Privacy Policy

Introduction

This privacy policy applies to blerbz.com (the “Website”) and the Blerbz App (the “App”), collectively referred to as the “Services.” Blerbz is an AI-enriched news intelligence platform that aggregates and ranks news from publicly available sources.

We are committed to transparency about what data we collect and how we use it. This policy is written in plain language so you can understand it clearly.

1. Information We Collect

Information You Provide

• Payment and purchase information — If you purchase premium features, payment is processed by Apple, Google, or Stripe, depending on platform. We do not store your credit card number. We may store purchase, subscription, receipt, transaction, and entitlement records needed to deliver paid credits, subscriptions, restore purchases, and handle account support.
• Email address and account identity — If you use premium features, Sign in with Apple, or credit sync, we collect your email address and account identifiers solely for account verification, credit/session security, entitlement sync, and premium feature notices within Blerbz. We will never send you marketing emails, spam, or share/sell your email address to any third party.
• Preferences — Theme settings, feed preferences, and content customizations you configure in the Services.

Information Collected Automatically

Website: The following data is collected when you visit blerbz.com.

• Analytics data — We use Google Analytics and Vercel Analytics to collect anonymized usage data including pages visited, referral source, browser type, and general geographic region. These tools use cookies and similar technologies.
• Engagement data — When you interact with news stories (clicks, views, shares, saves), we record these interactions to power our ranking algorithms. This data is tied to your session, not to a personal identity.
• Performance data — Vercel Speed Insights collects page load performance metrics to help us improve the experience.
• AI-assisted features — When you use AI features (for example ARTEMIZ, Focuz, STREAM, FILMZ, PHOTOZ, Grokify, or similar tools), prompts, source article context, generated media requests, and limited conversation context may be sent to our AI providers (such as xAI for Grok) for processing under their terms. We do not use these interactions to build advertising profiles or to sell personal data. Do not submit sensitive information you do not want transmitted to an AI provider.

App: The following data is collected when you use the Blerbz App.

• Device information — Device type, operating system version, and app version for compatibility and debugging.
• Crash data (Sentry) — We use Sentry for crash reporting. When the App crashes or encounters an error, Sentry automatically collects crash reports, device metadata, and app state breadcrumbs. Screenshots are disabled. Query parameters and article IDs are stripped from URLs before transmission. No user-identifiable content is captured. See Sentry's Privacy Policy.
• Location data — If you tap “Use My Location” on the Local News page, the App requests foreground location permission to determine your geographic region for local news. Your precise coordinates are used only to select the nearest region and are not stored or transmitted.
• Microphone audio — If you tap the ARTEMIZ microphone control, the App records your spoken prompt and sends the audio to the BLERBZ speech-to-text service so it can be transcribed into a message. Microphone access is never requested for feed browsing, article playback, Vibes, or typed ARTEMIZ prompts.
• AI prompts and generated media requests — ARTEMIZ, STREAM, FILMZ, PHOTOZ, and related AI tools may send your prompt, selected story context, and generation parameters to BLERBZ servers and AI providers to produce the requested response or media.
• Photo library save permission — If you choose to save generated Toons, STREAM clips, or other media, the App requests add-only photo library permission to write that file to your library. The App does not scan or upload your photo library.
• Account and purchase records — If you sign in, buy credits, subscribe, restore purchases, or delete your account, we process the email/session, Sign in with Apple identity, receipt, entitlement, and transaction data needed to complete that action.
• Engagement data — Same story interaction data as the Website (clicks, views, shares, saves) to power rankings.
• Local storage (AsyncStorage) — Preferences, settings, and offline-cached content are stored locally on your device using AsyncStorage. This data does not leave your device.

2. Information We Do Not Collect

We want to be explicit about what we do not collect:

• We do not require account creation or login to use the core Services.
• We do not collect your name, email address, or phone number for general use. Email is collected only when you choose account-linked credits, purchases, subscriptions, Sign in with Apple, or support/account actions that require it.
• We do not sell personal information to third parties.
• We do not build advertising profiles about you.
• We do not track your location except when you explicitly request local news using “Use My Location” (App only), at which point your location is used solely to determine your region and is not stored.

3. How We Use Information

• Ranking & trending — Engagement data (clicks, views, shares) feeds our BLERBZ100 ranking algorithm and viral detection system. This is aggregated and anonymous.
• Improving the Services — Analytics and performance data help us optimize page load times, fix bugs, and improve content relevance.
• Personalizing your experience — Preferences you set (theme, feed layout) are stored locally and used to customize your view.
• Processing purchases and subscriptions — Purchase and entitlement information is used solely to complete transactions, restore purchases, provide paid credits/subscriptions, and support account deletion or account recovery. Card numbers are handled by Apple, Google, or Stripe and are not stored by Blerbz.

4. Third-Party Services

The Services use the following third-party providers that may receive data as described:

• Google Analytics — Anonymized website usage analytics. Google Privacy Policy
• Vercel — Hosting, analytics, and performance monitoring. Vercel Privacy Policy
• Stripe — Payment processing for premium features. Stripe Privacy Policy
• Apple and Google — In-app purchase, subscription, receipt validation, restore purchase, and Sign in with Apple services where applicable. Blerbz receives only the identifiers and receipt/entitlement data needed to provide the purchase or account feature.
• Sentry — Crash reporting and error monitoring for the Blerbz App. Collects crash reports, device metadata, and sanitized breadcrumbs. Screenshots disabled; no user-identifiable data captured. Sentry Privacy Policy
• Upstash / Redis — Caching infrastructure. No personal data is stored; only aggregated content and engagement counts.
• xAI (Grok) and other AI infrastructure providers — AI processing for in-product assistants, speech transcription, media generation, and enrichment when you invoke those features. xAI Privacy Policy

5. Cookies & Local Storage

Website: blerbz.com uses cookies as follows.

• Analytics cookies — Google Analytics and Vercel Analytics set cookies to measure site usage. These are anonymized.
• Preference cookies — Your theme, layout, and display settings are stored in your browser's local storage so they persist between visits.

App: The Blerbz App uses local device storage.

• Local storage — Preferences, settings, and cached content are stored on your device. No cookies are used in the App.

You can clear cookies and local storage at any time through your browser or device settings. This may reset your preferences.

6. Data Retention

• Engagement data — Aggregated engagement metrics are retained as part of our ranking system. Individual session data is not retained beyond its use in ranking calculations.
• Analytics data — Retained by Google Analytics and Vercel according to their respective data retention policies.
• Preferences — Stored locally on your device until you clear them.
• Account, credit, subscription, and purchase records — Retained while needed to provide paid features, restore purchases, prevent fraud, comply with applicable law, and honor account deletion requests. Card data is retained by Apple, Google, or Stripe under their policies, not by Blerbz.
• Microphone audio and AI prompts — Used to process the feature you requested. Audio is used for transcription; prompts and generation context may be retained in operational logs only as needed for reliability, abuse prevention, support, or service improvement.

7. Data Security

We implement security measures to protect information processed by the Services:

• HTTPS encryption on all connections
• Security headers (HSTS, Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options)
• API authentication for backend services
• Rate limiting to prevent abuse
• No storage of sensitive payment data on our servers

8. Children's Privacy

The Services are not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us so we can take appropriate action.

9. Your Rights

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

• Request information about what data we process about you
• Request deletion of any personal data we hold
• Opt out of analytics tracking by using browser privacy settings, ad blockers, or the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on
• Clear all locally stored preferences at any time via your browser or device settings

Because we collect minimal personal data and do not require accounts, most user data is anonymous or stored only on your own device.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy to reflect changes in our practices or for legal reasons. When we make material changes, we will update the effective date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

11. Contact

If you have questions about this privacy policy or your data, you can reach us on X/Twitter (@blerbznews) or visit our about page.