Privacy Policy

Narayani Thoughts ('NT', 'we', 'us', 'our') is an independent civic media platform operated by Narayani Media Private Limited, registered in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. Our registered address is 14, 4th Cross, Indiranagar, Bengaluru 560038. Data controller: Vikram Bose, Chief Editor (privacy@narayani.in).

We collect only what is necessary to provide our service: • Reading data: Pages visited, articles read, time on page — used for editorial analytics only. This data is aggregated and not linked to individual identities. • Contact form and tip submissions: Name (optional), email address, and the content of your message. If you submit a tip anonymously, we collect no identifying information. • Poll votes (People's Voice): We store your vote for that session only to prevent double-voting. We do not link poll votes to any account or identity. • Newsletter subscriptions: Email address only. We do not share subscriber lists with third parties. • Cookies: We use only essential cookies for session management. No advertising or tracking cookies are set without your explicit consent.

We use information we collect to: • Deliver our editorial content and platform features • Respond to tip submissions and reader queries • Send newsletters to subscribers (with unsubscribe link in every email) • Improve our editorial coverage using anonymised reading data • Comply with legal obligations under Indian law We do not sell personal data. We do not use personal data for targeted advertising. We do not share personal data with political parties or government authorities, except where required by a valid court order.

Narayani Thoughts has a strict source protection policy. The identity of any person who submits a tip, leak, or confidential information is never disclosed without that person's explicit written consent — not to law enforcement, not to the subjects of our reporting, not to our owners. We are bound by journalistic source privilege under the Freedom of the Press principles recognised by Indian courts.

We retain data as follows: • Contact form messages: 2 years from receipt • Newsletter subscriber email: Until you unsubscribe • Anonymised reading analytics: 3 years, then deleted • Tip submissions flagged as active journalistic matters: Until the related story is published and any legal risk period passes (up to 7 years)

We use a limited number of third-party services: • Vercel (hosting infrastructure) — servers located in Mumbai, India • Plausible Analytics (privacy-first, cookie-free, GDPR-compliant analytics) • Buttondown (email newsletter delivery) None of these providers receive personally identifiable data beyond what is necessary for service delivery. We have Data Processing Agreements with each provider.

Under India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, you have the right to: • Access personal data we hold about you • Correct inaccurate personal data • Request deletion of your personal data (except where legal retention applies) • Withdraw consent for processing where consent is the legal basis • Nominate a person to exercise rights on your behalf To exercise any right, email privacy@narayani.in with the subject line "Data Rights Request". We will respond within 30 days.

We use industry-standard encryption (TLS 1.3) for all data in transit. Data at rest is encrypted using AES-256. Access to personal data is restricted to staff who need it for their job function, with audit logging on all access. We conduct annual third-party security audits.

Narayani Thoughts is not directed at children under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data from minors. If you believe a minor has submitted data to us, contact privacy@narayani.in and we will delete it promptly.

We will notify subscribers by email of any material changes to this Privacy Policy at least 15 days before the changes take effect. The updated policy will be published at narayani.in/privacy with the revision date.

For privacy questions or data requests: privacy@narayani.in For editorial corrections: corrections@narayani.in Postal: Privacy Officer, Narayani Media Private Limited, 14, 4th Cross, Indiranagar, Bengaluru 560038