Privacy Policy

NOW — News On Words · Aravir Technologies Private Limited · Last updated: 18 October 2026

This policy explains what information the NOW mobile app (“NOW”, “the app”, “we”) collects, how it is used, and your choices. NOW is a multilingual (English & Telugu) news reader that lets you read and listen to news. We designed it to work without requiring an account and to collect as little as possible.

Information we collect

• Device identifier. A random, app-generated identifier created the first time you open the app and stored only on your device. It is used to remember your bookmarks and preferences and to authenticate the app to our API. It is not derived from your hardware, is not linked to your name, and is not used for cross-app tracking. Because it is created per install, uninstalling or clearing the app's data removes it, and a reinstall creates a new one (your previous server-side record is then no longer linked to the new install).
• Push token. If you enable notifications, a Firebase Cloud Messaging token is stored so we can deliver breaking-news alerts.
• Preferences. Your chosen language, dark-mode setting, text size, and category selections — stored to personalise the app.
• Bookmarks. Articles you save.
• Usage analytics. Pseudonymous, aggregate events (e.g. article viewed, played, searched, bookmarked, app opened) with your device identifier, app language, and platform (Android/iOS), used to understand engagement and improve the app.

We do not collect your name, email address, phone number, precise location, contacts, photos, or any government identifier. We do not show third-party advertising and we do not sell your data.

How we use information

• To provide core features: personalised feed, bookmarks, text-to-speech playback, and search.
• To send notifications you opt into (breaking news, and any topic you enable in Settings).
• To measure and improve app performance and content relevance (analytics).

Third-party services

• Google Firebase Cloud Messaging — delivers push notifications. See Google’s Privacy Policy.
• Text-to-speech (spoken audio) — article audio is generated on our own servers by a self-hosted engine (AI4Bharat Indic-Parler-TTS) by default; Google Cloud Text-to-Speech may be used as an optional backup. Only article text is sent for synthesis; no personal data is included.

Data retention

Raw analytics events are automatically deleted after 90 days; only anonymous aggregates are kept beyond that. Locally stored bookmarks and preferences are removed when you clear the app data or uninstall the app. However, server-side records tied to your device identifier (such as bookmarks, preferences, and analytics) are not removed by uninstalling and persist on our servers; to have them deleted, request deletion as described under “Your choices” below.

Your choices

• Turn notifications on or off at any time in Settings → Notifications (or in your device settings).
• Turn off usage analytics at any time in Settings → Privacy → Usage analytics. When off, the app stops collecting analytics events and discards any not yet sent.
• Clear cached data from Settings → Storage → Clear Cache.
• Uninstalling the app removes locally stored data. To request deletion of server-side data tied to your device, contact us at the address below.

Children’s privacy

NOW is a general-audience news app and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

Security

Data in transit is protected with HTTPS/TLS. Access to our systems is restricted and authenticated.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be reflected by the “Last updated” date above.

Contact

Aravir Technologies Private Limited
Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, India
Email: support@newsonwords.com