Privacy Policy

1. Introduction to Our Privacy Policy

Your privacy is important to us at the Simhastha Kumbh Mela Portal. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website, including any other media form, media channel, mobile website, or mobile application related or connected thereto.

We are committed to protecting the privacy of all devotees and pilgrims who visit our platform to view travel guides, accommodation details, and event schedules. By using our website, you consent to the data practices described in this policy.

If you do not agree with the terms of this privacy policy, please do not access the site.

2. Information We Collect on Our Website

We collect information in two ways: automatically when you visit our website, and when you voluntarily provide it to us.

3. How We Process & Use Collected Data

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

• To provide our services: Display daily event schedules, shahi snan timings, and travel guides
• To improve user experience: Analyze usage patterns to optimize page load times, navigation, and content relevance
• To personalize content: Remember your preferences such as dark/light theme, and language selection (Hindi/English)
• To communicate: Respond to your inquiries, support requests, and feedback submitted through our contact form
• To ensure security: Detect and prevent fraudulent activity, spam, and abuse in our comment sections
• To display advertisements: Show relevant ads through our ad partners to support our free informational service
• To analyze traffic: Use analytics tools to understand visitor demographics, popular content, and site performance
• To comply with legal obligations: Meet regulatory requirements and respond to lawful requests from authorities

4. Third-Party Services & Cookie Settings

The Simhastha Kumbh Mela Portal uses cookies and integrates with the following third-party services:

5. Disclosing & Sharing of Personal Data

The Simhastha Kumbh Mela Portal does not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to third parties. We may share generic aggregated demographic information (not linked to any personal identification) with our partners and advertisers.

We may disclose your information in the following limited circumstances:

• With Service Providers: We share data with trusted services like Google Analytics and Google AdSense that help us operate our website. These providers have their own privacy policies governing the use of your information.
• For Legal Compliance: We may disclose your information if required to do so by law, or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g., a court order or government agency).
• To Protect Rights: We may disclose information when we believe it is necessary to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, or violations of our Terms of Service.

6. How Long We Retain Your Personal Data

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

• Contact form submissions: Retained for up to 12 months to ensure we can follow up on your queries
• Comment data: Retained for as long as the associated content is published on our website
• Analytics data: Aggregated analytics data is retained for up to 26 months as per Google Analytics default settings
• Server logs: Automatically deleted after 90 days

You can request deletion of your personal data at any time by contacting us.

7. Data Protection & Security Measures

We take the security of your personal information seriously. We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your data against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include:

• SSL/TLS Encryption: All data transmitted between your browser and our servers is encrypted using HTTPS
• CSRF Protection: Our contact forms use anti-CSRF tokens to prevent cross-site request forgery attacks
• Input Sanitization: All user inputs are sanitized and validated to prevent injection attacks

However, please note that no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

8. Your Rights Under CCPA, GDPR & DPDP Act

9. Privacy Rights of Children

The Simhastha Kumbh Mela Portal does not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13. Our website is intended for general audiences who are of legal age to plan a pilgrimage. If we become aware that we have collected personal data from a child under 13 without verification of parental consent, we will take immediate steps to delete that information.

10. External Websites & Third-Party Links

Our portal contains links to external sites like official government gazettes, hotel booking platforms, and railway websites. These external websites have their own privacy policies, and we have no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of these linked sites.

11. Updates to Our Privacy Guidelines

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date at the top.