HN Desk Privacy Policy

HN Desk is a third-party client for Hacker News developed by Kyle Ross. This Privacy Policy explains how HN Desk handles information when you use the app.

Summary

HN Desk does not operate a developer-controlled backend service. The app does not include advertising, analytics, tracking, or crash-reporting SDKs, and the developer does not sell personal information.

Most app data stays on your device. HN Desk connects to Hacker News and to websites you choose to open so that it can provide its core reading and optional sign-in features.

Information HN Desk Handles

Hacker News content and profiles

HN Desk requests public stories, comments, feeds, and user profiles from the Hacker News API. These requests disclose ordinary network information, such as your IP address and the requested resource, to the services handling the request. HN Desk does not send this information to the app developer.

Optional Hacker News sign-in

You may use HN Desk without signing in. If you choose to sign in:

• HN Desk sends the Hacker News username and password you enter directly to Hacker News over an encrypted HTTPS connection for authentication.
• HN Desk processes your password only for that sign-in request and does not save it.
• Hacker News returns a session cookie. HN Desk stores that cookie in encrypted on-device storage so that you can remain signed in.
• HN Desk stores your Hacker News username, karma, and the most recent session validation time locally on your device.

HN Desk does not create or administer Hacker News accounts. Hacker News accounts are provided by Y Combinator and are governed by Y Combinator's policies.

Information stored locally

Depending on the features you use, HN Desk stores the following information in the app's private storage on your device:

• app settings;
• saved stories;
• saved Hacker News users, including notes or labels you add;
• cached Hacker News content used to improve loading performance;
• Hacker News sign-in metadata and the encrypted session described above; and
• local recovery backups if a saved-data file becomes unreadable.

HN Desk does not synchronize this local information to the developer or to a developer-controlled server.

Articles and external websites

When you open an article, HN Desk presents the destination in a system browser surface on mobile or an embedded browser view on supported desktop platforms. The destination website and your browser provider may receive information normally sent during web browsing, including your IP address, browser information, cookies, and the page requested. Their handling of that information is governed by their own privacy policies. HN Desk does not send your browsing history to the developer.

How Information Is Used

HN Desk uses information only to provide app functionality, including loading Hacker News content, opening articles, saving your preferences and collections, and authenticating optional Hacker News sessions.

HN Desk does not use information for advertising, marketing, cross-app tracking, profiling, or developer analytics.

Sharing and Third-Party Services

The developer does not sell or rent personal information. HN Desk sends data to a third party only when necessary to perform an action you request:

• Hacker News / Y Combinator: provides public content, profiles, and optional account authentication. See the Y Combinator Privacy Policy.
• Google Firebase: hosts the public Hacker News API used by HN Desk. See the Google Privacy Policy.
• Article websites and browser providers: receive requests when you choose to open an external article and handle those requests under their own policies.

Retention and Deletion

Locally stored information remains on your device until you remove it, sign out, clear HN Desk's app storage in your operating system, or uninstall the app.

• Signing out removes the locally stored Hacker News session cookie and sign-in metadata.
• Saved stories and saved users can be removed in HN Desk.
• Clearing the app's storage or uninstalling it removes the app's settings, collections, caches, authentication information, and local recovery backups, subject to the operating system's normal backup and deletion behavior.

Because the developer does not receive or retain copies of this information on a developer-controlled server, there is normally no server-side HN Desk user data for the developer to delete.

Requests concerning a Hacker News account, profile, submission, or comment must be directed to Y Combinator. Y Combinator provides account and privacy contact details in its privacy policy. HN Desk does not offer account creation and cannot delete a Hacker News account.

Security

HN Desk uses HTTPS when communicating with Hacker News and its API. Hacker News session cookies are stored in an encrypted on-device vault. Other local app data is stored in the app's private storage area. No method of electronic storage or transmission is completely secure, and HN Desk cannot guarantee the security of third-party services or websites.

Children's Privacy

HN Desk is a general-audience Hacker News reader and is not directed to children under 13. The developer does not knowingly collect personal information from children through a developer-controlled service.

Changes to This Policy

This policy may be updated when HN Desk's features or data practices change. The effective date at the top of the policy will be updated when changes are made.

Contact

For questions about this Privacy Policy or HN Desk's privacy practices, contact:

Kyle Ross
[email protected]