feat: implement US-only availability check for production instance in middleware and privacy page

src/app/(public)/privacy/page.tsx

@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@ export const metadata: Metadata = {
 
 export default async function PrivacyPage() {
   const effectiveDate = 'February 17, 2026';
+  const isRichardrDevProductionInstance =
+    process.env.RICHARDRDEV_PRODUCTION === 'true';
 
   const hdrs = await headers();
   const host = hdrs.get('host') ?? 'this server';
@@ -146,6 +148,14 @@ export default async function PrivacyPage() {
           The operator of this service is responsible for handling your information.
         </div>
 
+        {isRichardrDevProductionInstance ? (
+          <div className="privacy-highlight">
+            <strong>US-only availability:</strong> This instance is intended for
+            users located in the United States. Requests from outside the US,
+            or requests without reliable country metadata, may be blocked.
+          </div>
+        ) : null}
+
         <div className="privacy-highlight">
           <strong>OpenReader does not sell your personal information.</strong> We do not sell data to data brokers or third parties.
           We use data solely to provide and improve the reading experience.
@@ -205,7 +215,7 @@ export default async function PrivacyPage() {
             </p>
             <div className="privacy-card landing-panel">
               <div className="privacy-card-label">Service Providers (Sub-processors)</div>
-              {process.env.RICHARDRDEV_PRODUCTION === 'true' ? (
+              {isRichardrDevProductionInstance ? (
                 <ul className="grid gap-2 sm:grid-cols-2 mt-2">
                   <li className="text-sm"><strong>Vercel:</strong> Hosting, Edge Functions &amp; Analytics</li>
                   <li className="text-sm"><strong>Neon (PostgreSQL):</strong> Database Storage</li>
@@ -217,7 +227,7 @@ export default async function PrivacyPage() {
                   <li className="text-sm"><strong>Hosting Provider:</strong> Application Hosting &amp; Logs</li>
                   <li className="text-sm"><strong>Database Service:</strong> Relational Database Storage</li>
                   <li className="text-sm"><strong>Object Storage:</strong> Encrypted File Storage (Documents)</li>
-                  <li className="text-sm"><strong>TTS Provider:</strong> Text-to-Speech Processing (Optional)</li>
+                  <li className="text-sm"><strong>TTS Provider:</strong> Text-to-Speech Processing (Based on your configured provider)</li>
                 </ul>
               )}
             </div>
@@ -266,7 +276,27 @@ export default async function PrivacyPage() {
           <section>
             <h2 className="text-xl font-bold mb-4 flex items-center gap-2">
               <span className="w-2 h-2 rounded-full bg-accent"></span>
-              6. Contact Us
+              6. US Processing &amp; Location
+            </h2>
+            {isRichardrDevProductionInstance ? (
+              <p className="mb-4 text-sm leading-relaxed text-foreground/90">
+                For the official OpenReader instance, personal
+                information is processed and stored in the United States.
+                By using this service, you acknowledge that your data is handled
+                in the US and that the service is available only for US users.
+              </p>
+            ) : (
+              <p className="mb-4 text-sm leading-relaxed text-foreground/90">
+                Data processing location depends on your deployment and hosting
+                provider configuration.
+              </p>
+            )}
+          </section>
+
+          <section>
+            <h2 className="text-xl font-bold mb-4 flex items-center gap-2">
+              <span className="w-2 h-2 rounded-full bg-accent"></span>
+              7. Contact Us
             </h2>
             <p className="mb-4 text-sm leading-relaxed text-foreground/90">
               If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please contact the instance administrator via the repository:

src/middleware.ts

@@ -8,6 +8,13 @@ import type { NextRequest } from 'next/server';
 const SESSION_COOKIE = 'better-auth.session_token';
 const SECURE_SESSION_COOKIE = '__Secure-better-auth.session_token';
 const SESSION_COOKIE_NAMES = [SESSION_COOKIE, SECURE_SESSION_COOKIE];
+const US_COUNTRY_CODE = 'US';
+const COUNTRY_HEADER_NAMES = [
+  'x-vercel-ip-country',
+  'cf-ipcountry',
+  'x-country-code',
+  'x-geo-country',
+];
 
 /**
  * Routes that never require a session cookie.
@@ -37,7 +44,50 @@ function isAnonymousAuthEnabled(): boolean {
   return raw?.trim().toLowerCase() === 'true';
 }
 
+function isRichardrDevProductionInstance(): boolean {
+  return process.env.RICHARDRDEV_PRODUCTION?.trim().toLowerCase() === 'true';
+}
+
+function getCountryCodeFromHeaders(request: NextRequest): string | null {
+  for (const headerName of COUNTRY_HEADER_NAMES) {
+    const rawValue = request.headers.get(headerName);
+    if (!rawValue) continue;
+
+    const normalized = rawValue.trim().toUpperCase();
+    if (normalized) {
+      return normalized;
+    }
+  }
+
+  return null;
+}
+
 export function middleware(request: NextRequest) {
+  if (isRichardrDevProductionInstance()) {
+    const countryCode = getCountryCodeFromHeaders(request);
+    const isUnitedStatesRequest = countryCode === US_COUNTRY_CODE;
+
+    // Strict region gate for the official production instance.
+    if (!isUnitedStatesRequest) {
+      const { pathname } = request.nextUrl;
+
+      if (pathname.startsWith('/api/')) {
+        return NextResponse.json(
+          { error: 'OpenReader is only available in the United States.' },
+          { status: 451, headers: { 'Cache-Control': 'no-store' } },
+        );
+      }
+
+      return new NextResponse('OpenReader is only available in the United States.', {
+        status: 451,
+        headers: {
+          'Cache-Control': 'no-store',
+          'Content-Type': 'text/plain; charset=utf-8',
+        },
+      });
+    }
+  }
+
   // When auth is disabled entirely, let everything through.
   if (!isAuthEnabled()) {
     return NextResponse.next();