so they say.
So They Say ("we", "us", "the app") is an invitation-only news reader. This policy describes what data we collect, why, and what control you have over it. We try to keep it short because the answer is short.
What we collect
- Account identity. Either an email address (when you sign up with email + password) or an anonymous identifier from Apple's Sign in with Apple (when you choose that option). If you use Sign in with Apple's "Hide My Email" feature, we never see your real address — only the relay address Apple gives us.
- Invite code. The 8-character code you used to join is stored alongside your account so we know who invited you.
- Preferences. The industries you've chosen to follow.
- Reading activity. Which articles you've opened in the app, so we can avoid re-surfacing them and so the team can understand which stories land. We do not record what you read on the publisher's website after tapping out.
- Diagnostic logs. Standard server logs (timestamps, HTTP status codes, request paths, IP address) retained for up to 30 days for security and debugging. These are not joined to your account profile.
What we don't collect
- No location data.
- No contacts, photos, microphone, or camera access.
- No advertising identifiers; no ad networks; no analytics SDKs.
- No tracking across other apps or websites.
How we use it
- To authenticate you and keep your account secure.
- To personalize your feed based on the industries you've chosen.
- To prevent abuse of invite codes and detect malicious traffic.
- To debug crashes and outages.
Who we share it with
No one. We do not sell, rent, or share personal data with third parties. The only third parties involved in the service are infrastructure providers we contract directly to host the database, send transactional emails (invite-only), and run the breakthrough classifier. They process data on our behalf under contract and may not use it for any other purpose.
How long we keep it
- Account data: until you delete your account.
- Reading activity: until you delete your account.
- Server logs: 30 days.
Your rights
You can permanently delete your account and all data tied to it from inside the app: Settings → Danger zone → Delete account. This is immediate and irreversible. If you'd rather we do it manually, email us.
You may also request a copy of the data we hold about you, or ask us to correct anything inaccurate, by emailing lcmds@hotmail.com.
Children
The app is rated 12+ and not intended for children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 13. If you believe a child has signed up, please contact us and we will delete the account.
Changes
If we change this policy in a material way, we will update the effective date above and notify active accounts in the app. Older versions of this policy are available on request.
Contact
Questions about this policy or about your data: lcmds@hotmail.com.