Last Updated: June 12, 2025
Welcome to the California News App, your trusted source for news from every big and small town in California, as well as statewide updates. We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring transparency in how we handle your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains our practices regarding the collection, use, storage, sharing, and protection of your data when you use our app. By using the California News App, you agree to the terms outlined in this policy.
We collect various types of information to provide, personalize, and improve our services:
Account Information: When you create an account, you may provide:
Name
Email address
Phone number (optional, for account verification or notifications)
Profile preferences (e.g., preferred news categories, favorite California towns like Sacramento or Yreka).
User-Generated Content: If you interact with features like comments or feedback forms, we collect:
Comments or messages you submit
Feedback or survey responses.
Contact Information: If you reach out to us for support, we may collect:
Your email address or phone number
Details of your inquiry.
Usage Data: We collect information about how you interact with the app, including:
Articles you read, bookmark, or share (e.g., news from Los Angeles or small towns like Willits)
Search queries (e.g., searching for events in San Diego or local updates in Chico)
Time spent on the app and frequency of use
Clicks, scrolls, and navigation patterns.
Device and Technical Information: We automatically collect:
IP address
Device type (e.g., iPhone, Android)
Operating system and version (e.g., iOS 18, Android 14)
Unique device identifiers (e.g., IDFA, Android ID)
Browser type and version (if accessing via a web version)
App version, crash reports, and performance logs.
Location Data: With your consent, we collect:
Approximate location (e.g., city-level, to deliver news from nearby towns like Fresno or Santa Cruz)
Precise location (if enabled, for hyper-local features like real-time event updates in your area).
Cookies and Tracking Technologies: We use cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies to:
Store your login session and preferences
Track app usage for analytics (e.g., how many users read news from Bakersfield)
Deliver personalized ads or content
Measure the effectiveness of our features.
Third-Party Logins: If you sign in using a third-party service (e.g., Google or Apple), we may collect:
Your name and email address (as provided by the service)
A unique identifier for authentication.
Analytics and Advertising Partners: We may receive aggregated or anonymized data from third-party partners to understand user behavior or ad performance.
We use your information to deliver a seamless and personalized news experience:
Service Delivery:
Provide news updates from all California towns and cities, such as San Francisco, San Diego, and smaller towns like Julian or Oroville.
Enable features like article bookmarking, sharing, and commenting.
Personalization:
Recommend news based on your location, reading history, or preferences (e.g., local stories from Riverside or statewide political updates).
Customize your news feed to prioritize topics or regions you care about.
Notifications:
Send push notifications about breaking news or events (e.g., a major incident in Oakland or a festival in Santa Barbara), which you can opt out of at any time.
Notify you about app updates or new features.
App Improvement:
Analyze usage patterns to enhance app performance (e.g., improving load times for users in high-traffic areas like Los Angeles).
Identify and fix bugs or crashes based on device and performance data.
Advertising:
Display personalized ads (e.g., ads for local events in San Jose or businesses in Santa Rosa).
Use third-party ad networks to serve ads, which may use your data for ad targeting.
Communication:
Respond to your support inquiries or feedback.
Send you promotional emails or messages (you can unsubscribe at any time).
Legal Compliance and Safety:
Comply with laws like the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
Protect against fraud, abuse, or harm to our users or the public.
We do not sell your personal information. We may share your data in the following circumstances:
Service Providers:
We work with third-party vendors to operate the app, such as:
Cloud hosting providers (e.g., Amazon Web Services for data storage)
Analytics providers (e.g., Google Analytics for usage insights)
Advertising networks (e.g., AdMob for serving ads)
Push notification services (e.g., Firebase for sending alerts).
These providers are bound by strict confidentiality agreements and can only use your data for the purposes we specify.
Legal Obligations:
We may disclose your information if required by law, such as:
To comply with a court order, subpoena, or government investigation
To meet requirements under the CCPA or other regulations
To prevent fraud, illegal activities, or harm to users.
Business Transfers:
If the California News App undergoes a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred to the new entity. We will notify you of such changes.
With Your Consent:
We may share your data for additional purposes if you provide explicit consent (e.g., sharing your reading history with a partner for a news study).
Aggregated or Anonymized Data:
We may share aggregated or anonymized data (e.g., “50% of users in Sacramento read political news”) with partners for research or marketing purposes.
We retain your information only as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy, unless a longer period is required by law:
Account Data: Retained as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we will remove your personal information within 30 days, except for data needed for legal compliance (e.g., tax or audit records).
Usage Data: Retained for up to 12 months for analytics purposes, after which it is anonymized or deleted.
Location Data: Retained only for the duration of your session unless you enable ongoing location tracking, in which case it is stored until you disable the feature.
Ad Data: Data used for personalized ads (e.g., interests inferred from your reading history) is retained for up to 90 days, after which it is refreshed or deleted.
Logs: Crash logs and performance data are retained for up to 6 months to ensure app stability.
You have several rights regarding your personal information, particularly under the CCPA and other applicable laws:
Right to Access: Request a copy of the personal information we have collected about you, including categories of data, sources, and purposes of use.
Right to Delete: Request the deletion of your personal information, subject to exceptions (e.g., data needed for legal compliance).
Right to Opt-Out of Sale: We do not sell your personal information, but you can opt out of any future data sales (if applicable).
Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you (e.g., deny services or charge different prices) for exercising your privacy rights.
Right to Correct: Request corrections to inaccurate personal information.
Right to Limit Use: Limit the use of your sensitive personal information (e.g., precise location data).
Right to Data Portability: Request your data in a machine-readable format for transfer to another service.
To exercise these rights, contact us at privacy@californianewsapp.com or use the “Manage My Data” feature in the app settings. We will respond within 45 days, as required by the CCPA (with a possible 45-day extension for complex requests).
You can also manage your preferences directly in the app:
Disable location tracking in the settings.
Opt out of push notifications or personalized ads.
Delete your account via the account settings, which will remove your personal data (except as required by law).
We implement robust security measures to protect your information:
Encryption: Data is encrypted in transit (using HTTPS/TLS) and at rest (using AES-256 encryption).
Access Controls: Only authorized personnel can access your data, and access is logged and monitored.
Regular Audits: We conduct security audits and penetration testing to identify and address vulnerabilities.
Account Security: If you create an account, we use secure password hashing (e.g., bcrypt) and offer two-factor authentication (2FA) as an option.
App Security: We regularly update the app to patch vulnerabilities and ensure compatibility with the latest security standards.
Despite these measures, no system is completely secure. In the event of a data breach, we will:
Notify affected users within 72 hours, as required by law.
Provide details about the breach and steps to protect yourself.
Take immediate action to mitigate the breach and prevent future incidents.
The California News App is not intended for users under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we discover that such information has been collected, we will delete it immediately. If you believe we have collected data from a child under 13, please contact us at privacy@californianewsapp.com.
The California News App is primarily intended for users in the United States. If you access the app from outside the U.S., your data may be transferred to and stored in the United States. By using the app, you consent to this transfer. We comply with applicable laws for international data transfers:
For users in the European Union, we adhere to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and use standard contractual clauses (SCCs) for data transfers.
We ensure that our service providers comply with similar standards for international data handling.
Our app may include links to third-party websites or services, such as:
News sources (e.g., links to articles from external publishers in San Francisco or Santa Monica)
Advertisers (e.g., local businesses in San Diego)
Social media sharing buttons (e.g., to share articles on platforms like X).
We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third parties. We recommend reviewing their privacy policies before interacting with them.
Additionally, we integrate with third-party services such as:
AdMob: For serving ads (AdMob’s privacy practices can be reviewed at their website).
Firebase: For analytics and push notifications (Firebase’s privacy policy applies).
Google Sign-In/Apple Sign-In: For authentication (their respective privacy policies apply).
We comply with multiple data protection laws:
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA): We provide California residents with the rights outlined above (e.g., access, deletion, opt-out).
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): For EU users, we offer equivalent rights, including the right to erasure and data portability.
Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA): We do not target children under 13 and comply with COPPA requirements.
California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA): We disclose our data collection practices and honor Do Not Track (DNT) signals.
We also adhere to industry best practices, such as the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) principles for online advertising.
We are committed to making the California News App accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. If you use assistive technologies (e.g., screen readers) and have concerns about how your data is handled, please contact us at privacy@californianewsapp.com. We ensure that our data practices do not interfere with accessibility features.
Some browsers offer a “Do Not Track” (DNT) setting. We honor DNT signals by limiting tracking for users who enable this feature. If DNT is enabled, we will not use your data for personalized ads or behavioral tracking, though some essential data collection (e.g., for app functionality) may still occur.
We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or app features. We will notify you of significant changes by:
Posting the updated policy in the app.
Sending an email notification to registered users.
Displaying a pop-up notice in the app upon your next login.
Your continued use of the app after such changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy. If you do not agree with the changes, you may delete your account and stop using the app.
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please reach out to us:
Email: dto2546@gmail.com