Privacy, without the fog.

Who we are

Austin Daily Briefing is an independent, experimental passion project based in Austin, Texas. It is not affiliated with the City of Austin, another government agency, or the news organizations and public sources linked in a briefing.

Information we collect

Information you provide

• Your email address when you subscribe.
• Your selected topics, reading style, content volume, and similar briefing preferences.
• Your requests to pause, resume, unsubscribe, reset, or otherwise manage your subscription.
• The contents of a message if you reply to the briefing or contact us.

Operational information

The system creates records needed to operate reliably. These can include profile and submission identifiers, subscription status, timestamps, preference-update history, delivery status, provider message identifiers, and a history of stories included in briefings. These records help prevent duplicate messages, apply your choices, and troubleshoot problems.

Website and form information

The Austin Daily Briefing website does not currently use its own advertising cookies or analytics tracker. The site is hosted by GitHub Pages, which may receive standard connection information such as an IP address, browser details, and request logs. Signup and account-management forms open on Google Forms. Google may collect device, browser, cookie, and usage information under its own privacy policy.

How we use information

• Create and maintain your subscriber profile.
• Personalize the parts of the briefing that respond to your selected interests and reading preferences.
• Send welcome messages, daily briefings, service notices, and requested account confirmations.
• Process subscription changes and respond to questions.
• Prevent duplicate delivery, diagnose errors, and improve the experimental system.
• Protect the service from misuse and comply with legal obligations.

We do not sell or rent personal information. We do not share it for targeted advertising.

Automation and AI

Austin Daily Briefing uses automated tools, including AI, to help discover, organize, summarize, and personalize news and other public information. Subscriber preferences and limited profile information may be processed by these tools when a briefing is prepared. The system is experimental, and its methods may change as accuracy, editorial judgment, and reliability are tested.

Do not send confidential, medical, financial, or other highly sensitive information through the forms or by replying to a briefing.

Services that help us operate

We share information with service providers only as needed to run the briefing:

• Google provides Forms, Sheets, and Apps Script for signup, preferences, records, and workflow operations.
• Resend delivers briefing emails and returns delivery information.
• Cloudflare provides domain and reply-routing services.
• GitHub hosts the public website through GitHub Pages.
• OpenAI provides AI tools used in developing and operating the briefing.

We may also disclose information when legally required, to protect the service or another person, or as part of a future transfer of the project. If project ownership changes, we will take reasonable steps to notify subscribers before their information becomes subject to materially different practices.

How long we keep information

We keep active subscriber information while the subscription is operating. After an unsubscribe or other account change, we may retain limited records for a reasonable period to honor the request, prevent accidental re-subscription or duplicate delivery, troubleshoot problems, and meet legal obligations. Story and delivery records may be retained without directly identifying a subscriber when practical.

You may request deletion of your subscriber information. Some limited records may be retained when reasonably necessary to document an unsubscribe request, protect the service, or comply with law.

Your choices

• Use the customization form to update your briefing preferences.
• Use the management form or the link in a briefing to pause, resume, reset, or unsubscribe.
• Email us to request access to, correction of, or deletion of your subscriber information.

We may need to verify that a request comes from the email address connected to the subscription. We will not discriminate against you for making a privacy request.

Security

We use reasonable administrative and technical safeguards appropriate for a small experimental project. No online system is perfectly secure, so we cannot promise absolute security.

Children

Austin Daily Briefing is a general-audience service and is not directed to children under 13. Please do not subscribe if you are under 13. If you believe a child under 13 provided personal information, contact us so we can review and delete it.

External links

Briefings link to news organizations, government pages, event listings, and other websites. Those services control their own content and privacy practices.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the project develops. The date at the top will change when we do. If a change materially affects how subscriber information is used, we will provide a more prominent notice when reasonably practical.

Contact

Questions or privacy requests can be sent to briefing@austindailybriefing.com.