What we collect, and what we do with it.

Who this covers

News Intelligence is built and operated by PIJAlance Magazine Limited ("PIJAlance," "we," "us"). This policy covers the information we collect through this website, the checker at chatniai.com, and the emails and notifications we send from them. Last updated: 10 October 2026.

Journalist applications and ID documents

If you apply for journalist access, we collect your name, organisation, role, phone, beat, your reason for applying and a photo or PDF of your press card or work ID. We use them only to confirm you are a working journalist and to run the access you ask for. The ID file is stored securely and can be opened only by PIJAlance staff reviewing applications. We do not show it to other users or sell it. We keep the application record and ID for as long as needed to run and protect the service and to answer disputes; write to support@pijalance.com to ask about your record.

Information we collect

• Account information. Your email address, and, if you sign in with Google, the name and email address Google shares with us. If you choose to add a WhatsApp number for notifications, we store that number and its verification status.
• What you submit for checking. The text of claims you paste in to be checked, and the record of the verdicts and sources returned to you.
• Sign-in and session data. A session token that keeps you signed in, and, briefly, the one-time codes used to verify your email.
• Notification data. If you turn on browser push notifications, we store the subscription details needed to send them. If you gave a WhatsApp number, we use it only to notify you when an editor settles a claim.
• Technical data. Standard technical information generated by any visit to a website — such as IP address and browser type — is processed by our hosting provider, Cloudflare, to operate and secure the site.
• Your claim history on your device. The list of claims you've checked in the checker is stored only in your own browser (not on our servers), so it stays on that device and is cleared when you sign out.

Usage statistics and being named

To understand how the service is used, we count, by day, which tool was used and from which country and region (taken from the visit, with no IP address stored). We do not store what you type or paste in these counts. They are kept so we can report on our work, for example in an annual report.

If you have an account, your counts are linked to it only through a coded identifier that is not your name or email. We name a person as an outstanding user, in a report or award, only if that person has ticked the option in Settings to be featured. You can untick it at any time. Regions with very few users are grouped together in reports so that no one can be picked out.

How we use this information

• To run the checker: searching for evidence, weighing sources, and producing a verdict for the claim you submitted.
• To sign you in and keep your account secure, including sending one-time sign-in codes.
• To send a one-time welcome email when you first sign up, and to notify you (by email, WhatsApp or browser push, depending on what you've enabled) when an editor settles a claim you submitted.
• To maintain PIJAlance's own fact-check archive, which future checks are weighed against.
• To keep the service secure, prevent abuse, and improve how it works.

Who we share it with

We do not sell your information. We share it only with the service providers that keep News Intelligence running, each bound to use it only to provide that service:

• Resend, to deliver sign-in codes, the welcome email, and notification emails.
• Cloudflare, which hosts this website and the checker.
• Our database provider, which stores account, session and claim-check records.
• Google, if you choose "Continue with Google" to sign in.
• The AI model providers we use to research and draft a verdict. They process the claim text you submit and the evidence gathered for it, in order to return an answer.

Claims about sensitive matters (such as deaths, sexual assault or elections) are also reviewed by a human PIJAlance editor before a final verdict is published, as described on our How it works page.

How long we keep it

We keep account and claim-check records for as long as your account is active, and afterwards for as long as needed to maintain PIJAlance's fact-check archive and meet our legal and record-keeping obligations. One-time sign-in codes expire shortly after they're issued and are not kept beyond that. Usage counts (which tool was used, on which day, from which country and region) contain no claim text and are kept indefinitely so we can report on our work over the years.

Your rights and choices

Under Nigeria's Data Protection Act, 2023, and depending on where you live, you may have the right to ask us what personal information we hold about you, to correct it, to have it deleted, or to object to how it's used. You can choose whether to be named as an outstanding user in Settings, and can change that at any time; if you withdraw, we stop naming you from then on. You can turn off browser push notifications at any time in your browser settings, and stop WhatsApp notifications by removing your number. To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details below.

Children

News Intelligence is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18.

Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect the information we hold, including encrypted connections and access controls. No system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as News Intelligence develops. We'll change the "last updated" date above when we do, and if a change is significant, we'll make that clear on this page.

Contact us

Questions about this policy, or requests about your information, can be sent to support@pijalance.com.