Privacy Policy

Last updated: 20 August 2026

This policy explains what information The NOW Times processes when you visit the site or sign in, how that information is used, and which services help us operate the site.

Information processed when you visit

We use Google Analytics to understand how the site is used. Depending on your browser and Google Analytics settings, this may involve cookies or similar technologies and may process information such as:

  • pages viewed and interactions with the site,
  • approximate location derived from an IP address,
  • device, browser, and operating-system information,
  • referral information, and
  • network and diagnostic information.

Google provides this service and processes Analytics data under Google's privacy terms. You can limit this processing through your browser's privacy controls, by blocking Analytics cookies or scripts, or by using the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.

Our hosting and server providers may also process standard request, security, and diagnostic logs. These can include an IP address, request time, requested page, browser or device details, and error information. We use these logs to operate, protect, and troubleshoot the site.

Signing in with Flowsta

  • Sign-in is handled by Flowsta Auth using Flowsta's hosted login service.
  • We request the openid, display_name, and profile_picture permissions.
  • After sign-in, Flowsta returns an account identifier and may return profile information such as a username, display name, profile image, email address, Decentralized Identifier (DID), or Holochain agent public key, depending on the account and Flowsta's response.
  • The Flowsta software stores the returned profile information and authentication tokens in your browser's local storage so your session can be restored. It briefly uses session storage for security values needed during sign-in.
  • The NOW Times uses the sign-in state to unlock the article archive and category filters, and may display your name and profile image in the header.
  • Signing out removes the Flowsta session and profile values used by The NOW Times from that browser.

The NOW Times does not receive or store your Flowsta password. The current application does not copy signed-in reader profiles or authentication tokens into its Firestore database.

Other browser storage

We store your light or dark theme choice in your browser's local storage. The site also registers a service worker to improve page loading and navigation.

Article and public-source data

Our main application database contains published and draft article data, including titles, text, summaries, categories, locations, images, publishing metadata, and generation metadata.

To research and provide context for articles, we use public information from X. We may store selected public post data, including post text and ID, the author's public name and handle, posting time, public engagement counts, and public media URLs. This material may be displayed with an article as research context. It should not be treated as independent verification of every claim in an article.

AI-assisted content

The NOW Times uses xAI's Grok services to help assess possible stories, classify and organize material, and draft articles from supplied research context. This processing can include public story information and selected public X posts. We do not intentionally send reader account details to Grok as part of article generation.

AI-assisted content can contain errors or miss important context. Readers should check important claims against reliable primary or independent sources.

Why we process information

We process the information described above to:

  • provide and secure the site,
  • authenticate readers and provide signed-in features,
  • remember browser preferences,
  • understand site use and improve performance,
  • diagnose errors and prevent misuse, and
  • research, create, publish, and maintain articles.

Information we do not sell

We do not sell readers' personal information. The current site does not provide public reader profiles, comments, direct messaging, or other user-generated publishing features.

Service providers

We rely on service providers that process information under their own terms and privacy policies, including:

  • Flowsta for authentication,
  • Google Analytics for site measurement,
  • Firebase and Google Cloud for hosting, databases, server operation, secret storage, and operational logs,
  • X for public news, post, author, engagement, and media data, and
  • xAI for AI-assisted assessment and article generation.

Following links to third-party sites, including X, takes you to services whose privacy practices we do not control.

Data retention and your choices

Article and public-source data is retained while it remains useful for publishing, editorial records, security, or legal purposes. Operational logs and Analytics data are retained according to our provider configuration and the providers' policies.

You can remove The NOW Times' Flowsta session from a browser by signing out, clear local or session storage through your browser, block Analytics through browser controls or opt-out tools, and ask Flowsta to exercise rights relating to information held in your Flowsta account.

Privacy rights vary by location. Where applicable, you may ask for access to or correction of personal information that The NOW Times controls, or raise a privacy concern by emailing privacy@flowsta.com. We will consider and respond to requests in accordance with applicable law.

Overseas processing

Our service providers operate internationally, so information described in this policy may be processed outside Australia. The countries involved can vary according to each provider's infrastructure and service arrangements. Their handling of information is governed by their own privacy terms and our applicable service agreements.

Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational safeguards appropriate to the service. No internet transmission, browser storage, or online system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Changes

We may update this policy when the service or its providers change. The updated date at the top shows when this policy was last revised.

Jurisdiction

This policy is governed by the laws of Victoria, Australia, subject to any privacy rights and laws that apply in your location.