Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

We are committed to protecting your privacy. We collect only the information necessary to provide and improve our news platform:

• Account Information (optional): If you choose to create an account, we collect your first name, last name, and email address. Your password is securely hashed and never stored in plain text.
• Anonymous Usage Tracking: When you visit our site, we assign an anonymous identifier to track your browsing session. This does not contain any personal information and is used solely to improve your experience, such as providing article recommendations.
• Usage Data: We collect information about how you interact with the site, including articles viewed, time spent reading, scroll depth, and how you navigate between pages. This data is used internally to improve our content and platform.
• Game Data: If you play our games (e.g., Daily Word), we store your guesses, scores, and streaks to provide game statistics and maintain your progress.
• Article Interactions: If you like or save articles, we store these preferences to personalize your experience.
• Device and Location: We collect general device information (browser type, operating system, device type) and approximate location (country and city level, derived from your IP address) to optimize site performance and serve relevant content.
• Traffic Attribution: We record how you arrived at our site (e.g., referring website, search engine, or campaign links) for internal analytics.

2. Information We Do NOT Collect

We do not collect payment information, phone numbers, physical addresses, or social media account details. We do not operate a newsletter or email marketing list — we only send emails for account verification and password resets when you specifically request them.

3. How We Use Your Information

All data we collect is used exclusively for the internal operation and improvement of our platform. Specifically, we use your information to:

• Provide and maintain the news platform and its features
• Personalize article recommendations based on your reading history
• Maintain your game scores, streaks, and statistics
• Send account-related emails (email verification and password reset only)
• Analyze site performance, content engagement, and user experience
• Serve advertisements through Google AdSense

4. We Do Not Sell Your Data

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to any third party. Period.

All internal tracking and analytics data is used solely to operate and improve our platform. We do not share your data with advertisers, data brokers, or any other third parties for their own marketing or commercial purposes.

Data is shared only with the third-party service providers listed below, strictly to operate the platform's core functionality.

5. Cookies

Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit our site. We use cookies for the following purposes:

• Anonymous Identifier: A secure, HTTP-only cookie that identifies your browsing session. It contains no personal information — only a random identifier. This cookie lasts up to 2 years.
• Authentication: If you create an account and sign in, a secure, HTTP-only cookie maintains your login session. This cookie lasts 7 days.
• Timezone Detection: A cookie that stores your local timezone so we can display article timestamps accurately. This cookie lasts 1 year.
• Third-Party Cookies: Google Analytics and Google AdSense may set their own cookies. See below for details on these services.

You can control and delete cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect some site functionality.

6. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services to operate our platform. These services may receive limited data as described below:

• Google Analytics: We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our site. It collects anonymized page view data, general device information, and approximate location. IP addresses are anonymized by Google. You can opt out by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on at: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout
• Google AdSense: We use Google AdSense to serve advertisements. AdSense may use cookies and collect browsing information to display relevant ads. You can manage your ad preferences through Google's Ad Settings.
• Google reCAPTCHA: We use reCAPTCHA on our contact form to prevent spam. It may collect device and browser information for verification purposes.
• Resend (Email Delivery): When you request email verification or password reset, your email address and the relevant code are sent to our email delivery provider to deliver the message. No other information is shared.
• IP Geolocation: We use a geolocation service to determine your approximate location (country and city) from your IP address. Only your IP address is sent, and only country and city information is stored.

7. Data Retention

Account data is retained for as long as your account is active. If you wish to delete your account and all associated data, please contact us.

Anonymous usage data is retained for internal analytics purposes to help us understand long-term trends and improve the platform.

Game data (scores, streaks, history) is retained to maintain your progress and statistics.

8. Your Rights

You have the following rights regarding your data:

• Account Deletion: Contact us to request deletion of your account and all associated personal data.
• Google Analytics Opt-out: Use the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on to prevent analytics tracking.
• Cookie Management: Control or delete cookies through your browser settings.
• Data Access: Contact us to request a copy of any personal data we hold about you.

9. Children's Privacy

Our website is intended for a general audience. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have collected information from a child, please contact us so we can promptly remove it.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information.