PRIVACY
POLICY

What data this site collects, why, and how to opt out.

Last updated: 14 November 2026

The short version

→ You can read everything without signing up, logging in or giving us anything.

→ Analytics (Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity) runs only if you tap Accept on the cookie card.

→ We store your email only if you join the newsletter, and your idea (plus an optional name) only if you send one.

→ Your data is kept on our own server in India. We never sell it and the site shows no ads.

→ You can see, correct or delete your data, or withdraw consent, any time by writing to us.

Who we are

mantrajoshi.co.in is the website of Joshi Writes, run by its founder Mantra Joshi from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Under India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act), Joshi Writes is the Data Fiduciary: we decide why and how your personal data is used, and we are responsible for it. In this policy, "we" and "us" mean Joshi Writes.

For any question, request or complaint about your personal data, write to our Grievance Officer:
Mantra Joshi, Founder, Joshi Writes, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Email: mantrajoshi50@gmail.com (subject "Privacy request")

We acknowledge every request within 24 hours and resolve it within 15 days. That is well inside the 90 days the DPDP Rules, 2025 allow.

What we collect, and why

We only use personal data for the purpose it was given for, and only with your consent.

→ Analytics (only after you tap Accept). Google Analytics 4 records which pages you view, how long you stay, your device type, the site or search that brought you here and your rough location (country or city). Words you type in the site search are sent to it once you stop typing. Microsoft Clarity records how pages are used (clicks, scrolling and anonymised session replays); anything typed into forms is masked and never captured. Both use a random cookie ID, not your name or email. Purpose: to see which stories people read and improve the site. See Google's privacy policy and Microsoft's privacy statement.

→ Newsletter. Your email address, when you signed up and confirmed, and a one-way hash of your IP address. Purpose: to send you the weekly letter and stop spam signups.

→ Reader ideas. The idea you type, the name you choose to give (optional) and a one-way hash of your IP address. Purpose: to read your idea, publish it on the ideas board if approved, and stop spam.

→ Server logs. Like every website, our server briefly records technical details of requests to its forms (IP address, page, time, browser). Purpose: security and fixing errors. They are deleted automatically after 14 days.

→ Emails you send us. If you write to us, we keep the email to reply to you.

What we do NOT collect

→ No email address unless you join the newsletter yourself

→ No phone number, no passwords (readers never log in), no payment details (the site sells nothing)

→ No location beyond city-level analytics

→ No microphone, camera or clipboard access

→ No sensitive data such as health, financial or biometric information

On your first visit, a card asks whether the site may use analytics cookies. Until you choose, Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity are not loaded at all and set no cookies. If you tap Accept, they load and set their own cookies (_ga and _ga_* from Google, kept up to 2 years; _clck for up to 1 year and _clsk for 1 day from Microsoft). If you tap No thanks, nothing is loaded and the whole site still works the same.

The site itself sets no cookies. Your choice is remembered in your own browser's storage (not sent to any server) for 12 months, after which you are asked again. If the tools or the reasons for using them change, you will be asked again sooner.

Change your mind any time: use Cookie settings at the bottom of every page, or . Choosing "No thanks" after accepting stops the tracking straight away and deletes these cookies from your browser. Withdrawing consent does not affect anything collected before you withdrew it.

Other ways to opt out

→ Browser-level: any ad-blocker (uBlock Origin, AdGuard) blocks both Google Analytics and Clarity.

→ Google-wide: install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

→ Private browsing: most private windows clear cookies when you close them.

Where your data is stored, and who helps us

We do not sell, rent or trade personal data, and we do not share it for advertising. We only use these service providers, each of which handles data on our instructions:

→ Amazon Web Services (AWS), Mumbai region, India: hosts the website, the newsletter list, reader ideas and backups.

→ Our email hosting provider: delivers the emails we send from hi@mantrajoshi.co.in and receives your replies.

→ Google and Microsoft: analytics, only if you accepted cookies. They may process this data on servers outside India, as the DPDP Act allows for countries the Government has not restricted.

We will also share personal data if the law requires it, for example a lawful request from a court or a government agency in India.

How long we keep it

→ Newsletter: while you are subscribed. When you unsubscribe, your address is kept only as "unsubscribed" so you are never emailed again by mistake. Ask, and we delete it completely.

→ Reader ideas: while the idea is on the board or under review, or until you ask us to remove it.

→ Server logs: 14 days.

→ Backups: deleted data also leaves our backups within 30 days.

→ Analytics: kept by Google and Microsoft for the periods set in their services.

→ Your emails to us: as long as needed to answer you.

How we protect it

The whole site runs on HTTPS. The newsletter list and reader ideas are stored outside the public website on our own server, which only Mantra can access. IP addresses are stored only as a one-way hash, never in raw form. Backups are kept in private, encrypted storage. If a data breach ever affects your personal data, we will tell you and the Data Protection Board of India as the DPDP Act and Rules require, with what happened, what it means for you and what we are doing about it.

Under the DPDP Act, 2023 (and the GDPR, if you are in the EU), you have the right to:

→ Get a summary of the personal data we hold about you and how we use it

→ Correct, complete or update it

→ Have it erased when it is no longer needed or you withdraw consent

→ Withdraw consent any time, as easily as you gave it (Cookie settings for analytics, the unsubscribe link for the newsletter)

→ Raise a grievance with our Grievance Officer and get an answer

→ Nominate someone to use these rights for you if you die or cannot act yourself

How to use them: email our Grievance Officer (details above) from the address the request is about, and say what you need. For newsletter requests, tell us the email address you subscribed with; for an idea, tell us roughly what you wrote and when. We may ask you to confirm the request from that same address. Requests about analytics data go to Google and Microsoft, since they hold it.

If you are not satisfied with our answer, you can complain to the Data Protection Board of India. Please give accurate information when you contact us; the DPDP Act asks this of everyone using these rights.

Children

This site is written for adults and is not aimed at children. If you are under 18, please do not join the newsletter or send an idea without your parent's or guardian's consent, and choose "No thanks" on the cookie card. We do not knowingly track children or show them targeted advertising. If we learn that we hold a child's personal data without a parent's consent, we will delete it. Parents can write to the Grievance Officer to have it removed.

Email newsletter

If you sign up for "Get new stories by email", your address is stored on our own server, outside the public website, and is not handed to any newsletter company. You first get one email asking you to confirm; nothing else is sent until you do. After that you get a welcome email and then about one letter a week from hi@mantrajoshi.co.in. Every letter has an unsubscribe link (one tap, then one confirm button), followed by a single email confirming you are off the list. Our emails do not contain tracking pixels and we do not track opens or clicks; they show story images from this website, and some email apps may also load the email's fonts from Google Fonts.

Reader idea submissions

The Suggest an idea form stores the idea text, the name you choose to enter (optional) and a one-way hash of your IP address on our own server. Nothing is public until we review and approve it. If an idea is published it appears on the reader ideas board with the name you entered, so please do not include anything private. Ask, and we remove it.

Spam protection on the idea form and the newsletter box is a small sum to solve, checked on our own server. No third-party captcha (such as Google reCAPTCHA) is used.

Contact form and email links

The homepage contact form, the "Email me" button and the "Tell me" correction link under each post open your own email app with a pre-filled message. Nothing is sent or stored by the website itself; the message only goes out if you press send, and it is handled by your own email provider.

This policy in your language

This policy is in English. If you would like it in Hindi, Gujarati or any other language listed in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India, write to us and we will send it to you.

Changes to this policy

We update this page whenever the data we collect, the tools we use or the law changes, and review it at least once a year. The "Last updated" date at the top shows the latest version. If a change needs your consent again, the cookie card will ask you; newsletter subscribers are told about important changes by email.