PRIVACY NOTICE

What the current Onward web preview stores.

This page describes the current preview implementation and is not a substitute for the final reviewed production Privacy Policy.

Account information

Onward currently stores your email address, a one-way password hash, display name, username, bio, interests, Current Story, onboarding status, profile-photo storage reference, and account timestamps. Your email address is not displayed on your member profile.

Sessions and security

Sign-in sessions use secure HttpOnly cookies. The database stores a hash of the session token rather than the raw browser token. Authentication attempts are rate-limited using hashed rate-limit keys.

Profile photos

Uploaded profile photos are stored in Onward's private site storage and are served through authenticated Onward routes.

Storylines, Chapters, and Moments

The web preview now stores your Storylines, Chapters, Moments, and chosen visibility settings. Private and draft content is available only to you; published content marked for Onward members may be seen by signed-in members when its Storyline is also public. Following a Storyline stores that connection until you unfollow or the relationship is removed.

Blocking and reports

Blocking stores the two account identifiers required to hide each other's public Moments and Storylines. Reports store the reporter account, reported content identifier, reason, optional explanatory text, submission time, and a review status. Reports are private, not shown in member feeds, and review operations are not yet fully staffed.

Onward ID Cards and following members

Your permanent Onward ID and chosen card design are stored with your account. Public ID Cards are off by default. When you explicitly enable public sharing, visitors with the link can view the identity fields you've selected, including your avatar, display name, username, and optional bio or Current Story. Your email, drafts, private Storylines and private Moments are never included. You can turn public sharing off in the ID Studio. Sharing a static PNG can create copies outside Onward that cannot be recalled. Member-follow relationships are stored so you can follow people as well as Storylines.

Deletion

Members can permanently delete the current web account from Settings. The deletion flow removes the authentication account, profile, active sessions, recovery and verification tokens, stored Stories/Chapters/Moments and follow/block relationships through database deletion safeguards, and stored profile photo. Non-public report records created by others may retain a deleted content reference for abuse review.