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Our approach to privacy
This policy explains how Guru Dhigvandanam, provided by Amara Datta Dola (“we”, “us”), handles information in its iOS and Android apps and on this website. It covers Darshan, Stotram, Japam, devotional progress, reminders, and related services. Features may vary by app version and platform.
We do not sell your personal information or use it for advertising profiling. You can use the app without signing in. Optional sign-in can restore history across devices when you separately enable cloud sync. Signing in or accepting the terms does not grant consent to sync or usage monitoring.
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Information we handle
Account information
If you choose Apple or Google sign-in, that provider and Firebase Authentication process your account identifier, name, email address, verification status, and, where available, profile photo. Apple may provide a private relay email address when you choose Hide My Email. We use your account identity to authenticate you and associate your synced history with your account. Our service stores only the Firebase account identifier for that link; it does not store your email address, name, or photo. We do not request access to Gmail messages.
Devotional history and settings
The app stores Darshan completion dates, streaks, dated Stotram and Japam counts, daily goals, and preferences. History remains on-device unless you enable Cloud backup & sync in Settings > Privacy & data. Enabling it uploads existing and future practice history and goals, using a random collection identifier. With a signed-in account, that history can be restored on another device. Devotional activity can reveal religious practice. Cloud sync is optional; local practice, streaks, and reminders continue without it.
Install identifiers and feature use
Share usage data is a separate, default-off choice. When enabled, it sends a random collection identifier and whether you use Darshan or reminders. It does not send practice counts, reminder times, GPS coordinates, or audio recordings for analytics. Collection identifiers are pseudonymous and can be associated with your signed-in account after an explicit collection choice. Ordinary public-content requests do not attach an installation identifier. New collection identifiers are not derived from your phone's vendor or Android ID.
Service and network information
Our service infrastructure processes network requests, including IP addresses needed to deliver responses. Our application access logs record generalized route categories, request methods, response status, and timing for reliability. The updated service does not write installation identifiers, IP hashes, or geographic profiles to access analytics. Hosting providers still process network information to deliver and secure requests. Older service versions used install-level and IP-derived analytics; historical operational records follow the applicable provider's retention and deletion processes.
Messages you send us
If you contact support, we receive your email address and the information you include, and use them to respond and resolve your request. Please do not send passwords or unnecessary sensitive information.
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Location and device permissions
On both iOS and Android, location access helps calculate direction and distance to the devotional destination and obtain local sunrise and sunset times. Your phone may provide precise coordinates, but compass calculations take place on your device.
For sun-time requests, the app rounds latitude and longitude to two decimal places (approximately 0.01 degrees) and sends those coordinates over HTTPS to Sunrise-Sunset.org. The recipient also receives ordinary network information, including your IP address. The app does not send these phone GPS coordinates to our backend for reminder scheduling; the network-derived geography described above is separate.
- Location: you can allow, limit, or revoke access in device settings. Direction and local sun-time features may be limited without it.
- Motion and orientation: available sensors support compass alignment. Readings are processed on-device rather than uploaded to our backend.
- Notifications: optional permission enables sunrise and sunset reminders. Android may also offer system controls for precise reminder timing.
The last successful phone location may be cached for up to seven days. Dated sun-time responses and public destination information are also cached to support offline use.
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Reminders and local storage
Sunrise and sunset reminders are scheduled locally on your phone, with either the default sound or a selected mantram. Schedules refresh as the app is used. The current reminder system does not register an Expo push token for remote reminder updates. Push tokens registered by older app versions are disabled on our service and are no longer used; contact us to have them erased.
Local storage includes your preferences, walkthrough state, devotional history, media preferences, and cached public events and configuration. Bundled audio playback does not require microphone access or record your voice. System media controls may display the selected devotional content and practice count.
You can disable reminders in the app or notifications in system settings. Device backups and restoration are governed by your Apple or Google settings; deleting an app does not necessarily remove copies in a device backup.
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Service providers and external content
We use providers to host and operate the app’s services. They may process personal information only to deliver the services described in this policy. We confirm that they protect that information with the same or equal protections described here and required by Apple’s App Store Review Guidelines. We do not permit them to sell it or to use it for advertising profiling. Apple, Google, and Firebase process optional sign-in under that limit. Cloudflare and Vercel host, deliver, and store the service under that limit. Sunrise-Sunset.org receives only the rounded coordinates needed to calculate sun times. When you open YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, a map, or another external service, that service receives only the request you choose to send, and it is limited to providing that service; its privacy policy also applies.
- Apple, Google, and Firebase: optional authentication and related account processing. You select one sign-in method for the active app account. Apple Privacy Policy and Google Privacy Policy.
- Cloudflare and Vercel: website, API delivery, hosting, storage, and operational services. Cloudflare Privacy Policy and Vercel Privacy Policy.
- Sunrise-Sunset.org: local sun-time calculations using rounded coordinates. Provider privacy information.
- YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music: some content may load an embedded YouTube player or open a music provider’s app or website. The provider may receive network, device, and playback information and use its own cookies or account information. See Google, Spotify, and Apple privacy policies. Availability depends on the selected content and app version.
If you share a devotional card or open an external map or link, the destination service receives the content or request you choose to send. Its privacy policy applies. We may also disclose information when required by law or reasonably necessary to protect users, prevent abuse, or secure the service.
Providers may process information in countries other than the one where you live.
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Retention and security
Local information remains until it is replaced, expires, or is removed. Consented cloud history is retained until you delete it or it is no longer needed for sync and recovery. Turning sync off stops transfers but does not erase the existing backup. Consent credentials are retained to enforce your choices and authorize deletion. Deletion removes active history, associated feature-use records, account links, and collection sessions. Minimal one-way account digests and deletion-receipt digests are retained to reject stale credentials and safely retry erasure; they contain no email or practice history. These safeguards are kept while legacy credentials or retrying clients remain supported. Provider backups and historical operational logs expire or are removed through their retention processes and are not instantly erased by deleting an active database record. Contact us about identifiable historical records or retention questions.
We use HTTPS for service requests and access controls to protect backend information. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure. Limited records may need to be retained for security, legal obligations, or resolving disputes.
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Your choices and deletion
Delete your account in the app
Open Settings, find your signed-in account, and select Delete account. Collection is paused first. The app then removes associated cloud history, practice settings, feature-use records and collection sessions across linked installations, disconnects the selected Apple or Google sign-in, and deletes the Firebase authentication account. It does not delete your Apple or Google account.
On-device history remains after account deletion. Remove local app data separately using Android’s app-storage controls or by deleting the app on iOS (offloading alone retains data). Check your device backup settings if you also want to manage backed-up copies.
Both Cloud backup & sync and Share usage data start off, including after an upgrade with no saved consent choice. Change either choice in Settings > Privacy & data. Turning a choice off stops the corresponding transfers on this device. If the server cannot be reached, collection stays paused and a pending request can be retried. Signing out pauses collection but does not delete saved account history.
Delete cloud history in Privacy & data removes cloud history and associated usage records while keeping your login account. When signed in, it covers the account's linked installations; when signed out, it covers the current anonymous collection session. Local practice stays on your device. Account or history deletion keeps collection off; uploading retained local history again requires a fresh explicit choice.
If deletion fails, it remains pending across app restarts. Use Retry privacy request; you may need to confirm the same Apple or Google account. A pending request does not mean server erasure is complete. Older app versions cannot upload through the updated collection endpoints. For anonymous records created before these controls, sign in if they were linked to your account, or contact support to help identify and erase them.
You can request deletion without the app: email dattadev.sgs@gmail.com with the subject “Guru Dhigvandanam data deletion”. Specify whether you want your account, synced history, or other identifiable records deleted, and provide the account email if applicable. For use without sign-in, contact us for help identifying the relevant installation. We may need to verify ownership; never send your password.
Depending on applicable law, you may have rights to access, correct, erase, or obtain a copy of your personal information, object to or restrict certain processing, withdraw permission, or complain to a data-protection authority. Contact us to make a request. We will explain any identification requirements or retention exceptions that apply.
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Children’s privacy
We do not knowingly collect personal information from children below the age at which they can consent under applicable law without appropriate parental authorization. A parent or guardian who believes a child has provided personal information can contact us to request review and deletion.
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This website
These legal pages do not add advertising trackers, analytics scripts, third-party fonts, or embedded media. Our hosting provider still processes network information needed to serve and secure the website. The homepage includes a YouTube video using YouTube’s privacy-enhanced embed. Loading or playing the video connects to YouTube, which may process your IP address, device information, and playback activity under Google’s privacy policy. External links and your email provider have their own privacy practices.
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Updates and contact
We may update this policy as features or information practices change. The date at the top identifies the latest revision. Where required, we will provide additional notice of material changes.
For privacy questions, requests, or concerns, contact Amara Datta Dola at dattadev.sgs@gmail.com.