Privacy Policy
CNAW 2 app and website · Effective October 1, 2026
CNAW 2 is a local news and weather station in Columbus, Georgia, run by Straight Source News LLC (“we”). This policy covers the CNAW app on iPhone and Android and our website. It explains what we collect, why, and the choices you have.
- We don't sell your information, and we don't use ad networks or ad tracking.
- Your location is used only while you use the app, to show your weather, traffic and nearby news, and to send alerts for where you are.
- An account is optional. You can delete it any time, in the app or on the website.
What we collect, and why
Your account, if you make one. Your email address and first name, and a password (stored scrambled so no one can read it), or your Apple or Google sign-in instead of a password. Your account also keeps the stories you save, the Home and Work places you add for traffic, and your settings. We use this to sign you in and keep your things on every device. Sign-in codes are sent by email.
Your location, only if you allow it. The app asks for your location only while you're using it, never in the background. We use it to show the weather, traffic and news for where you are. For weather alerts, your phone shares its spot with our server, so we can alert only phones inside a warning or where rain is about to start. We keep only the most recent spot and stop using it after a day. You can say no, or turn it off any time in your phone's settings.
Notifications, if you turn them on. Apple or Google gives your phone a notification address, which our app shares with us so we can send you news, traffic and weather alerts, along with the kinds of alerts you chose. On iPhone, an alert can also update on your Lock Screen while it's in effect. Turning notifications off, or uninstalling the app, stops them.
Things you send us.
- Photos and videos you submit, with your description, where it was taken if you share that, and your name if you add it for credit. Submissions are checked automatically for unsafe content before someone in our newsroom sees them, and we may publish them with the credit you gave.
- Questions you ask in search, or to the Watch Live broadcast. A Watch Live question may be read aloud on our public broadcast, without your name.
- Messages you send to our newsroom from the app, and messages and votes you send in reader chat or story polls on our website.
Your camera and microphone are used only when you choose to take a photo or video to send us.
Basic visit information. To understand our audience, we look up which town a visit comes from using its internet address, then keep only town totals: no addresses, no names. We also count how many times each story and ad is seen or tapped. Like any website, our servers briefly keep standard records, such as internet addresses and device type, to keep the service secure and working.
AI features
Some features use AI from Anthropic (Claude): story summaries, answers to questions in search and on Watch Live, and the safety check on submitted photos. When you use one, your question or photo is sent to Anthropic to produce the result. Under Anthropic's business terms, it isn't used to train their AI. The Watch Live voice is made by ElevenLabs from the words the host speaks, which can include a viewer's question.
Ads
Our ads come from local businesses, and we show them ourselves: no ad networks, no ad tracking and no advertising ID. Some ads appear only in certain areas, and that check happens on your phone, so your location is never sent to advertisers. We count views and taps on each ad, not who made them.
Who we share it with
We don't sell personal information. We share it only with the companies that run parts of our service for us, and only what each needs:
- Hetzner (our servers, in the United States and Germany) and Cloudflare (network and file storage)
- Apple, Google and Expo (delivering notifications and handling Apple or Google sign-in)
- Resend (sending sign-in emails)
- Anthropic and ElevenLabs (the AI features described above)
- Mapbox (maps on our traffic pages)
We may also share information if the law requires it, or to protect people's safety.
How long we keep it
- Your account: until you delete it.
- Your location: only the latest spot, and it isn't used after a day.
- Notification addresses: until you turn notifications off or the address stops working.
- Submissions: as long as our newsroom needs them. Ask us and we'll remove yours.
- Town totals for visits: up to 100 days.
Deleting your account
- In the app: open your Profile and tap Delete my account.
- On the website: sign in, open your Profile, and choose Delete my account.
- By email: write to [email protected] from the address on your account, and we'll delete it within 30 days.
Deleting your account removes your email, name, password, saved stories, places and settings. To remove something you submitted, just ask us.
Children
Our app and website aren't meant for children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect their information. If you think a child has given us information, contact us and we'll delete it.
Keeping it safe
Connections to our app and website are encrypted, passwords are stored scrambled, and only our newsroom team can see what readers send us.
Changes
If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top. For big changes, we'll tell you in the app.
Contact us
Straight Source News LLC (CNAW 2) · [email protected] · Contact us