Privacy Policy

Welcome to FestiPal ("we," "our," or "us"). FestiPal is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, store, and safeguard your personal information when you visit our website (festipal.in) or use our web and mobile applications (collectively, the "Service").

By using FestiPal, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. If you do not agree with any part of this policy, please do not use our Service.

1. Information We Collect

We only collect information necessary to provide you with an optimal festival discovery and navigation experience:

A. Information You Provide to Us

• Account Information: When you register, sign in using Google Single Sign-On (SSO), or use the FestiPal application, we receive information you provide or authorize: your full name, email address, profile picture (from Google), and authentication identifiers.
• Live Telemetry & Data Reports: Information you voluntarily submit to help the community, specifically real-time crowd status reports (crowd density score), local weather conditions (rain status), and pandal data corrections (flagging incorrect locations, addresses, or details). We do not collect user reviews, star ratings, or uploaded images/photos.

B. Information Collected Automatically

• Location Data: To calculate distances, recommend nearby pandals, and generate optimized festival walking/transit routes, we may request access to your device's geolocation (GPS or approximate IP-based location). Location is only collected when you grant explicit browser or device permission. You can revoke this permission at any time in your device settings.
• Device & Usage Data: We may collect standard browser and device telemetry, such as operating system, browser type, preferred language, and app interaction events, to troubleshoot issues and optimize performance.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your information strictly for the following purposes:

• To authenticate your identity and provide secure access to your account.
• To display personalized festival information, saved pandals, and custom itineraries.
• To calculate walking and transit routes to pandals and nearby amenities.
• To aggregate crowdsourced reports (such as live crowd levels and weather conditions) and process pandal data corrections to keep festival information accurate for all hoppers.
• To maintain application performance, prevent abuse, and provide customer support.

3. Google User Data Policy & Limited Use

Specifically, regarding Google user data:

• We only request access to basic identity scopes: email, profile, and openid.
• We do not sell, rent, or lease your Google user data to any third party.
• We do not use your Google user data to serve advertisements or retarget you on other platforms.
• We do not use your data to train generalized artificial intelligence or machine learning models.

4. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We do not share your personal information with third parties except under the following limited circumstances:

• Infrastructure & Hosting Providers: Trusted cloud and database service providers that process data on our behalf under strict confidentiality agreements.
• Crowdsourced Telemetry: Live crowd status and weather reports you submit are aggregated into overall pandal telemetry for the community. Your individual profile details, name, and email are never publicly displayed alongside crowd reports or data discrepancy submissions.
• Compliance with Law: If required to do so by applicable law, court order, or governmental authority.

5. Data Retention and Security

We implement industry-standard encryption, tokenized authentication (JWT), and secure transport layer protocols (HTTPS/TLS) to protect your information against unauthorized access, alteration, or disclosure.

We retain your account data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you with the Service. If you delete your account, we promptly remove your personal information from our active databases.

6. Your Rights and Choices

You have full control over your personal data:

• Revoke Google Access: You can revoke FestiPal's access to your Google account at any time via your Google Account Permissions.
• Location Permissions: You can enable or disable location access at any time through your browser or device settings.
• Access and Deletion: You have the right to request access to the personal data we hold about you or request its permanent deletion by emailing us at support@festipal.in.

7. Cookies and Local Storage

FestiPal uses essential local storage and session tokens to keep you logged in and preserve your theme preferences (e.g., Dark Mode) and festival filters. We do not use third-party tracking cookies for cross-site behavioral tracking.

8. Children's Privacy

Our Service is not directed to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us so we can delete it immediately.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our practices or applicable regulatory requirements. Any updates will be posted on this page with an updated "Effective Date." We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

10. Contact Us

If you have questions, feedback, or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us at:

• Email: support@festipal.in
• Website: festipal.in