Privacy Policy

For a digital news and current affairs portal operating in India, your Privacy Policy must comply with:
  1. The Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023 (which governs data fiduciaries, consent notices, user rights, and data erasure).
  2. The Information Technology Act, 2000 and the IT (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011.
Here is the complete, ready-to-publish Privacy Policy customized for Ground Truth India Media Network ([https://groundtruthindia.net/](https://groundtruthindia.net/)).

Privacy Policy

Effective Date: October 14, 2026
Entity: Ground Truth India Media Network
Operational Base: Haldwani, Nainital District, Uttarakhand, India

1. Introduction & Scope

Ground Truth India Media Network (“we”, “our”, “us”, or the “Portal”) is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of our visitors, readers, contributors, and subscribers (“User”, “you”).
This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, process, store, retain, and safeguard personal information when you access or interact with [https://groundtruthindia.net/](https://groundtruthindia.net/), in strict alignment with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act) and the Information Technology Act, 2000.

2. Data We Collect

We collect only the minimum data necessary to deliver news reporting, manage subscriptions, enable reader commentary, and maintain website security.

A. Information You Provide Directly

  • Reader Comments & Contact Inquiries: Name, email address, website URL, and the content of your message when you post a comment on an article or submit a contact/editorial inquiry.
  • Whistleblower / Citizen Journalism Tips: Name, contact details, and any documents, photos, or tips you voluntarily submit to our investigative desk.
  • Newsletter & Subscriptions: Email address and name provided when subscribing to breaking news alerts or editorial bulletins.

B. Information Collected Automatically

  • Log & Technical Data: IP address, browser type and version, device identifier, operating system, pages visited, date and time of visits, and referring URLs.
  • Cookies & Tracking Technologies: Standard session cookies and analytics tags used to keep the portal functioning, remember preferences, and analyze traffic trends (e.g., Google Analytics or WordPress session cookies).

3. Purpose of Data Processing (Lawful Basis)

We process personal data strictly for legitimate journalistic and operational purposes:
  1. Editorial Communication: To respond to news tips, editorial queries, corrections, and public representations.
  2. Comment Moderation: To verify and moderate user comments to prevent spam, defamation, and violations of Indian cyber laws.
  3. Site Security & Integrity: To monitor traffic, prevent DDoS attacks, mitigate automated scraping bots, and troubleshoot server performance.
  4. Legal Compliance: To comply with statutory orders, lawful requests from law enforcement agencies, or directions under the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules.

4. Cookies & Web Analytics

  • Functional Cookies: Essential for page navigation, session persistence, and loading speeds.
  • Analytical Cookies: We utilize aggregate analytics to understand reader interests, popular categories, and geographic reach. These metrics do not profile you as an individual.
  • Managing Cookies: You have the option to accept, decline, or delete cookies via your browser settings. Note that disabling cookies may affect certain interactive features (like posting comments).

5. Third-Party Links & Embedded Services

Articles on [https://groundtruthindia.net/](https://groundtruthindia.net/) frequently include links to external resources (government portals, judicial orders, reference sites) or embedded media (YouTube videos, X/Twitter posts, Facebook feeds).
  • These third-party services operate under their own independent privacy notices.
  • We do not control, endorse, or accept liability for how external platforms process your data when you interact with their embeds or visit their links.

6. Data Sharing & Disclosure

Ground Truth India Media Network maintains a strict editorial integrity standard:
  • No Commercial Sale: We do NOT sell, rent, trade, or commercially lease your personal contact details to marketing agencies, data brokers, or advertisers.
  • Service Providers: Data may be processed by trusted technical vendors (hosting providers, Content Delivery Networks, email delivery software) bound by confidentiality obligations.
  • Statutory & Legal Requirements: We may disclose relevant user data only when compelled by valid legal summons, court orders, or statutory directions issued by competent judicial/governmental authorities under Indian law.

7. Data Protection & Security Practices

We employ industry-standard technical, organizational, and physical safeguards to prevent unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction of personal data:
  • SSL Encryption: The entire portal operates under HTTPS/SSL encryption to secure data transmission between your browser and our servers.
  • Access Control: Editorial dashboards and visitor logs are restricted to authorized editorial and IT administrators only.

8. Your Rights Under the DPDP Act, 2023

As a user whose personal data is processed by Ground Truth India Media Network, you hold the following rights:
  • Right to Access & Confirmation: You may request a summary of the personal data we hold about you.
  • Right to Correction & Erasure: You may request correction of inaccurate data or the deletion of your personal data (such as previously posted comments or newsletter emails), subject to statutory record-retention requirements for news archives.
  • Right to Withdraw Consent: You can unsubscribe from newsletters or revoke consent for non-essential communication at any time.
  • Right of Grievance Redressal: You have the right to register a privacy-related complaint with our Data Protection / Grievance Officer.

9. Policy Towards Children

[https://groundtruthindia.net/](https://groundtruthindia.net/) is a general public news and civic portal. We do not knowingly collect, solicit, or track personal identification details from minors under 18 years of age without parental or legal guardian consent.

10. Updates to This Privacy Policy

We may revise this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect technological changes, portal expansion, or evolving statutory mandates. Any modifications will be posted directly to this page with an updated “Effective Date.”

11. Data Protection & Grievance Contact

If you have questions, wish to exercise your data rights, or have a grievance concerning how your personal information is handled, please contact our designated officer:
  • Entity: Ground Truth India Media Network
  • Designation: Data Protection Officer / Grievance Redressal Officer
  • Office Location: Haldwani, Nainital District, Uttarakhand, India
  • Direct Email: haldwani.dcp@gmail.com
  • Direct Phone: +91 7997110444
In accordance with the IT Rules, 2021, all formal privacy and data complaints will be acknowledged within 24 hours and addressed within 15 days of receipt.