Privacy
Anchored · Effective Nov 12, 2026
Your account and settings stay in your accountAnchored never sells your data, shows ads or tracks you across other apps. You sign in with Apple or Google. OpenAI, ElevenLabs and Supabase process data on our behalf, and one Apple Ads attribution event is sent when you start a free trial or subscribe.No adsNo cross-app trackingSign in with Apple or GoogleApple Ads attribution
About this policy
Anchored (the "app", "we", "us") is a paid, voice-first daily news briefing operated by HBKL Labs. This policy explains what we collect, why, who processes it on our behalf, and the choices you have. We collect only what the app needs to work, and we never sell your data or show ads. The one advertising-related exception is Apple Ads attribution, described below.
Summary
• You sign in with Apple or with Google. We receive an account identifier so your settings and history stay with you.
• We store the topics you choose and your preferences (delivery time, voice, briefing length) so we can assemble and deliver your briefing.
• We store your playback history.
• To produce your briefings we use trusted processors: OpenAI (to write the briefing text from public news), ElevenLabs (to turn that text into audio) and Supabase (accounts, database, storage). If you choose to send feedback, Cloudflare hosts the feedback service.
• Payments are handled by Apple. We never see your card or payment details.
• When you start a free trial or subscribe, one Apple Ads attribution event is sent so we can tell whether an ad led to it (see Apple Ads attribution).
• No advertising shown, no cross-app tracking, no sale of personal data.
Information we collect
Account identifierYou create an account using Sign in with Apple or Sign in with Google. We receive a unique user identifier from the provider you choose. We also receive your email address: with Apple this may be Apple's private relay address if you choose to hide your email, and with Google it is the email on your Google account. We use it to contact you about your account or support requests. We never receive your Apple or Google password.
Your preferences and selectionsWe store the settings you set in the app: the topics and subtopics you select, your delivery time and time zone, your chosen voice, your briefing length, and your notification preference. These drive what your daily briefing contains and when it arrives.
Playback and usage dataWe store which briefings you have played and how far through you listened (for the History tab and to mark a briefing complete). This is tied to your account so your history is available across your devices.
NotificationsIf you turn on notifications, we store your device's Apple push notification token so we can send you a 'briefing ready' alert. We remove it when you sign out or delete your account.
Free listening periodA new account gets 3 days of free listening, with no subscription and no card. The end of the period is stored with your profile on our server. The app also keeps a start time on your iPhone, in the Keychain on this device only, so deleting and reinstalling the app does not restart the clock. After the period you need a subscription to keep listening.
Subscription statusApple tells us whether your subscription is active and which plan you are on, so the app can unlock what you paid for. Briefing Monthly and Briefing Yearly include a 1-month free trial for new subscribers (one free trial per Apple Account). Apple does not share your payment details with us. When you subscribe, the app and Apple's server notifications give us your subscription identifier, product, and expiry date, which we link to your account so we know which plan you are on.
Feedback you choose to sendSettings has a Leave feedback option. If you choose to send a message, we receive the message you write (1 to 4,000 characters) and, only if you enter one, your email address. The app also sends its version and build, your iOS version and your device model. Nothing is sent unless you tap Submit. Feedback goes to an HBKL Labs feedback service hosted on Cloudflare (a Worker and a D1 database), which stores it and emails it to our support inbox. For rate limiting we keep a salted hash of your IP address, never the IP address itself. Cloudflare processes feedback on our behalf. Feedback is not linked to your account.
Apple Ads attributionWe run ads for Anchored through Apple Ads, and we measure whether an ad led to a trial or a purchase. In your first launches the app asks Apple for an attribution token (Apple's AdServices; there is no tracking prompt and no advertising identifier) and checks it with Apple's attribution service. When you start a free trial or make your first purchase through the App Store, the app sends one event to an HBKL Labs service hosted on Cloudflare (feedback.hbkllabs.com). The event holds the type (trial start or purchase), the product, the attribution token, a random install ID the app makes for itself, and the app version. Our service uses the token to ask Apple which campaign, ad group and keyword the install came from. This is Purchase History, Advertising Data and a random install ID, used for analytics only. It is not linked to your account or identity, it is not used to track you across other companies' apps and sites, and it does not include your listening, your Apple Account or your device identifiers. Renewals are not sent. Cloudflare processes it on our behalf.
What we do not collectNo location, contacts, photos, or health data; No advertising identifiers (the attribution token above is not one) and no data used to show you ads; No tracking of you across other apps or websites.
How we use your information
• To create and secure your account.
• To assemble and deliver your personalized daily briefing and (if enabled) send a "briefing ready" notification.
• To keep your settings and listening history consistent across your devices.
• To provide customer support and respond to your requests.
• To operate, secure, and improve the service and to meet legal obligations.
We do not use your personal data to show you ads, and we do not build an advertising profile of you. Attribution events are used only to measure our own Apple Ads.
Third-party processors
We use a small number of service providers that process data on our behalf, under their own security and privacy commitments. We share only what each provider needs to perform its function.
The daily briefing text is generated once from public sources and shared across everyone who selected the same topics, so the news content itself is not personal to you. Personalization comes from which shared segments your selection assembles.
ApplePurpose: Sign-in, subscription billing, and push notifications. What it processes: Account identifier, optional relayed email, subscription status, and your device notification token.
GooglePurpose: Optional Sign in with Google. What it processes: Your Google account identifier and email, only if you choose to sign in with Google.
SupabasePurpose: Account authentication, database, and audio storage. What it processes: Account identifier, your preferences and selections, playback history.
CloudflarePurpose: Hosting the feedback service (Worker and D1 database) for feedback you choose to send and the Apple Ads attribution event. What it processes: The Apple Ads attribution event (type, product, attribution token, random install ID, app version). If you send feedback: your feedback message, optional email, app version and build, iOS version, device model, and a salted hash of your IP address used for rate limiting.
OpenAIPurpose: Writing the briefing text from public news sources. What it processes: News source text and topic names. It does not receive your name, email or any account data.
ElevenLabsPurpose: Converting briefing text into spoken audio. What it processes: Briefing text only. It does not receive your name, email or any account data.
News content is AI-generated
Briefings are generated by automated language models from publicly available news and RSS sources. They may contain errors, omissions, or outdated information and should not be relied on as your sole source of news. See the Terms of Service for the full disclaimer.
Where your data is stored
Account data, preferences, history and audio are stored with Supabase on cloud infrastructure in the United States. Feedback you choose to send is stored in a Cloudflare D1 database. Text sent to OpenAI and ElevenLabs for processing is handled on their infrastructure.
Data retention
We keep your account data, preferences, and playback history for as long as your account is active, so the app can show your history and keep your settings. When you delete your account, this data is removed as described below, except the one-way hash of your sign-in identifier described there. Providers may retain limited records for a short period as required for security, fraud prevention, or legal obligations.
Your rights and choices
Access and correctionyou can view and change your preferences and selections at any time in Settings.
DeletionYou can delete your account from within the app (Settings). Deleting your account permanently removes your sign-in record, preferences, playback history, device notification token and subscription link. One thing is kept: a one-way hash (a salted SHA-256) of your sign-in identifier, made from the sign-in provider and the user ID it gave us. It holds no email, no name and no account data, and we keep it only so the one-time free listening period cannot be used again by deleting an account and signing up again. Briefing text and audio are shared across subscribers and are not tied to you, so they are not removed. You can also remove Anchored from your Apple or Google account's connected apps.
Notificationsyou can turn "briefing ready" notifications on or off in Settings and in the iOS system settings.
Requestsdepending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or restrict processing of your personal data. Contact us at support@hbkllabs.com and we will respond as required by applicable law. We do not sell your personal data or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.
Children
Anchored is intended for a general adult audience and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.
Security
We use industry-standard measures to protect your data, including encrypted connections and access controls at our providers. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we work to protect your information.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we will update the date above and, where appropriate, notify you in the app.
Contact
Questions about privacy can be sent to support@hbkllabs.com.