Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Bubu Browser ("we", "our", "the app") values your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we handle information when you use our mobile application.

2. Information We Collect

We do not collect personal information unless voluntarily provided by you.

We may collect non-personal data such as:

• Device type
• Browser version
• Anonymous usage analytics
• Performance logs

3. News Content and RSS Feeds

Bubu Browser displays publicly available RSS feeds from trusted Nigerian and international publishers including:

• Vanguard
• Punch Nigeria
• Tribune
• The Nation
• BBC Sport
• Complete Sports
• BusinessDay
• ThisDayLive
• Billboard
• NotJustOk

All articles remain the property of their original publishers. We only display headlines, summaries, and redirect users to the full article on the publisher's website. Note: External RSS feed articles do not have commenting functionality. Comments are only available on official Bubu Browser manual posts.

4. Internal Advertisements & Manual Posts

Our admin system allows us to publish internal adverts and manual content posts. These manual posts may include commenting functionality to foster community engagement. Any advertisements do not collect user data beyond what is described in the Commenting Feature section.

5. Commenting Feature

Important: The commenting feature is available exclusively for manual posts published by our admin team. You can only comment on official Bubu Browser content, not on external RSS feeds from news publishers.

5.1 Anonymous Authentication

Our app uses Firebase Anonymous Authentication to allow you to post comments without creating an account. This means:

• You can interact with the app without providing personal information like name, email, or phone number
• An anonymous user ID is generated locally on your device
• This ID is used to attribute your comments and track comment moderation
• Your anonymous ID does not identify you personally

5.2 Data Collection for Comments

When you use the commenting feature, we collect the following information:

• Comment content: The text of comments you post
• Metadata: Creation date, your display name (if provided), and approval status
• Anonymous user ID: Used to attribute comments to you within the app
• Report data: If you report a comment, we collect the reason and any additional details you provide

5.3 Comment Moderation

All comments are subject to automatic moderation to ensure community safety:

• Automated Screening: Comments are scanned for profanity, hate speech, violence, spam, and other policy violations
• Manual Review: Reports from users and flagged comments may be reviewed by our moderation team
• Approval Process: Comments are not immediately visible. Only approved comments appear to other users
• Your Own Comments: You can always see your pending comments, even if not yet approved
• Rejection: Comments that violate our policies are rejected and hidden from other users
• Moderation Reasons: You may receive feedback on why a comment was rejected

5.4 Comment Reporting System

Users can report inappropriate comments. When you report a comment:

• Your report is logged with the reason and any description you provide
• Our moderation team reviews reported comments
• Your identity is not shared with the comment author
• You cannot report the same comment multiple times

5.5 Moderation Tools & Technologies

We use multiple methods to moderate content:

• Keyword Filtering: Automated detection of blacklisted terms
• Perspective API: Google Perspective API for toxicity scoring
• Link Detection: Limiting excessive links to prevent spam
• Symbol Detection: Identifying spam patterns
• Human Review: Manual review by our moderation team

5.6 Data Retention for Comments

We retain your data as follows:

• Approved Comments: Retained indefinitely to maintain article discussions
• Rejected Comments: Kept for 90 days for moderation review and appeals
• Report Records: Maintained for 180 days for audit and policy enforcement
• Anonymous User Data: Retained for 365 days for fraud detection and analytics
• Deletion: You can request deletion of your comments at any time

5.7 User Rights & Controls

You have the following rights:

• View Comments: See all your comments within the app
• Delete Comments: Remove your own comments anytime
• Report Comments: Flag inappropriate content
• Appeal Moderation: Contact us to appeal rejected comments
• Data Access: Request information about your data
• Data Deletion: Request permanent deletion of your data

5.8 Appeals & Support

If your comment is rejected or you believe moderation was in error:

• You can view the rejection reason
• Contact our support team for manual review
• Provide additional context to help us understand your comment
• We will respond to appeals within 7 business days

6. Referral Program

Our app offers a referral program that rewards users for inviting others. The following subsections describe the data we collect to operate this program, how we retain it, and how you can delete your account.

6.1 Referral Program Data Collection

To operate the referral program, we collect and process the following information:

• Email address — used to identify your account, send one-time verification codes, and deliver referral rewards.
• Device identifier — a unique identifier generated from your device to prevent fraudulent use of the referral system. This is not your advertising ID.
• Referral activity — including referral codes used, number of successful referrals, and reward claim history.
• Network provider information — your mobile network name is used solely to deliver airtime rewards to the correct carrier.
• Phone number — collected only at the time of claiming a reward, used solely to deliver airtime credit to your mobile number. It is not stored after delivery.

6.2 Data Retention and Fraud Prevention

We retain referral program data as follows:

• Active account data (email, referral history, rewards) is retained for as long as your account exists.
• Upon account deletion, all personal data including your email address, referral history, reward records, verification codes, and audit logs are permanently deleted.
• Fraud-prevention records: To protect the integrity of our referral program, we retain a cryptographic hash (one-way, irreversible) of your email address and your device identifier after account deletion. These hashed records cannot be used to identify you or recover your email address. They exist solely to prevent repeated abuse of the referral reward system.

6.3 Account Deletion

You may delete your account at any time from Settings > Delete Account within the app. Upon deletion:

• Your email address, profile data, referral history, reward records, verification codes, and activity logs are permanently deleted.
• Anonymised fraud-prevention records (cryptographic hashes only) are retained to prevent referral abuse, in accordance with Google Play's guidelines permitting retention of data necessary for fraud prevention and legal compliance.
• Account deletion is irreversible. You will not be able to re-register for the referral program on the same device.

To request account deletion without access to the app, contact us at anihebuka8@gmail.com.

7. Third-Party Services

The app may use third-party services such as:

• Google Play Services
• RSS Feed Providers
• Firebase (Google) — authentication, database storage, cloud functions, and moderation. Firebase Privacy Policy
• Google Perspective API — for toxicity detection in comments
• MobileNig — airtime delivery service used to fulfill referral rewards. Only your phone number and network provider are shared with MobileNig at the time of reward delivery.
• Analytics tools

8. How We Use Information

• To display news content
• To improve app performance
• To monitor technical issues
• To display internal advertisements
• To manage and moderate user comments
• To enforce our community guidelines and policies
• To operate the referral program, including sending verification codes and delivering rewards
• To detect and prevent fraud or abuse of the referral system

9. Data Security

We implement security measures to protect your data:

• Firebase Security: All data is stored in Firebase with Google-grade encryption
• HTTPS/TLS: All communication with our servers is encrypted
• Access Control: Only authorized personnel can access moderation data
• Regular Audits: We conduct security reviews of our systems

10. Children's Privacy (COPPA Compliance)

Bubu Browser is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect their data.

If you are under 13 years old:

• Parental consent is required for use
• We do not knowingly collect data from children under 13
• If we discover we have data from a child under 13, we delete it immediately
• Parents can contact us to request data about their child

11. GDPR & Data Protection (EU Users)

If you are located in the European Union:

• You have the right to access your personal data
• You can request correction or deletion of your data
• You can object to processing of your data
• You have the right to data portability
• You can lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority
• Contact: privacy@bububrowser.com for GDPR requests

12. Copyright Notice

All external content (articles, images, logos) belongs to their respective publishers. We will remove any feed or content upon request by the copyright owner.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by posting the new policy in the app and updating the "Last Updated" date. Your continued use of the app after changes constitutes acceptance of the new policy.

14. Contact Us

For inquiries, complaints, takedown requests, or privacy-related concerns, contact:
Email: anihebuka8@gmail.com
Privacy Email: bububrowser@gmail.com

15. Updates

This Privacy Policy was last updated on 25th March, 2026. Continued use of the app means acceptance of any changes.