🗞️ Desh Ki Khabar

Welcome to Desh Ki Khabar ("we," "our," or "us"). We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring the security of your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our local news mobile application.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Provide

• Account Information: When you sign up using Google Authentication, we collect your name, email address, and profile picture from your Google account.
• Location Information: You manually provide your location details including state, district, sub-district, and village to receive localized news.
• News Content: When you create news posts, we collect the title, content, category, images/videos, and associated location information.
• Profile Information: Information about users you follow and who follow you.
• Anonymous Posting Preference: Your choice to post news anonymously or with your identity.

1.2 Automatically Collected Information

• Device Information: Device type, operating system, unique device identifiers.
• Usage Data: App interactions, features used, time spent, and crash reports.
• Log Data: IP address, browser type, access times, and referring pages.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information for the following purposes:

• Service Delivery: To provide, maintain, and improve the Desh Ki Khabar app functionality.
• Content Moderation: To review, approve, or reject news submissions to ensure quality and compliance.
• Personalization: To show you location-relevant news and content.
• Communication: To send you notifications about your news posts (pending, approved, rejected status).
• Safety & Security: To detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and illegal activities.
• Analytics: To understand how users interact with our app and improve user experience.
• Legal Compliance: To comply with applicable laws, regulations, and legal processes.

3. Information Sharing and Disclosure

3.1 Public Information

• Approved news posts (except anonymous posts) are visible to all app users.
• Your profile information may be visible to other users.
• Location information attached to news posts is publicly visible.

3.2 Anonymous Posting

When you choose to post anonymously:

• Your identity is hidden from all users except administrators.
• Administrators can see your identity for moderation and accountability purposes.
• The news content and location remain visible, but your name is not displayed.

3.3 Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services:

• Firebase (Google): For authentication, database, storage, and hosting services.
• Google Sign-In: For user authentication.

3.4 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities.

4. Data Storage and Security

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

• Data is stored securely using Firebase Cloud Firestore and Firebase Storage.
• Authentication is handled through Firebase Authentication with industry-standard security protocols.
• Access to user data is restricted to authorized administrators only.
• Regular security audits and updates are performed.

5. Your Rights and Choices

You have the following rights regarding your personal information:

5.1 Access and Update

• You can access and update your profile information within the app.
• View your news posts (pending, approved, rejected).
• Manage your followers and following list.

5.2 Data Deletion

• You can request deletion of your account and associated data.
• Please refer to our Data Deletion Policy for the complete process.

5.3 Anonymous Posting

• You can choose to post news anonymously on a per-post basis.
• This preference can be changed for each new post you create.

5.4 Report Content

• You can report news posts that violate our community guidelines.
• Reports are reviewed by administrators.

6. Children's Privacy

Desh Ki Khabar is not intended for users under the age of 13. 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 immediately.

7. Data Retention

• Active Accounts: We retain your data as long as your account remains active.
• Deleted Accounts: Upon account deletion request, personal data is removed within 30 days, except where retention is required by law.
• News Content: Approved news posts may be retained for archival purposes even after account deletion, but your identity will be anonymized.
• Rejected/Pending Posts: Deleted within 90 days if not approved.

8. International Data Transfers

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

9. Changes to This Privacy Policy

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 at the top of this policy.
• Sending an in-app notification for significant changes.

Your continued use of the app after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy.

10. Contact Us

11. Administrator Access

Please note that administrators of Desh Ki Khabar have access to:

• All news submissions (including anonymous posts with user identity).
• User reports and moderation decisions.
• User account information for moderation purposes.

Administrators are bound by confidentiality agreements and use this access solely for app moderation and security purposes.