Privacy Policy
In short
- No account, no sign-in, no ads, no tracking, no analytics tools.
- We do not run any server for the app. We do not receive your searches or your reading.
- AI summaries are created on your iPhone with Apple's on-device model.
- Your recent searches, saved comparisons, feeds you add and (if you turn it on) your reading balance are stored only on your iPhone.
- To find articles, the app downloads public news feeds directly from publishers. Like any website, they can see your IP address. Your searches are filtered on your iPhone and are only sent to a publisher if you tap a "See how … covers it" search link.
Who is responsible
The Global Pulse is provided by Linus Samuelsson ("we", "us"). For any privacy question, contact us at niplerr@gmail.com.
What we collect
We do not collect personal data through the app. There is no account, and the app sends nothing to us. We have no server that receives your searches, your saved comparisons or information about what you read.
The only time we receive information about you is when you choose to email us (see "Contacting us and reporting a problem" below).
What stays on your iPhone
- Recent searches and saved comparisons are stored locally on your device. We cannot access them.
- Downloaded feeds (headlines, links, publish times and the short summaries publishers include in their feeds) are kept in your device's cache for up to 7 days, so the app opens with the latest news and does not need to download the same feeds again. The cache is not included in device backups, iOS may clear it at any time, and it is deleted with "Delete all data".
- The source catalog (which outlets are grouped as Left, Center or Right) is built into the app.
- Feeds you add (their address, name and the side you chose) are stored on your device.
- Headline history: to show when a headline was changed, the app keeps earlier versions of headlines from some sources for 7 days. This is the same for every user and says nothing about what you read.
- Your reading balance is off by default. If you turn it on, the app records which outlet and side each article you open belongs to, and the date – never the headline, link or topic. It is used only to show your balance, is deleted after 30 days, is excluded from device backups, and is deleted at once if you turn the feature off. Because it may reflect political interests, it never leaves your device.
Followed topics and notifications. If you follow a topic, the topic and the number of articles per side are stored only on your device. They are not included in device backups and are deleted with "Delete all data". If you turn on notifications, iOS may let the app refresh the news feeds in the background a few times a day. These are the same requests the app makes when you open it: whole feeds are downloaded from the publishers and your topics are matched on your device. Publishers see your IP address, never your topics. Notifications are created on your device. We don't use a push service, and nothing is sent to us. A notification shows the topic name; you can hide notification previews on the Lock Screen in iOS Settings.
Sharing. If you share a comparison, the app creates an image with the topic and the number of articles per side on your device. It is only sent where you choose to share it.
"Delete all data" in About & Method removes all of the above from the app at once.
Recent searches, saved comparisons and feeds you add can be included in your device backup (for example iCloud Backup) according to your backup settings. Your reading balance is always excluded from backups.
Deleting the app removes this data from your iPhone. Your device backups (for example iCloud Backup) may contain app data according to your own backup settings. Those backups are handled by Apple and not by us.
AI on your device
On iPhones with Apple Intelligence, the app uses Apple's Foundation Models framework to compare headlines. The model runs on your device. Headlines and your search are processed on your iPhone and are not sent to us or to any AI service by the app. On devices without Apple Intelligence, the app shows headlines without an AI summary.
News publishers the app contacts
To show news, your iPhone connects directly to news publishers. They receive your device's IP address and basic technical information that is part of every internet request. Their own privacy policies apply to that information.
- News publishers' RSS feeds (the outlets listed in the app's Sources tab, and any feeds you add yourself). The app downloads each publisher's whole public feed and filters it for your search on your iPhone. Your search is not sent with these requests. Requests identify the app as "GlobalPulse/1.0 (RSS reader)".
- Search links. For some large outlets the app fetches nothing and instead offers a "See how … covers it" button. Only if you tap it, that outlet's own search page opens with your search words, in a Safari view.
- GitHub Pages (GitHub, Inc.). At most once a day the app downloads a small public file (catalog.json) from our website, hosted on GitHub Pages, that can pause a source or an app feature, or show a short notice. GitHub receives your IP address as with any website; no search or other data is sent. GitHub's privacy statement applies.
Opening articles and links
When you open an article, it opens in a Safari view inside the app. The article is loaded from the publisher's website, and the publisher's own terms, privacy policy and cookies apply. Safari views do not share data with the app. Other external links in the app, such as the media-rating references in the Sources tab, the privacy policy and helpline links, open in the Safari app.
Contacting us and reporting a problem
"Report a problem" and other contact options in the app open a draft email in your mail app. Nothing is sent unless you send it yourself. You can read and edit the draft before sending. Its subject line may contain the topic you were viewing; you write the rest.
If you email us, we receive your email address and what you write. We use it only to answer you and to fix problems (our legitimate interest in supporting the app). We keep these emails for 12 months and then delete them. We do not share them with anyone, except where required by law.
Apple and the App Store
Apple handles app downloads and updates under its own privacy policy. If you have chosen in your iPhone settings to share analytics with app developers, Apple may provide us with aggregated crash reports and usage statistics. These do not identify you to us.
No tracking, no ads, no sale of data
The app contains no advertising, no third-party analytics or tracking tools, and does not use the advertising identifier. We do not sell or share personal data.
Children
The app is not directed at children under 13. Because the app does not collect personal data, it does not knowingly collect data from children. If a child has emailed us and you want that email deleted, contact us.
Your rights
If you are in the EU/EEA or the UK, you have rights under data protection law (GDPR), including the right to access, correct or delete personal data we hold about you, to object to its use and to restrict it. In practice, the only personal data we can hold is an email you sent us. Contact us at niplerr@gmail.com to use your rights. You also have the right to complain to your local data protection authority.
Data on your iPhone is under your control. You can delete it at any time with "Delete all data" in the app, or by deleting the app.
Changes to this policy
If the app changes in a way that affects your privacy, for example if it starts using a server or a cloud AI service, we will update this policy before the change is released and change the effective date above. Significant changes will also be described in the app's release notes.