CheckTheNews ("CTN," "we," "us") helps people compare news coverage across perspectives and spot framing for themselves. We collect as little as we can to make that work. This policy explains what we collect, why, and what your choices are.

This policy covers the CheckTheNews iOS app, the CheckTheNews.org website, and our official social media channels (together, the "Service").

What we collect

Information you give us or create in the Service:

• Email address and first name (optional) when you sign up

• Topic preferences, story alerts, clip history, and responses to onboarding questions

• Survey responses and votes you submit (for example, which coverage felt more fair)

• Comments, profile details, or other content you choose to share on the Service

• Feedback or support messages you send us

Information collected automatically:

• Clip activity: which clips you view, like, or save

• Usage events: screens visited, buttons tapped, watch time, and similar interactions

• A randomly generated device identifier and session identifier

• Basic device and technical information, such as device type, operating system, app version, and general region

Notifications and email delivery:

• If you enable notifications, we collect notification preferences, permission status, and device push tokens so we can send story alerts and app updates.

• For email, we may process delivery events such as delivered, bounced, deferred, or unsubscribed so we can maintain email quality and avoid sending to invalid addresses.

We do not collect your precise location, contacts, photos, or browsing history outside the Service.

How we use it

• To run the Service: show you clips, remember your topics, sync your clip history and saved items

• To improve the product: understand which features work, which clips people watch, and where people drop off

• To communicate with you: account messages, product updates, and story alerts by email and push notification (you can opt out of both, see Your Choices below)

• To keep the Service safe: prevent abuse, enforce our Terms of Service, and moderate content

• To meet legal obligations

We do not sell your personal information. We do not use your data for third-party advertising.

Who we share it with

We share data only with service providers that help us operate. Service providers we use may include hosting providers, analytics providers, email delivery providers, push notification services, media/storage providers, and third-party content sources. These currently include:

• Hosting: Render, which stores account and activity data on our behalf

• Analytics: PostHog, which processes usage events so we can understand and improve the Service

• Email delivery: SendGrid, which sends our emails and reports delivery events

• Push notifications: Apple Push Notification service (APNs)

• Media and storage: Cloudflare/R2, which stores and delivers media

• Content sources: archive.org and YouTube, which host source footage that appears in the Service (see Third-Party Content and Links below)

These providers process data under our instructions and their own contractual obligations. We may also disclose information if required by law, to protect our rights or users' safety, or as part of a business transition (for example, a merger), in which case this policy would continue to apply to your data.

Third-party content and links

The Service includes third-party news clips and links to outside sources. News clips may come from archive.org, and Featured Shorts may include content posted on YouTube. Dig Deeper or search-result links may take you to third-party websites. Those third-party services are governed by their own privacy policies and terms, and we encourage you to review them.

Cookies and local storage

The website and app use local storage to remember things like your device identifier and whether you have completed first-time setup. We do not use third-party advertising cookies.

Data retention

We keep your information while your account is active or while it is needed to run the Service. We may retain analytics data in aggregated or pseudonymous form to track long-term trends. If you request deletion, we remove your personal information from active systems within 30 days, except where we must keep limited records for legal, security, or accounting reasons.

Your choices

• Email: Every marketing or update email includes an unsubscribe link.

• Push notifications: Turn them off anytime in your device settings.

• Access, correction, or deletion: You may request access, correction, or deletion by emailing support@checkthenews.org. We may need to verify your identity first. We will provide an in-app account deletion method when required by Apple or when full account-management features are available.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have legal rights to access, correct, delete, or receive a copy of your personal information, and to object to or restrict certain processing.

• United States: Residents of California and certain other states have rights under state privacy laws, including the right to know what we collect, the right to delete, and the right to non-discrimination for exercising those rights. We do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined under California law.

• Outside the United States: The Service is operated from the United States and your data is processed there. If you use the Service from the EU, UK, or elsewhere, you may have rights under local law (such as the GDPR), and our legal bases for processing are performance of our agreement with you, our legitimate interest in operating and improving the Service, and your consent where required.

To exercise any right, email support@checkthenews.org.

Children

The Service is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has given us personal information, contact us at support@checkthenews.org and we will delete it.

Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information, including encryption in transit. No system is perfectly secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Changes to this policy

If we make material changes, we will update the effective date above and notify you through the Service or by email. Continued use after changes take effect means you accept the updated policy.

Contact us

CheckTheNews, L3C support@checkthenews.org https://www.checkthenews.org