Privacy policy
Half a Knife reader app · last updated 22 September 2026
This is a book, sold by one person. There is no advertising in this app, no analytics, no tracking, and nothing is sold to anybody. The short version: we keep your phone number so you can sign in, and a record that you paid. That is close to all of it.
What is collected
| What | Why |
|---|---|
| Your phone number | It is your account. It is how you sign in, and how a payment is matched to you. |
| A device identifier | An identifier made from your phone’s own Android ID and scrambled so it cannot be traced back, plus your phone’s make and model so you can recognise it in a list. It stays the same if you reinstall the app, so a reinstall does not use up a phone. This is how a copy is limited to two phones. It is not an advertising identifier and it is not shared with anyone. |
| Purchase records | The Telebirr transaction number you enter, and Telebirr’s own confirmation of the payment as it reaches our account: the payer’s name as Telebirr shows it, the last four digits of their number, the amount and the transaction number. That is how a payment is matched to your order and your book unlocked. |
| Your IP address | Used briefly to stop automated abuse — mainly to stop scripts hammering the service. It is held in short-lived counters, not in a log of who read what. |
What is not collected
- No location.
- No contacts, photos, files, or anything else on your phone.
- No advertising identifier, and no advertising.
- No analytics or third-party trackers of any kind.
- No record of which pages you read, how long you read, or when. Your reading position, bookmarks and text settings stay on your phone and are never sent anywhere.
Who else sees it
Two parties, each for one narrow job:
- Cloudflare hosts the service and stores the account database.
- Telebirr processes the payment itself, under its own terms. We never see your Telebirr account or your balance — only the transaction number you give us.
Nothing is sold, rented, or handed to advertisers. Nothing is disclosed to anyone else unless we are legally compelled to, and no such request has ever been received.
How long it is kept
Your account is kept until you delete it. Sign-in sessions expire after 90 days. One-time codes are deleted within a day of being used or expiring. After you delete your account, the record that a payment was received is kept as an accounting record, with your phone number removed from it.
Deleting your account
Two ways, both of which erase the same things:
- In the app: Settings → Delete my account.
- On the web: halfaknife.com/delete-account.html, or by writing to [email protected] from anywhere — useful if you no longer have the phone.
Deleting removes your phone number, your devices and your access to the book. It does not refund the purchase.
Children
This app is not directed at children. The book describes political violence and is intended for adult readers.
Security
Everything travels over HTTPS. The book itself is encrypted and is decrypted only inside the app, on your phone, using a key held in your phone’s hardware keystore.
Changes
If this policy changes in a way that affects what is collected, the date at the top changes and the app will say so at sign-in.
Contact
Baye Teshager Asmamaw · Winchester, Virginia, United States
[email protected]