Privacy policy
MD News Alerts is built to work without knowing who you are. There is no tracking, no advertising, and no analytics SDK in the app.
What the app stores
Your area and notification choices. The counties you pick, which alert categories are on, and your quiet hours are stored with your device's push notification token so alerts reach the right phones. They are not tied to your name.
Optional sign-in. If you sign in with Apple or Google, we receive a provider account ID and, if the provider shares it, your verified email address. It is used only so the editor can reply to tips you send. You can delete your account in the app at any time, which removes it.
Tips you send. If you submit a tip, its text, optional photo and optional contact details go only to the editor. Location data is removed from photos before upload. Tips are never published automatically.
Approximate location, only for two features, only if you use them. If you add a "Roads near you" or "Top stories" widget and have allowed location, the widget sends your position rounded to about 1 km so it can show the nearest traffic camera. If you set up a commute, the two places you picked are sent to check the roads between them. Neither is stored, logged with your request, or linked to you.
Questions, reports and "Seeing this". When you ask MD News Alerts a question, report a problem with a story, or tap "Seeing this", the text you write (if any) and the post it's about are sent to the editor. No name is attached. The app makes a random ID on your phone; the server stores only a scrambled (hashed) version of it, so it can count each phone once and limit spam, and can't work out who you are. If you're signed in when you ask a question, it is linked to your account so the editor can reply. A question is published only if the editor answers it and chooses to show it, without your name.
Story counts. When a Verified story is opened or shared, the app adds one to that story's daily count. Nothing about who opened it is recorded.
What the app does not do
No selling or sharing of data, no ad networks, no tracking. The map's "Near me" uses your location on your device only. Your follows, saved stories, reading settings and commute are kept on your phone.
Publishers' photos and pages
Headlines link to the news outlet that published them. An outlet's photo, and its page when you choose to read the full story, load directly from that outlet's website, as they would in a browser; that outlet can see that a device requested them and its own privacy policy applies.
Crime data
Reported crime comes from official county open data. It is shown at block level or coarser, never at exact addresses, and never with names. Records older than 30 days are deleted.
Contact
Questions or deletion requests: mdweatheralerts@gmail.com.