Privacy Policy

Effective date: 23 August 2026

1. Who we are

aNewsReel ("the App") is operated by Head Front Consulting Ltd, a company registered in the United Kingdom ("we", "us", "our"). We are the data controller for the personal information described in this policy.

This policy explains what information the App collects, why, and the choices you have. It applies to the aNewsReel mobile app on iOS and Android (and its web version).

2. The short version

The App does not require you to sign in and works without you telling us who you are. You can optionally create a lightweight account (a name and email address) so your preferences are backed up.

The App uses Google's Firebase Analytics to understand how it is used, and it shows advertising served by Google AdMob. Where the law requires it, ads are only shown after you have been asked for consent, and you can decline. Details are in sections 6 and 7.

We never sell your personal information, and we never share it with anyone for our own marketing. Our service providers (Google) process some data on our behalf, and — for advertising — as described in section 7.

3. Optional account

You do not need an account to use the App. If you choose to create one, we ask for your name and email address, and we store them together with a copy of your in-app preferences (such as your chosen topics and story settings) so they are backed up. There is no password and no login: the account is identified by a random identifier generated on your device.

We use this information only to keep your preferences backed up and, if you contact us, to identify your account. We do not use your account email to send you marketing.

You can delete your account at any time using "Delete my data" in the App's Account tab. This permanently removes your name, email address, and synced preferences from our servers. Analytics events already recorded under the account's random identifier (see section 6) are retained but can no longer be linked to you once the account is deleted.

4. Information you give us — feedback

When you send us a suggestion or feedback through the App, we ask for your name and email address so we can read and respond to it, along with your message, any screenshots you choose to attach, and the platform you are using (iOS, Android, or web).

We use this information only to review your feedback, respond to you, and improve the App. Sending feedback is entirely optional — every other part of the App works without providing any personal information.

Please do not include sensitive personal information in your message or screenshots (for example, health or financial details, or images of other people).

5. Information collected automatically — search terms

When you search in the Catchup feature, the search term and the time of the search are recorded. This log is not linked to you: it contains no account, name, email address, device identifier, or IP address collected by us.

We use these anonymous search terms to understand which topics people want covered and to improve the App's content.

6. Analytics

The App uses Google Analytics for Firebase, provided by Google LLC, to help us understand how the App is used. This records usage events — for example, which topics are visited, when a story has been read or shared, which screens are viewed, and whether ads loaded — together with general device information (such as device model, operating system, and app version) and identifiers that Firebase generates for the app installation.

If you have created an account, these events are associated with your account's random identifier — not with your name or email address directly. If you delete your account, previously recorded events remain in aggregate but can no longer be linked to you.

We use this information only to understand and improve the App. We do not use it to advertise to you elsewhere, and we do not sell it. You can read about Firebase's privacy practices at firebase.google.com/support/privacy.

7. Advertising

The App shows advertising served by Google AdMob (Google LLC): small banners on some screens and an occasional full-screen ad between stories. Advertising is how the App stays free.

To serve and measure ads, Google collects certain data from your device, which may include your device's advertising identifier, IP address, and general device information. Google acts as an independent controller of this data. You can read how Google uses it at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.

Where the law requires it (including in the UK and EEA), the App shows Google's consent form before any ads are requested, and asks before any ad-related tracking on iOS (the App Tracking Transparency prompt). You can decline: depending on your choices, you will see non-personalised ads or, in some cases, no ads at all. If no valid consent is given where one is required, the advertising SDK is not initialised and no ad requests are made.

We do not choose the individual ads shown, and we do not share your name, email address, feedback, or search terms with advertisers.

8. Information stored only on your device

The App stores small preference flags on your device (for example, your chosen topics and whether you have already seen the gesture hints). If you create an account, your name, email address, and account identifier are also stored on the device. This local data is removed when you delete the App.

9. Device permissions

Photos: the App asks for photo library access only if you choose to attach screenshots to feedback, and only at that moment. The images you select are uploaded with your feedback; nothing else in your library is accessed. You can decline or revoke this permission in your device settings at any time — the App works fully without it.

Notifications: if you turn on the optional daily reading reminder, the App asks for notification permission. The reminder is a local notification scheduled on your own device — we do not send push notifications from our servers. Turning the reminder off, or declining the permission, disables it entirely.

Tracking (iOS): the App may ask for tracking permission via Apple's App Tracking Transparency prompt, solely in connection with advertising as described in section 7. You can decline.

The App does not request access to your location, camera, microphone, or contacts.

10. Where your information is stored

The App's content and the information described above (including account details and synced preferences) are stored using Google Firebase (Cloud Firestore and Cloud Storage), provided by Google LLC, which processes data on our behalf. Firebase servers may be located outside the United Kingdom, including in the United States; such transfers are protected by appropriate safeguards, including Google's standard contractual protections. You can read about Firebase's privacy practices at firebase.google.com/support/privacy.

Screenshots attached to feedback are stored at links that are not published anywhere, but could technically be viewed by someone who obtained the link — another reason not to include sensitive information in them.

11. Sharing stories and external links

When you share a story from the App, your device's own share sheet handles the sharing. We do not see or record who you share with (though the fact that a share sheet was opened for a story is recorded as an analytics event).

Stories link out to the original publishers' websites, and ads link out to advertisers' sites, which open in your browser. Those sites are governed by their own privacy policies, not this one.

12. How long we keep information

Account details (name, email address, and synced preferences) are kept until you delete your account in the App or ask us to delete it. Feedback (including your name, email address, and attachments) is kept for as long as needed to act on it, and then deleted or anonymised. Anonymous search-term logs and aggregate analytics are kept to inform content and product decisions.

You can ask us to delete your feedback and any attachments at any time — see section 14.

13. Legal bases

Under UK data protection law (UK GDPR), we process your account details in order to provide the account feature you have asked for, and your feedback details on the basis of our legitimate interest in receiving and responding to information you have actively chosen to send us. Analytics is processed on the basis of our legitimate interest in understanding and improving the App. Personalised advertising, where offered, is based on your consent, collected through the consent form described in section 7 — you can withdraw it there or through your device settings. Anonymous search-term logs are not personal data, as they cannot be linked to you.

14. Your rights

You have the right to ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you, to have it corrected or deleted, to restrict or object to our use of it, and to receive it in a portable format. You can delete your account yourself at any time in the App ("Delete my data" in the Account tab). For anything else, email us at info@anewsreel.app — we will respond within one month.

If you are unhappy with how we handle your information, you can complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk), or to your local data protection authority.

15. Children

The App is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

16. Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect the information we hold, including transport encryption and access controls on our storage. No system is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

17. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time — for example, if the App gains new features that collect new kinds of data. The latest version is always available on our website, linked from the App, with its effective date shown at the top. If a change is significant, we will highlight it in the App.

18. Contact

Questions about this policy or your data? Contact us at info@anewsreel.app.