1 Overview

Welcome to the Shri Khatu Shyam Ji Temple informational website (khatushyamtemple.org, referred to as "this website", "we", or "us"). This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect when you visit our website, how we use it, and what rights you have regarding your personal data.

This website is an informational resource only — it provides details about the Shri Khatu Shyam Ji Temple, its history, darshan timings, festivals, and travel guidance. We do not process payments, registrations, bookings, or any form of transaction. No personally sensitive data such as financial details, government identification, or religious affiliation is collected or stored by us.

By continuing to use this website, you agree to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please discontinue use of this website.

2 Data We Collect

We collect two categories of data: data you provide voluntarily, and data collected automatically when you use the website.

2.1 Data You Provide Voluntarily

If you choose to contact us via the contact form or by email, you voluntarily provide:

• Your name (if you include it in your message)
• Your email address (so we can respond to your query)
• The content of your message or enquiry

This data is used solely to respond to your enquiry and is not stored in any database, sold, or shared with third parties.

2.2 Data Collected Automatically

When you visit this website, certain technical information is automatically collected by our servers and third-party services:

• IP address — your device's internet address, used to determine your approximate geographic region
• Browser type and version — e.g. Chrome, Safari, Firefox
• Device type — whether you are visiting on a desktop, tablet, or mobile phone
• Operating system — e.g. Windows, macOS, Android, iOS
• Referring URL — the website or search engine that brought you to this page
• Pages visited — which pages of our website you view and in what order
• Time and duration — when you visited and how long you spent on each page
• Search queries — search terms you used on search engines that led to this website

None of this data is personally identifiable on its own. It is used in aggregate form to understand how visitors use the website so we can improve it.

2.3 Data We Do NOT Collect

• Payment card or bank details — we do not process any financial transactions
• Government ID numbers, Aadhaar, or passport details
• Religious beliefs, caste, or denomination
• Precise GPS location (only approximate region from IP is inferred)
• Photographs or biometric data
• Medical or health information

3 Cookies & Tracking

This website uses cookies — small text files stored in your browser — to function correctly and to serve relevant advertisements. Here is a full breakdown of the cookies we use.

3.1 Essential Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off. They do not store any personally identifiable information.

• Session cookies — maintain your session while you browse multiple pages
• Security cookies — protect against cross-site request forgery and other security threats
• Preference cookies — remember your language selection (EN/हि) during your visit

3.2 Analytics Cookies

We use Google Analytics to understand visitor behaviour. These cookies collect anonymised data about page views, session duration, bounce rates, and traffic sources. The data is aggregated and does not identify any individual visitor.

• _ga — distinguishes users, expires after 2 years
• _ga_[ID] — maintains session state, expires after 2 years
• _gid — distinguishes users, expires after 24 hours
• _gat — throttles request rate, expires after 1 minute

3.3 Advertising Cookies

We use Google AdSense to display advertisements on this website. Google and its partners may use cookies to show you relevant ads based on your browsing history, interests, and other factors.

• IDE — used by Google DoubleClick to register and report user actions after seeing or clicking an ad, expires after 1 year
• test_cookie — used to check if your browser supports cookies, expires after 15 minutes
• ANID — used for advertising, expires after 1 year
• DSID — used to identify a signed-in user on non-Google sites, expires after 2 weeks

3.4 Managing Cookies

You can control and delete cookies through your browser settings. Please note that disabling cookies may affect the functionality of this website and the relevance of advertisements shown to you. You can also opt out of Google's personalised advertising by visiting Google's Ad Settings or by visiting www.aboutads.info.

4 Google Ads & Analytics

This website participates in the Google AdSense programme, which allows Google to display advertisements on our pages. These advertisements help fund the operation and maintenance of this informational website.

4.1 How Google AdSense Works

Google AdSense uses cookies and web beacons to serve advertisements that are relevant to your interests. Google may use information about your visits to this and other websites to show you personalised advertisements for goods and services that may interest you.

Advertisements displayed on this website are served by Google's advertising servers. We do not have direct access to the data collected by Google for advertising purposes, and we do not control which specific advertisements appear.

4.2 Interest-Based Advertising

Google uses the DoubleClick cookie to serve interest-based advertisements across websites that participate in the Google Display Network. This means that ads you see on this website may be influenced by websites you have previously visited.

• Google collects data about your browsing behaviour across websites that have integrated Google AdSense or other Google services
• This data is used to build an interest profile, which informs the types of advertisements shown to you
• Your IP address may be used to determine your approximate location for geographically relevant advertising
• This website does not sell or share your data with Google — Google independently collects this data through its own cookies

4.3 Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics to measure and analyse visitor traffic on this website. Google Analytics collects anonymised usage data including page views, session duration, user flow, and demographic information (approximate age range and interests, derived from Google account data where available).

We have enabled IP anonymisation in Google Analytics, which means your full IP address is never stored by Google Analytics on our behalf. Only a truncated, anonymised version is used for geographic analysis.

4.4 Opting Out of Google Advertising

You have several options to opt out of Google's interest-based advertising:

1. Visit Google's Ad Settings to manage your personalised ad preferences
2. Install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on to prevent Google Analytics from collecting your data
3. Visit Your Online Choices for broader opt-out options across advertising networks
4. Use your browser's private/incognito mode, which limits cookie tracking

For more information about how Google uses data when you use our website, please visit: policies.google.com/privacy.

5 Third-Party Links & Services

This website may contain links to external websites, including official government tourism websites, travel booking platforms, mapping services, and devotional content websites. These external websites operate under their own privacy policies, which we have no control over.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of any third-party websites linked from our pages. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of any website you visit through a link on our site.

Third-party services integrated into this website include:

• Google Maps — for displaying the temple location and directions. Google's privacy policy applies to map interactions
• Google Fonts — for typography. Google may log font requests; no personal data is sent by us
• Google Analytics — as described in Section 4
• Google AdSense — as described in Section 4

6 How We Use Your Data

The data collected by this website is used for the following purposes only:

• Website analytics — to understand which pages are most visited, how users navigate the site, and where improvements can be made
• Advertising — to display relevant advertisements through Google AdSense that help fund this website
• Security — to detect and prevent malicious traffic, spam, and security threats
• Communication — to respond to queries sent via the contact form
• Technical maintenance — to diagnose errors, monitor server performance, and ensure the website functions correctly

We do not use your data for profiling, automated decision-making, or any purpose beyond operating and improving this website.

7 Data Sharing & Disclosure

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data to any third party under any circumstances. Data is shared only in the following limited situations:

• Google (Analytics & AdSense) — anonymised usage data is shared with Google as described in Section 4. Google's own privacy policy governs how this data is used
• Legal requirements — if required by law, court order, or regulatory authority, we may be required to disclose certain information
• Security threats — if necessary to protect the safety and security of this website, its users, or the public

8 Your Rights

Depending on your location and applicable law, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right to access — request a copy of any personal data we hold about you
• Right to correction — request that inaccurate data about you be corrected
• Right to deletion — request that your personal data be deleted from our systems
• Right to object — object to the processing of your personal data for certain purposes
• Right to opt out of advertising — opt out of interest-based advertising as described in Section 4.4

Since this website does not collect personally identifiable information beyond voluntary contact form submissions, most data rights requests will be managed by Google directly (for analytics and advertising data). To exercise your rights regarding Google's data collection, please visit Google's Data & Privacy page.

For any data held by us directly (e.g. an email you sent to us), please contact us using the details in Section 11 and we will respond within 30 days.

9 Children's Privacy

This website is intended for a general audience and is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child under 13 has submitted personal information to us, please contact us immediately and we will delete it.

Parents and guardians are encouraged to supervise their children's online activity. This website contains general religious and cultural information about a Hindu temple and is appropriate for all ages to read.

10 Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date shown in the sidebar of this page.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically. Continued use of this website after any changes are published constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

Material changes — such as changes to how we use your data or new third-party partnerships — will be highlighted on the website's homepage for a reasonable period following the update.

11 Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or the handling of your personal data, please contact us: