AntarKatha (“we,” “us,” or “our”) operates the website antarkatha.fun (the “Platform”). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information when you use our Platform. By using AntarKatha, you consent to the practices described in this policy.
This policy is published in compliance with the Information Technology Act, 2000 (India) and the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011.
1. Information We Collect
We collect the following types of information:
Information You Provide
- Account Information: Username (required), email address (optional), password (stored in hashed form only, never in plain text), and gender (optional).
- User Content: Stories, comments, images, chat messages, and any other content you voluntarily submit to the Platform.
- Profile Information: Any additional profile details you choose to provide, such as a bio or display name.
Information Collected Automatically
- IP Address: Collected for security purposes, rate limiting, and abuse prevention.
- Device Information: Browser type, operating system, and device type derived from your User-Agent header.
- Cookies: Session authentication cookies and related technical cookies necessary for Platform functionality.
- Usage Data: Pages visited, features used, timestamps, and interaction patterns for analytics and Platform improvement.
2. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect for the following purposes:
- Account Management: To create and maintain your account, authenticate your identity, and provide access to Platform features.
- Content Display: To publish and display your stories, comments, and other content to other users of the Platform.
- Notifications: To send you relevant notifications about activity on your content, such as new comments, votes, or replies.
- Analytics: To understand usage patterns, improve Platform performance, and develop new features.
- Security: To detect and prevent fraud, abuse, spam, and unauthorized access to accounts and the Platform.
- Legal Compliance: To comply with applicable laws, regulations, and legal processes.
3. Cookies and Local Storage
AntarKatha uses minimal cookies and browser storage:
- Session Cookie (
storyhub_session): An HTTP-only cookie used for authentication. This cookie contains a signed JWT token and expires after 7 days. It is essential for maintaining your logged-in session. - Local Storage (Theme Preference):We store your dark/light mode preference in your browser's localStorage to provide a consistent visual experience across visits.
Advertising Cookies
We use Google AdSense to display advertisements on the Platform. Google and its advertising partners may set cookies on your device to serve personalised or non-personalised ads based on your browsing history. These include cookies such as the DART cookie and NID cookie used by Google for ad serving and personalisation.
For complete details about cookies and tracking technologies used on the Platform, please refer to our Cookie Policy.
4. Data Sharing and Disclosure
AntarKatha does not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties. We may share your information only in the following limited circumstances:
- Legal Requirements: If required to do so by law, regulation, legal process, or enforceable governmental request, including orders from courts or law enforcement agencies in India.
- Safety and Protection: To protect the rights, property, or safety of AntarKatha, our users, or the public, including detecting and preventing fraud, abuse, or security threats.
- Service Providers: With trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating the Platform (hosting, database, AI services), subject to confidentiality obligations. These providers process data only on our behalf and in accordance with our instructions.
5. User Content
Stories, images, comments, and other content you post on AntarKatha are public by default and visible to all visitors of the Platform. Please exercise caution and do not include sensitive personal information in your public posts.
You have full control over what content you choose to share. You may edit or delete your content at any time through your account. Chat messages in public rooms are visible to all room participants.
6. Data Retention
- Account Data: Your account information is retained for as long as your account remains active. Upon account deletion, your personal account data (email, password hash, profile details) will be permanently removed from our systems within a reasonable timeframe.
- User Content: If you delete your account, content you have posted (stories, comments) may remain on the Platform in an anonymized form (attributed to a deleted user) to preserve the integrity of community discussions and threads.
- Security Logs: IP addresses and security-related logs may be retained for up to 12 months for abuse prevention and legal compliance purposes.
7. Data Security
We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your personal information:
- Password Hashing: All passwords are hashed using bcrypt with salt rounds before storage. We never store plain-text passwords.
- Session Security: Authentication is managed through signed JWT tokens stored in HTTP-only cookies, preventing client-side JavaScript access.
- HTTPS: All data transmitted between your browser and our servers is encrypted using TLS/HTTPS.
- Access Controls: Database access is restricted and authenticated. User data is scoped to individual accounts.
While we strive to protect your information, no method of electronic storage or transmission over the Internet is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security of your data.
8. Age Restriction
AntarKatha is intended for use by individuals who are 18 years of age or older. By using the Platform, you confirm that you are at least 18 years old. We do not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under 18. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected personal data from a person under 18, we will take prompt steps to delete such information from our systems.
If you are a parent or guardian and believe that a minor has accessed the Platform or provided personal information to us, please contact us at antarkatha1@gmail.com so that we can take appropriate action.
9. Third-Party Services
AntarKatha relies on the following third-party services to operate the Platform. Each service has its own privacy policy governing its data practices:
- Google AdSense: Third-party advertising service used to display advertisements on the Platform. Google may use cookies and tracking technologies to serve ads based on your browsing activity. See Google's advertising policies.
- Pollinations.ai: Used for AI image generation features. Prompts and generated images may be processed by their servers.
- Neon (neon.tech): Cloud PostgreSQL database provider used to store Platform data.
- Vercel: Hosting and deployment platform used to serve the AntarKatha website.
We recommend reviewing the privacy policies of these services for information about their data handling practices. AntarKatha is not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party services.
10. Your Rights
You have the following rights regarding your personal information:
- Right to Access: You may request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
- Right to Correction: You may request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
- Right to Deletion: You may request the deletion of your personal data and account. We will process such requests in accordance with applicable law.
- Right to Withdraw Consent: Where processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw it at any time by contacting us.
To exercise any of these rights, please email us at antarkatha1@gmail.com. We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe and in accordance with applicable law.
11. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. When we make changes, we will update the “Effective” date at the top of this page.
We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically. Your continued use of the Platform after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.
12. Contact Us
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:
Email: antarkatha1@gmail.com
Platform: antarkatha.fun