Privacy Policy

Drashtikon Publication ("we", "our", "us") is committed to protecting your privacy and personal information. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have regarding your personal data when you visit our website.

By using our website, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. If you do not agree, please discontinue use of the website.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Provide

You can read our website without creating an account. We do not offer reader registration or user logins. The only information you may voluntarily provide is:

• Contact enquiries: If you submit our contact form, we store the name, email address, phone number, subject and message you enter, together with the IP address the enquiry was sent from, so that we can respond to you and prevent abuse of the form.
• Push notification opt-in: If you choose to enable browser notifications, your browser generates a unique subscription endpoint and a pair of encryption keys. These, along with your browser's user-agent string, are sent to our servers so we can deliver news alerts to your device. See Section 3 for full details. You can withdraw this consent at any time.
• Search terms and filters: If you use the search box, the words you type and any filters you select — date range, category and city — are stored temporarily in your session record on our server. This is done purely so your search stays in place while you page through the results or use your browser's back button. You can erase it at any time using the "Clear" option on the search page, and it is discarded when your session ends. Search terms are not linked to a reader profile, are not used for advertising, and are not shared with anyone.

1.2 Information Collected Automatically

When you visit our website, certain information is collected automatically:

• Server log data: IP address, browser type and version, pages requested, date and time of the request, and referring URLs. This is standard web server logging.
• Advertisement click counts: When you click an advertisement displayed on our website, our server increases an aggregate click counter for that advertisement. To keep the count meaningful, a short-lived, one-way hash of your IP address is used to ignore repeat clicks on the same advertisement within an hour. We do not store your IP address against the advertisement and we do not build user-level advertising profiles.
• Analytics data: We use Google Analytics 4 (with IP anonymisation enabled) to collect aggregate data about how visitors use this website — including pages viewed, session duration, and approximate geographic region. This data does not identify you personally.
• Cookies and browser storage: Please refer to our Cookie Policy for full details.

1.3 Information We Do Not Collect

We do not collect sensitive personal information such as financial details, government-issued identification numbers, biometric data, or health information. We do not ask readers to create accounts or passwords.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

• To operate, maintain, and improve our news website and its features.
• To run the search feature and keep your chosen search filters in place while you browse the results.
• To respond to enquiries you send us through our contact form.
• To deliver push notifications to readers who have opted in, and to manage those subscriptions.
• To analyse website traffic and usage patterns to enhance the reader experience.
• To measure the overall performance of advertisements displayed on our website.
• To detect, prevent, and address technical issues, spam, and security threats.
• To comply with applicable legal obligations under Indian law.

3. Push Notifications

We offer optional browser push notifications so that readers who want them can be alerted to new articles. This feature is entirely voluntary and is switched off unless you enable it.

3.1 How You Opt In

An opt-in prompt may be shown on our home page. Nothing is sent to us when the prompt is displayed. Only if you choose to accept it will your browser show its own permission dialog. Notifications are enabled solely when you grant permission in that browser dialog. If you dismiss our prompt, we will not show it again for at least three days.

3.2 What Is Stored

If you grant permission, your browser creates a push subscription and we store the following on our servers:

• The subscription endpoint — a unique URL issued by your browser vendor's push service.
• Two encryption keys generated by your browser, used to encrypt the notification content so that only your device can read it.
• Your browser's user-agent string, which identifies the browser and operating system.
• The date the subscription was created or last updated, and whether it is currently active.

We do not store your name, email address, or IP address as part of a push subscription, and a subscription is not linked to any reader profile. We only accept subscription endpoints belonging to recognised browser push services, and we limit how many subscription requests a single network address can make, in order to prevent abuse.

3.3 How Notifications Are Sent

Notifications are sent using the Web Push standard with VAPID (Voluntary Application Server Identification). Our server signs each message with a private key that never leaves our server, and encrypts the content using the keys your browser generated. The message is then handed to the push service operated by your browser vendor, which delivers it to your device. Notifications are sent manually by our editorial team and always relate to our own news content.

3.4 How to Turn Notifications Off

You can turn notifications on or off at any time using the control below. Turning them off removes the subscription from your browser and deactivates the record on our servers straight away.

You can also manage notifications outside this page:

• Open your browser's site settings for this website and set notifications to "Block" or "Ask". This immediately stops all notifications.
• Removing the subscription in your browser also invalidates the endpoint we hold, which becomes unusable.
• When a push service tells us that a subscription no longer exists, we automatically mark it inactive so that no further messages are attempted.
• You may also email us at drashtikon9@gmail.com to request removal of your subscription record.

4. Progressive Web App, Service Worker and Offline Access

Our website is a Progressive Web App (PWA). This means it registers a small background script in your browser, known as a service worker, and provides an app manifest describing the site's name, icons and colours.

• What the service worker does: it stores a copy of our home page in your browser's cache so that a basic page can still be shown if you lose your internet connection, and it receives push notifications if you have enabled them.
• Offline capability: if a page request fails because you are offline, the cached home page is shown instead. Offline access is limited to this fallback page — full article content is not available offline.
• Where the cache lives: entirely within your own browser, on your own device. Cached pages are never transmitted back to us and contain no personal data.
• Installation: supported browsers may offer an "Install" option that adds our website to your device's home screen or app list. Installing is optional, is handled entirely by your browser, and gives us no additional access to your device. Installation does not create an account and does not by itself enable notifications.
• Removing it: you can uninstall the app through your operating system, and clear the service worker and its cache from your browser's site settings or by clearing site data.

5. Cookies and Browser Storage

We use a small number of cookies, together with your browser's local storage, session storage and cache storage, to keep the website working correctly and to remember your choices about the prompts described above. For a detailed explanation of exactly what is stored, why, and how to clear it, please read our Cookie Policy.

6. Third-Party Services

Our website uses the following third-party services, which may independently collect data about your device when their resources are fetched:

• Google Fonts: Used to load web fonts from fonts.googleapis.com and fonts.gstatic.com. Google servers may log your IP address and browser information when fonts are fetched.
• Cloudflare (cdnjs): Used to load the Font Awesome icon library. Cloudflare's servers may log your IP address and browser information when these files are fetched.
• YouTube: Our video pages and live stream player embed YouTube videos. Where a video is embedded for automatic display, we use YouTube's privacy-enhanced youtube-nocookie.com mode. On individual video pages, the standard YouTube player is used. In either case, playing a video may cause YouTube (Google LLC) to set cookies and collect data in accordance with Google's Privacy Policy.
• Browser push services: If you opt in to push notifications, delivery is routed through the push service operated by your browser vendor — for example Google for Chrome, Mozilla for Firefox, Apple for Safari, or Microsoft for Edge. That service handles delivery and is governed by its own privacy policy. The content of each notification is encrypted so that only your browser can read it.
• Google Analytics 4: We use Google Analytics to measure website traffic and reader behaviour. IP anonymisation is enabled. Google processes this data in accordance with Google's Privacy Policy. You can opt out via the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
• Google AdSense: We display advertising supplied by Google AdSense. Google and its partners may set cookies or use similar technologies to serve and measure advertisements. You can review and adjust your advertising preferences through Google My Ad Center and read more in Google's advertising policy.
• Social sharing links: Article pages carry WhatsApp, Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) share buttons, plus a "Copy Link" button. These are ordinary links, not social media plugins: no social network SDK, widget, embedded feed or tracking script is loaded when you view a page, and none of these platforms receives anything about your visit unless you click one. If you do click a share link, it opens that platform in a new tab and their own privacy policy applies from that point. The "Copy Link" button copies the article address to your device's clipboard and sends nothing to us or anyone else.
• Email delivery: Messages sent through our contact form are delivered to our inbox using our email hosting provider's mail servers.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third parties. We encourage you to review their respective privacy policies.

7. Sharing and Disclosure of Information

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to third parties. We may share your information only in the following limited circumstances:

• Service providers: With trusted third-party vendors who assist us in operating the website (for example, our web hosting and email providers), subject to confidentiality obligations.
• Legal requirements: When required to comply with a legal obligation, court order, or lawful request from a government authority under the laws of India.
• Safety and rights: To protect the rights, property, or safety of Drashtikon Publication, our readers, or the public.
• Business transfers: In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, subject to confidentiality obligations.

8. Data Security

We implement reasonable and appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information from unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include secure server configurations, access controls on our administration area, rate limiting on public forms and endpoints, and regular security reviews. The private key used to sign push notifications is held only on our server and is never exposed to browsers.

However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security of your data.

9. Data Retention

We retain your personal information only for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this policy, or as required by applicable law. When personal data is no longer required, it is securely deleted or anonymised.

• Session records (including search terms): The session cookie is deleted by your browser when you close it. The matching session record on our server — which holds any temporary search state — is removed by an automated clean-up process that deletes expired sessions from our database.
• Contact enquiries: Retained while we handle and follow up on them.
• Push subscriptions: Retained while the subscription remains active. The record is marked inactive as soon as you turn notifications off, or when the push service tells us the subscription no longer exists.

10. Children's Privacy

Our website is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe that a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately and we will take steps to delete such information.

11. Your Rights

Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act) and applicable Indian law, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right to access: You may request a summary of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to correction: You may request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
• Right to erasure: You may request deletion of your personal data, subject to legal obligations.
• Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent — such as a push notification subscription — you may withdraw it at any time, either through your browser's site settings or by contacting us.
• Right to grievance redressal: You may raise a complaint with us or with the Data Protection Board of India.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at drashtikon9@gmail.com. We will respond within a reasonable timeframe.

12. Grievance Officer

In accordance with the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, the name and contact details of the Grievance Officer for Drashtikon Publication are published below. You may reach the Grievance Officer with any complaint, concern, or request relating to your personal data or the content on this website.

We will acknowledge every grievance within the timelines required by applicable law and work to resolve it as quickly as we reasonably can.

13. Links to Other Websites

Our website may contain links to external websites that are not operated by us. We have no control over the content or privacy practices of third-party sites and accept no responsibility for them. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of every site you visit.

14. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable law. Any changes will be posted on this page with a revised "Last Updated" date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Continued use of the website after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

15. Governing Law

This Privacy Policy is governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India, including the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008, the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. Any disputes shall be subject to the jurisdiction of courts in Surat, Gujarat.

16. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact us: