Privacy policy
Last updated: June 2026. This policy covers sidedigest.com and the SideDigest Chrome extension (pre-release).
In short
SideDigest does not collect or store your personal information — no accounts, no names, no emails inside the extension, and we do not upload your topic choices or reading history to SideDigest servers.
The only category of information we may receive is coarse geographic data (such as country or general region), typically inferred from your network connection when the free version loads a sponsored banner ad. We use that for ad delivery, not to profile you.
What we do not collect
Unless you choose to email us, SideDigest does not collect:
- Your name, postal address, or phone number
- Your email address (in the Chrome extension)
- A list of articles you read or topics you follow in the cloud
- Precise GPS location or street-level address
- Payment details (handled by the Chrome Web Store when you purchase a future paid tier)
Limited information (country / region)
When the extension requests a sponsored banner from our ad service (adserv.amiplay.net), standard web requests may reveal your IP address. That IP can be used to infer country or broad region for lawful ad delivery and reporting.
- We do not use this to identify you personally.
- We do not sell personal data.
- We do not combine this with your news feed preferences.
Sponsored banner ads (free version)
The free tier of SideDigest may show a Sponsored banner in the panel:
- What you see: An image or muted video ad with an optional “Tap to unmute” control, plus a link to the advertiser when you click the creative.
- How it loads: The extension downloads the ad file from our ad server, stores it locally on your device (IndexedDB), and displays it from that cache.
- When there is no ad: The banner area stays hidden (no empty placeholder).
- Paid upgrade (planned): A one-time SideDigest Plus license is intended to remove ads entirely.
- Advertisers: If you click an ad, you leave SideDigest and the advertiser’s site applies its own privacy policy.
Chrome extension — feeds & local storage
- RSS feeds are fetched directly from publishers you enable (BBC, Guardian, NPR, and others listed in settings).
- Topic selections, display mode, themes, currency favorites, and source priority are stored locally in Chrome storage on your device.
- Weather data is requested from Open-Meteo; exchange rates from Frankfurter. Those services receive standard API requests, not your identity from SideDigest.
- Sudoku scores and calculator state remain on your device.
Website (sidedigest.com)
- This website: Static pages describing the extension. We do not run advertising on sidedigest.com at this time.
- Analytics: If we add analytics later, we will update this policy.
Children
SideDigest is intended for general audiences. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 on this website.
Changes
We may update this policy when features change (for example Plus licensing or new ad formats). The “Last updated” date at the top will change when we do.
Contact
Questions about privacy or ads: