Privacy Policy
TideNow is a public read-only aggregator of 60+ trending feeds. It has no accounts, no login, no user database, and no per-user identifiers under our control. This page documents exactly what happens to your data.
What we don't collect
- No name, email, phone, or other identity fields. There is no sign-up form anywhere on the site.
- No password storage. There is no password.
- No persistent user ID issued by us. We do not write any identifying cookie on first visit.
- No payment information. The service is free; we never charge.
- No tracking pixels from third-party ad networks.
What lives only on your device
Your personalisation lives entirely in your browser'slocalStorage — nothing is sent to us. This includes:
- Pinned / hidden sources and your custom card order.
- Keyword mute list, theme preference, font size, locale.
- Compose tool drafts (up to 20 entries).
- Your AI provider name + API key (if you set one in the AI settings panel).
Clearing your browser data deletes all of it irrevocably. We have no backup because we never received a copy. An import / export JSON button in the Compose drafts panel is the only escape hatch if you want to move between devices.
What we do collect (and why)
- Vercel Analytics — anonymous, aggregated page-view counts and approximate country / browser. No personal identifiers, no fingerprinting. We use it to know which pages users actually read.
- Vercel logs — standard server logs (IP, user-agent, request path) retained for 24 hours for debugging and abuse prevention. Never exported, never sold, automatically deleted.
- Server-side cache — we cache upstream feed responses (HN, Reddit, Weibo, etc.) for 5–60 minutes so we don't hammer the publishers. This cache contains the headlines themselves, not anything about who requested them.
- AI summary cache — when you hover for an AI summary, the result is cached by a SHA1 hash of
provider:locale:headlineso identical hovers across all users hit a single record. The cache key contains no per-user information.
Your AI key (BYOK)
The AI summary and Compose tool use a "bring your own key" pattern. When you submit a request, our server forwards your key and prompt to your chosen AI provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek, Zhipu, or Google Gemini), receives the response, and returns it to your browser.
Your key is transmitted over HTTPS, used for that single request, and never written to disk or any database we control. It also lives in your browser's localStorage until you clear it. We strongly recommend creating a per-site key with a tight spending limit at your AI provider, rather than reusing your primary key.
If you use on-device Gemini Nano (Chrome 139+ with the flag), the request never leaves your browser at all.
Advertising
We're applying for Google AdSense. If accepted, AdSense and its partners may set their own cookies on your browser to serve and measure ads. AdSense's privacy policy applies in addition to this one: policies.google.com/technologies/ads. You can opt out of personalised ads at: google.com/settings/ads.
External links
Every card on the site links to the original publisher. We're not responsible for the privacy practices, content, or accuracy of anything you click through to.
Children
TideNow is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from them — but since we collect almost nothing from anyone, this is enforced by design more than by policy.
Changes
If we change this policy, we'll update the "Last updated" date at the bottom of this page. Significant changes (e.g. introducing accounts, adding a third-party tracker) will also appear in the changelog.
Contact
Questions, concerns, or data-removal requests: alex.chu0206@gmail.com.