Data Collection
HNPulse does not collect any personal information. We do not use analytics, tracking, advertising, or any third-party SDKs that collect data.
Data Stored on Your Device
The following data is stored locally on your device only and is never transmitted to any server:
- Bookmarks — Stories you save for later reading
- Read History — Which stories you have opened
- Blocked Users — Usernames you have chosen to block
- Settings — Your theme, font size, and display preferences
This data is stored using your device's standard storage and can be deleted at any time by uninstalling the app or clearing data within the app's settings.
External Services
HNPulse communicates with the following external services:
- Hacker News API (
hacker-news.firebaseio.com) — Public, read-only API for fetching stories and comments. No authentication required. - Algolia Search API (
hn.algolia.com) — Public, read-only API for searching Hacker News stories. No authentication required. - HNPulse Insights API — Our backend service that powers the Comment Insights feature. When you use Comment Insights, publicly available Hacker News comments for the selected story are sent to our server, which processes them using OpenAI's API to generate a structured summary. Only the story's public comments are sent — no personal data, user identifiers, or device information is included in these requests.
The Hacker News and Algolia APIs are publicly available and do not require any user credentials or personal information to access.
AI-Powered Features
The Comment Insights feature uses OpenAI's API (a third-party AI service) to analyze and summarize publicly available Hacker News comments. When you use this feature:
- Only publicly available Hacker News comment text is sent to OpenAI for processing
- No personal data, user identifiers, device information, or IP addresses are shared with OpenAI
- You are asked for consent before using this feature for the first time
- You can choose not to use this feature — it does not affect any other functionality of the app
Third Parties
Other than the AI processing described above, HNPulse does not share any data with third parties. There are no analytics services, advertising networks, or data brokers integrated into the app.
Children's Privacy
HNPulse does not knowingly collect any personal information from children. The app does not collect personal information from any user.
Changes to This Policy
If this privacy policy is updated, the changes will be reflected on this page with an updated effective date.
Contact
If you have questions about this privacy policy, please contact us at natascha@nap.so.