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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 helps restore your devotional history across devices.
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Information we handle
Account information
If you choose Google sign-in, Google and Firebase Authentication process your account identifier, name, email address, verification status, and profile photo. We use your account identity to authenticate you and associate your synced history with your account. 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. Progress and practice settings may be synced with our backend using a per-install identifier, or linked to your account when you sign in. Devotional activity can reveal information about religious practice; we use it to provide the features you choose.
Install identifiers and feature use
A randomly generated identifier distinguishes your app installation. It accompanies backend requests and supports progress recovery and usage measurement. Limited monitoring records whether that installation uses Darshan or reminder features. This identifier is pseudonymous: it is not your name, but can be associated with your account when you sign in.
Service and network information
Our service infrastructure processes network requests, including IP addresses needed to deliver responses. Backend analytics can record request paths, timestamps, response status, performance, install identifiers, and coarse IP-derived geography such as city, region, and country. Where configured, a daily-changing hashed IP identifier helps measure traffic. This supports reliability, troubleshooting, and understanding service use.
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.
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 process information needed to deliver their services under their own privacy practices.
- Google and Firebase: optional authentication and related account processing. 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. Server-side devotional records are retained to support sync and recovery until deleted or no longer needed for those purposes. Operational records are retained according to service settings and operational needs. Retention varies by data type; there is no single fixed period for all records.
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. This removes the Firebase authentication account, its Google sign-in connection, and the streak and practice history synced to it. It does not delete your 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.
Signing out is not account deletion: synced account history remains available for a later sign-in. Install-based feature-monitoring and operational records are separate from account history and are not all removed by the in-app account action.
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.