Privacy Policy for Briefly

Last updated: September 14, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Briefly collects, uses, and shares information when you use it. I'm the independent developer of Briefly, a news reader that displays headlines and articles sourced from The Guardian.

1. Information I collect

Briefly is designed to work without requiring you to create an account. I collect the following categories of information:

• Content you save locally: Bookmarked articles, your selected news category, dark/light theme preference, and notification preference are stored on your device. This information is not transmitted to me or to any server I operate.
• Notification token: If you enable notifications, your device registers with Firebase Cloud Messaging (operated by Google) to receive push notifications. This involves a device-specific token, not your identity.
• Advertising identifiers: Briefly displays sponsored content through Google AdMob, which may collect your device's advertising ID and other technical identifiers to serve and measure ads. See Section 4 for details.
• Diagnostic and usage data: Briefly uses Google Firebase Analytics and Firebase Crashlytics. This may include app crashes, device model, OS version, and general usage patterns, and does not identify you personally.
• Article text sent for AI summaries: When you tap "Summarize with AI," the headline and body text of that specific article is sent to Google's Gemini API to generate a short summary. I do not attach your name, device ID, or any other identifying information to this request.

I do not collect your name, email address, phone number, or precise location, and Briefly does not require you to log in.

2. How I use information

• To display news content and let you save articles for later, on your own device.
• To send you push notifications about major stories, if you've turned notifications on.
• To generate on-demand AI summaries of articles you choose to summarize.
• To display and measure the performance of sponsored content that helps keep Briefly free.
• To diagnose crashes and improve app stability and performance.

3. News content source

Article headlines, images, and full-story links are retrieved from The Guardian's public content API. When you tap "Read full story," you are taken to The Guardian's own website or app, which has its own separate privacy policy governing that experience.

4. Third-party services

Briefly relies on the following third-party services, each governed by its own privacy policy:

• The Guardian Open Platform — supplies article content.
• Google Gemini API — generates on-demand article summaries from text you choose to summarize.
• Google Firebase Cloud Messaging — delivers push notifications.
• Google AdMob — serves the sponsored content shown in Briefly. AdMob may use advertising identifiers and cookies/SDK identifiers to personalize ads, subject to your device's ad-tracking settings. See Google's ad privacy policy for details.
• Google Firebase Analytics & Crashlytics — collects anonymous diagnostic and usage data, including crash reports and general app usage patterns.

I do not sell your personal information.

5. Your choices

• Notifications: You can turn notifications on or off at any time from Profile → Notifications, or from your device's system settings.
• Ad personalization: You can reset or limit your device's advertising identifier, or opt out of personalized ads, from your device's system settings (Settings → Privacy → Ads on most Android devices).
• Local data: Uninstalling Briefly removes all bookmarks and preferences stored on your device.

6. Data retention

Bookmarks and preferences remain on your device until you delete them or uninstall Briefly. Article text sent for AI summarization is used only to generate that summary and is not retained by me afterward, subject to the retention practices of the AI provider listed in Section 4.

7. Children's privacy

Briefly is not directed to children under 13, and I do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided me with personal information, please contact me using the details below so I can address it.

8. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, or delete information I hold about you, or to object to certain processing (for example, under the GDPR in the EU/UK or the CCPA in California). Because Briefly does not maintain user accounts or a server-side profile of you, most of your data lives on your own device and is fully within your control. For requests related to third-party services listed above, please also refer to their respective privacy policies.

9. Security

I take reasonable measures to protect information handled by Briefly, including using encrypted (HTTPS) connections for network requests. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure.

10. Changes to this policy

I may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be reflected by updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this page.

11. Contact me

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, contact me at:

jemisvirani02@gmail.com