Privacy Policy · Hello Headlines

Last updated: 23 October 2026

This Privacy Policy explains what information Hello Headlines (“Hello Headlines”, “we”, “us”) collects when you use the helloheadlines.com website and the Hello Headlines mobile apps (together, the “Service”), how we use it, and the choices you have. We handle personal data in line with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and other applicable Indian law.

1. Information we collect

If you use the Service without an account

App identifier. The mobile app creates a random identifier when it is first opened. It isn’t linked to your name, phone number or your device’s hardware IDs. We use it to remember the topics you follow and to send you notifications.
Notification token. If you allow notifications, we store the push token your phone gives the app so we can deliver news alerts.
Your preferences, such as the topics and channels you follow and your language.

If you create an account or log in

Email sign-up: your name, email address and password. Passwords are stored only in hashed (scrambled) form, never as plain text.
Mobile number login: your phone number. One-time codes are stored in hashed form and expire after 10 minutes.
Google sign-in: the name, email address and profile picture Google shares with us. We never see your Google password.

What you do on Hello Headlines

Bookmarks, reactions and comments are linked to your account. Comments are public and show your name.
Reports you make about other people’s comments.
Reading counts. To work out which stories are trending, we count how many times each story is viewed. These counts are not linked to you or your device.

Information you send us

Contact messages: your name, email address and message.
Newsletter: your email address.
Premium membership: the plan you choose, the amount, the date, the payment status and the reference number from the payment provider. You enter card, UPI and bank details with the payment provider directly; we never receive or store them.

Location (optional)

If the weather widget is on and you allow location access, the app sends your approximate location to our server to show the weather where you are. We pass it to our weather provider, OpenWeatherMap, to look up the weather, and we don’t store it. If you don’t allow location, the app shows the weather for a default city.

Technical information

Like most online services, our servers automatically receive your IP address, your browser or device type and the pages or features you request. We use these server logs to keep the Service running, secure and free of abuse.

2. Cookies and advertising

Hello Headlines doesn’t set its own cookies to track you. The website may show ads served by Google AdSense:

Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this website or other websites.
Google’s use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visit to this site and/or other sites on the Internet.
You can opt out of personalised advertising in Google Ads Settings at adssettings.google.com, or opt out of some third-party vendors’ use of cookies for personalised advertising at www.aboutads.info/choices.
To learn more, see how Google uses information from sites that use its services at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.

We may also show our own sponsor banners. For these we count only the total number of times each banner is shown and clicked, not who saw or clicked it.

3. How we use your information

To run the Service: show your feed, remember what you follow, sync your bookmarks and keep you logged in.
To send news notifications, account emails such as a welcome message and, if you subscribe, our newsletter.
To show and moderate comments and act on reports.
To process Premium memberships.
To reply when you contact us.
To rank stories and improve the Service, using counts that aren’t linked to you.
To keep the Service secure, prevent fraud and abuse, and meet our legal obligations.

We do not sell your personal data.

4. Who we share it with

We share personal data only with service providers that help us run the Service, and only what each needs for its job:

Hosting and email delivery providers, which store our data and send our emails.
Push notification services — Expo, Google Firebase Cloud Messaging and Apple Push Notification service — which deliver notifications to your device.
SMS providers, which deliver one-time login codes.
Google, when you choose Google sign-in, and Google AdSense on the website, as described above.
Payment providers such as Razorpay, Stripe, Google Play or the App Store, which process Premium payments.
OpenWeatherMap, which receives an approximate location (and nothing that identifies you) for weather look-ups.

We may also disclose information when the law requires it — for example, in response to a valid order from a court or government authority — or to protect the rights, property or safety of our users, the public or Hello Headlines. If Hello Headlines is merged or acquired, your information may pass to the new owner, who must continue to protect it as this policy describes.

5. Publisher websites

Most stories open on the original publisher’s website. Once you leave Hello Headlines, that publisher’s own privacy policy and cookies apply. We aren’t responsible for how other websites handle your data.

6. How long we keep it

Account information, follows, bookmarks and comments: for as long as your account is active. When you ask us to delete your account, we delete your personal data or make it anonymous within 30 days, unless the law requires us to keep it longer.
One-time login codes: they expire after 10 minutes.
Payment records: for as long as tax and accounting laws require.
Contact messages and server logs: only as long as we need them to deal with your request or keep the Service secure.

7. Your rights and choices

Access and correction. You can see and edit your profile in the app, and ask us for a summary of the personal data we hold about you.
Deletion. Ask us to delete your account and personal data by writing to support@helloheadlines.com from the email address on your account, or through Contact us in the app.
Withdrawing consent. You can withdraw consent at any time. Turn off notifications or location access in your device settings, and ask us to unsubscribe you from the newsletter. Withdrawing consent doesn’t affect what we did before you withdrew it.
Personalised ads. See section 2.
Nomination. You can nominate someone to exercise these rights for you in the event of your death or incapacity.
Complaints. Contact our Grievance Officer (section 11). If you aren’t satisfied with our response, you can complain to the Data Protection Board of India.

8. Security

We protect your data with reasonable security measures, including encrypted connections, hashed passwords and one-time codes, and restricted access to our systems. No method of storing or sending data is completely secure, so we can’t guarantee absolute security. If a breach affects your personal data, we will tell you and the authorities as the law requires.

9. Children

Hello Headlines is meant for adults. If you are under 18, please use the Service only with a parent or guardian’s involvement, and don’t create an account or post comments without their consent. If you believe a child has given us personal data without that consent, contact us and we will delete it.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the Service changes or the law requires. We’ll change the “Last updated” date above and, for significant changes, let you know in the app or by email.

11. Contact and grievances

For questions about this policy or your data, email support@helloheadlines.com. To raise a complaint with our Grievance Officer, email grievance@helloheadlines.com. We acknowledge complaints within 24 hours and resolve them within 15 days. See our Contact Us page for details.