Privacy Policy

1. Overview

This Privacy Policy explains how information is handled when you visit vedangam.org (the "Website"), operated by Vedangam ("we", "us" or "our"). Vedangam is an informational website about the Hindu calendar (Panchangam), Jyotisha and the Vedangas. We have designed it to collect as little information about visitors as possible.

By using the Website you acknowledge the practices described in this policy. If you do not agree with them, please do not use the Website, or use the browser and opt-out controls described below to limit cookies.

2. Information we collect ourselves

The Website is a static site: every page is a pre-built file. There are no user accounts, no log-in, no comment forms, no newsletter sign-up and no payment forms. We do not ask for, and do not collect, your name, address, phone number, date of birth or any other personal details through the Website.

Some pages may remember small preferences (such as a selected language or city) in your own browser's local storage. This information stays on your device, is not sent to us, and can be cleared at any time through your browser settings.

If you choose to contact us by email, we receive your email address and whatever you include in your message. We use this only to reply to you and to fix any issue you report, and we do not add you to any mailing list or share your message with third parties except where required by law.

3. Hosting and server logs (Cloudflare)

The Website is hosted on Cloudflare Pages and delivered through Cloudflare's global network. To deliver pages securely and protect the Website against abuse and attacks, Cloudflare processes technical information about each request, which may include your IP address, browser type and version, operating system, the page requested, the referring page and the date and time of the request. This information may be kept in Cloudflare's logs for limited periods for security, performance and diagnostic purposes. Cloudflare acts as a service provider for this processing; see the Cloudflare Privacy Policy for details.

We may use Cloudflare Web Analytics to understand aggregate traffic, such as how many times a page was viewed and which pages are most popular. Cloudflare Web Analytics is designed to be privacy-first: it does not use cookies, does not use local storage for tracking, and does not fingerprint individual visitors. We see only aggregated statistics, not information that identifies you.

4. Advertising and cookies (Google AdSense)

To keep Vedangam free, many pages display advertisements served by Google AdSense, a service of Google LLC. Advertising is the only feature of the Website that uses cookies.

• Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a user's prior visits to this Website or to other websites.
• Google's use of advertising cookies, including the DoubleClick cookie and related advertising cookies, enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visits to this Website and/or other sites on the Internet.
• Other third-party vendors and ad networks that are certified to serve ads through Google may also place and read cookies on your browser, or use web beacons, device identifiers and similar technologies, to collect information as a result of ad serving on this Website.
• Google and its partners may also use cookies and similar technologies for frequency capping, aggregated ad reporting, measuring ad performance and combating fraud and abuse.

You can learn how Google uses information from sites that use its services at How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services, and how Google uses cookies in advertising at https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads.

Your choices and how to opt out

• You may opt out of personalised advertising from Google by visiting Google Ads Settings (https://www.google.com/settings/ads). If you opt out, you may still see ads, but they will not be personalised based on your interests.
• You can opt out of some third-party vendors' use of cookies for personalised advertising by visiting www.aboutads.info (Digital Advertising Alliance) or, in Europe, www.youronlinechoices.eu.
• You can block or delete cookies through your browser settings. Blocking cookies will not prevent you from reading any part of the Website.

Where required by law, for example for visitors in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, Google may ask for your consent before using cookies for personalised advertising, using a consent message that appears on the Website. You can change your choice at any time through that message or through the settings above.

5. How information is used

The limited information described above is used to:

• deliver the Website quickly and securely and protect it from abuse;
• understand, in aggregate, which pages are useful so that we can improve our content;
• display advertising that keeps the Website free to use; and
• respond to messages you choose to send us.

We do not sell, rent or trade personal information, and we do not build profiles of individual visitors ourselves.

6. Legal bases (for visitors in the EEA and UK)

Where data-protection laws such as the GDPR apply, processing for security and site delivery is based on our legitimate interest in operating a safe and reliable website; processing of advertising cookies for personalised ads is based on your consent where consent is required; and processing of emails you send us is based on our legitimate interest in responding to you.

7. Your rights

Depending on where you live (for example under the GDPR, the UK GDPR, India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, or the California Consumer Privacy Act), you may have rights to access, correct or delete personal data, to object to or restrict processing, to withdraw consent, and to complain to a data-protection authority. Because we do not hold accounts or visitor profiles, in most cases the only personal data we hold about you is any email correspondence. Requests concerning data processed by Google or Cloudflare can be made directly to those companies using the controls linked above, or you may contact us and we will help where we can.

8. Data retention and security

Email correspondence is kept only as long as needed to deal with your enquiry and any follow-up. The Website is served exclusively over encrypted HTTPS connections. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but because we collect so little information, the risk to visitors is minimal.

9. Children's privacy

The Website is a general-audience educational resource and is not directed at children under the age of 13 (or the equivalent minimum age in your country). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

10. External links

The Website links to other websites, including the opt-out pages above. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of other websites, and we encourage you to read their privacy policies.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, for example if we add or change a service provider. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page shows when it was last revised. Material changes will be reflected on this page.

12. Contact

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your rights, please reach us through our contact page.

See also our Terms of Service and About page.