Privacy Policy

2. Information We Collect

2.1 User Account Information

When you register or use The Brief Brief, we collect and store:

• Name and email address
• Encrypted password
• Country, region, and city (optional or inferred from profile)
• Device identifiers and push tokens (to support notifications and account security)
• Account configuration and access level information

All data is stored securely on servers hosted by DigitalOcean, located in the United States.

2.2 AI-Generated Content

We generate and display situational reports ("sitreps") using OpenAI and other AI systems.

• These sitreps are based on publicly available news and do not include or process personal user data
• We store only:
  • The AI-generated sitrep text
  • Links to original news sources
• We do not store or index user-generated content within these sitreps

2.3 Messaging

The Brief Brief includes an internal messaging feature that allows users to communicate individually or in groups.

• Messages are transmitted securely and not stored permanently on our servers
• Brief Technologies does not monitor or retain message content once delivered
• Metadata (delivery timestamps, user IDs, or system logs) may be temporarily processed to maintain performance and prevent abuse

2.4 Optional Analytics

If you choose “Accept analytics,” we use a first-party, pseudonymous browser identifier cookie named bb_analytics_visitor. It contains a random identifier, not your name or email, and expires after 90 days. A separate consent-choice cookie remembers your selection for up to one year. Essential-only visitors and visitors who have not made a choice are not sent through the new behavioral analytics collection.

For consenting visitors, we may measure instrumented page navigations, Event Brief visibility and estimated foreground-visible engagement, and registration funnel stages. We may record the referring hostname and the normalized landing-page path. If the landing link includes standard campaign tags (utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, utm_content, or utm_term), bounded and sanitized values may be recorded. We do not record the full landing URL or unrelated query parameters for this attribution. These are estimates of browser activity, not verified people or confirmed reads. If you are signed in, recorded events may be associated with your account. Registration and account records needed to create and operate your account are maintained independently of optional analytics consent.

Consent-based legacy page-visit logs may also contain the request IP address, browser user-agent, referrer, route, and signed-in account ID. New legacy signup funnel rows retain only a session identifier, event stage, and timestamp; they do not retain the submitted email, error text, request IP, user-agent, or arbitrary form metadata. Older legacy records may contain those historical details.

On pages where they are configured, accepting analytics also permits the existing Google Analytics and Yandex Metrica tags to load. Those providers may process data under their own privacy terms. We do not load those tags when analytics has not been accepted.

3. How We Use Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide, maintain, and improve the Service
• Personalize AI-generated content and user experience
• Manage accounts and access permissions
• Communicate with users (support, updates, account notifications)
• Ensure system integrity, prevent fraud, and maintain security

4. Account Access Information

Account access levels and permissions are managed through thebriefbrief.news. The Brief Brief mobile application does not process or store payment information.

• Account configuration is managed outside the mobile application
• Contact admin@thebriefbrief.news for questions about your account access

5. Data Security

We employ industry-standard security measures, including:

• Encrypted data transmission (HTTPS/TLS)
• Secure password hashing and credential storage
• Regular security updates and audits of our DigitalOcean infrastructure

While we take reasonable precautions, no system can guarantee absolute security.

6. AI Accuracy and Data Usage

• AI-generated content is provided for informational purposes only
• AI systems may process text input to generate summaries, but The Brief Brief does not use personal data as input to OpenAI or other AI models
• We do not train or fine-tune AI models using user information

7. Data Retention

• User account information is retained as long as your account is active
• Account configuration records are retained as required by law
• Sitrep content and public news data may be retained indefinitely
• Messaging data is not retained beyond the delivery lifecycle
• The pseudonymous analytics cookie expires after 90 days.
• New versioned analytics event records are scheduled for deletion after 13 months by a bounded daily cleanup job. The scheduler is enabled, but until a successful cleanup run is confirmed, records may remain longer. This applies to the new event ledger only; it does not cover older page_visits, human_visits, or signup_events records, whose retention period is not currently specified.
• To prevent repeated introductory-trial redemption, Brief Technologies creates a keyed, pseudonymous fingerprint from a stable Google or Apple sign-in identifier, from a verified sign-in email address, or from the normalized email used for a password account. The fingerprint is stored separately from the user account with the trial redemption date and original trial expiration date. If a new account is created with the same sign-in identity or email while this record is retained, the new account receives the original trial expiration date — any remaining trial time, or none if the trial has ended — instead of a new trial. The fingerprint is not used to restore any other account data. We retain this limited record for up to 24 calendar months from the original trial redemption date. An automated hourly cleanup removes records after their retention deadline; if a cleanup run fails, removal occurs after the next successful run.

You may request deletion of your personal data at any time by contacting us at admin@thebriefbrief.news.

7.1 Analytics Choices and Withdrawal

Your current browser choice is: No choice saved. Choose an option below to save or change it. Essential-only or no choice stops future optional behavioral analytics collection in this application. Withdrawing consent removes the analytics visitor cookie and prevents future analytics events; it does not automatically delete events already collected. To request deletion of previously collected analytics associated with your account or browser identifier, contact admin@thebriefbrief.news. Essential operational records, such as account, authentication, billing, security, and service-delivery records, are not optional behavioral analytics and may still be retained as described in this Policy.

8. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to:

• Access, correct, or delete your information
• Withdraw consent to certain uses
• Request a copy of stored data

We will respond to verified requests within a reasonable timeframe.

9. International Users

The Service is operated from the United States.

If you access The Brief Brief from outside the U.S., you consent to the transfer and processing of your data in the United States under this Privacy Policy.

10. Changes to This Policy

• We may update this Privacy Policy periodically
• Significant changes will be communicated via the app or email
• Continued use after updates constitutes acceptance of the revised policy

11. Contact