Privacy Policy

Welcome to Samachaar.AI ("we," "our," or "us"). We are committed to protecting your personal information and your right to privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our news platform and services.

By accessing or using Samachaar.AI, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with this policy, please discontinue use of our services immediately.

1. Personal Information You Provide

When you create an account or interact with our platform, we may collect:

• Account Information: Name, email address, password (encrypted)
• Demographic Information (optional): Age, gender, location, occupation, education level (used for personalized content and aggregated poll insights — never shared individually)
• Communication Data: Your messages, feedback, and support requests

We do not collect payment information. Samachaar.AI is a free, advertising-supported service and does not offer paid subscriptions.

2. Information Automatically Collected

We automatically collect certain information when you use our services:

• Device Information: IP address, browser type, operating system, device identifiers
• Usage Data: Pages viewed, articles read, time spent, interaction patterns, poll votes, quiz responses
• Location Data: Approximate geographic location based on IP address
• Cookies and Tracking: See our Cookie Policy below for details

3. Information from Third Parties

If you sign in using OAuth providers (Google), we receive basic profile information such as your name, email address, and profile picture as permitted by the provider.

We use the collected information for the following purposes:

• Service Delivery: To provide, maintain, and improve our news platform and personalized content recommendations
• Account Management: To create and manage your optional user account and handle authentication
• Personalization: To customize news feeds, polls, and quizzes based on your demographics and preferences
• Analytics: To analyze poll results, quiz participation, reading patterns, and demographic insights (in aggregated, anonymized form)
• Advertising: To display relevant advertisements served by third-party networks such as Google AdSense (see "Advertising and Cookies" below)
• Communication: To send you newsletters, push notifications (if you opt in), and important service announcements
• Security: To detect, prevent, and address fraud, abuse, and security vulnerabilities
• Legal Compliance: To comply with applicable laws, regulations, and legal processes
• Research: To conduct aggregated research and analysis to improve our services (anonymized data only)

We do not sell your personal information. We may share your data only in the following circumstances:

1. Service Providers

• Authentication & Database: Supabase for user authentication and data storage
• Hosting: Vercel for site hosting and content delivery
• Advertising: Google AdSense (and any other ad networks we may use) for displaying advertisements
• Analytics: Vercel Analytics and similar tools to understand usage patterns (anonymized where possible)
• Email Services: Email providers for transactional and marketing communications
• News Aggregation: NewsData.io and direct RSS feeds for news article ingestion

2. Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or governmental request, or to protect our rights, safety, or property.

3. Business Transfers

In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred to the acquiring entity.

4. With Your Consent

We may share your information for other purposes with your explicit consent.

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your personal information:

• Encryption: All data transmission is encrypted using SSL/TLS protocols
• Password Security: Passwords are hashed and encrypted using bcrypt
• Secure Storage: Data is stored on secure servers with restricted access
• Regular Audits: We conduct regular security assessments and updates

However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

You have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
• Correction: Update or correct inaccurate information via your profile settings
• Deletion: Request deletion of your account and associated data
• Opt-Out: Unsubscribe from marketing emails or disable certain data collection features
• Data Portability: Request your data in a machine-readable format
• Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent for data processing (may limit service functionality)

To exercise these rights, please contact us at privacy@samachaar.info

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your experience:

Types of Cookies We Use:

• Essential Cookies: Required for authentication and core functionality
• Performance Cookies: Help us understand how users interact with our platform
• Functional Cookies: Remember your preferences and settings
• Analytics Cookies: Provide insights into usage patterns and demographics
• Advertising Cookies: Set by Google AdSense and other ad networks to display relevant ads (see "Advertising" section below)

You can manage cookie preferences through your browser settings or our Cookie Consent banner. Note that disabling certain cookies may affect platform functionality.

Samachaar.AI is a free service supported by advertising. We use third-party advertising networks, including Google AdSense, to display ads on our Platform.

How Advertising Works

• Google, as a third-party vendor, uses cookies (including the DoubleClick DART cookie) to serve ads based on a user's prior visits to our website and other websites on the Internet.
• Other third-party vendors and ad networks may also use cookies to serve ads based on your browsing history.
• These cookies and identifiers do not personally identify you and do not contain sensitive information.

How to Opt Out

You have the following options to control advertising personalization:

• Opt out of personalized advertising from Google by visiting Google Ads Settings
• Opt out of third-party vendor cookies for personalized advertising via the Digital Advertising Alliance opt-out page or the Network Advertising Initiative opt-out page
• You may also disable cookies through your browser settings, though this may affect site functionality.

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to:

• Provide our services and maintain your account
• Comply with legal, tax, and accounting requirements
• Resolve disputes and enforce our agreements

When you delete your account, we will delete or anonymize your personal information within 30 days, except where retention is required by law.

Samachaar.AI is not intended for users under 18 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a child, please contact us immediately at privacy@samachaar.info.

Our platform may contain links to external news sources and third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these external sites. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing any personal information.

Samachaar.AI is operated from India. If you are accessing our services from outside India, please be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in India. By using our services, you consent to this transfer and processing in accordance with Indian data protection laws.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. We will notify you of material changes by:

• Posting the updated policy on this page with a new "Last Updated" date
• Sending an email notification to registered users
• Displaying a prominent notice on our platform

Your continued use of Samachaar.AI after changes become effective constitutes acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us: