01Who operates this
HackerWire is an independent iOS application. For anything privacy-related, write to support@hackerwire.app.
02In plain English
We collect almost nothing on our servers. There is no account to create with us, no analytics SDK, no advertising network, no tracker. The things you'd expect an HN client to store — your session, your bookmarks, your preferences — live on your iPhone or iPad and nowhere else.
The one exception is AI summaries for Pro subscribers, and even there we go out of our way not to attach your identity to the request. Details below.
03What's stored locally, on your device only
The following never leaves your device and is not synced to any HackerWire server:
- Hacker News session cookie — stored in the iOS Keychain, only if you choose to sign in to your HN account. Used to make authenticated requests to Hacker News on your behalf.
- Bookmarks, vote history, theme preferences — stored in iOS UserDefaults. Bookmarks may optionally sync across your own devices via iCloud, which Apple operates.
- Cached AI summaries — when you generate a summary, it is cached in iOS UserDefaults so re-opening a story doesn't re-generate it.
Uninstalling the app removes all of the above.
04Third-party services, and what each receives
HackerWire talks to the following services on your behalf. Here is exactly what each one sees:
- Hacker News — news.ycombinator.com, hacker-news.firebaseio.com
- Story and comment data, voting, commenting, submissions. If you are signed in, your HN session cookie is sent only to Hacker News, never to us or anyone else. Your activity on Hacker News is subject to Hacker News's own terms and privacy practices.
- Algolia HN Search — hn.algolia.com
- When you search, your query is sent to Algolia's public HN Search API. No user identifier is attached. We do not know what you searched.
- OpenAI — api.openai.com, via a HackerWire-operated proxy
- Only when a Pro subscriber explicitly taps to generate a summary. The HackerWire proxy forwards the relevant article text or comment text to OpenAI and returns the summary. No user identifier is attached to the request. Our proxy retains anonymized request logs for fewer than 30 days strictly for abuse prevention and rate-limiting, and the logs are used for nothing else.
- Apple StoreKit
- If you purchase a HackerWire Pro subscription, Apple handles the purchase and all payment data under Apple's privacy policy. We receive a subscription receipt from Apple to verify your Pro status. We never see your card, Apple ID email, or billing address.
05What we don't do
- No analytics SDKs. No Mixpanel, no Amplitude, no Firebase Analytics, nothing like that.
- No advertising networks or ad tracking. There are no ads in the app.
- No crash reporters that exfiltrate data off your device.
- No access to your location, contacts, photos, camera, or microphone.
- No use of Apple's App Tracking Transparency tracking identifier (IDFA).
06Your rights
Because the app stores your data on your device rather than on our servers, the most effective way to delete everything is to uninstall the app. That removes your session cookie, bookmarks, vote history, theme preferences, and cached summaries.
For any other request — access, correction, deletion of anonymized proxy logs, or a general question about your data — email support@hackerwire.app and we will respond.
07Children
HackerWire is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 13. If you believe a child has used the app in a way that resulted in data being sent to us, please contact us and we will delete it.
08GDPR & CCPA
We do not sell personal data. We do not share personal data for cross-context behavioral advertising. There is almost nothing to sell — we collect almost nothing.
If you are a resident of the European Union, the United Kingdom, or California, you may request access to, correction of, or deletion of any personal data we hold about you by emailing support@hackerwire.app. We honor deletion requests within a reasonable time and will confirm completion by reply.
09Changes to this policy
If we make a material change to this policy — adding a new third-party service, changing what is logged, anything that meaningfully affects your privacy — we will update the effective date at the top of this page and surface a notice inside the app on next launch before the change takes effect.
10Contact
Questions, concerns, or requests: support@hackerwire.app.
Effective date: April 24, 2026.