Ooru News
Last updated: 7 October 2026
Reading on Ooru News is anonymous. We don't ask you to sign in, we don't use the phone's GPS, we carry no third-party advertising or tracking code, and we never sell your data. This page explains the little we do collect and why.
This app and the Ooru News reader are operated by PSK Apps LLC (Lathrop, California, USA), the controller of the information described here. PSK Apps LLC publishes on Google Play as thurkam. The Ooru News newsroom operates from Hyderabad, Telangana, India. For any privacy question or request, contact bhargav@phiny.ai.
| Information | Why |
|---|---|
| Reading activity — which stories you open, listen to, share, keep or skip, and the language and format you read in. Anonymous: not tied to your name or an account. | To show what's popular, order the feed, and understand what readers find useful (in aggregate). |
| The area you choose — the district / region you pick in the app. This is a selection, not your GPS location; we do not access the device's precise location. | To show local news and the weather for that area. |
| Install ID — a random ID that your browser or the app creates the first time you open it. It is not your phone's hardware ID or advertising ID, and it is not linked to your name. | To count readers without knowing who they are, and to keep your alerts working. It resets if you clear the app's data or reinstall. |
| On-device preferences — saved stories, text size, light/dark mode, chosen language and area. Stored on your device. If you turn on alerts, your language and area are also stored on our servers with your notification token (below). | To remember how you like to read. |
| Notification token — only if you turn on alerts: a push token from Apple (APNs), Google (Firebase Cloud Messaging, in the Android app) or your browser, stored with your language, chosen area and install ID. | To send the breaking-news alerts you opted into, for your area. Turn alerts off any time in your device settings. |
| Membership demo today — the paywall checkout currently takes no real payment. If paid membership is enabled later, a payment provider will process it and we will not store your card details. | To support local journalism. |
| Technical logs — standard server logs such as IP address, device/browser type and timestamps. | To keep the service secure, reliable and free of abuse. Kept only briefly. |
We use a small set of service providers purely to run the app:
Data is hosted on AWS in India and encrypted in transit (HTTPS). Notification tokens are also processed by Google or Apple to deliver alerts, and email and text-message alerts are sent through AWS in the United States. Access is limited to what's needed to run the service.
Anonymous reading activity is kept in aggregate for as long as it's useful to improve the paper. Technical logs are kept only briefly. On-device preferences stay on your device until you clear them. A notification token — with its language, area and install ID — is kept while alerts are on, and deleted when Google, Apple or your browser tells us it no longer works (for example after you uninstall the app).
Ooru News is a general-audience news service and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
If we change how we handle data, we'll update this page and the "last updated" date above.
PSK Apps LLC (Google Play developer: thurkam), Lathrop, California, USA — bhargav@phiny.ai.