Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Pod Penguin (“Pod Penguin,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, and shares information when you use our website and weekly digest service. By using Pod Penguin, you agree to the practices described below.

1. Information We Collect

Account information. When you sign in with Google, we receive your email address, name, and profile picture from Google. We use your email address to deliver your weekly digest and to communicate with you about your account.

Service data. We store the podcasts you follow, your plan and subscription status, your activity within the service (such as digests sent, pauses, and cancellations), and content you submit (waitlist signups, contact form messages, feedback).

Payment information. If you subscribe to a paid plan, payment details are collected and processed by our third-party payment provider. We do not store full payment card numbers. We retain a record of your transactions (amount, date, plan, last four digits) for billing and accounting.

Technical data. Like most websites, our servers automatically receive limited technical information when you visit, including IP address, browser type, device type, and timestamps. We use this for security, debugging, and basic service operation.

Cookies and local storage. We use cookies and browser local storage to keep you signed in, remember your preferences (such as theme and selected shows), and operate the service.

Analytics. We use a third-party analytics service to understand how visitors find and use Pod Penguin (aggregate pageviews, traffic sources, device types, and similar measurements). This service may set cookies and collect information such as your IP address and browsing activity on our site. We do not use this information for advertising.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

• Operate the service, including building and delivering your weekly digest
• Authenticate you and keep your account secure
• Process payments and manage subscriptions
• Respond to your messages, support requests, and feedback
• Send transactional emails (account, billing, and service updates)
• Monitor and improve service reliability, performance, and quality
• Detect, prevent, and respond to fraud, abuse, and security incidents
• Comply with legal obligations

3. Sharing Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We share limited information with the service providers that help us operate Pod Penguin:

• Google — for authentication (Sign in with Google)
• Cloud infrastructure provider — for hosting, storage, and database services (e.g., Google Cloud / Firebase)
• Email delivery provider — to send your weekly digest and transactional emails
• Payment processor — to handle subscription billing
• AI providers — to generate summaries from podcast transcripts

These providers may only use the information we share with them to provide services to us, and they are bound by their own privacy and security obligations.

We may also disclose information when required by law, to enforce our Terms of Use, to protect the rights, property, or safety of Pod Penguin or others, or in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

4. Data Retention

We keep your account information for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we delete or anonymize your personal information within a reasonable period, typically within 30 days, except where we are required to retain certain records for legal, tax, accounting, or fraud-prevention purposes. Server logs and backups may persist for a limited additional period before being overwritten.

5. Your Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Access — request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
• Correction — ask us to correct inaccurate information
• Deletion — ask us to delete your account and personal information
• Portability — request your data in a portable format
• Objection / restriction — object to or restrict certain processing
• Withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent, withdraw it at any time

You can exercise most of these rights directly from your account settings, or by contacting us through the contact page. We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law.

6. Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), access controls, and reputable infrastructure providers. No system is perfectly secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security. If we become aware of a security incident that affects your information, we will notify you in accordance with applicable law.

7. International Transfers

Pod Penguin and our service providers may process your information in countries other than the one you live in. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards (such as standard contractual clauses) for international data transfers.

8. Children

Pod Penguin is not directed to children under 13 (or the minimum age required in your jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us so we can delete it.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will notify you by email or via a notice in the service before the changes take effect. Your continued use of Pod Penguin after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

10. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or want to exercise any of your rights, please contact us: