The protection of our users' personal data is particularly important to us.
NIT, Kultur- und Informationsverein processes personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR/DSGVO), the Austrian Data Protection Act (DSG), the Telecommunications Act (TKG 2021), and other applicable legal provisions.
This Privacy Policy applies to the mobile application NIT APP and the related functions of the application.
The controller within the meaning of Art. 4 No. 7 GDPR is:
NIT, Kultur- und Informationsverein
Ratschkygasse 16/5
1120 Wien
Austria
ZVR Number: 1103791544
E-mail: info@nitapp.org
Website: https://nitapp.org
https://nitgroup.com
For all questions concerning data protection and the exercise of your data subject rights, you may contact us at:
info@nitapp.org
We process personal data only to the extent necessary to provide the functions of the NIT APP or where another appropriate legal basis exists.
Depending on the specific processing activity, the legal basis may in particular be:
Certain publicly available content, in particular NIT NEWS articles and information about events, can be used without creating a user account.
When using the application, technical data required for the operation of the system may be processed automatically, such as:
The purpose of this processing is the technical provision of the service, stability, security, error detection, and the prevention of misuse.
To use certain functions, the user may create a user account.
During registration, the following data may in particular be processed:
For registration and authentication we use:
Firebase Authentication
Firebase Authentication is a service provided by Google.
The purpose of the processing is the creation, login, protection, and administration of the user account.
According to Google's technical documentation, Firebase Authentication processes data via infrastructure in the United States of America.
Where required for such international transfer, appropriate safeguards in accordance with the GDPR are applied.
For application data that does not consist of journalistic content taken from NIT NEWS, we use:
Firebase Realtime Database
The database location is:
europe-west1 — Belgium, European Union.
Depending on the function of the application, the following data may in particular be processed in the database:
The europe-west1 location refers to the specific Realtime Database instance and does not mean that all other Firebase services used in the NIT APP process data exclusively in Belgium.
The NIT APP displays journalistic and informational content from the portal:
For the hosting and technical provision of the portal, the following provider is used:
Optima Hosting
The server used for the portal is reachable at the following IP address:
91.234.46.79
Within the scope of hosting, technical data required for the provision and protection of the service may be processed, in particular:
The purpose of the processing is the technical provision of the NIT NEWS portal, stability, security, error analysis, and the prevention of misuse.
Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR.
Registered users and organizations may submit an event or activity for publication via the NIT APP.
The following data may in particular be processed:
Information intended for publication may be made available to other users of the NIT APP.
The user is responsible for submitting only data, photographs, and other content for which they hold the necessary rights of use and publication.
If a user wishes to add a photograph or graphic to an event, the application may request access to the photograph selected by the user.
If direct photography through the application is enabled, a system permission for using the camera may be requested.
The NIT APP does not access photographs that the user has not selected for use within the application.
If a photograph contains identifiable individuals, the user submitting it is responsible for ensuring that an appropriate legal basis exists for its publication.
The location provided by the user when submitting an event refers to the location of the event itself.
If the address or place of the event is entered manually, this function does not require access to the precise GPS location of the user's device.
If a function using the precise device location is introduced in the future, the user will be informed in advance and, where necessary, the appropriate permission will be requested.
Registered users may mark an article or other content as content they like.
To provide this function, the following data may be processed:
The data serves to provide the liking function and, where applicable, aggregated statistics.
The NIT APP enables the sharing of articles and other content.
If the user uses the system "Share" function of their device, they choose the external application or service through which they wish to share the content.
Further data processing by the selected external service is subject to its own privacy policy.
If content is forwarded directly between users of the NIT APP, only the data required to deliver the corresponding content to the recipient is processed.
The NIT APP enables or may enable audio playback of published news.
With the local Text-to-Speech function, the news text may be read aloud using functionality available on the user's device.
For this function, the NIT APP does not record the user's voice and does not require access to the microphone.
For the automatic translation of certain content and the generation of audio versions of news, NIT uses:
OpenAI API
In the current technical implementation, the following services are used in particular:
OpenAI API — Chat Completions
Model: gpt-4o-mini
Purpose: automatic translation of textual content.
OpenAI API — Text-to-Speech
Model: gpt-4o-mini-tts
Purpose: conversion of published textual content into speech and generation of an audio, i.e. MP3, version of the news.
The models or the technical implementation may be changed in the future or replaced by corresponding newer models, provided that the fundamental purpose of the processing is not changed.
For NIT as an organization with its registered office in the European Economic Area, the relevant contracting party for OpenAI business/API services is:
OpenAI Ireland Ltd.
1st Floor, The Liffey Trust Centre
117–126 Sheriff Street Upper
Dublin 1, D01 YC43
Ireland
According to the current technical implementation, content intended for translation or the generation of an audio version is transferred to OpenAI infrastructure for processing.
In the context of providing the OpenAI API services, processing may involve infrastructure and subcontractors outside the European Economic Area, including the United States of America.
For corresponding international transfers, the safeguards provided for by the GDPR are applied, such as adequacy decisions and standard contractual clauses of the European Commission.
For this function, the following data is primarily sent to OpenAI:
To generate the audio version of a news item, it is not necessary to send:
For this function, the NIT APP does not record the user's voice.
According to the rules of the OpenAI API platform, API input and output data are by default not used for training OpenAI models unless the user of the API services explicitly opts in to such sharing.
OpenAI may by default retain certain API input and output data in security logs for up to 30 days in order to provide the service and prevent misuse, unless different retention settings apply or a legal obligation requires longer storage.
The audio function of the NIT APP allows the user to listen to content without having to read text from the screen.
The user is responsible for using the application and the mobile device in accordance with applicable road traffic regulations.
The NIT APP does not encourage operating a mobile phone while driving a vehicle.
Users are advised to select and start the desired content before beginning their journey or to use legally permitted hands-free systems or vehicle-integrated controls.
To identify, analyze, and fix technical errors, we use:
Firebase Crashlytics
Crashlytics may in particular process:
The purpose of the processing is the stability, security, and technical improvement of the application.
We do not use Crashlytics for marketing profiling of users.
To send push notifications, we use:
Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM)
FCM uses technical installation identifiers and push tokens required to deliver notifications to a specific device.
Push notifications may in particular contain:
The user can allow or disable push notifications via the settings of their device.
To operate the NIT APP, we use several Firebase services provided by Google, in particular:
The Firebase Realtime Database is configured in the region:
europe-west1 — Belgium.
According to information provided by Google, Firebase Authentication is provided from infrastructure in the United States of America.
Other Firebase services use Google's global infrastructure and may process data in various countries.
Where personal data is transferred outside the EU or EEA, appropriate international transfer mechanisms in accordance with the GDPR are applied.
The NIT APP may contain advertising banners and other promotional content from partners and advertisers.
Advertising cooperation is currently arranged directly between NIT and the respective advertiser.
The NIT APP currently does not use users' personal data for individual profiling for the display of personalized advertising.
Basic aggregated data on impressions or clicks may be recorded where required for the statistics of a specific campaign.
If a user clicks on an advertising banner and is redirected to an external website or service, further data processing there is subject to the privacy policy of the respective external provider.
If external advertising networks, tracking SDKs, or personalized advertising are introduced in the future, this Privacy Policy will be updated before such a function is activated.
Events and other user-provided content may be subject to administrative review.
An authorized administrator may in particular:
Data related to moderation may be processed to the extent necessary for:
A user or third party may report content that they consider unlawful, inappropriate, or infringing the rights of third parties.
A report may be made via the relevant function within the NIT APP or via:
info@nitapp.org
The report should contain sufficient information to identify the specific content and, as far as possible, the reason for the report.
The user may at any time initiate the deletion of their user account directly within the application.
Path:
Settings → My Profile → Delete Account → Confirm Delete
Further information about account deletion is available at:
https://app.nitapp.org/delete-account/
After confirmation of deletion, the user account data and data associated with the user are removed from the active systems of the NIT APP, unless a legal obligation requires further storage of certain data or the data is required for asserting, exercising, or defending legal claims.
The Firebase Authentication account is also submitted for deletion.
Technical service providers may temporarily retain certain information in backups, logs, or other technical systems in accordance with their own deletion periods and legal obligations.
The NIT APP does not use automated decision-making within the meaning of Art. 22 GDPR that produces legal effects for the user or similarly significantly affects them.
The use of AI technology for translating or converting published textual content into audio does not constitute automated decision-making about the user.
Depending on the function, personal or technical data may be accessible to the following service providers:
We do not sell or rent our users' personal data.
Some service providers we use may process data outside the European Union or the European Economic Area.
This may in particular concern:
In such cases, the transfer takes place under the application of appropriate safeguards provided for by the GDPR, in particular:
We store personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, or as required by legal obligations.
Data of an active user account is stored for the duration of the account's existence.
Data concerning events may be stored as long as the event is current or as long as a justified informational or documentation purpose exists.
Data associated with the account is deleted or anonymized after deletion of the account, unless there is a legal reason for its further storage.
Technical service providers may apply their own periods for removing data from backups and technical systems.
For the OpenAI API, standard security logs may, depending on the settings applied, contain API input and output data for up to 30 days, unless a different retention mode applies or a legal reason requires longer storage.
The NIT APP is not specifically intended for children.
If the processing of a minor user's personal data is based on consent and the law requires the consent of a parent or legal guardian, such consent must be obtained in accordance with applicable legal provisions.
We apply appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect personal data against:
Depending on the respective system, the measures include in particular:
However, complete security of data transmission over the Internet cannot be guaranteed.
Under the conditions of the GDPR, the user is in particular entitled to:
Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before its withdrawal.
To exercise your rights, you may contact:
info@nitapp.org
If you believe that the processing of your personal data does not comply with data protection regulations, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority.
Österreichische Datenschutzbehörde
Barichgasse 40–42
1030 Wien
Austria
Phone: +43 1 52 152-0
E-mail: dsb@dsb.gv.at
Website: www.dsb.gv.at
This Privacy Policy may be amended due to the further development of the application, the introduction of new functions, a change of technical service providers, or changes in legal requirements.
The current version will be available directly in the NIT APP and at:
https://app.nitapp.org/privacy-policy/
If a change has a significant impact on the manner in which personal data is processed, users will, where necessary, be informed in an appropriate manner.