Privacy policy
My India Story is built so that you can use almost everything without giving us any personal information. This policy explains what we collect, why, who can see it and how to delete it.
Last updated: 17 October 2026 · Applies to myindiastory.com
- बिना खाते के आपका सारा डेटा सिर्फ़ आपके डिवाइस पर रहता है।
- खाता बनाने पर आपका नक्शा और सहेजी जानकारी Google Firebase में रखी जाती है ताकि हर डिवाइस पर मिले।
- सार्वजनिक प्रोफ़ाइल, लीडरबोर्ड, समूह और शेयर लिंक में वही दिखता है जो आप चुनते हैं। परिवार के नक्शे, जड़ें और यात्रा नोट कभी सार्वजनिक नहीं होते।
- फ़ोटो नक्शे की फ़ोटो कभी अपलोड नहीं होतीं। कोई विज्ञापन नहीं, डेटा बेचा नहीं जाता।
- “खाता हटाएँ” से सब मिट जाता है। सवाल: hello@myindiastory.com। पूरी नीति अंग्रेज़ी में है और वही मान्य है।
- অ্যাকাউন্ট ছাড়া আপনার সব তথ্য শুধু আপনার ডিভাইসে থাকে।
- অ্যাকাউন্ট খুললে আপনার মানচিত্র আর সেভ করা তথ্য Google Firebase-এ রাখা হয়, যাতে সব ডিভাইসে পান।
- পাবলিক প্রোফাইল, লিডারবোর্ড, গ্রুপ আর শেয়ার লিঙ্কে শুধু সেটুকুই দেখা যায় যা আপনি বেছে নেন। পরিবারের মানচিত্র, শিকড় আর ভ্রমণের নোট কখনও পাবলিক হয় না।
- ছবির মানচিত্রের ছবি কখনও আপলোড হয় না। কোনো বিজ্ঞাপন নেই, তথ্য বিক্রি হয় না।
- “অ্যাকাউন্ট মুছুন” চাপলে সব মুছে যায়। প্রশ্ন: hello@myindiastory.com। সম্পূর্ণ নীতি ইংরেজিতে, সেটিই প্রযোজ্য।
- Without an account, everything you enter stays in your browser on your device.
- With an account, your maps and saved information are stored in Google Firebase so they’re on every device you use.
- Nothing becomes public unless you choose it: a public profile, the leaderboard, a group, a hidden gem or a link you share.
- Family maps, roots, trip notes and photo-map photos are never public. Photo-map photos never leave your device.
- No ads, and we never sell your data. Google Analytics runs only if you accept it in the cookie banner. You can delete everything at any time.
1. Using the site without an account
You don’t need an account. What you enter is saved in your browser’s local storage and IndexedDB on your own device, and is not sent to us. This includes your India and world maps, passport stamps, trips, food passport, family and partner maps, roots, collections, bingo answers, saved places, trip plans, game scores, the name and profile photo you add, and your language and theme choices.
Clearing your browser’s site data, or pressing “Start over”, deletes it. Because it lives only on that device, it won’t appear on another device unless you sign in.
2. If you create an account
You can sign in with Google or with an email address and password. Sign-in is handled by Google Firebase Authentication. We receive your email address and, with Google sign-in, your name and profile picture from your Google account.
When you’re signed in, the information listed in section 1 is copied to your private account record in Google Cloud Firestore (part of Firebase) so it syncs across your devices. We also store your home state, a small version of your profile photo, and, if you set them up, your creator handle, bio and links.
Your private account record can be read only by you and by the site administrators, who use it to keep the service running and to deal with abuse.
3. Information about other people
Family maps, the partner map and the roots map hold information you enter about other people, such as their names, relationship to you, places they’ve been and where your family comes from. This stays in your browser or your private account record and is never shown publicly or on your profile. Please only add what the people concerned would be comfortable with.
4. What becomes public, and only when you choose it
| Feature | Who can see what |
|---|---|
| Public profile and leaderboard | Turned off by default. When you turn it on, anyone can see your display name, small profile photo, your India and world maps, favourite places, bio, links and counts (districts, states, countries, stamps, trips, dishes, quiz score). Turning it off removes this public copy. |
| Creator page (myindiastory.com/@handle) | Shows your public profile at a short address. Handles are unique and public. |
| Travel groups | Anyone with a group’s link can see its name and the members’ display names and counts. |
| Hidden gems | Gems you submit are reviewed. Once published, the place details and the name you show are public. |
| Share, compare and bingo links | These links carry your map or bingo answers and the name you entered inside the link itself. Anyone you send a link to can see that. To show a preview in WhatsApp and other apps, our server draws a preview image from the link and keeps a copy for a short time. |
| Embedded map | If you paste the embed code into a website, visitors to that website can see your map. |
5. Photos and location history
Photos you add to the photo map are stored only in your browser on your device and are never uploaded, even when you’re signed in. Your profile photo is reduced in size; with an account it’s stored in your account record, and it’s shown publicly only if your profile is public.
“Fill my map automatically” reads the location saved inside photos you choose, or a Google Maps Timeline file you choose, on your device only. The photos, the file and the locations in them are never uploaded. Only the resulting list of districts is saved to your map, marked as verified.
6. What we don’t do
- We don’t show ads or use advertising trackers. Analytics runs only with your consent (section 7).
- We don’t sell, rent or trade your personal information.
- We don’t use your data to build advertising profiles.
7. Service providers
- Google Firebase (Authentication and Cloud Firestore) stores account and synced data, and the site loads Firebase code from Google’s servers (gstatic.com).
- Google Fonts provides the fonts, so your browser connects to Google to download them.
- Our web hosting provider runs the website and keeps standard server logs, such as IP address, browser type and pages requested, for security and troubleshooting.
- Google Analytics 4 measures how the site is used, for example which pages are visited and whether features like sharing or the daily game work well. It loads only if you click Accept in the cookie banner. We switch off Google signals and ad personalisation, and we don’t send your name, email or map contents to it. You can change your choice any time with “Cookie settings” at the bottom of every page.
- Anthropic (Claude API) is used only by site administrators to help draft general content such as place descriptions, translations and bingo cards. Your personal information is not sent to it.
These providers may process data in countries other than your own, under their own security and privacy commitments.
8. Cookies and browser storage
We don’t use advertising cookies. If you accept analytics, Google Analytics sets cookies (named _ga…) to count visits; if you decline, it doesn’t load at all. We use your browser’s storage to remember your maps, preferences, language and cookie choice, and Firebase uses browser storage to keep you signed in.
9. How long we keep information
Information on your device stays until you clear it. Information in your account stays until you delete it or delete your account. Preview images for shared links are kept only briefly. Server logs are kept for a limited period by our hosting provider.
10. Your choices and rights
- See and download your data: use “Backup all my data” on My profile.
- Correct it: edit your maps, name and profile at any time.
- Make it private: turn off Public profile in your account settings.
- Delete it: “Delete account” removes your account, your private record, your public profile and your leaderboard entry. You can also leave groups and delete hidden gems you submitted.
If you’re in India, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 gives you rights to access, correct and erase your personal data and to have grievances addressed. For any request or complaint, email us and we’ll respond as soon as we can, within 30 days at the latest.
11. Children
My India Story is meant for a general audience. If you’re under 18, please use it with a parent or guardian, who should create any account and decide what to share publicly.
12. Security
The site uses HTTPS, and database access rules make sure people can read only what they’re allowed to. Public features need a verified email address to reduce spam. No online service can be perfectly secure, so please don’t store sensitive personal information in notes or names.
13. Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we’ll update the date at the top. For significant changes, we’ll also show a notice on the site.
14. Contact and grievances
Email hello@myindiastory.com for privacy questions, data requests or complaints.