Last updated November 7, 2026

Privacy policy

You can read News by Levels without creating an account or providing personal information.

Analytics

With your permission, we use Google Analytics to understand which pages, topics, and reading levels visitors use. Analytics may collect information such as an approximate location, device type, browser, referring page, and interactions with the site. We use this information to improve the reading experience.

Your choice

Analytics storage is denied until you choose “Accept analytics.” You can reject analytics or change your choice at any time using the “Privacy settings” button in the footer.

Translation help

The website and app request translation help from our server. Where a prepared translation is available, the server returns that saved translation without making a new request to an outside translation provider. Older stories may use MyMemory: when a matching translation is not already saved, the server sends the public article paragraph or the selected word with its sentence context to that provider. We do not include your name, email address or account information in the translation request. Returned translations may be cached so other readers can reuse them. Your chosen language may be saved in your browser or, if you use an account, in your reading preferences.

If you subscribe, we store your email address, subscription status, consent version and confirmation dates in our database. We send up to two English practice emails a week, only after you confirm your address. Each newsletter contains an unsubscribe link. We do not add outreach contacts to this list, sell subscribers’ addresses, or use email-open tracking pixels. Links to our site can identify newsletter traffic as a group, without putting your email address in the URL.

We use our hosting email service to send confirmation and newsletter messages. To limit signup abuse, we temporarily store keyed hashes of the requesting network address and email address for up to seven days. Unconfirmed subscriptions expire after 48 hours and are removed after seven days. Unsubscribed addresses are retained as a suppression record so we do not send further practice emails; contact us if you want this record deleted. Send attempt records contain status and time; they are kept for up to 90 days.

Your browser may remember that you dismissed the newsletter invitation for 30 days, or requested a confirmation for 180 days. This is separate from analytics consent. If browser storage is unavailable, the automatic invitation stays hidden. The signup form is still available at the bottom of the page.

Website accounts and learning progress

Accounts are optional. The website uses the same Firebase Authentication accounts as our mobile app. Your email and password are handled by Firebase Authentication; we do not send them to Analytics or include them in page URLs. Sign-in lasts for the browser session unless you choose “Keep me signed in.” On shared devices, sign out when finished.

Signed-in reading positions, completion marks, saved stories, practice progress and first-try scores, words you choose to save with their story context, reading level, translation language and topic preferences are stored in your private Cloud Firestore account and shared between the website and app. A story is completed only when you mark it as read. Free-writing answers are not saved or sent. Accounts do not subscribe you to the newsletter.

Guest learning records stay in this browser, separately from account data. They are not automatically uploaded when you sign in. Deleting browser storage removes guest records. Account data remains until you remove individual saved items or delete your account. The website account screen supports password-confirmed deletion of your account and cloud learning data. This does not cancel a separate newsletter subscription. To request a copy or deletion of your data outside the account screen, contact us.

Mobile application

The mobile app can be used as a guest. If you create an account, Firebase Authentication stores your email address and manages authentication. Saved stories, reading positions and completion marks, practice results, saved words with their story context, and reading preferences are stored in Cloud Firestore under your account so they can be synchronized between devices and the website. The Firestore database is located in Europe (Belgium). Guest learning records stay on the device, separately from account records, and are not automatically uploaded when you sign in.

Optional Firebase Analytics usage measurement and Firebase Crashlytics error reports are off by default in the mobile app. You can enable or disable them in Settings. Usage measurement includes screen and sign-in events; our event parameters do not include your email address, password or account identifier. Error reports can include the error type, stack trace, app version and device diagnostics. Turning off future collection does not erase reports already received by Firebase.

News notifications are optional. If you enable them, Firebase Cloud Messaging manages a device delivery token and a subscription to a shared news topic. The app does not store that token in your account library. You can unsubscribe in Settings and control notification permission in your phone settings. Notification delivery on iOS requires Apple push configuration.

You can permanently delete your account and cloud learning data from the account screen after confirming your password. This deletes your saved stories, reading history, practice results, saved words and preferences before removing your sign-in account; if interrupted, the app reports an error and you can retry. Guest device records, any separate newsletter subscription, and previously received diagnostic reports are not included in this action. For account deletion requests outside the app, use our contact page and identify the account email address.

Advertising in Android versions with ads enabled

Android versions with advertising enabled may display a Google AdMob banner in the main news feed. Reading stories and completing exercises remain available when ads are disabled. We do not add account identifiers, email addresses, reading history, saved words or search terms to advertising requests. Versions without advertising enabled do not request ads.

Before advertising is enabled, the app asks whether you are 18 or older. Your choice stays on your device; we do not request your date of birth. Ads stay disabled if you select under 18 or prefer not to say. If you select 18 or older, Google's consent system checks which privacy choices apply. Ads are requested only after that check allows it. Requests are configured for non-personalized ads, which can still involve data processing for contextual delivery, frequency limits, measurement and fraud prevention.

The Google Mobile Ads SDK may process information such as your IP address, device and app information, identifiers and advertising interactions. See Google's advertising information and Google's privacy policy. You can pause ads on this device in Settings. Where required by Google, Settings also provides Manage ad consent to change or withdraw your choices. Advertising preferences do not enable optional Firebase Analytics or Crashlytics; these remain separate settings.

External links

Articles may link to news organizations, universities, public agencies, and other sources. Those websites have their own privacy practices.

Contact

For privacy questions, use the details on our contact page.