Privacy Policy — NewsHive

Effective Date: October 8, 2025 | Last Updated: December 11, 2025

This Privacy Policy explains how NewsHive ("we", "us", or "our") collects, uses, shares, and protects your information when you use our mobile application (the "App"). By using NewsHive, you agree to the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

1. Information We Collect

We collect information that you provide directly to us and information that is collected automatically when you use the App.

a) Information You Provide (Manually Collected Data)

Category	Examples	Purpose	Required/Optional
Authentication Data	Email address, password (hashed using bcrypt)	Account creation, login, password recovery via OTP codes, and security	Required
Profile Information	Display name, age, gender, approximate location (country, region, city)	Personalize news content and provide location-based news recommendations. Age and gender help us understand our user base and provide age-appropriate content	Optional
News Preferences	Selected news topics (minimum 3 categories), theme preference (light/dark mode)	Curate personalized news feed and customize app appearance	Optional
Source Preferences	Per-topic news source enable/disable settings, preferred sources list	Allow users to filter out specific news sources from their feed while keeping topic preferences	Optional
Custom RSS Feeds	RSS feed URLs, feed names, custom categories	Allow users to add their own news sources beyond default providers	Optional
Bookmarks & Saved Content	Saved articles (article IDs, timestamps)	Enable saved articles feature for later reading	Optional
AI-Generated Summaries	Custom article summaries generated via AI, summary request counts	Store user-generated summaries for quick access and enforce daily usage limits	Optional (premium feature)
Notification Preferences	Push notification settings, notification topics of interest	Deliver personalized breaking news alerts and daily digests	Optional
Subscription Data	Subscription tier (Free/Pro/Ultra/Lifetime), Google Play purchase tokens, order IDs, purchase timestamps, expiration dates (for recurring plans), auto-renewal status (for recurring plans)	Manage subscriptions, verify premium access, handle billing. Lifetime purchases are tracked as permanent access with no expiration	Required for premium users

b) Information Collected Automatically

Category	Examples	Purpose
Usage Data	Article views, time spent on articles, reading history (recently viewed articles), AI summary generation requests, bookmark actions (add/remove with timestamps), article sharing events, category/topic selections, source filter usage	Personalize content recommendations, track reading patterns, enforce feature limits (e.g., daily AI summary quotas), improve app functionality
Device Information	Platform type (Android), device user agent string, app version, last used device timestamp, FCM (Firebase Cloud Messaging) tokens, Google Advertising ID (collected by Firebase Analytics for analytics purposes only)	App performance monitoring, debugging, push notification delivery, device compatibility optimization, analytics and crash reporting (Advertising ID is NOT used for personalized advertising)
Analytics Events	App lifecycle events (app opens, closes), screen views and navigation patterns, session duration, authentication events (login, signup, logout), onboarding completion, crash reports and errors, push notification interactions (tap actions, deep link navigations)	Product improvement, bug fixing, user experience optimization, feature usage analysis, notification effectiveness tracking
Notification Data	Notification delivery status, read/unread status, notification interaction timestamps	Improve notification relevance and delivery, track engagement
Network Status	Online/offline state, connection type	Optimize syncing behavior and enable offline caching

c) Guest Mode Data (Local Storage Only)

If you use NewsHive in Guest Mode without creating an account, we store limited data locally on your device:

• Guest mode flag: Indicates you're using the app without an account
• Daily summary count: Tracks AI summary usage to enforce limits
• Last summary date: Resets daily usage counters
• App preferences: Theme settings, cached articles

This data is stored only on your device and is NOT synced to our servers. It will be deleted if you clear app data or uninstall the app.

d) Location Information

We collect approximate location data only (country, region, city) based on your IP address or user-provided information during account setup. We do not collect precise GPS location data, and we do not track your real-time location. Location information is used solely to personalize news content relevant to your region and is optional — you can choose not to provide it.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

• Account Management: Authenticate users, manage accounts, enable login and registration, send OTP codes for verification
• Content Personalization: Deliver personalized news feeds, recommendations, and curated content based on your interests, reading history, and selected topics
• Feature Delivery: Track AI summary usage and enforce daily limits, enable bookmarks and reading history, manage custom RSS feeds, deliver push notifications
• Communication: Send transactional emails including OTP verification codes, password resets, subscription confirmations, and important service updates
• User Feedback: Periodically collect user feedback via email to improve the app and understand user needs. Feedback surveys are voluntary and you can ignore or unsubscribe from them
• App Improvement: Analyze usage patterns, monitor app performance, identify and fix bugs, develop new features, understand user behavior
• Security: Detect fraud, prevent unauthorized access, monitor for suspicious activity, ensure account security
• Subscription Management: Verify premium access, process payments through Google Play, manage auto-renewals, handle billing inquiries
• Legal Compliance: Comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms of Service

3. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for their marketing purposes.

We share your information only with trusted service providers who help us operate the App. These providers act as data processors on our behalf and are contractually obligated to protect your data:

Service Provider	Purpose	Data Shared
Supabase (Backend Infrastructure)	Database hosting, authentication, backend functions, server-side processing	All user data: profiles, preferences, bookmarks, article views, summaries, subscriptions, RSS feeds, authentication credentials
Firebase Analytics (Google)	Usage analytics, crash reporting, performance monitoring	Anonymized usage events, device information, screen views, user behavior patterns, crash logs. User IDs are pseudonymized (no personally identifiable information)
Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM)	Push notification delivery	FCM tokens, device identifiers, notification content
Google Play Billing	In-app purchase processing	Purchase tokens, order IDs, subscription status. Payment card information is handled directly by Google Play and never shared with NewsHive
Resend.com	Transactional email delivery (OTP codes, password resets, feedback collection)	Email addresses only (for verification emails, password resets, and periodic user feedback surveys)
Google Gemini AI	Article summarization	Article URLs and text content only (no personal user data is sent to the AI service)
News APIs (NewsAPI, GNews, The Guardian)	Fetch public news articles	No user data shared — these services only provide content to the app

We may also disclose information if required by law, legal process, or government request, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of NewsHive, our users, or others.

4. Data Storage, Security & Regional Information

Data Storage Location

Your data is stored securely in Supabase's cloud infrastructure hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS) in the ap-south-1 region (Mumbai, India). This ensures data residency compliance for users in India and nearby regions.

Local Storage: Guest mode data and app preferences are stored locally on your device using Capacitor Secure Storage (encrypted). This data never leaves your device unless you create an account.

Security Measures

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your information:

• Encryption in Transit: All data transmitted between your device and our servers is encrypted using TLS/HTTPS protocols
• Encryption at Rest: Data stored on AWS infrastructure is encrypted at rest using AES-256 encryption
• Password Security: Passwords are hashed using bcrypt (one-way encryption) and never stored in plain text. We cannot see or recover your password
• Row-Level Security (RLS): Database-level security policies ensure users can only access their own data. Other users cannot view your profile, bookmarks, or reading history
• API Security: API keys and secrets are encrypted and stored securely in Supabase Secrets Manager
• Local Storage Encryption: Data stored on your device is encrypted using Capacitor Secure Storage
• Regular Security Audits: We conduct regular security assessments and monitor for vulnerabilities

While we strive to protect your data, no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security but continuously work to improve our safeguards.

5. App Permissions

The App requests the following permissions to function properly:

• Internet Access (INTERNET): Required to fetch news content, sync data, and access online features. Automatically granted.
• Network State (ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE): Detect connection status to enable offline mode and optimize data usage. Automatically granted.
• Push Notifications (POST_NOTIFICATIONS, Android 13+): Send push notifications for breaking news, daily digests, and important updates. You can opt out in settings or deny the permission.
• Wake Lock (WAKE_LOCK): Keep device awake during data synchronization to ensure complete updates. Automatically granted.
• Boot Completed (RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED): Restore notification channels after device restart. Automatically granted.
• Foreground Service: Enable background notifications. Automatically granted.

You can manage these permissions through your device settings at any time.

6. Data Retention & Deletion

Retention Periods

• News Articles: Automatically deleted from our servers after 30 days to save storage space and maintain fresh content
• Cache Data: Expired entries cleaned up after 24 hours
• Background Jobs: Logs retained for 7 days for debugging purposes
• User Data: Retained as long as your account is active. You can delete your account at any time
• Analytics Data: Firebase Analytics retains event data for 2 months and user properties for 14 months (Google's default policy)
• Backup Data: Database backups may exist for up to 7 days after deletion (Supabase default retention)

What You Can Delete

✅ Full Account Deletion

You can permanently delete your entire account at any time. When you delete your account, the following data is permanently and irretrievably removed:

• User profile (name, email, age, gender, location)
• All preferences (topics, theme, notification settings)
• All bookmarks and saved articles
• All reading history and article views
• All AI-generated summaries
• Summary usage tracking data
• All custom RSS feeds
• Subscription information
• Notification data and FCM tokens
• Authentication credentials

To delete your account:

1. Go to Settings → Account → Delete Account in the app
2. Enter your password to confirm (security verification)
3. Confirm deletion

Alternatively, contact us at newshive.contact@gmail.com with the subject line "Account Deletion Request" and we will process your request within 30 days.

✅ Partial Data Deletion (Without Deleting Account)

You can delete specific data without removing your entire account:

• Clear All AI Summaries: Remove all generated summaries while keeping your account
• Clear Reading History: Delete all article view history

These options are available in the app settings under Privacy or Data Management.

❌ Data That Cannot Be Individually Deleted

The following data types cannot be deleted individually without deleting your entire account:

• Individual bookmarks (you can delete all summaries and history, but not individual bookmarks yet)
• Topic preferences
• Profile information (name, age, gender, location)
• Custom RSS feeds
• Individual notifications

We plan to add more granular data deletion features in future updates.

📋 RSS Feed Limits

Free Tier Limits: Free tier users can maintain up to 3 active RSS feeds. When a premium subscription expires, excess feeds beyond this limit are automatically disabled (not deleted). You can manually re-enable feeds by upgrading your subscription or removing other feeds to stay within the 3-feed limit.

7. Children's Privacy

NewsHive is intended for users aged 16 years and above. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child under 16 has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately at newshive.contact@gmail.com, and we will take steps to remove such information from our systems within 72 hours.

Planned Improvement: We are working on adding age verification during signup to prevent children under 16 from creating accounts.

8. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Correction: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data (can be done in app settings)
• Deletion: Request deletion of your personal data (via account deletion or data clearing features)
• Data Portability: Request your data in a structured, machine-readable format (JSON export available upon request)
• Opt-Out: Opt out of marketing communications (we don't send marketing emails, only transactional ones)
• Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent for optional data processing (e.g., analytics, personalization)
• Object: Object to processing of your data for certain purposes

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at newshive.contact@gmail.com. We will respond to your request within 30 days.

Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR/International Users)

We process your personal data based on the following legal grounds:

• Consent: When you provide explicit consent (e.g., optional profile information, push notifications, analytics)
• Contract: To fulfill our agreement with you and provide App services (account management, subscriptions)
• Legitimate Interests: To improve our services, ensure security, conduct analytics, prevent fraud
• Legal Obligation: To comply with applicable laws and regulations

9. Cookies & Local Storage

We use Capacitor Preferences and Secure Storage (local storage technology) to cache content, settings, and preferences on your device. This allows for faster loading times and offline functionality.

We do not use third-party advertising cookies or tracking technologies for advertising purposes. The App does not display ads, and we do not track you across other websites or apps.

Guest Mode: If you use the app without an account, we store minimal data locally (summary count, theme preference). This data never leaves your device and is not synced to our servers.

10. International Data Transfers

Your data is primarily stored in AWS ap-south-1 (Mumbai, India). However, some third-party service providers (such as Firebase, Google services) may process data in other regions, including the United States and European Union.

When data is transferred internationally, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, including:

• Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by regulatory authorities
• Service providers certified under relevant data protection frameworks (Google is GDPR-compliant)
• Encryption and security measures during transit (TLS/HTTPS)

11. Advertising & Tracking

11.1 No Third-Party Advertising

NewsHive does not display third-party advertisements. We do not share your personal information with advertising networks, and we do not use tracking technologies for advertising or cross-site tracking purposes.

11.2 Google Advertising ID Collection

While we do not show ads, we collect the Google Advertising ID through Firebase Analytics for the following purposes:

• Analytics & Attribution: Track app installs, user engagement, and measure campaign effectiveness
• Crash Reporting: Associate crash reports with anonymous device identifiers for debugging
• User Segmentation: Understand user behavior patterns and app performance across different device types
• Fraud Prevention: Detect and prevent fake accounts, bot activity, and subscription fraud

Important Clarifications:

• The Advertising ID is NOT used for personalized advertising (we don't show ads)
• The Advertising ID is NOT shared with advertising networks
• The Advertising ID is NOT used to track you across other apps or websites
• Firebase Analytics collects this automatically — we use it only for internal analytics and app improvement
• You can reset or opt out of the Advertising ID in your Android device settings (Settings → Google → Ads → Reset advertising ID or Opt out of Ads Personalization)

11.3 Analytics Only

Analytics data collected through Firebase (including Advertising ID) is used solely for:

• Improving app functionality and user experience
• Understanding which features are most used
• Identifying and fixing bugs and crashes
• Measuring app performance across different devices
• Preventing fraud and abuse

We do NOT use this data for targeted advertising, sell it to data brokers, or share it with marketing companies.

12. Background Data Collection

Offline Mode:

• Guest mode data (summary count, preferences) stored locally on your device
• App preferences cached locally for faster access
• No data synced to servers while offline (requires internet connection)

Background Activity:

• Push notifications may be received in the background (if you've enabled them)
• FCM token refresh may occur in the background to maintain notification delivery
• No active data collection when the app is closed
• Background job runs on our server-side (not on your device) to fetch and process news articles

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. When we make changes:

• The "Last Updated" date at the top will be revised
• For material changes, we will notify you via email or in-app notification at least 7 days before changes take effect
• Continued use of the App after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your data.

14. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:

Developer: Akshay Kumar
Brand: NewsHive
Email: bmanakshay@gmail.com
Address: Karimnagar, Telangana, India - 500001

We will respond to your inquiry within 5-7 business days.