Effective Date: 01.06.2026
Last Updated: 28.06.2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Source? Manga Academy (“Source? Manga Academy,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, shares, and protects information when you use our mobile application, website, and related services, including learning features, creator tools, publishing features, competitions, Editor’s Room, Creator Advancement Program, and other related services collectively referred to as the “Services.”

By using the Services, you agree to the collection, use, sharing, and handling of information as described in this Privacy Policy.

1. Who We Are

Service Name: Source? Manga Academy
Company: amborder Co., Ltd.
Support Contact: contact@sourcemangaacademy.com

Business Inquiries: business@sourcemangaacademy.com
Address: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan

2. What This Policy Covers

This Privacy Policy applies to information collected through:

• the Source? Manga Academy mobile application;

• the Source? Manga Academy website;

• our learning, creator, publishing, competition, ranking, and community features;

• Editor’s Room;

• Creator Advancement Program;

• support channels, including in-app contact, Discord support desk, and email;

• subscriptions, in-app purchases, coins, rewards, and related payment features;

• other services connected to Source? Manga Academy.

This Privacy Policy does not apply to third-party services, websites, platforms, payment processors, app stores, publishers, studios, partners, or external links that are not controlled by Source? Manga Academy. Those third parties may have their own privacy policies and terms.

3. Information We Collect

We collect information in three main ways:

1. information you provide to us;

2. information collected automatically;

3. information received from third parties.

A) Information You Provide

Account and Profile Information

When you create or use an account, we may collect:

• name, username, creator name, email address, password, or login/authentication method;

• profile information you add, such as bio, links, avatar, region, language, and creator details;

• account settings, preferences, and communication choices.

Creator Content and User-Generated Content

When you create, upload, publish, submit, or interact with content, we may collect:

• manga pages, chapters, covers, titles, descriptions, tags, series information, and creator notes;

• comments, ratings, likes, bookmarks, community posts, and other public or private interactions where available;

• drafts, submissions, revisions, files, artwork, story materials, and related metadata;

• information connected to publishing, visibility, ranking, review, or moderation.

Submissions, Exams, and Support

When you use learning, exam, review, or support features, we may collect:

• files uploaded for reviews, exams, Rank Up Missions, challenges, contests, or other submissions;

• messages you send to support through the app, email, Discord, or other support channels;

• screenshots, device information, transaction details, and other information you provide when requesting help;

• progress records, results, certificates, rankings, badges, and other creator-development records.

Editor’s Room

If you use Editor’s Room, we may collect:

• works submitted for review;

• submission metadata, such as title name, stage, type, category, and notes;

• contact email and related communication records;

• editor feedback, review status, and related information needed to provide the service.

Creator Advancement Program

If you apply for, are selected for, or participate in the Creator Advancement Program, we may collect information needed to review, promote, represent, and support your eligible works.

This may include:

• legal name, creator name, username, email address, country/region, age, and profile information;

• parent or guardian details where required by law;

• manga, stories, characters, artwork, pitch materials, portfolios, creator bios, summaries, sample pages, and related submissions;

• information about co-creators, collaborators, contributors, or rights holders connected to your work;

• ownership confirmations, rights-clearance documents, permissions, licenses, releases, or other proof that you have the right to submit and promote the work;

• communication records related to applications, selection, pitching, partner discussions, opportunities, commissions, and deal support;

• payment, payout, tax, banking, identity verification, or other financial information where needed for payouts, commissions, legal compliance, or commercial opportunities.

We may also collect information you provide when discussing publication, licensing, adaptation, animation, gaming, merchandising, brand use, distribution, or other commercial opportunities connected to your work.

B) Information Collected Automatically

Device and App Data

When you use the Services, we may automatically collect:

• device type, operating system version, app version, browser type, language, and time zone;

• device identifiers, advertising identifiers where permitted, IP address, and network information;

• crash logs, diagnostic data, error reports, and performance data.

Usage Data

We may collect information about how you use the Services, including:

• pages or screens viewed;

• taps, clicks, sessions, and feature usage;

• lessons opened, content read, manga viewed, submissions made, and interactions completed;

• learning progress, ranking activity, leaderboard activity, competition participation, and creator activity;

• interaction data, such as what content is opened, read, liked, bookmarked, rated, or engaged with.

Cookies and Similar Technologies

On our website, we may use cookies, pixels, local storage, and similar technologies for:

• login and account functions;

• analytics and performance;

• security and fraud prevention;

• remembering preferences;

• improving the Services;

• marketing or advertising measurement where permitted.

Some tracking, especially advertising measurement, may be controlled by your device settings, browser settings, or regional consent requirements.

C) Information From Third Parties

Payments

If you purchase a subscription, coins, in-app currency, digital items, or other paid features, payments may be processed by third-party providers such as Apple, Google, payment gateways, or other processors.

We usually receive purchase confirmations, transaction references, product details, status, and related payment information. We do not usually receive your full card details.

Analytics and Advertising Tools

Where used, analytics and advertising tools may provide us with information about:

• app performance;

• campaign performance;

• user acquisition;

• aggregated usage;

• device and interaction data;

• conversion and engagement reports.

Partners and Program-Related Sources

For Creator Advancement Program, competitions, awards, publishing opportunities, or commercial programs, we may receive information from:

• publishers;

• animation studios;

• gaming studios;

• production companies;

• platforms;

• licensing partners;

• brands;

• reviewers;

• legal, payment, verification, or rights-clearance service providers;

• other parties involved in evaluating or supporting creator opportunities.

4. How We Use Information

We use information to provide, operate, improve, protect, and develop Source? Manga Academy.

A) Provide and Operate the Services

We may use information to:

• create and manage accounts;

• operate the app and website;

• enable reading, learning, publishing, ranking, competitions, and community features;

• deliver course access, progress tracking, and creator-development tools;

• process submissions, exams, results, certifications, badges, ranks, and leaderboard activity;

• provide Editor’s Room feedback and related support;

• manage subscriptions, purchases, coins, rewards, and payment confirmations.

B) Deliver Learning and Creator Support

We may use information to:

• provide lessons, exams, kits, creator guidance, and progress features;

• review submissions and provide feedback;

• improve the quality of learning content and creator tools;

• support creators through publishing, sharing, rankings, awards, and creator-development features;

• respond to questions, issues, complaints, and support requests.

C) Support Creator Advancement and Industry Opportunities

If you participate in the Creator Advancement Program, we may use your information to:

• review your eligibility and suitability for the program;

• verify your identity, age, account standing, creator profile, and rights ownership;

• review, package, summarize, translate, format, and prepare your eligible works for professional presentation;

• create pitch materials, creator profiles, decks, summaries, sample pages, and other promotional materials;

• promote, present, pitch, and submit your eligible works to publishers, animation studios, gaming studios, production companies, platforms, licensing partners, brands, and other relevant industry parties;

• communicate with you and third parties about possible opportunities;

• support discussions relating to publication, serialization, licensing, adaptation, production, gaming, animation, merchandising, brand use, distribution, localization, or other commercial use;

• manage commission, payout, tax, reporting, accounting, legal, rights-clearance, dispute, and compliance requirements;

• protect Source? Manga Academy, creators, users, partners, and third parties from fraud, rights disputes, misuse, or legal risk.

Participation in the Creator Advancement Program does not guarantee publication, licensing, adaptation, production, income, or any commercial deal.

D) Automated and AI-Assisted Review

We may use automated tools, AI-assisted systems, human review, or a combination of these to help operate and improve the Services.

This may include:

• reviewing submissions, exams, rankings, leaderboard activity, and creator progress;

• detecting spam, fraud, abuse, plagiarism, harmful activity, or rule violations;

• recommending content, lessons, features, or creator opportunities;

• supporting moderation, quality review, selection, and platform integrity.

Where important decisions may affect creator opportunities, program eligibility, awards, or commercial review, Source? Manga Academy may use human review before making a final decision where appropriate or required by law.

E) Improve and Secure the Platform

We may use information to:

• diagnose bugs, crashes, and performance issues;

• prevent fraud, abuse, cheating, manipulation, spam, or harmful activity;

• enforce our Terms of Service, community rules, competition rules, and other policies;

• protect users, creators, partners, our company, and the public;

• monitor platform integrity, ranking fairness, and system security.

F) Communicate With You

We may use information to send:

• account notices;

• support responses;

• service updates;

• policy updates;

• payment, subscription, and purchase notices;

• ranking, award, competition, or program-related notices;

• Creator Advancement Program communications;

• important legal, security, or operational notices.

G) Marketing and Promotion

Where permitted, we may use information to:

• promote Source? Manga Academy;

• measure campaign performance;

• understand user growth and engagement;

• show creator achievements, public works, rankings, badges, awards, or other visible platform activity;

• promote public creator content, platform features, competitions, and programs.

You may be able to opt out of certain marketing communications where required or available.

5. How We Share Information

We do not sell your personal information. We share information only as described in this Privacy Policy, our Terms of Service, applicable program terms, or where permitted by law.

A) With Service Providers

We work with vendors and service providers who help us operate the Services.

These may include providers for:

• hosting and cloud storage;

• analytics;

• support tools;

• security and fraud prevention;

• payment verification;

• app performance and crash reporting;

• email and communication;

• identity, payment, tax, or rights verification where needed.

They are permitted to use personal information only to provide services to us, unless otherwise allowed by law.

B) With Manga Editors and Reviewers

If you use Editor’s Room or other review features, we may share submitted content and relevant context with manga editors, reviewers, or instructors to provide feedback, review, scoring, or guidance.

Submitted materials are handled within the review process, but you should avoid submitting confidential or sensitive materials unless you are comfortable with them being reviewed for the requested service.

C) With Industry Partners for Creator Advancement

If you participate in the Creator Advancement Program, we may share your eligible works and related information with selected third parties for professional review, pitching, opportunity development, and commercial discussion.

These third parties may include:

• publishers;

• animation studios;

• gaming studios;

• production companies;

• webtoon, manga, digital publishing, or content platforms;

• licensing partners;

• merchandise partners;

• brands and commercial partners;

• distributors, localization partners, and media companies;

• legal, accounting, payment, tax, verification, or rights-clearance service providers;

• other relevant parties involved in evaluating, developing, negotiating, or supporting creator opportunities.

The information shared may include your creator name, profile, contact information, country/region, portfolio, manga submissions, pitch materials, sample pages, summaries, rights-clearance information, communication history, and other information reasonably needed for the opportunity.

We may share only the information we believe is reasonably necessary for review, pitching, opportunity development, legal compliance, rights clearance, payment, commission, or related business purposes.

Some third parties may independently decide whether to review, accept, reject, store, delete, or act on submitted materials. Where a third party enters into a separate agreement with you, their own privacy practices and contractual terms may also apply.

D) Public Content, Leaderboards, Awards, and Creator Visibility

If you publish manga, post publicly, join rankings, participate in competitions, or appear on leaderboards, some information may become visible to other users or the public.

This may include:

• creator name;

• username;

• profile;

• avatar;

• region;

• published works;

• public interactions;

• rankings;

• leaderboard position;

• badges;

• certificates;

• awards;

• Top 100 status;

• Grand Awards participation;

• submitted or published works;

• other public or semi-public creator activity shown through the Services.

You control what you choose to publish, but some platform features, competitions, rankings, and creator programs may require certain information to be visible for transparency, recognition, community engagement, or program operation.

E) Legal, Safety, Rights, and Compliance

We may disclose information if we believe it is reasonably necessary to:

• comply with law, regulation, legal process, or government request;

• protect the safety, rights, and property of users, creators, our company, partners, or the public;

• prevent fraud, abuse, cheating, manipulation, spam, or security incidents;

• investigate rights disputes, ownership disputes, plagiarism claims, or infringement claims;

• enforce our Terms of Service, rules, agreements, and policies;

• protect Source? Manga Academy from legal, operational, reputational, financial, or security risk.

F) Business Transfers

If Source? Manga Academy or amborder Co., Ltd. is involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, restructuring, sale of assets, partnership transfer, or similar business transaction, information may be transferred or disclosed as part of that transaction, subject to appropriate protections where required.

6. Data Retention

We keep information only as long as needed to:

• provide the Services and fulfill your requests;

• operate accounts, subscriptions, learning progress, submissions, publishing features, rankings, leaderboards, awards, and creator programs;

• support Creator Advancement Program applications, reviews, pitches, partner discussions, opportunities, commissions, payouts, rights clearance, and related records;

• comply with legal, tax, accounting, payment, reporting, and regulatory obligations;

• resolve disputes and enforce agreements;

• maintain security, prevent abuse, and protect platform integrity.

Retention periods vary depending on the type of information, the purpose of collection, legal requirements, and business needs.

Creator Advancement Program records, rights-clearance materials, pitch records, partner communications, commission records, payout records, tax records, deal records, consent records, and dispute records may be kept for as long as reasonably necessary to manage opportunities, calculate commissions, verify rights, comply with law, resolve disputes, and enforce agreements.

If you request deletion of your information, we will handle the request according to applicable law. However, deletion may not immediately remove:

• content already published, viewed, copied, cached, screenshotted, or shared by others;

• records we must keep for legal, tax, accounting, payment, fraud-prevention, security, dispute, or rights-protection reasons;

• materials already shared with third-party partners where continued retention is reasonably necessary for active review, opportunity development, legal compliance, commission handling, or dispute resolution.

7. Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational measures to protect your information.

However, no system is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security of your information, account, submissions, communications, or content.

You are responsible for keeping your account login details secure and for notifying us if you believe your account has been accessed without permission.

8. Your Choices and Rights

Depending on your location, you may have rights to:

• access, correct, or delete your personal information;

• object to or restrict certain processing;

• request a copy or portability of certain data;

• withdraw consent where processing is based on consent;

• opt out of certain marketing communications where required or available;

• ask questions about how your information is collected, used, shared, or retained.

You can request these by contacting us at:

privacy@sourcemangaacademy.com

We may need to verify your identity before processing certain requests. Some requests may be limited where we need to keep information for legal, tax, accounting, security, fraud-prevention, rights-clearance, commission, dispute, or contractual reasons.

If you participate in the Creator Advancement Program, withdrawing from the program or requesting deletion may affect our ability to promote your work, manage opportunities, process payouts, calculate commissions, verify rights, or continue partner discussions.

Marketing Opt-Out

If we send marketing emails, you can opt out through the unsubscribe link where available.

Even if you opt out of marketing emails, we may still send important service, account, legal, payment, security, or program-related notices.

9. International Users

Source? Manga Academy is operated from Japan, and your information may be processed, stored, reviewed, or transferred in countries other than where you live.

If you participate in the Creator Advancement Program, your information and eligible works may also be shared with industry partners, service providers, reviewers, publishers, studios, platforms, licensing partners, brands, legal advisors, payment providers, and other relevant parties located in Japan and other countries.

Data protection laws may differ from country to country. Where required by law, we use appropriate safeguards for cross-border transfers and take reasonable steps to protect your information according to this Privacy Policy.

By using the Services or participating in programs that involve international review or opportunity development, you understand that your information may be processed and shared internationally as described in this Privacy Policy.

10. Children / Minors

Source? Manga Academy is designed for a broad audience, including young creators, but our Services are not intended for children under 12 without appropriate consent where required by law.

If you are under the age of legal adulthood in your country or region, some features may require parent or guardian consent.

This may include:

• participation in competitions or awards;

• participation in the Creator Advancement Program;

• external pitching or industry review;

• commercial opportunities;

• payouts, commissions, or revenue-related features;

• travel-related prizes;

• agreements involving rights, money, publication, licensing, adaptation, or professional opportunities.

We may collect parent or guardian contact information, consent records, identity verification, age confirmation, and related documents where required to protect minors, comply with law, process payments, support opportunities, or verify legal authority.

If we learn that a minor has provided personal information without required consent, we may limit the account, remove content, pause participation, request guardian confirmation, or delete information where appropriate.

If you believe a minor has provided personal information without proper consent, please contact us at:

privacy@sourcemangaacademy.com

11. Third-Party Links and Services

Our Services may contain links to third-party websites, platforms, services, communities, payment providers, app stores, publishers, studios, or other external services.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices, security, content, policies, or actions of third parties. You should review their privacy policies and terms before using them or sharing information with them.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time.

When we make changes, we will update the “Last Updated” date above. Where required, we may provide additional notice through the app, website, email, or other communication channels.

Your continued use of the Services after an updated Privacy Policy becomes effective means you acknowledge the updated policy.

13. Contact Us

For privacy requests, data rights, deletion requests, or questions about this Privacy Policy, contact:

Privacy: privacy@sourcemangaacademy.com

For general support, contact:

Support: contact@sourcemangaacademy.com

For business inquiries, contact:

Business: business@sourcemangaacademy.com

14. Disputes and Policy Enforcement

We want to resolve privacy concerns fairly and quickly. If you have a privacy concern, please contact us first and we will try to address it.

To the extent permitted by applicable law, issues related to this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices may be handled under the dispute resolution procedures set out in our Terms of Service, including any informal resolution steps and other process requirements.

Where allowed by law, this may include individual, non-class resolution procedures.

Nothing in this Privacy Policy limits any rights you may have under applicable privacy or data protection laws.