texts with artificial intelligence (OpenAI API). Unlike the analysis in section 2.8, the aim here is to write to you:

• Talk to your future self (registered users): to answer you, we use your question, your profile data (date of birth, future age, values, goals and notes), your previous conversations and excerpts from the letters you have written to yourself. If you choose "Surprise me", the answer is generated with the same data a few days later and sent to you by email.
• Free question without signing up: only the text of the question is sent to OpenAI. We show you the beginning of the answer and keep the question and the full answer encrypted with a key that only your browser holds (in a cookie), so you can read it in full if you create your account and log in from that browser; at that point it moves to your chat history. If you do not do so within 7 days, they are deleted. To limit usage we also keep an irreversible identifier (hash) of your IP address and the date.

Legal basis: your consent when activating each feature (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR) and the performance of the service you request (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR). You can withdraw your consent at any time by writing to hello@lettertothefuture.org.

3.1 Nature of the service

Letter to the Future is a platform for writing and personal reflection. Its purpose is to help people listen to themselves through mindful writing. It does not offer medical, psychological or professional advice.

3.2 Not a substitute for professional help

If you are going through an emotional crisis, suicidal thoughts or thoughts of self-harm, please seek help immediately.

Using this website does not replace professional help or emergency services.

3.3 User responsibility

Users are solely responsible for the content of the letters they write, store or publish. Letter to the Future is not responsible for the personal data or statements users choose to include in their texts, or for the effects of publishing them.

3.4 Content moderation and limits

Private letters are not read or monitored: they travel encrypted until their delivery date. Letters whose author chooses to make them public are reviewed before publication, and the platform reserves the right, on its own initiative or after receiving a report, to review, edit or remove public letters that:

• Contain offensive or discriminatory language.
• Promote violence, hatred or self-harm.
• Include third parties' personal data without their consent.
• Break the law or go against the project's values.

Anyone can report a public letter from the website. A reported letter stops being shown immediately until it is reviewed. From the report we keep the reason, the optional text that comes with it and the IP address it was sent from, solely to manage the review and prevent abuse.

3.5 Limitation of liability

Letter to the Future shall not be liable for damage, loss or consequences arising from the use of the service, or for the interpretation of content published by users. The service is offered "as is", for reflective and personal purposes, with no guarantee of specific results.