Privacy Policy

Last updated: 3 November 2026

This policy explains what personal data India Legacy (indialegacy.in) collects when you visit, why, who else receives it, and what choices you have. India Legacy is a personal website about Indian history and culture, run from India by Gaurav Thapa, who is responsible for the data described here.

Questions or requests about your data: contact.indialegacy@gmail.com

Summary

You can read the site without giving me any personal details.
Google Analytics and Google AdSense use cookies to measure visits and show ads. Where the law requires it, they are only used after you agree through the cookie banner.
If you comment or email me, I keep your name, email and message only to reply and manage comments.
I never sell your personal data.

Information you give me

Emails

If you email me, I receive your name, email address and whatever you write. I use it only to reply, and delete correspondence I no longer need.

Comments

When you leave a comment, WordPress stores your name, email address, website (if you add one), the comment, your IP address and your browser’s user agent. This helps with moderation and spam detection. Your name, website and comment are shown publicly once approved; your email address is never shown.

WordPress may send a scrambled version of your email address (a hash) to the Gravatar service, run by Automattic, to check whether you have a profile picture. If you do, it appears next to your comment.

Comments and their details are kept for as long as the comment is on the site. You can ask me to delete your comment at any time.

Information collected automatically

Like most websites, India Legacy and the services it uses collect some technical information when you visit:

your IP address
browser, device type and operating system
the pages you view, how long you stay, and the site that sent you here
your approximate location (country or city, worked out from your IP address)

Some of this is collected by my web host and the site’s security plugin (Wordfence), which log IP addresses to block attacks and spam. Some is collected by Google, as explained below.

Cookies

Cookies are small text files a website stores in your browser. India Legacy uses:

Necessary cookies: needed for the site to work and stay secure, and to remember your cookie choices. These can’t be switched off.
Analytics cookies (Google Analytics): show me which articles people read and how they find the site.
Advertising cookies (Google AdSense and its partners): used to show and measure ads (see below).
Comment cookies: if you tick the box when commenting, your name, email and website are saved for one year so you don’t have to retype them.

Your cookie choices

When you first visit, a cookie banner (provided by CookieYes) lets you accept or reject analytics and advertising cookies. Visitors from the European Economic Area, the UK and Switzerland are asked for consent before these cookies are set. You can change your choice at any time using the cookie settings button on the site. You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings, though some parts of the site may not work as expected.

Advertising: Google AdSense

India Legacy shows ads through Google AdSense.

Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your previous visits to this website and other websites.
Google’s use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visits to this site and/or other sites on the internet.
You can opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings. You can also opt out of some other vendors’ use of cookies for personalised ads at aboutads.info.
If you opt out, you will still see ads, but they will be less relevant to you.

To learn how Google uses information from sites that use its services, see How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services.

Analytics: Google Analytics

I use Google Analytics (GA4), connected through Google’s Site Kit plugin, to see how many people visit and which articles are useful. Google processes this data on its servers, which may be outside India. You can stop Google Analytics from collecting your data with the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on, or by rejecting analytics cookies in the cookie banner.

Spam protection: Google reCAPTCHA

Comment and login forms are protected by Google reCAPTCHA, which checks whether a real person is using the form. reCAPTCHA collects hardware and software information, such as device and browser data, and sends it to Google. Its use is subject to Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

Why I use your data

to run the website, keep it secure and stop spam
to reply to your emails and manage comments
to understand which articles are useful and improve them
to show ads that pay for the site

For visitors in the EEA and UK, the legal basis is your consent (for analytics and advertising cookies) and my legitimate interest in running a secure website and replying to messages (for everything else).

Who receives your data

I share data only with the services that make the site work: my web hosting provider, Google (Analytics, AdSense and reCAPTCHA), Automattic (Gravatar), Wordfence (security) and CookieYes (cookie consent). Each handles data under its own privacy policy. I don’t sell, rent or trade personal data, and I will only disclose it if required by law.

How long data is kept

Comments: for as long as the comment is published, or until you ask me to delete it.
Emails: as long as needed to deal with your message.
Google Analytics: data retention is set to 14 months in my Analytics settings.
Security logs: kept for a short period by the security plugin and host.

Your rights

Under India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and, if you are in the EU or UK, the GDPR, you can:

ask what personal data I hold about you and get a copy
ask me to correct or update it
ask me to delete it, for example a comment you posted
withdraw your consent to cookies at any time through the cookie settings
raise a complaint with me first, and if you are not satisfied, with the Data Protection Board of India or the data protection authority in your country

To make a request, email contact.indialegacy@gmail.com. I will reply within 30 days, usually much sooner. For requests and complaints, please contact Gaurav Thapa at the same address.

Children

India Legacy is a general-interest educational website and is read by many students. I don’t knowingly collect personal data from children. If you are under 18, please ask a parent or guardian before leaving a comment or sending an email that includes personal details. If you believe a child has shared personal data with me, email me and I will delete it.

Security

The site uses HTTPS encryption, a security firewall and spam protection. No website can guarantee complete security, but I take reasonable steps to protect the limited data I hold.

Links to other websites

Articles link to other websites, such as the ASI, UNESCO and museums. Those sites have their own privacy policies, and I am not responsible for how they handle your data.