Draft. This policy describes exactly how the app works today, but it must be completed and checked by a lawyer before public launch. Highlighted parts are blanks to fill in.
Privacy policy
Last updated: [DATE]
Who we are
FrenchBriefs (frenchbriefs.com) is operated by [LEGAL NAME OF COMPANY OR PERSON], [POSTAL ADDRESS], Switzerland ("we"). Contact for anything privacy-related: hello@frenchbriefs.com.
We process personal data under the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP) and, for users in the European Union, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). [If required: EU representative under Art. 27 GDPR, name and address.]
What we collect, and why
| Data | Why | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Your Google account email, name and account ID (when you sign in with Google) | To create your account and let you sign in | Contract |
| Your settings: level, sources, tags, hidden topics, audio settings | To build your feed | Contract |
| Reading history: which articles you opened or listened to, and their length | To mark articles as read and to adjust your level automatically | Contract |
| Words you tap for a translation | To show the meaning, to adjust your level, and for the "word of the day" | Contract |
| What you say or type in "Talk back" (Pro) | To reply to you and suggest corrections | Contract |
| Your city, as coordinates rounded to about 1 km (optional) | To show the weather in French | Consent (you choose to add it, and can remove it) |
| Subscription status from Stripe (plan, renewal date). We never see your card number. | To give you Pro features | Contract |
| Daily usage counters (e.g. number of "Talk back" uses today) | To apply fair-use limits | Legitimate interest (keeping the service affordable and preventing abuse) |
| Technical logs (errors, request times) from our hosting provider | To keep the service running and secure | Legitimate interest |
We don't sell your data, show ads, or use advertising trackers.
Who processes your data for us
- Google (Firebase and Google Cloud): hosting, sign-in and database. Our database and server functions run in Google's Zurich region (europe-west6). Sign-in is handled by Google.
- Anthropic: the AI model that rewrites articles, explains words you look up, and replies to "Talk back". For Talk back, the text of what you said is sent to Anthropic, together with the article. Article rewriting involves no personal data. [Confirm Anthropic's current data-processing terms, retention and transfer mechanism.]
- Stripe: payments for Pro. Stripe processes your payment details under its own privacy policy.
- MET Norway: weather forecasts. Our server sends them only rounded coordinates, never your name or account.
- OpenStreetMap (Nominatim): when you search for a city or use "my location", your browser sends that search or position to OpenStreetMap to find the place name.
- Google Fonts: your browser loads our fonts from Google's servers, which receive your IP address. [Planned: self-host the fonts to remove this.]
- Speech recognition: if you use the microphone in "Talk back", your browser's speech recognition (in Chrome, a Google service) turns your voice into text. Reading aloud uses your device's own voices and stays on your device.
Some of these providers are outside Switzerland and the EU. Where that's the case, transfers rely on [adequacy decisions / Standard Contractual Clauses: confirm per provider].
How long we keep it
| Data | Kept for |
|---|---|
| Account and settings | Until you delete your account |
| Reading history | 90 days |
| Words you looked up | 120 days |
| Talk back conversations | 45 days |
| Daily usage counters | 30 days |
| Billing records | As required by Swiss accounting law (generally 10 years), held by Stripe and us |
Your rights
You can see, download and delete your data at any time in the app, under Réglages, then Compte: "Télécharger mes données" and "Supprimer mon compte". Deleting your account removes your data from our database right away and cancels any subscription. You can also ask us to correct your data, to restrict or object to processing, or for any question, at hello@frenchbriefs.com. You have the right to complain to the Swiss Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC) or to your local EU data protection authority.
Children
FrenchBriefs is not intended for children under [16].
Changes
If we change this policy in a meaningful way, we'll tell you in the app before it applies.