Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Bubl ("Bubl," "we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, shares, and protects your personal information. It applies to the Bubl mobile application for iOS and Android (the "App") and to our website at askbubl.com(the "Site," and together with the App, the "Services").
Bubl is operated by Antonio Furleo Semeraro, based in Fasano (Province of Brindisi), Puglia, Italy. For the purposes of the EU and UK GDPR, we are the "data controller" of the personal information described here. If you do not agree with this policy, please do not use the Services.
Age requirement:Bubl is intended for people aged 16 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16. See "Children's privacy" below.
1. Information we collect
Information you provide
- Account and profile (App): email address, password (stored only as a hash by our authentication provider), username, date of birth (used to verify the 16+ requirement), an age band (16–17 or 18+), and topic interests you select.
- Content you create (App): comments, pod (group) chat messages, direct messages to pod mates, story shares and optional notes, reactions, saved stories, reports you submit, and the list of users you block.
- Questions to Ask Bubl (App): the questions you type into our AI assistant.
- Waitlist and survey (Site): your email address if you join the waitlist, and, if you choose to complete our optional survey, your answers (for example age band, news habits, feature preferences, and any free‑text feedback). The survey does not collect responses from people under 16.
- Support: information you include when you contact us.
Information collected automatically
- Usage and reading activity (App): stories you open, view duration, whether you opened a publisher link, reactions, angle picks, saves, XP, streaks, and similar in‑product activity. This powers your feed, gamification, and features such as Pulse Check.
- Device and log data: IP address, device and browser type, operating system, and basic technical and diagnostic data. On the Site this includes standard server logs kept by our hosting provider.
- Crash and performance data (App): if enabled in a build, crash stack traces and session metadata through Sentry, which we configure to not send default personal identifiers.
- Push token (App): if you enable notifications, a push token used to deliver them.
What we do not collect
We do not collect precise location or GPS, your contacts, photos, camera or microphone data, or payment information. We do not use advertising identifiers (such as IDFA) and we do not track you across other apps or websites for advertising.
2. How we use your information
- Create and secure your account and authenticate you.
- Provide and personalize your feed, pods, comments, direct messages, follows, saved stories, and the Daily Disagree.
- Power AI features (story summaries, "Tailored to you" passages, Pulse Check, and Ask Bubl).
- Moderate user content (automated screening plus review of reports) and keep the community safe.
- Send optional push notifications you have enabled (for example a morning briefing, pod activity, or the Daily Disagree).
- Maintain reliability and diagnose problems.
- Respond to your questions and support requests.
- Contact waitlist subscribers with a launch invitation.
- Comply with law and enforce our Terms.
3. Legal bases (EU/UK users)
If you are in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, we rely on the following legal bases under the GDPR and UK GDPR:
- Performance of a contract: to provide the Services you request.
- Legitimate interests: to secure the Services, moderate content, prevent abuse and fraud, and improve our product, where these interests are not overridden by your rights.
- Consent: for push notifications and for the optional waitlist and survey. You can withdraw consent at any time.
- Legal obligation: where processing is required to comply with law.
4. How we share information
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross‑context behavioral advertising. We share information only with the service providers that help us run Bubl, under contracts that require them to protect it:
- Supabase: authentication, database, and backend hosting for the App and for the Site's waitlist and survey storage.
- OpenAI: AI features and automated content moderation. Your Ask Bubl questions and the text of comments and messages may be processed by OpenAI in the United States. OpenAI is not permitted to use this content to serve you ads.
- Sentry: crash and performance monitoring (if enabled in a build).
- Expo and Apple Push Notification service (APNs): delivery of push notifications you enable.
- Formspree and Web3Forms: processing of the Site's waitlist and survey submissions.
- Vercel: hosting of askbubl.com.
We may also share information with other users when you choose to do so (for example, your username, profile, and content are visible to people in your pods), and with law enforcement or other parties when required by law, to protect rights and safety, or in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets (in which case we will continue to protect your information and notify you of any change in control).
5. Artificial intelligence
Parts of Bubl, including story summaries, "Bubl's Take," "Tailored to you" passages, Pulse Check insights, and Ask Bubl replies, are generated using artificial intelligence (OpenAI). AI output can be inaccurate or incomplete and is not professional, legal, medical, or financial advice. Bubl shows short, AI‑generated summaries and links to original publisher articles; it is not original journalism, and you should read the original sources for the full story. AI features are labeled in the App.
6. User content and moderation
Comments, pod chat, and direct messages are user content. We screen content with automated moderation before it is posted, and you can report content and block users in the App. We may remove content and suspend or terminate accounts that violate our Terms. Some activity is rate‑limited (for example a set number of comments and Ask Bubl questions per story per day).
7. Your rights and choices
You can exercise the following directly in the App or by contacting us:
- Access and export: Settings → Export data provides a copy of key account data (profile, reactions, comments, pods, XP, and Daily Disagree results). Some activity logs are not yet included in the export; contact us if you need them.
- Delete your account: Settings → Delete account permanently removes your profile, content, and related records and deletes your authentication account.
- Push notifications: turn them off in Settings or your device settings.
- Block and report: available throughout the App.
- Correct your information: contact us at pulsenewslive@gmail.com.
EU, UK, and Switzerland
You have the right to access, correct, erase, restrict, or object to our processing of your personal information, the right to data portability, and the right not to be subject to decisions based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects. You may withdraw consent at any time and may lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority (in Italy, the Garante per la protezione dei dati personali).
Canada
We process your information with your consent (express or implied, depending on the context) and as otherwise permitted by applicable Canadian privacy law. You may withdraw consent and request access to your personal information by contacting us.
United States
Depending on your state of residence, you may have the right to know, access, correct, delete, and obtain a copy of your personal information, and the right not to be discriminated against for exercising these rights. Because we do not sell or share personal information or use it for targeted advertising, no opt‑out of those activities is necessary. We honor Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals where applicable.
To exercise any of these rights, email us at pulsenewslive@gmail.com. We will verify your request and respond as required by law.
8. Data retention
We keep your personal information for as long as your account is active. When you delete your account, we delete or de‑identify your information, except where we must retain limited data to comply with law, resolve disputes, or enforce our agreements, and except for copies that may persist briefly in routine backups. Waitlist and survey data is kept only as long as needed for the launch and our product research, or until you ask us to delete it.
9. Security
We use HTTPS, reputable infrastructure providers, database row‑level security, and access controls to protect your information. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.
10. International transfers
We are based in Italy and our providers, including OpenAI and our hosting, process data in the United States and other countries. Where we transfer personal information out of the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses. By using the Services you understand your information may be processed in countries other than your own.
11. Children's privacy
Bubl is for people aged 16 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16, and people under 16 are directed to a waitlist rather than an account. If you believe someone under 16 has provided us personal information, contact us at pulsenewslive@gmail.com and we will delete it.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will change the "Last updated" date above and, for material changes, provide a more prominent notice. Please review it periodically.
13. Contact us
Questions or requests? Email pulsenewslive@gmail.com, or write to us at:
Antonio Furleo Semeraro (Bubl)
Viale L. Longo 18
72015 Fasano (BR), Puglia
Italy