How we protect manuscripts

Private storage, not public media

BetaQuill stores manuscript uploads in protected private storage outside the public website. Files use internal storage keys rather than public download URLs, and direct web access is blocked.

Validation and quarantine

Uploads are limited to PDF and EPUB files up to 25 MB. BetaQuill checks the file contents and structure rather than trusting the filename, calculates a SHA-256 integrity fingerprint, and places every accepted upload into quarantine by default.

Malware checks fail closed

The current on-host scanner pilot is enabled only after its compatibility checks pass. A missing scanner, changed file, failed scan or inconclusive result leaves the manuscript quarantined. Antivirus reduces risk but cannot guarantee that every malicious file will be detected.

Workspace separation and revocation

BetaQuill checks author and reader access separately for every workspace and campaign. Access to one workspace never grants access to another. Authors can remove a reader from a campaign and the action is recorded. Eligible readers receive short-lived, single-use download grants for their assigned copy only.

Traceability, with honest limits

New reader-specific PDFs and EPUBs contain a signed allocation marker in several locations, alongside visible copy details. Verified authors can inspect a recovered file from their account and compare its marker only with allocations in workspaces they own. BetaQuill administrators retain a separate operational inspector. This can identify which issued copy the file came from, even if its visible licence page was removed, but no marker is impossible to remove and an allocation match does not prove who personally disclosed a file.