Dispatch

Privacy Policy

Effective Date: April 10, 2026

1. Overview

Dispatch is a web-based news reader that aggregates content from public RSS feeds and allows users to personalize their reading experience through accounts, saved preferences, and email newsletters. This Privacy Policy explains what data we collect, how we use it, and how you can control or delete it.

2. Data We Collect

2.1 Account Information

When you create an account, we collect:

  • Email address and password (for email sign-up), or
  • OAuth profile data from Google or Apple (name, email, avatar URL)
  • Display name (provided by you or derived from your email)

Account creation is optional. You may use Dispatch without an account, but personalization features require sign-in.

2.2 Personalization & Preference Data

When signed in, we store the following preferences in your account to sync them across devices:

  • Selected regions and news categories (order and visibility)
  • Bookmarked articles and reading history
  • Muted sources and hidden source tiers
  • Appearance settings (theme, font, accent color, text size)
  • Custom RSS feed URLs and selected My Feed sources
  • Article reactions and engagement data (used to personalize your "For You" feed)

For users without an account, preferences are stored locally in your browser (localStorage) and are not transmitted to our servers.

2.3 Newsletter Subscription Data

If you subscribe to the Dispatch newsletter, we collect:

  • Email address
  • Selected categories, regions, and delivery frequency (daily or weekly)
  • Preferred delivery hour (UTC)
  • Verification status and subscription timestamps

Newsletter emails may contain open-tracking pixels and click-tracking links to measure engagement and improve content selection.

2.4 Automatically Collected Data

  • Device type, operating system, and browser type
  • IP address (used for rate limiting; may be anonymized)
  • Pages viewed, clicks, and session duration (collected via Vercel hosting infrastructure)
  • Referrer information

2.5 Data We Do NOT Collect

  • Payment or financial data
  • Government identifiers
  • Precise geolocation data
  • Biometric or health data

3. How We Use Data

We use collected data to:

  • Operate the service — deliver news feeds, sync preferences across devices, and authenticate users
  • Personalize content — rank articles in the "For You" feed based on your reading history, bookmarks, and reactions
  • Send newsletters — deliver email digests matching your selected categories, regions, and frequency
  • Improve the service — monitor performance, debug issues, and optimize content delivery

We do not use your data for targeted advertising, sell your data to third parties, or share it with data brokers.

4. Cookies, Local Storage & Tracking

Dispatch uses:

  • Essential cookies — authentication session tokens
  • Preference cookies — language selection. These are set by Google Translate (a third-party service) when you use the language switcher. Google's own privacy policy governs how Google processes data from this cookie.
  • Local storage — cached article feeds, user preferences (for non-authenticated users), and theme settings

We do not use cross-site tracking, behavioral advertising cookies, or fingerprinting technologies. The Google Translate language cookie is only set if you actively use the language switcher.

5. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services to operate Dispatch:

  • Supabase — authentication, database hosting, and user data storage (hosted in US-East)
  • Vercel — website hosting, serverless functions, and aggregated traffic analytics (page views, session duration, referrers)
  • Resend — email delivery for newsletters and verification emails
  • Google Sign-In — optional OAuth authentication
  • Apple Sign In — optional OAuth authentication
  • Google Translate — optional on-page translation via the language switcher. Activating it sends page content to Google for translation. Google's privacy policy applies.

Each provider processes data under their own privacy policies. We share only the minimum data necessary for each service to function.

6. Third-Party Content and Links

Dispatchaggregates content from external publishers via public RSS feeds. Clicking an article redirects you to the original publisher's website. Those websites operate under their own privacy policies.

We are not responsible for the data collection practices of external publishers.

7. Data Sharing

We do not:

  • Sell personal data to any party
  • Share data for advertising or marketing purposes
  • Provide data to data brokers

Data may only be disclosed:

  • To infrastructure providers (Supabase, Vercel, Resend) necessary to operate the service
  • If required by law, court order, or governmental authority

8. Data Retention

  • Account data (preferences, bookmarks, history) is retained as long as your account exists
  • Newsletter data (email, subscription preferences, send logs) is retained as long as a record exists, including after unsubscription or pausing. Unsubscribed and paused records are kept with a status flag for audit and compliance purposes. You may request deletion of your newsletter record at any time (see Section 9).
  • Aggregated articles are retained for 45 days, then automatically purged
  • Analytics data (via Vercel) is aggregated and anonymized

When you delete your account, all personal data tied to your account is permanently removed (see Section 9). Newsletter records linked to your email are also deleted at that time.

9. How to Delete Your Data

You have full control over your data. Here is how to delete it:

9.1 Delete Your Account & All Data (Self-Service)

  1. Sign in to your Dispatch account
  2. Go to Settings → Account
  3. Scroll to "Delete My Account & Data"
  4. Type DELETE to confirm and click the delete button

This permanently deletes:

  • Your account credentials and profile
  • All saved preferences, bookmarks, and reading history
  • Custom RSS feeds and My Feed sources
  • Newsletter subscriptions linked to your account or email

This action is irreversible. Once deleted, your data cannot be recovered.

9.2 Unsubscribe from Newsletter

Every newsletter email includes an unsubscribe link in the footer. You can also pause or unsubscribe via the link in any digest email without deleting your account.

9.3 Clear Local Data (No Account)

If you use Dispatch without an account, all data is stored in your browser. Clear your browser's local storage or site data to remove it.

9.4 Request Deletion by Email

You may also request data deletion by emailing support@dispatchnews.app. We will process your request within 30 days.

10. Data Security

  • Passwords are hashed using industry-standard algorithms (handled by Supabase Auth)
  • All data in transit is encrypted via HTTPS/TLS
  • Database access is protected by Row Level Security (RLS) — users can only access their own data
  • Admin operations require service-role authentication

No system is fully secure. We apply reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your data, but you access the service at your own risk.

11. Your Privacy Rights

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

  • Access your personal data
  • Correct inaccurate data
  • Delete your data (see Section 9 above)
  • Object to processing
  • Port your data to another service (upon request)
  • Withdraw consent at any time

Exercise these rights via the self-service account deletion in Settings, or by emailing support@dispatchnews.app

12. GDPR (EU/EEA Users)

If you are located in the European Economic Area:

  • Legal basis: Consent (account creation, newsletter signup) and legitimate interest (service operation, security)
  • You may request access, correction, or deletion of your data
  • You may withdraw consent at any time by deleting your account or unsubscribing
  • You have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority

13. CCPA (California Users)

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, California residents have the right to:

  • Know what personal data is collected and how it is used
  • Request deletion of their personal data
  • Opt out of the sale of personal data

Dispatch does not sell personal data. To delete your data, use the self-service option in Settings → Account or email us.

14. Children's Privacy

Dispatch is not intended for users under 13 years of age (or 16 in the EEA). We do not knowingly collect data from children. If we learn that data has been collected from a child, we will delete it promptly.

15. Do Not Track

Dispatch does not engage in cross-site tracking. We currently do not respond to "Do Not Track" browser signals, as we do not track users across other websites.

16. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be indicated by updating the "Effective Date" at the top of this page. Continued use of the service after changes constitutes acceptance. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

17. Contact

For privacy-related inquiries, data requests, or concerns:

Email: support@dispatchnews.app

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