Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

HonestMoney.in is an independent personal finance content site operated by Velm. For more on the editorial team and our principles, see About HonestMoney.in. For the purposes of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, Velm acts as the Data Fiduciary for personal data collected via this site.

2. What data we collect

2.1 Data you provide

• Email address — when you subscribe to our newsletter or contact us by email.
• Name — optional, only if you provide it in correspondence.
• Message content — when you write to us at [email protected].

2.2 Data collected automatically

• Traffic analytics — through Google Analytics, we collect aggregate, anonymised data about page views, device types, geographic region (city-level), referral sources, and session duration.
• Technical data — your IP address, browser type, and operating system are recorded in standard web server logs for security and abuse prevention.
• Cookies — we use minimal first-party cookies for site functionality and Google Analytics cookies for aggregate measurement. We do not use advertising cookies or cross-site tracking pixels.

2.3 What we do not collect

• Financial data: bank account numbers, credit card details, CIBIL scores, income data.
• Identity documents: Aadhaar, PAN, passport.
• Sensitive personal data as defined under the DPDP Act.
• Behavioural data for advertising or profiling purposes.

3. How we use your data

• Newsletter delivery — to send you the newsletter you subscribed to, plus occasional editorial announcements.
• Responding to your messages — when you email us, we respond using the contact information you provided.
• Improving the site — aggregate analytics inform editorial planning and site improvements.
• Security and abuse prevention — server logs help us detect and respond to malicious traffic.
• Legal compliance — we retain data as required by Indian law.

4. What we do not do with your data

• We do not sell your data to any third party.
• We do not share your data with banks, AMCs, brokers, insurers, NBFCs, or lead-generation networks.
• We do not use your data for profiling or behavioural advertising.
• We do not enrich our data using third-party data brokers.
• We do not transfer your data outside India except to standard cloud infrastructure providers (see section 6).

5. Third-party services we use

We use the following third-party services, each of which has its own privacy policy:

• Google Analytics — for aggregate, anonymised traffic measurement. IP addresses are anonymised before storage. See Google's privacy policy.
• Railway / hosting provider — our site is hosted on cloud infrastructure. The host receives standard server logs (IP, browser type) for the duration required to serve the page.
• Email service provider — newsletter delivery is handled by a transactional email service. Your email address is stored only as long as you remain subscribed.

6. Data storage and retention

Personal data is stored on cloud infrastructure in secure databases with encryption at rest and in transit. We retain personal data only as long as necessary for the purposes described above:

• Newsletter subscribers — until you unsubscribe or request deletion.
• Email correspondence — retained for up to 24 months after last interaction, then deleted unless required by law.
• Server logs — retained for up to 90 days for security purposes.
• Analytics data — aggregate and anonymised; cannot be tied back to individuals.

7. Your rights under the DPDP Act

Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right to access — you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to correction — you can request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Right to erasure — you can request deletion of your personal data.
• Right to withdraw consent — you can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time using the unsubscribe link in every email.
• Right to grievance redressal — you can raise grievances about our data handling.
• Right to nominate — you can nominate another person to exercise your rights in case of your incapacity or death.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at [email protected]. We will respond within 30 days.

8. Cookies

We use minimal cookies for two purposes:

• Functional cookies — first-party cookies for basic site functionality.
• Analytics cookies — Google Analytics cookies for aggregate traffic measurement. These can be disabled in your browser without affecting site functionality.

We do not use advertising cookies, retargeting cookies, or cross-site tracking pixels. You can manage cookie preferences through your browser settings.

9. Children's privacy

Our content is intended for adult readers (18+). We do not knowingly collect personal data from individuals under 18. If you believe we have inadvertently collected data from a minor, please contact us and we will delete it.

10. Data security

We implement reasonable security measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These include encryption in transit (HTTPS), encryption at rest, access controls, and periodic security reviews. No system can be 100 percent secure; we commit to notifying affected users in the event of a data breach as required under the DPDP Act.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, third-party services, or legal requirements. The "Last updated" date at the top reflects the most recent revision. Material changes will be communicated to newsletter subscribers via email. Continued use of the site after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

12. Grievance redressal

For any privacy-related concerns, complaints, or requests, contact our grievance officer:

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may approach the Data Protection Board of India under the DPDP Act, 2023.