Legal and policies
Privacy policy
What WeNepal collects, why, who processes it for us, how long it is kept, and the rights you have under the law of Nepal.
Counsel has not yet signed off this text. It may change; the date above shows the current version.
This policy explains what personal data WeNepal collects when you read, sign in, subscribe or contact us, why we collect it, who processes it for us, how long we keep it and how you can control it. The publisher that operates WeNepal ("WeNepal", "we", "us") is responsible for your personal data. We handle it in line with the Individual Privacy Act 2075 (2018) of Nepal and its regulations, and the Electronic Transactions Act 2063 (2008).
WeNepal's technology provider, Lacspace, runs the software platform and infrastructure. It processes personal data only on our instructions and only to operate, secure and support the service. It is not the owner or publisher of WeNepal and may not use our readers' data for its own purposes.
The short version
- You can read WeNepal without an account. We do not need your name to show you the news.
- If you sign in or subscribe, we store the minimum: a phone number or email, and the preferences you choose.
- We do not sell your data, we do not share it with advertisers, and we do not build advertising profiles.
- We do not use third-party analytics or advertising cookies.
- Your data is not used to train AI models. Our AI providers receive public source material to draft stories, not reader data.
- You can delete your account yourself at any time.
What we collect and why
| When you | We collect | Why | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Read the site or app | Page or story viewed, device and browser type, approximate location (country, city), referrer; your IP address is reduced to a daily-salted hash and the raw IP is not stored for analytics (security logs keep the IP of account events, see the retention page) | To count real reads, keep the service running and see what is read | Our legitimate interest in running and improving the service |
| Sign in | Phone number or email, a one-time code (stored only as a hash), your language, and optionally your name, district, topics and supporter status | To verify you, keep you signed in and remember your preferences | Your request for an account; your consent for optional fields |
| Subscribe to the newsletter | Email, language, frequency, confirmation and unsubscribe dates | To send the digest you asked for, and to stop when you ask | Your consent, confirmed by double opt-in |
| Allow app notifications | A push token for your device, your chosen topics and language | To send breaking news, the Pulse and the topics you chose | Your consent, withdrawable at any time |
| React to or save a story | The story and your reaction, linked to your account; saved stories stay on your device and, while you are signed in, sync to your account | To show your reactions and saved stories | Your request |
| Contact us or send a tip | What you write, your name and email if you give them, the category | To reply, investigate and correct | Your request; our legitimate interest in accurate journalism |
We do not collect payment details. If a paid membership launches, payments will be handled by a payment provider under its own terms, and this policy will be updated first.
We do not ask for sensitive personal data such as religion, caste, health, political opinion or financial details, and ask you not to send it to us unless it is needed for a complaint.
How we use it
- To provide the service: stories, digests, notifications, your account and replies to you.
- To keep the service safe: rate limits, spam checks, fraud prevention and security logs.
- To measure and improve: aggregate counts of what is read.
- To comply with the law and respond to lawful requests from authorities.
We do not use your data for automated decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on you.
Who processes your data for us
We use these service providers. Each processes data only to provide its service to us, under contract and on our instructions.
| Provider | What it does for us | Data involved |
|---|---|---|
| Lacspace | Technology provider: runs the platform, engine and desk, and provides technical support | All service data, only as needed to operate and support the service |
| Cloud database hosting provider | Storing the service's records | Account, subscription, contact and analytics records |
| Cloud storage and server provider | Storing media files and running our API | Media files; data passing through the API |
| Website hosting and delivery provider | Serving the website | Technical request data such as IP address and browser, in its logs |
| Email delivery provider | Sending sign-in codes, the newsletter and replies | Email address and message content |
| Lacspace SMS gateway | Sending sign-in codes by SMS, when SMS sign-in is switched on | Phone number and the code message |
| App notification delivery service | Delivering app push notifications | Push token and notification content |
| Google (YouTube) | Hosting our videos and the embedded player | Technical data your browser sends when a YouTube player loads or plays |
| AI model providers | AI models that draft stories from public source material | Public source text only; no reader data |
For security reasons we describe these providers by the service they give rather than by name; where the law gives you the right to know a specific recipient, write to privacy@wenepal.com and we will tell you. Some of these providers process data outside Nepal, including in India and the United States. When they do, we rely on their contractual commitments to protect it to a standard at least equal to this policy.
We may also disclose data when the law requires it, for example under a court order, and only to the extent required. We never share the identities behind supporter counts, and never share reader data with sponsors or advertisers.
Cookies and similar technologies
We use only essential cookies and on-device storage: your language, theme, saved stories and, if you sign in, your session. We do not set analytics or advertising cookies. The cookie policy lists every item and how long it lasts.
How long we keep it
We keep data only as long as we need it, then delete it or make it anonymous. The main periods are: sign-in codes, deleted within an hour of expiry; read-count hashes, 2 days; audience analytics, 14 months; accounts, until you delete them plus a 7-day grace period; newsletter subscriptions, until you unsubscribe; contact messages, 24 months after the matter is closed. The full schedule is in the data retention and deletion policy.
Your rights
Under the law of Nepal, and whoever and wherever you are, you can:
- Know and access what personal data we hold about you and get a copy.
- Correct it: most details can be changed in your account settings.
- Delete it: delete your account yourself from the account page or the app, or ask us to erase other data.
- Withdraw consent at any time: unsubscribe with one click in any email, turn off notifications, or delete optional profile fields. This does not affect what we did before.
- Object to processing based on our legitimate interests.
- Complain to us, and to any authority with jurisdiction.
Write to privacy@wenepal.com. We may ask you to confirm your identity, for example by replying from the same email address. We respond within 30 days.
Children
You must be at least 13 to create an account. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 13. See children's privacy.
Security
Data is encrypted in transit and at rest. One-time codes are hashed and expire after 10 minutes. Sensitive tokens are encrypted in our database. Staff access is limited by role and protected by two-factor authentication, and staff actions are logged. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach is likely to affect you, we will tell you without undue delay and notify any authority we are required to notify.
Changes
We post changes here with a new date at the top. If a change materially affects you, we tell subscribers and account holders by email or in the app before it takes effect.
Contact
Privacy questions and requests: privacy@wenepal.com. Complaints: see the complaints procedure. General contact: the contact page.