Legal · Whyworld
Whyworld — Privacy Policy
Last updated: 6 October 2026
Whyworld ("the app") is published by Srofia ("we", "us"). This policy explains what the app collects, why, and the choices you have. Contact: support@srofia.com.
Summary
- No account. You do not sign up, and we do not ask for your name, email or phone number in the app.
- Your reading stays on your device. Your countries, settings and reading history are stored only on your phone.
- No usage analytics or crash reporting today. The app contains components for anonymous usage statistics and crash reports, but they are switched off, so no usage or crash data is sent. If we switch them on, we will update this policy first, and you will be able to turn usage statistics off in Settings.
- Ads only for free users. Ads are shown by Google AdMob. Where the law requires it, you are asked first, and on iOS you choose whether apps may track you. Subscribers see no ads, and the ad software never starts for them.
- Notifications through Google Firebase Cloud Messaging. If you allow notifications, your device's push token is registered with Google Firebase Cloud Messaging and subscribed to topics for your content language and time zone, so the morning and evening briefings and major world updates reach you. Plus subscribers who turn on "Breaking alerts" are also subscribed to topics for the countries they follow. There is no account, and no name or email is involved.
- Payments are handled by Apple or Google. We never see your card details.
What we process and why
| Data | Where it comes from | Purpose | Legal basis (UK/EU) | Kept for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Settings, chosen countries, reading history | You, in the app | Making the app work | Contract | On your device until you delete the app |
| "Report an error" messages (the topic id and title, plus anything you choose to write) | You, by email from the app | Correcting or hiding inaccurate or harmful summaries and replying to you | Legitimate interest | Up to 12 months after the matter is closed |
| Anonymous usage events and crash reports — currently not collected | The app contains PostHog (usage statistics) and Sentry (crash reports) components, but they are switched off | If switched on in future: improving the app and fixing crashes, with no profile and no personal data | Legitimate interest (usage statistics could be turned off in Settings) | Nothing is collected today; we will update this policy before that changes |
| Advertising identifier, IP address, approximate location, ad interactions | Google AdMob (free users only) | Showing and measuring ads; personalised ads only with your consent (Google's consent form, and on iOS the App Tracking Transparency prompt) | Consent (personalised ads) / legitimate interest (non-personalised ads) | Google's retention policy |
| Purchase status (an anonymous app user id and your entitlement) | Apple/Google, via RevenueCat | Unlocking Whyworld Plus and restoring purchases | Contract | While your subscription is active, plus up to 3 years for tax and accounting records |
| Device push token (FCM registration token) and topic subscriptions: briefing and world-update topics named by your content language and a time-zone offset group (e.g. "digest-en-m4"); for Plus breaking alerts, also the countries you follow | Your device, via Google Firebase Cloud Messaging (everyone who allows notifications) | Sending the morning and evening briefings, major world updates and, for Plus subscribers, breaking alerts for the countries you follow, at a sensible local time. No account, name, email or reading history is sent | Consent (the system notification permission, and the notification switches in the app) | Until you turn the notification off or remove notification permission (the topics are unsubscribed the next time the app runs) or delete the app; Google deletes inactive tokens under its retention policy |
| Local reminders (for example calendar reminders you set, or a briefing reminder when the server briefing is not available) | Your device | Scheduled on your phone; nothing is sent to us | Consent (the system notification permission) | On your device |
We do not collect contacts, photos, precise location, health or financial data. We do not sell personal data.
News content
Topic summaries are written by AI (Google Gemini) from public sources (Google Trends and news publishers' articles, found through GDELT). This happens on our servers before anything reaches your phone. Nothing you do in the app is sent to an AI model.
Service providers
- Google AdMob (ads; free users only; consent via Google's User Messaging Platform, and on iOS App Tracking Transparency)
- Google Firebase Cloud Messaging (push notifications for everyone who allows them: briefings, major world updates and Plus breaking alerts)
- RevenueCat (subscription status)
- Apple and Google (app stores and payments)
- Cloudflare (delivering the news files; it handles standard connection data such as your IP address to serve them)
PostHog (anonymous usage statistics) and Sentry (crash reports) are included in the app but switched off, so they receive no data. If we switch them on, we will list them here and update the date above first.
Each provider processes data under its own terms and data processing agreement. Some providers process data outside your country, including in the United States. Such transfers rely on Standard Contractual Clauses, the UK International Data Transfer Addendum or an adequacy decision.
Your choices and rights
- Analytics: no usage data is collected today. The Settings switch "Share anonymous usage data" will keep it off if analytics is ever switched on.
- Ads:
- Change your ad consent with Settings → "Privacy choices".
- On iOS, change tracking in Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking.
- On Android, reset or delete your advertising ID in device settings.
- Whyworld Plus removes ads completely.
- Notifications: Turn individual notifications off in the app's Settings (for example "World #1 changes" or, for Plus, "Breaking alerts"), or turn all Whyworld notifications off in your device settings (iOS: Settings → Notifications → Whyworld; Android: Settings → Apps → Whyworld → Notifications). Your device is then unsubscribed from the matching topics the next time the app runs.
- Delete your data:
- Deleting the app removes everything stored on your device.
- We hold no account or profile about you. To ask about an email you sent us, or about anything else, email us.
- Subscriptions are managed and cancelled in your App Store or Google Play account.
- Your rights by region:
- UK, EU and similar laws: you may ask for access, correction, deletion, restriction or portability, and you may object. You may also complain to your data protection authority (in the UK, the ICO).
- California: you have the right to know and to delete. We do not sell or "share" personal information for cross-context behavioural advertising outside the ad consent described above.
Children
Whyworld is not directed to children under 13 (under 16 in the EU/UK). We do not knowingly collect data from children.
Changes
If this policy changes, we will update the date above. If the change is material, we will also show a notice in the app.
Contact
Srofia — support@srofia.com — https://srofia.com