Privacy policy.

Overview

Noteworthy News is an independent news product: a website, web push notifications, live story coverage, and a companion iOS app. We try to collect only what we need to run those services, deliver the alerts you ask for, keep things reliable, and prevent abuse.

You can read the site and follow most coverage without creating an account. Some features - signing in, enabling notifications, following a live story, or pairing the iOS app - require a small amount of additional information, described below.

Information we collect

Information you provide

When you contact us, submit a tip or correction, or sign up for the newsletter, we receive what you send - typically your email address and message. Newsletter delivery is handled by our email provider (see Third-party services).

Account and profile information

If you sign in, authentication is handled by Auth0. We receive the profile details associated with your login, which may include your email address, name, and avatar image. We use this to show your profile, enable comments, grant authorized staff access, and - only if you choose to pair the iOS app while signed in - to display your linked profile in the app.

Notification and device information

If you enable web push notifications, your browser creates a push subscription (a delivery endpoint and keys). We store that subscription and a key derived from its endpoint so we can send the alerts you selected and respect your preferences. If you provide an email when subscribing, we store it with the subscription.

Live Story follows and preferences

When you follow a live story, we record which story you follow (linked to your push subscription key), an optional email if provided, and whether the follow is muted. This lets us notify you about updates and show aggregate follower counts.

App and device information (iOS app)

If you use our iOS app and pair it with the website, we process a device identifier you generate, a hashed device secret (the secret itself is stored only on your device), your push environment, app version and locale, and Apple push tokens used for notifications and Live Activities. Pairing uses a short-lived, single-use code; if you pair while signed in, that code briefly carries your verified profile so the app can show it.

Usage and log information

Like virtually all websites, our hosting and infrastructure providers automatically generate technical logs (for example, IP address, browser/device type, and timestamps) to operate, secure, and troubleshoot the service.

On-device preferences

Some preferences are stored locally in your browser (for example, your article text-size choice and your cookie-consent selection). These stay on your device unless this policy states otherwise.

How we use information

• Operate and display the website, stories, and live updates
• Deliver web push and (where enabled) iOS notifications and Live Activities you opt into
• Manage the live stories you follow and your notification preferences
• Pair and maintain the iOS companion app
• Respond to messages, tips, and correction requests
• Maintain reliability, security, and prevent abuse or fraud
• Show advertising through Google AdSense (see Cookies)
• Comply with legal obligations and respond to lawful requests

Notifications & Live Activities

Web push: When you opt in, your browser registers a push subscription that we use to send the alert categories you selected (such as breaking news, earthquakes, website updates, or live story updates). You can turn these off at any time in your browser's site settings or your notification preferences, which deactivates delivery.

iOS notifications and Live Activities: If you use the iOS app, Apple Push Notification service (APNs) delivers notifications and Live Activity updates (such as Lock Screen and Dynamic Island coverage of a live story) to your device. These rely on Apple-issued push tokens tied to your paired device. You control them through iOS notification settings and by following or unfollowing stories.

Your control: Disabling notifications in your browser or in iOS settings stops delivery. Unfollowing a story stops updates for that story.

Third-party services

We rely on a small set of service providers to run Noteworthy News. Each has its own privacy practices:

• NetlifyWebsite hosting, serverless functions, and storage for content and push subscriptions.
• SupabaseDatabase for live stories, follows, and paired-device records.
• Auth0Sign-in and account authentication.
• Apple (APNs)Delivery of iOS notifications and Live Activities.
• Google AdSense & Google FontsAdvertising and web fonts. AdSense may use cookies/device identifiers for ads.
• ResendSending and routing email such as newsletters and contact replies.
• OpenAIProcessing requests, conversation context and submitted files for optional AI answers, image tools, transcription and legacy live voice.
• ElevenLabsGenerating spoken article-companion answers and processing microphone audio and article context during its voice calls.
• Cloudflare R2Storage for larger audio uploads and transcription results when that upload service is configured.
• X (Twitter) and original sourcesSome stories link to original posts or sources. Visiting them is subject to those sites' own policies.

We also use public data sources (for example, USGS and the National Weather Service) for event information; these provide data and do not receive your personal information from us.

Optional AI and file tools

Noteworthy AI generates responses; these are not edited reporting and can contain errors. When you use it, your request, recent conversation, and context about the page you are reading may be sent to OpenAI. Submitted images and text extracted from documents may also be included. When the assistant searches the web, search queries may be sent to Google News or DuckDuckGo. The article story companion uses ElevenLabs for spoken answers and voice calls: answer text is sent for speech generation, and microphone audio and the eligible article context are shared during a call. The interface opens without sending an AI request or accessing your microphone; those actions begin when you ask a question or start a call. Its voice preference is stored on your device, and dismissal is remembered for the article in the current browser session. The separate legacy research widget can use OpenAI live voice or a browser speech service. Provider retention and conversation recording depend on the configured service and account.

Noteworthy can store AI interactions, response text, upload details and technical information such as IP addresses in its Netlify storage. The system can associate interactions with an email address when available and retain interests or other preferences inferred from conversations. If administrative AI email notifications are enabled, interaction excerpts, recent conversation and links to uploaded images may also be sent through Resend to configured recipients.

Images uploaded to the assistant can remain in Noteworthy storage and can be retrieved by anyone with their retrieval URL. Document text is extracted for the request; no fixed deletion period for AI interaction records, personalization records or stored assistant images is enforced by the current application. Closing or refreshing the assistant does not delete those stored records. Do not submit confidential documents or sensitive personal information through these tools.

The separate transcription tool sends audio to OpenAI. Small direct uploads are processed in the request; larger uploads use Netlify storage or Cloudflare R2. Successful stored-audio processing attempts to delete the source audio, while generated transcripts and job records can remain. Failed or abandoned uploads may remain. This is not a guaranteed deletion deadline.

For access or deletion requests, email richard@noteworthynews.co with enough information to identify the interaction, such as its approximate date and any upload URL. There is no self-service deletion control for these server records. Provider retention depends on the configured service and account; we do not promise a particular provider retention period or that every copy is deleted when a chat closes.

Cookies, local storage, and similar technologies

We use local storage for essential preferences (such as your article text-size setting and your cookie-consent choice). These are not used to track you across other sites.

We display ads through Google AdSense. AdSense and its partners may use cookies or device identifiers to show and measure ads, including personalized ads based on your activity. When you first visit, our cookie banner lets you accept or reject non-essential cookies, and that choice is stored on your device.

You can manage advertising preferences through Google's Ads Settings, the Network Advertising Initiative opt-out, and Google's partner-sites policy. You can also control or clear cookies in your browser settings.

Remembered story briefings on this device

Remembering a story briefing is optional. Nothing is recorded by this feature until you choose “Remember this briefing on this device.” It stores only the briefing identifier, version number and source date you acknowledge in this browser’s local storage. It does not record your visits or enable email alerts, automatic monitoring or account synchronization.

You can forget an individual briefing on its page or clear all remembered briefings on the story briefings page. Browser data clearing also removes this preference. Other people using the same browser profile may see it; private browsing or blocked storage may prevent it from being saved. This control is separate from account bookmarks and email subscriptions.

How we share information

• Service providers: We share information with the providers listed above only as needed to operate the service.
• Advertising: Google AdSense may use cookies/identifiers to deliver and measure ads. Under some privacy laws, this advertising activity may be considered "sharing" of information for targeted advertising; you can opt out using the links above.
• Legal and safety: We may disclose information to comply with the law, enforce our terms, or protect the rights, safety, and security of our users and the public.
• Public content: Comments you post and links to original sources are not private.

We do not sell your personal information for money.

Data retention

• Pairing codes are short-lived (about 10 minutes), single-use, and removed after they expire or are redeemed.
• Push subscriptions, live story follows, and paired-device records may remain after delivery stops. Some subscription paths mark a record inactive rather than deleting it. Contact us to request deletion of information associated with you.
• AI interactions, personalization records and uploads do not have a fixed application-enforced retention period. See Optional AI and file tools for the data flow and deletion limitations.
• Operational logs are retained by our infrastructure providers according to their own schedules.
• Messages you send us are kept as needed to respond and maintain records.

To request access or deletion of information associated with you, contact us using the details below.

Your choices

• Notifications: Turn web push or iOS notifications on or off in your browser or device settings.
• Live stories: Unfollow a story at any time to stop its updates.
• iOS pairing: Unpair or reset the app's device link from the app, and re-pair when you choose.
• Account: Sign out at any time; contact us about your profile information.
• Cookies: Accept or reject non-essential cookies, and manage ad personalization with the links above.
• Access & deletion: Contact us to request access to, correction of, or deletion of your information.

Children's privacy

Noteworthy News is a general-audience news product and is not directed to young children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, please contact us and we will take appropriate steps to remove it.

Security

We take reasonable measures to protect information - for example, storing device secrets only as hashes, deriving subscription keys rather than exposing raw endpoints, restricting database access, and rate-limiting sensitive actions. No method of transmission or storage is perfectly secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as our products and practices change. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Significant changes may be highlighted on the site.