Privacy Policy

1. Who is responsible for your data

This website is operated by Ojas Shailesh Deshpande, an individual based in Pune, Maharashtra, India. For the purposes of applicable data protection law, I am the data controller (or equivalent) for the information described here.

Privacy questions and requests can be sent to contact@ojasdeshpande.in.

2. Information you provide

The only place where you can directly submit personal information is the contact form. If you use it, I receive:

• your name;
• your email address;
• the message you write; and
• the time the message was sent.

The form is processed by a Cloudflare Worker and delivered through Google Apps Script to a Google Workspace inbox. These providers process the message on my behalf so that I can receive and reply to it. I use the information only to respond to you and to keep a record of the conversation. I do not use contact-form data for advertising or sell it.

Please do not send sensitive personal information, passwords, financial account numbers, or confidential material through the form.

3. Information collected automatically

Like most websites, the hosting and infrastructure providers may record technical information when a page is requested, such as your IP address, browser and device type, referring page, requested URL, and timestamps. This information is used for security, debugging, and aggregate traffic measurement.

I also use Google Analytics 4 (measurement ID G-93JTGX7GTX) to understand which pages are read and how visitors find the site. Google Analytics collects event data—including page views, article scroll-depth milestones, aggregate reading-time completion, on-site topic/ID searches, outbound link clicks, and interaction with reader toolbar controls (such as font size, contrast theme, read-aloud playback, and diagram zoom)—along with approximate location, device and browser information, and identifiers stored in cookies. Google states that Analytics 4 does not log or store individual IP addresses. Analytics data is used in aggregate and is not used to identify you personally.

To remember your reading preferences across visits, your browser's local storage stores strictly functional settings on your device: pinned readlists (pinned_readlists), preferred font size (blog_reader_size_idx), preferred font family (blog_reader_font), contrast theme (blog_reader_theme), and read-aloud speed (blog_tts_speed_idx). The read-aloud feature uses your browser's built-in Web Speech synthesis engine locally on your device.

4. Cookies and similar technologies

Cookies are small files stored by your browser. This site uses cookies for analytics and, when ads are shown, for advertising. Some cookies are set by third parties such as Google. For a list of the categories and how to control them, see the Cookie Policy.

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Blocking cookies may affect how parts of the site work, but the articles themselves remain readable.

5. Advertising

This site uses Google AdSense (publisher ID ca-pub-1619805544012707) to display advertisements. Google and its partners may use cookies and similar technologies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this website or other websites. This is known as personalized or interest-based advertising.

Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visit to this site and/or other sites on the internet. You can opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings. You can also opt out of some third-party vendors' use of cookies for personalized advertising at www.aboutads.info or, in Europe, www.youronlinechoices.eu.

Where required by law, a consent message provided by Google or another consent mechanism may be shown so that you can make choices about advertising and analytics cookies before they are used. Advertising partners may process data outside your country as described in their own privacy policies.

6. How I use information

• To reply to messages sent through the contact form.
• To operate, secure, and troubleshoot the website.
• To understand aggregate readership and improve articles.
• To display and measure advertisements through Google AdSense.
• To comply with legal obligations and enforce the site terms.

I do not sell, rent, or trade personal information. I do not build individual reader profiles for my own marketing.

7. Legal bases

If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, I rely on the following legal bases: your consent for analytics and advertising cookies where consent is required; my legitimate interests in operating and securing the site and responding to messages; and compliance with legal obligations. You may withdraw consent at any time through the consent controls or your browser settings.

If you are in India, I process contact-form data on the basis of your consent, which you give by voluntarily submitting the form, and for the limited purposes described in this policy.

8. Sharing and service providers

Information may be processed by service providers that help run this site, including hosting and CDN providers (such as Vercel and Cloudflare), Google (Analytics, AdSense, Apps Script, and Gmail), and font or library CDNs. These providers are expected to protect data in accordance with their own terms and applicable law.

I may also disclose information if required by law, legal process, or a valid government request, or if necessary to protect the rights, safety, or property of myself or others. If the site or a related project is transferred, data may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to this policy.

9. International transfers

The service providers above may store or process data in countries other than yours, including the United States. Where required, transfers rely on appropriate safeguards offered by those providers, such as standard contractual clauses.

10. Retention

Contact-form messages are kept only as long as needed to handle the conversation and any follow-up, normally no more than 24 months after the last reply, unless a longer period is required by law or for a legal claim. Analytics data is retained according to the retention setting in Google Analytics (typically up to 14 months). Advertising data is retained by Google according to its own policies.

11. Security

The site is served over HTTPS, and access to the contact inbox is restricted. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so I cannot guarantee absolute security. If you believe your information has been compromised, contact me so I can investigate.

12. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to request access to the personal information I hold about you, ask for correction or deletion, restrict or object to processing, withdraw consent, or receive a copy of your data. You may also have the right to complain to a supervisory authority.

To make a request, email contact@ojasdeshpande.in with the subject line “Privacy request”. I may ask for information to verify your identity before acting. I will respond within the period required by applicable law.

If you are in India, you can raise a grievance with me using the contact details above. If unresolved, you may contact the Data Protection Board of India once it is operational under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.

13. Children

This site is written for an adult audience and is not directed at children under 18. I do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you are under 18, please do not submit personal information through the contact form. If I learn that a child has provided personal information, I will delete it.

14. Third-party links

Articles may link to external websites. I do not control those sites and am not responsible for their privacy practices. Review their policies before sharing information with them.

15. Changes to this policy

I may update this policy as the site or the law changes. The effective date at the top will be revised, and material changes will be noted on this page. Continued use of the site after an update means you accept the revised policy.

16. Contact and grievance officer

Grievance officer / data controller: Ojas Shailesh Deshpande
Location: Pune, Maharashtra, India
Email: contact@ojasdeshpande.in