Privacy Policy

HalfGrade News ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our news aggregation platform, including our mobile application and website (collectively, the "Service").

By using our Service, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, please do not use our Service.

1.1 Information You Provide

We may collect the following information that you voluntarily provide:

• Account Information: Email address, username, and password when you create an admin account
• Profile Information: Name, profile picture, and other optional profile details
• Content: Custom news articles, comments, or other content you create through the admin dashboard
• Communications: Messages, feedback, or inquiries you send to us

1.2 Automatically Collected Information

When you use our Service, we automatically collect:

• Device Information: Device type, operating system, browser type, and version
• Usage Data: Pages viewed, time spent on pages, click data, and navigation paths
• Log Data: IP address, access times, and error logs
• Cookies and Similar Technologies: We use cookies to maintain your session and preferences

1.3 Third-Party Information

• NewsAPI: We aggregate news content from NewsAPI. We do not collect personal information from these sources
• Analytics: We may use third-party analytics services to understand how users interact with our Service

We use the collected information for the following purposes:

• Service Delivery: To provide, maintain, and improve our news aggregation platform
• Account Management: To create and manage your account, authenticate users, and provide admin access
• Content Personalization: To remember your preferences and customize your experience
• Communication: To send you updates, notifications, and respond to your inquiries
• Analytics: To analyze usage patterns and improve our Service
• Security: To detect, prevent, and address technical issues, fraud, and security threats
• Legal Compliance: To comply with legal obligations and enforce our terms
• Ad Management: To display and track advertisements (impression and click data only)

We do not sell your personal information. We may share your information in the following circumstances:

3.1 Service Providers

We may share information with third-party service providers who perform services on our behalf:

• Cloud hosting providers (e.g., Vercel, MongoDB Atlas)
• Analytics services
• Content delivery networks (CDNs)

3.2 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law or in response to:

• Legal processes (subpoenas, court orders)
• Government requests
• Protection of our rights, property, or safety
• Prevention of fraud or security threats

3.3 Business Transfers

In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred to the acquiring entity.

3.4 With Your Consent

We may share your information with third parties when you give us explicit consent to do so.

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your information:

• Encryption: Data transmission is encrypted using HTTPS/SSL
• Password Protection: Passwords are hashed using bcrypt
• Authentication: JWT tokens for secure session management
• Access Controls: Role-based access control for admin features
• Rate Limiting: Protection against brute force attacks
• Regular Updates: We keep our systems and dependencies up to date

However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

We retain your information for as long as necessary to:

• Provide our Service and fulfill the purposes described in this policy
• Comply with legal obligations
• Resolve disputes and enforce our agreements

Cached News Data: News articles from NewsAPI are cached for 2 hours and automatically deleted after expiration.

Account Data: If you delete your account, we will delete your personal information within 30 days, except where retention is required by law.

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

6.1 Access and Portability

You can request a copy of your personal information in a structured, machine-readable format.

6.2 Correction

You can update or correct your account information through the admin dashboard settings.

6.3 Deletion

You can request deletion of your account and personal information by contacting us.

6.4 Opt-Out

• Cookies: You can disable cookies in your browser settings
• Communications: You can opt out of promotional emails

6.5 Do Not Track

Our Service does not currently respond to "Do Not Track" signals from browsers.

Our Service is not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us, and we will delete such information.

Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your country of residence. These countries may have different data protection laws. By using our Service, you consent to the transfer of your information to these countries.

We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Our Service may contain links to third-party websites and services, including news sources and advertisements. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third parties. We encourage you to review their privacy policies.

NewsAPI: News content is provided by NewsAPI. Their privacy policy can be found at newsapi.org/privacy

We use the following types of cookies:

• Essential Cookies: Required for authentication and basic functionality
• Preference Cookies: Remember your settings (e.g., dark mode preference)
• Analytics Cookies: Help us understand how users interact with our Service

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Note that disabling cookies may affect the functionality of our Service.

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA):

• Right to know what personal information is collected
• Right to know if personal information is sold or disclosed
• Right to opt-out of the sale of personal information (we do not sell personal information)
• Right to deletion of personal information
• Right to non-discrimination for exercising your rights

To exercise these rights, please contact us using the information below.

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), you have rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

• Right of access to your personal data
• Right to rectification of inaccurate data
• Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten")
• Right to restrict processing
• Right to data portability
• Right to object to processing
• Right to withdraw consent

Legal Basis for Processing: We process your data based on:

• Your consent
• Performance of a contract
• Legitimate interests
• Legal obligations

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by:

• Posting the new Privacy Policy on this page
• Updating the "Last Updated" date
• Sending you an email notification (for material changes)

Your continued use of the Service after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.

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

We will respond to your request within 30 days.

For the purposes of GDPR and other data protection laws, the data controller is: