This is an English translation. If the two versions differ, the Romanian version prevails.
Terms and conditions
Last updated: 2 November 2026
1. Who we are
The website arkabooks.org belongs to the publisher Arka Books and is operated by MIRAGE CONSULTING SRL, with its registered office at Aleea Carpați nr. 59, Târgu Mureș, jud. Mureș, România, CUI (Romanian tax ID) 16513436 (Nr. Reg. Com. J2004000993269) (“we”).
You can write to us at any time at books@arkabooks.org. We reply within 2 working days.
These terms apply to all orders and services on the website. The Romanian text is the binding one; the English and Spanish versions are translations.
2. What we sell
We sell digital books in PDF format:
- “Light Between the Pages” (“Lumina dintre pagini”): illustrated stories for children, in 8 volumes, which you can buy separately or together (the complete collection). For a class, a catechism group or a Sunday school there is also the classroom licence (see section 8);
- “The Ark of Knowledge”;
- “Grandparents’ Crafts”;
- “Tales of Transylvania”: 3 volumes (Iarna – Winter, Primăvara – Spring, Vara și toamna – Summer and Autumn), separately or as a set. They are in Romanian only and are written for adults and teenagers aged 14 and over;
- the personalised “Your Saint” books, with the child’s name on the cover, in the dedication and in the story, when they are offered on the website.
The books are available in Romanian, English and Spanish, as shown on each book’s page. Some also have two-language editions. You choose the language of the file before paying and confirm it with the consent tick box at checkout.
Each book is delivered as the full edition (for tablet, computer or print) and as a lighter version for phones. Each book opens with a dedication page, filled in automatically with the name you choose (or, if you do not choose one, the name on the card) and, if you wish, a message and a signature.
Before buying, you can browse samples and read excerpts and stories on the website for free.
Printed books: some titles can also be ordered in print, only when the option appears on the book’s page. Printed books are delivered only to addresses in Romania and are paid for in Romanian lei (see section 5).
3. Prices and payment
Prices are shown in Romanian lei (RON), euros (EUR) or US dollars (USD), as you choose, and include all applicable taxes. You see the final price, with any discounts and, for printed books, shipping, before you pay.
Payment is made online through Stripe, by card or with the other methods shown on the payment page. You enter your card details directly with Stripe; they never reach us.
The contract is concluded when payment is confirmed. We issue the invoice in the name and address entered at checkout and send it to you by email; if you cannot find it, you can ask us for it at any time.
Discount codes: they are entered on the payment page and cannot be combined. A code may have an expiry date or a limited number of uses.
Pass it on: after your first order from “Light Between the Pages” you receive a personal link for your friends. They get the discount shown on their first order, and you receive a free volume from the collection for every two friends who buy for the first time. Your own orders and refunded orders do not count.
4. Delivery of digital books
Immediately after payment is confirmed, you receive your personal download links by email. The same links also appear on the order page. The links in the email are valid for 30 days; each file can be downloaded up to 20 times. If you need more downloads, write to us.
After that, your books stay in My library (arkabooks.org/en/library): enter your email address and you will receive a new link.
If the email does not arrive within a few minutes, check your Spam folder or write to us at books@arkabooks.org.
Gifts: you can send the books as a gift to another person’s email address, straight away or on a day you choose, up to one year ahead. On the chosen day the books are sent in the morning, and you receive a copy of the email.
5. Printed books and cards (only when the option appears on the website)
Printed books are printed to order by our partner printer and delivered by courier to the address in Romania given at checkout, usually within the time shown when you order and no later than 30 days. You see the shipping cost before you pay. With a printed book you also receive the PDF edition by email straight away. Once the parcel has been sent, you receive the courier’s name and the tracking number (AWB) by email.
Printed cards from Arka Studio are printed with the text and images you choose and sent by courier to the recipient’s address in Romania.
6. Right of withdrawal
Digital books: normally, a consumer has 14 days to withdraw from a contract concluded at a distance. For digital content delivered online, such as PDF files, this right is lost once delivery has begun, if you have expressly asked for immediate delivery and confirmed that you know you thereby lose your right of withdrawal (Article 16(m) of Romanian Government Emergency Ordinance no. 34/2014).
That is why, before payment, we ask for this consent with a tick box. Once payment is confirmed, delivery begins immediately (we send you the download links), so from that moment you can no longer withdraw from the contract. We also confirm your consent in the order email.
Our guarantee: if a file does not open, is incomplete or is defective, write to us and we will send you a good copy right away. If we cannot fix the problem, we will give you your money back. You also keep all your legal rights regarding the conformity of digital content (Romanian Government Emergency Ordinance no. 141/2021).
Printed books: the right of withdrawal does not apply to clearly personalised goods (Article 16(c) of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 34/2014). Printed books whose dedication page carries a name, and printed cards, are personalised goods and cannot be returned simply because you have changed your mind. For a printed book without personalisation, you may withdraw within 14 days of receiving it, without giving a reason: write to us at books@arkabooks.org, send the book back in good condition within 14 days, at your own cost, and we will refund the price of the book and the standard delivery cost within 14 days of receiving your message (we may hold the refund until we receive the book). The PDF edition received with the printed book may no longer be used after withdrawal.
If a printed book or card arrives damaged, with printing defects or wrong, write to us within 14 days of receiving it, with a photo, and we will send you a new copy free of charge or give you your money back, as you prefer. You also keep all your legal rights regarding the conformity of goods (Romanian Government Emergency Ordinance no. 140/2021).
Refunds are made through Stripe, to the same card or by the same payment method, within 14 days.
7. Free services
The website also offers free services: cards from Arka Studio, the animated letter, invitations with RSVP, reminders for name days and your loved ones’ days (“My days”), scheduled cards, the story of the week by email, the Advent calendar, My library and the stories on the website.
We offer them with care but without any guarantee of availability: we may improve, change or stop them, and if we stop a service in which you have data, we will tell you in good time, if we have your address.
Whatever you put on a card or an invitation (text, photos, voice, video) must be yours or you must have the right to use it, and it must not break the law or anyone else’s rights. Images with nudity, violence, hate or drugs, and anything that puts children at risk, are not allowed. Photos and videos are checked automatically before they are used (see the Privacy policy). Content reported as inappropriate may be reviewed and blocked by us.
Only enter other people’s email addresses and phone numbers (recipients, guests) if you expect them to want to receive your message. We use them only for the service you asked for.
Cards, letters and invitations sent by link can be opened by anyone who has the link. Do not put on them anything you do not want others to see.
8. Licence to use
The books are protected by copyright. Buying them gives you the right to read them and print them for yourself and your family. Redistributing, reselling or publishing the files or the download links is not allowed.
The classroom licence includes all 8 volumes of “Light Between the Pages” and the right to print up to 30 copies of each volume for a single class, catechism group or Sunday school.
Exception: “The Ark of Knowledge” may be copied and given away free of charge, to anyone, whole and unaltered. Others may not sell it or publish altered versions of it. Personal download links must not be published.
The texts, illustrations and other content of the website belong to the publisher or to their authors and may not be copied without our consent, except where the law allows it.
9. The Arka Family subscription (existing subscribers only)
The Arka Family subscription is no longer open to new subscribers. For those who already have it, the terms accepted when subscribing continue to apply; in short:
- the subscription is paid in advance, through Stripe, and renews automatically at the end of each period, at the price accepted when subscribing, until you cancel it;
- you can cancel it at any time from your page (“My days” → Arka Family → Manage subscription); it stays active until the end of the paid period and is not renewed;
- if we change the price, we will tell you by email at least 30 days in advance, and the new price applies only if you do not cancel;
- the answers, recordings and photos sent by storytellers remain your family’s; we use them only to show them to you and to put together the Family Book, and you can delete them at any time.
10. Our liability
We work to make the website and the files work well on ordinary devices. We are not liable for interruptions caused by your internet provider, your device or events beyond our control. Nothing in these terms limits the rights you have by law as a consumer.
11. Complaints and disputes
For any problem, write to us at books@arkabooks.org; we reply within 2 working days and try to settle everything amicably.
You can also contact the Romanian National Authority for Consumer Protection (anpc.ro), including through its alternative dispute resolution procedure (SAL), at reclamatiisal.anpc.ro.
The contract is governed by Romanian law. If you live in another European Union country, you keep the protection given to you by the mandatory consumer protection rules of your country. Disputes that cannot be settled amicably are decided by the courts that have jurisdiction under the law.
12. Changes to these terms
We may update these terms; the date of the latest update is shown at the top. Each order is governed by the terms in force on the day you paid for it.
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Privacy policy
Last updated: 2 November 2026
1. Who is responsible for your data
The data controller is MIRAGE CONSULTING SRL, Aleea Carpați nr. 59, Târgu Mureș, jud. Mureș, România, CUI (Romanian tax ID) 16513436 (Nr. Reg. Com. J2004000993269), which runs the publisher Arka Books and the website arkabooks.org.
For any question about your data, write to us at books@arkabooks.org. We reply within 2 working days, and we deal with requests to exercise your rights within one month at the latest.
2. In short
- We only ask for the data needed for what you choose to do on the website.
- We never sell data to anyone and do not use it for advertising.
- We do not use marketing or analytics cookies. Our statistics are totals only, with no personal data.
- Your card details are seen only by our payment processor, Stripe.
- We send you news only if you have asked for it separately, rarely (at most twice a month), and you can unsubscribe at any time.
3. What data we process, why, and on what legal basis
The legal bases below are those of Article 6(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR): (a) your consent, (b) the contract, or steps you ask for before a contract, (c) a legal obligation, (f) our legitimate interest, which we weigh against your rights.
Orders, payment and invoicing
What data: your email address, name, the billing country, city and address entered with Stripe, the products, language, price, date, any discount code used, the name for the dedication, the message and the signature. For gifts: the recipient’s email address, your name and message for them, and the chosen day. For printed books: the delivery address and phone number. You enter your card details directly with Stripe; we never see them.
Why: to conclude and perform the contract (delivering the books, the order page, My library, support, complaints), to issue the invoice and keep our accounts, and to prevent abuse (for example, the download limit).
Legal basis: (b) for the contract; (c) for invoicing and accounting (Romanian Accounting Law no. 82/1991, the Romanian Tax Code, the RO e-Factura system); (f) for fraud prevention and defending possible legal claims.
How long: accounting records (invoices and payment records), 10 years, as the law requires. We keep the rest of the order data for as long as your books are in My library; you can ask us at any time to delete whatever we are not required to keep.
Order emails and My library
What data: your email address and the orders linked to it.
Why: we send you the download links, the order confirmation, the invoice and, when you ask, a personal link to My library with all your books. The website gives the same reply whether or not an address has books, so that nobody can find out what you have bought. Your personal link is also kept in your browser, so you do not have to ask for it again.
Legal basis: (b) (the contract).
How long: as long as we keep the order (see above).
Review requests and reviews
What data: the order’s email address and, if you write a review, the name you choose to show, the rating and the text.
Why: for some orders, 7 to 30 days after purchase, we send you a single email asking how you liked the book. We show reviews on the website to help other families choose.
Legal basis: (f) for the request email (you can say “no” at any time by replying to it); (a) for publishing your review, which appears on the website only after we have read it.
How long: the review stays published until you ask us to remove it.
Free books requested by email, news and the Advent calendar
What data: your email address, language and the date you gave your consent.
Why: when we run an offer with a free book sent by email and you ask for it, we send it to you (there is no such offer at the moment; the first 3 stories of every volume can be read free on the site, with no email). We send you news (about new books and what we are up to) only if you have ticked a separate box for it: rarely, at most twice a month. The only exception is the start: after signing up you receive three short welcome emails within the first ten days. The Advent calendar (which you sign up for separately or, with a free book, through the same tick box that names it) brings you a short story each day from 1 to 24 December.
Legal basis: (b) for the free book you ask for; (a) for news and for the Advent calendar.
How long: until you unsubscribe. Every email has a one-click unsubscribe link; you can also write to us. We keep proof of your consent and of your unsubscribing for as long as we need to be able to show it.
The story of the week
What data: your email address and language.
Why: we send you a short story on Sunday mornings, with a question for the family. To make sure the address is yours, we ask you to confirm it through a link (valid for 14 days). If you have already confirmed your address in another service (for example, a scheduled card) and ticked the story box, we do not ask for a second confirmation.
Legal basis: (a) (consent).
How long: until you unsubscribe; the link in every email removes your address from the list immediately.
My days (reminders for name days and your loved ones’ days)
What data: your email address, once you confirm it, and the list you make: your loved ones’ first names, the kind of day (name day, birthday, anniversary, wedding, baptism or another day) and the date.
Why: we write to you the day before, so you do not forget, and suggest a card.
Legal basis: (b) (the service you asked for). For the people on the list, (f): we use only the first name and the date, only to remind you.
How long: until you change or delete the list. The “Delete the whole list and stop the reminders” button on your page deletes the list and cancels your scheduled cards.
Cards, animated letters and scheduled cards
What data: you make the card in your browser. If you send it by link or schedule it, we keep the text, the chosen image and, if you add them, the photo, the voice message, the video and the names and messages of the people who sign the card with you. For scheduled cards: your email address (which we ask you to confirm), the recipient’s email address, your name and the day (or, if you choose, the same day every year). For printed cards: the recipient’s name, address and phone number.
Why: so that the card can be opened from the link, go out by itself on the chosen day, or be printed and delivered.
Legal basis: (b) for you; (f) for the recipient, to whom we send only the card you asked us to send.
How long: the card can be opened from the link for one year after it was last sent or edited; after that, we delete it. You can change or cancel a scheduled card until it goes out. For printed cards, we keep the delivery details for as long as needed for delivery and for our accounts.
Invitations with RSVP
What data: the invitation, the host’s name and email address (for the RSVP dashboard), the guest list added by the host (names and, if added, phone numbers and email addresses) and the guests’ replies (name, whether they are coming, how many people, menu choice, a message, a song request and, optionally, a phone number).
Why: so that the host can send the invitation and see who is coming. Guests’ phone numbers and addresses are used only so that the host can send them the invitation from their own device (WhatsApp, SMS or email); we do not send them messages, do not give them to anyone and do not use them for any other purpose. We do not read the phone’s address book: the browser shows the host their contacts, and only the ones the host chooses reach us.
Legal basis: (b) for the host; (f) for the guests (organising the event they were invited to).
How long: the invitation stays until the host deletes it from the dashboard. Guests’ phone numbers and email addresses are deleted automatically 60 days after the date of the event.
Photos and videos: the automatic check
What data: the photos and videos you put on a card or an invitation (and, for Arka Family, storytellers’ photos).
Why: so that images with nudity, violence, hate or drugs do not reach recipients, who are often children. First, your browser checks the image with a program that runs on your device (nsfwjs), without sending it anywhere. Then, when the server check is active, the photo or a few frames of the video are sent to Anthropic (USA), through its application programming interface (API), only to get back the answer “can be used” or “cannot be used”. We keep only this answer, linked to a fingerprint (hash) of the image, so that the same image is not checked twice. If an image is refused by mistake, write to us and we will check it ourselves.
Legal basis: (f) (the safety of recipients and preventing abuse).
How long: images are kept as long as the card or invitation they belong to; content reported as inappropriate may be blocked sooner.
Voice messages and videos
The voice messages and videos you record or upload are stored on our hosting provider’s servers together with the card or invitation, and can be heard or seen only by people who have the link. We keep them as long as the card or invitation they belong to.
The form for parishes and schools
What data: the name of the parish or school, your name, email address, phone number (optional) and message.
Why: to reply to you and prepare our cooperation.
Legal basis: (b) (steps you ask for before a contract) and (f).
How long: for as long as the conversation and cooperation last, then at most 3 years after the last message.
Messages you send us
When you write to us, we use your address and message only to reply to you ((b) or (f)) and keep them for at most 3 years after the last message, unless they are part of an order.
Arka Family (existing subscribers only)
For existing subscribers we process the email address, the subscription details from Stripe, the names, relationship and email addresses of the storytellers added by the subscriber, the monthly questions and their answers (text, voice, photos). Legal basis: (b) for the subscriber and (f) for the storytellers, to whom we write only to send them the question of the month. The subscriber can delete a storyteller or their answers at any time; at the subscriber’s request, we delete everything.
Statistics without cookies
To know which pages are read, your browser sends us only the following on each page: the type of event (for example, a page opened or a book added to the basket), the page address and, once per visit, where you came from (for example “google” or “facebook”). We only add these events up into daily totals. We do not keep your IP address, do not set cookies and cannot recognise you from one visit to the next. So that a visit is counted only once, the browser keeps a marker in session storage (sessionStorage), which disappears when you close the tab. On our own browsers, at the publisher, a marker in localStorage stops our own visits from being counted; this marker is never set for visitors. Legal basis: (f) (knowing what works on the website).
Security and preventing abuse
To stop mass submissions, we count how many requests come from the same IP address within an hour. For this we keep only a fingerprint (hash) of the IP address combined with the hour, not the address itself, and we do not use it for anything else. Our hosting provider, Netlify, processes your IP address to deliver the pages and may keep it for a short time in technical logs. Legal basis: (f) (the security of the website).
4. Cookies and browser storage
We use a single cookie, “arka-lang”, which remembers the language in which you read the website (Romanian, English or Spanish) for one year, so that we can open it in the same language next time. On your first visit we choose the language from your browser settings and from the country that Netlify derives from your IP address, without storing it. The cookie contains no data about you and is not used for advertising or statistics.
In your browser’s storage (localStorage, sessionStorage and IndexedDB) the website keeps, only on your device: the shopping basket, your preferences (language, currency, PDF language), a referral code you received (30 days), drafts of cards, letters and invitation messages, your personal links to My days and My library, where you stopped reading, and the model used to check images. Once you have opened My library, the browser may keep a copy of the pages you visited so that the website also works offline (without the book files and without form data). None of this reaches us unless you send a form. You can delete it at any time in your browser settings.
All of these are needed for the features you use (Article 4(5) of Romanian Law no. 506/2004).
5. Who we share data with
We use providers who process the data only for us, on our instructions and with the obligation to keep it secure:
- Netlify (USA): hosting the website, the server functions and the saved data (orders, cards, invitations, lists);
- Stripe (Ireland and USA): payments. For fraud checks and its own legal obligations, Stripe also acts as an independent controller;
- Resend (USA): sending emails;
- Oblio (Romania): issuing invoices; where the law requires it, invoices also go to the Romanian tax authority (ANAF) through the RO e-Factura system;
- Anthropic (USA): the automatic check of photos and video frames, only when this check is active;
- our partner printer and courier company: only for printed books and cards, the name, address and phone number needed for delivery.
When you download a card as a PDF, your browser loads a program (jsPDF) from cdnjs.cloudflare.com, which sees your IP address, like any website. Links to Google Calendar or Outlook open only if you tap them.
We may also give data to the authorities, only when the law obliges us to. We do not sell data and do not give it to anyone for advertising.
6. Transfers outside the European Economic Area
Some providers (Netlify, Stripe, Resend, Anthropic) are in the USA or may access data from the USA. These transfers rely on the EU–US Data Privacy Framework, for certified providers, or on the standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission (Articles 45 and 46 GDPR). You can ask us for a copy of these safeguards.
7. How long we keep data, in short
- invoices and payment records: 10 years;
- orders and My library: as long as you have books in your library, and at least 10 years for the accounting part;
- news, Advent, the story of the week: until you unsubscribe;
- My days: until you delete the list;
- cards sent by link: one year after they were last sent or edited;
- invitations: until the host deletes them; guests’ phone numbers and emails, 60 days after the event;
- messages sent to us and the parishes form: at most 3 years after the last message.
8. Your rights
You have the right to ask for access to your data, to have it corrected or deleted, to restrict its processing and to data portability. You can object at any time to processing based on our legitimate interest and, without giving any reason, to marketing messages. If you have given your consent, you can withdraw it at any time, without affecting what was done before.
The automatic image check only decides whether a photo can be used on a card or an invitation; if you disagree with the result, write to us and we will check it ourselves.
For any of these rights, write to us at books@arkabooks.org. If you are not happy with our reply, you can complain to the Romanian data protection authority, ANSPDCP (dataprotection.ro), or to the authority in the country where you live.
9. Children
Our orders and services are meant for adults. Children’s names appear in books and cards only if a parent or another adult writes them. If you are under 16, please ask a parent to sign up or order for you.
10. Security
The website uses encrypted connections (HTTPS) only. Download, library, editing and unsubscribe links are signed and hard to guess. Only the people at the publisher who need the data have access to it.
11. Changes
When we change this policy, we update the date at the top. If a change matters to you, we will also tell you by email, if we have your address.
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