Blips News does not require an account for ordinary app use. This policy explains how anonymous device identifiers, usage records, AI chat requests, and public policy support work across the product.
Blips News ("we", "us", "our") is operated by Husni Consulting Inc. and provides a mobile news feed app that surfaces articles, videos, short reels, and AI chat from third-party sources. This policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, how long we keep it, how third-party services such as YouTube are involved, and how you can request deletion.
At a glance
- We do not require an account or collect your name, email, or phone number to use the app.
- We use Sentry for crash and performance monitoring; we do not intentionally send account data through those reports.
- We do not sell or rent your personal information.
- We identify your device using a randomly generated anonymous identifier created on your device and stored with your app data and related server-side usage records. It is not linked to your name or account.
- AI chat messages are processed by third-party AI providers but are not stored on our servers.
- When you play embedded YouTube content or receive ads in eligible app experiences, those providers may receive standard device or network information directly from your device under their own policies.
- You can delete all your data from within the app or by contacting us.
Age requirement
Blips News is intended for users aged 13 and older. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has used the app, please contact us and we will promptly delete any associated data.
Information we collect
Device identifier
When you first open Blips News, we generate a random anonymous identifier (UUID) and store it securely on your device. This identifier is not derived from your IP address, name, or any other personal information. It is a randomly generated value used to associate your app activity with one anonymous device. We send it to our backend to enforce usage quotas, personalize your feed, manage push subscriptions, and prevent abuse. You can reset this identifier at any time by deleting your data in Settings, which deletes the related server-side records and generates a fresh identifier on next launch.
Interaction events
We record how you interact with content in the app to personalize your feed. The events we track include:
- Viewing or starting articles, videos, or reels
- Opening the original source link
- Sharing content
- Saving or bookmarking content
- Starting or sending messages in an AI chat session
Each event is stored with your anonymous device identifier, the content item involved, the event type, and a timestamp. We use this data to learn your topic, source, and format preferences so we can show you more relevant content.
AI chat usage
When you use the AI chat feature to discuss an article or video, we track the number of messages sent and tokens consumed per device to enforce daily usage limits. We store your anonymous device identifier, message count, token count, the content item discussed, and a timestamp.
Within the current mobile app chat flow, we do not persist chat transcripts on our servers. Conversation history is kept on your device and is sent to the AI provider solely to generate a response.
Push notifications
If you enable push notifications, we request a push token from Firebase Cloud Messaging or Apple Push Notification service and store that token on our servers linked to your anonymous device identifier. We use it only to deliver Blips News notifications to your device and to manage notification preferences.
Learned preferences
Based on your interaction history, we automatically learn your preferences for topics (for example, "AI" or "Security"), content sources (for example, "TechCrunch"), entities (for example, "OpenAI"), and content formats (articles, videos, reels). These preferences are stored as numeric weights linked to your anonymous device identifier. You do not explicitly set these. They are inferred from your usage patterns.
Support communications
If you contact us by email for support, privacy, accessibility, or compliance questions, we will receive your email address and any information you include in your message. We use that information only to respond to your request and keep related support records.
Information we do not collect
- Name or phone number for ordinary app use
- Location data or GPS coordinates
- Contacts, photos, or other device content
- Financial or payment information
How we use your information
- Personalization: tailor your news feed based on learned preferences.
- Usage quotas: enforce daily message limits for AI chat.
- Abuse prevention: rate-limit requests and detect misuse.
- Service improvement: understand aggregate usage patterns to improve the app.
- Notifications: deliver optional push notifications if you grant permission.
Third-party services
Blips News uses the following third-party services to operate. We send the minimum data necessary to each:
| Service | Purpose | Data shared |
|---|---|---|
| Mistral AI | AI chat responses, content summarization | Article titles, summaries, and your chat messages (no device ID or IP) |
| OpenAI | Alternative AI provider (same purpose as Mistral) | Same as Mistral AI |
| YouTube Data API | Retrieve public video and channel metadata for classification, ranking, and feed display | Public YouTube identifiers and standard server request metadata. We do not include your anonymous device identifier in these requests. |
| YouTube embedded player | Play selected YouTube videos and reels in the app | When you play embedded content, YouTube or Google may receive standard device, network, and usage information directly from your device under their own policies. |
| Google AdMob | Serve native ads in eligible app experiences | If ads are enabled for your device, Google may receive device, app, and ad request metadata needed to serve and measure ads under its own policies. |
| Firebase Cloud Messaging / Apple Push Notification service | Deliver optional push notifications | If you enable notifications, a push token and standard delivery metadata may be processed to send notifications to your device. |
| Sentry | Crash reporting and performance monitoring | Stack traces, device type, OS version, app version, and performance traces. We do not send account data or intentionally include your anonymous device identifier. |
| RSS feed publishers | Fetching article metadata | Standard HTTP requests to public RSS feeds (no user data) |
Each third-party service is governed by its own privacy policy. We minimize the data shared with third parties, but providers contacted directly from your device (such as YouTube embeds, Sentry, or Google AdMob if enabled) may receive standard network or device metadata as part of delivering their service.
Content and third-party links
Blips News aggregates and links to content hosted by third parties (news sites, YouTube, and similar services). Some YouTube videos and reels are also played through an embedded player inside the app. When you open an external link or play embedded third-party content, the third party's privacy policy and terms apply. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of external sites or platforms.
Data retention
We retain data for the following periods:
- AI chat usage records: 90 days
- Interaction events: 30 days
- User preferences: until you request deletion
- Push subscriptions: until you disable notifications, revoke permission, or request deletion
- Support communications: as long as reasonably needed to respond and maintain support records
- Content items: 90 days (editorial and manually curated items are retained longer)
- Cache data (Redis): minutes to hours (ephemeral)
Expired data is automatically purged by scheduled cleanup jobs.
Data deletion
You can delete the data we associate with your device at any time:
- In the app: go to Settings and tap "Delete My Data."
- By email: contact support@blips.tech with a description of your request. We will respond within 30 days.
Deletion removes your usage records, interaction events, learned preferences, push subscriptions, and device profile from our servers. The in-app deletion option also clears local chat history and resets the app's anonymous device identifier on your device.
Data security
All data in transit between the app and our servers is encrypted using HTTPS/TLS. Our API is protected by rate limiting, admin authentication, and CORS restrictions. Device identifiers are randomly generated UUIDs that contain no personal information.
Your rights
Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have rights under privacy laws such as GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, or PIPEDA, including:
- Access: request a copy of the data we hold about your device.
- Deletion: request that we delete your data.
- Correction: request correction of inaccurate data.
- Portability: receive your data in a portable format.
To exercise these rights, contact support@blips.tech.
Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the revised policy on this page with an updated "Last updated" date. Continued use of the app after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
Contact
Questions or concerns? Contact support@blips.tech.