Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

PARNAS ("parnasnews.com," "we," "us," or "our"), operated by Parnas Media, is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our website, mobile application, and services (collectively, the "Service").

By using our Service, you consent to the data practices described in this policy. If you do not agree with this policy, please do not use our Service.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide

When you create an account or interact with our Service, you may provide:

• Account Information: Name, email address, and profile image (provided through Google or Apple OAuth)
• User Preferences: Theme settings (light/dark/system), notification preferences
• Activity Data: Quiz answers and scores, bookmarked articles, reading history and progress
• Topic Subscriptions: News topics you choose to follow for personalized notifications

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

When you access our Service, we automatically collect:

• Analytics Data: Page views, session duration, referrer information, and general usage patterns through Google Analytics and Vercel Analytics
• Push Notification Data: Subscription endpoint and encryption keys (if you opt-in to notifications)
• Technical Data: IP address (for rate limiting purposes, not stored long-term), browser type, device information

2.3 Information from Third Parties

If you sign in using Google or Apple, we receive your name, email address, profile picture, and email verification status from the respective OAuth provider.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide the Service: Create and maintain your account, authenticate your identity, and enable core features
• Personalize Experience: Save your bookmarks, track reading history, maintain quiz streaks, and apply your theme preference
• Send Notifications: Deliver push notifications based on your preferences (breaking news, new articles, daily digest)
• Improve the Service: Analyze usage patterns to enhance features and user experience
• AI Features: Generate quiz questions, auto-tag articles, and create article insights using your interactions with content
• Security: Implement rate limiting and protect against abuse

4. Information Sharing

4.1 Service Providers

We share information with trusted third-party service providers who assist in operating our Service, including providers for:

• Cloud hosting and content management
• Authentication services
• AI and machine learning processing
• Analytics and performance monitoring
• Email delivery
• Audio generation

4.2 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or government request, or if we believe disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, safety, or property.

4.3 Business Transfers

In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction.

4.4 What We Do NOT Do

• We do not sell your personal information
• We do not share individual quiz answers or reading history with other users
• We do not share your personal information with advertisers

5. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

5.1 First-Party Cookies

• Session Cookies: Used for authentication and maintaining your logged-in state
• Preference Cookies: Store your theme preference (light/dark/system)

5.2 Third-Party Cookies

• Google Analytics: Uses cookies (_ga, _ga_*) to collect anonymous usage data. These cookies may persist for up to 2 years.

5.3 Local Storage

We use browser local storage for:

• Progressive Web App (PWA) functionality and offline content caching
• Theme preference persistence
• Temporary data caching for improved performance

5.4 Managing Cookies

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Note that disabling cookies may affect certain features of our Service, including authentication.

6. Data Retention

We retain your information for as long as necessary to provide our Service and fulfill the purposes described in this policy:

7. Data Security

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

• HTTPS encryption for all data transmission
• Secure authentication through trusted OAuth providers
• HMAC signature validation for webhook security
• Rate limiting to prevent abuse
• Server-side storage of sensitive API tokens
• Input validation on all API endpoints

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.

8. Your Privacy Rights

8.1 General Rights

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

• Access: Request information about the data we hold about you
• Correction: Update or correct inaccurate information
• Deletion: Request deletion of your account and personal data
• Opt-Out: Disable push notifications or modify notification preferences

8.2 California Residents (CCPA)

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 whether your personal information is sold or disclosed
• Right to say no to the sale of personal information (we do not sell your data)
• Right to equal service and price (non-discrimination)

8.3 EU/UK Residents (GDPR)

If you are located in the European Union or United Kingdom, you have rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

• Right to access your personal data
• Right to rectification of inaccurate data
• Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten")
• Right to data portability
• Right to object to processing
• Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority

9. Children's Privacy

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 take steps to delete such information.

If you are between 13 and 18 years old, you may only use our Service with the consent and supervision of a parent or guardian.

10. Third-Party Links and Embeds

Our Service contains links to external websites and embedded content from third-party platforms including:

• Substack (newsletter articles)
• TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter/X, Threads, Bluesky, Facebook (social media embeds)
• Venmo (donation links)

These third-party platforms may set their own cookies and collect information about you. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third parties. We encourage you to review their privacy policies.

11. International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to and processed in the United States and other countries where our service providers operate. Our primary data storage and processing occurs through Sanity CMS, Vercel, and Anthropic, all of which are based in the United States. By using our Service, you consent to the transfer of your information to these locations. We take steps to ensure that your data receives adequate protection in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this policy. Continued use of the Service after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

13. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, want to exercise your privacy rights, or have concerns about how we handle your data, please contact us at:

Email: agparnasbusiness@gmail.com