Privacy Policy

1. Overview

SYNTHESE (“we”, “our”, or “us”) operates syntheseai.com. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect when you visit or use our site, how we use it, and your rights regarding that information. By using the site you agree to the practices described here.

2. Information We Collect

Account information

When you sign in with Google, we receive your name, email address, and profile picture from Google. We store this information to create and maintain your SYNTHESE account. We do not receive or store your Google password.

Profile information

You may choose to provide a username, display name, bio, and avatar image. Your username and profile are publicly visible on the site.

User-generated content

If you submit articles, we store the title, content, cover image, and associated metadata. Submitted content may be reviewed by our editorial team before publication.

Engagement data

When you favorite or boost articles, we record that interaction linked to your account. These counts may be displayed publicly; individual user actions are not.

Newsletter waitlist

If you join our newsletter waitlist, we store your email address.

Uploaded files

Avatar images and submission cover images you upload are stored on Cloudflare R2 (an S3-compatible object storage service). Uploaded files are accessible via a public URL.

Usage and technical data

We collect anonymised page views, referral data, and standard server logs (e.g. Vercel Analytics). We also use Cloudflare Turnstile to prevent automated abuse when you perform certain actions; Turnstile may collect device and interaction data as described in Cloudflare's Privacy Policy.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data to any third party.

3. How We Use Your Information

• To create and manage your account and session.
• To display your public profile, submissions, and engagement activity.
• To send newsletters you have opted into.
• To review and moderate user-submitted content.
• To prevent spam and abuse (via Cloudflare Turnstile).
• To improve site content and performance.
• To respond to enquiries sent directly to us.

4. Authentication and Sessions

We use Google OAuth 2.0 for sign-in. When you authenticate, Google shares limited profile information with us as described in Section 2. We store a session token in a database-backed session (not a JWT) and set a session cookie in your browser to keep you signed in. You can sign out at any time, which invalidates your session.

5. Public Data Sourcing, Third-Party Content, and AI Processing

As part of our editorial and research workflow, we may collect or process publicly accessible information such as article URLs, headlines, publisher names, timestamps, RSS feed entries, API responses, and limited excerpts from third-party sources in order to discover topics, compare reporting, generate summaries, and produce AI-assisted analysis. Third-party content remains subject to the rights of its respective owners.

We may provide source material, prompts, metadata, and related editorial context to service providers that help us classify, analyse, summarise, generate, or transform content. We aim to limit unnecessary personal data in these workflows and do not use public source data to claim ownership over third-party material. If you believe we are processing third-party content or personal information in a way that affects your rights, contact us and we will review the request.

6. Cookies and Analytics

SYNTHESE uses essential cookies required for authentication and site functionality, including a session cookie to maintain your sign-in state. We may also use privacy-conscious analytics or standard server logs to understand aggregate traffic patterns, diagnose errors, and measure site performance. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies.

7. Third-Party Services

The Site relies on the following third-party services:

• Google — OAuth authentication and profile data.
• Vercel — hosting, deployment, and analytics.
• Cloudflare — R2 object storage for uploaded images and Turnstile for bot protection.
• Anthropic (Claude) — AI content synthesis.
• Tavily — news search for AI article grounding.

When you follow links away from the Site, your interactions are governed by those third parties' own terms and privacy practices.

8. Data Retention & Deletion

• Account data is retained for as long as your account exists.
• Newsletter email addresses are retained until you unsubscribe or request removal.
• Usage logs are retained for a maximum of 90 days.
• Uploaded images are retained until you delete them or your account is removed.

To request deletion of your account and all associated data, email us at garykong_1029@outlook.com. We will process deletion requests within 30 days.

9. Your Choices and Rights

• You may sign out at any time to end your session.
• You may edit or remove your profile information from your account settings.
• You may request complete deletion of your account and data by contacting us.
• You may unsubscribe from newsletters at any time.
• Subject to applicable law, you may request access to, correction of, or deletion of personal information we hold about you.

10. Children's Privacy

SYNTHESE is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with a revised “Last updated” date. Continued use of the site after changes constitutes acceptance.

12. Contact

Questions about this policy? Contact us at garykong_1029@outlook.com.