Skip to main content
Founding FuelFounding Fuel

Legal

Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING CAREFULLY

This Privacy Policy explains how Founding Fuel Publishing Private Limited (FFPPL, “we,” “our,” or “us”) collects, uses, protects, and discloses personal information gathered through www.foundingfuel.com and all services offered hereon (collectively, the “Site”). This policy is issued in compliance with the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023 and applicable Indian law.

This Privacy Policy may be revised from time to time to address changes in our business, the law, or technology. Revisions are effective upon posting and your continued use of this Site after posting will be subject to the revised terms. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

Links to Other Sites

Links from this Site may take you to third-party websites or resources. The information practices of third-party websites are not covered by this Privacy Policy. Please review the privacy policy of any linked website before using it.

What Personal Information Do We Collect

We collect personal information in the following ways:

  • Account and Authentication: When you create an account, we collect your email address, name, and profile information. Authentication is handled through secure, industry-standard protocols (OAuth 2.0 and magic link email). Your session data is stored on our servers.
  • Newsletter Subscription: If you subscribe to our newsletter, your email address is collected via your explicit action.
  • Voluntary Contributions: If you make a voluntary contribution via our support page, our payment processor Razorpay collects your name, email, phone number, and GST number (if provided) strictly for payment processing and invoicing.
  • Analytics Data (with consent only): With your explicit consent, we collect analytics data including IP address, browser type, device information, and usage patterns through Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and Google Tag Manager (GTM). This data is not collected if you reject cookies.
  • Functional Data (with consent only): With your consent, we store your reading history (“Recently Read” articles) locally in your browser to provide a personalised experience.
  • Automatically Collected Data: We maintain server log files that record IP addresses, browser types, referring pages, and pages visited. This data is used for site administration, security, and aggregate statistical analysis. Log data is not linked to personally identifiable information.

Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to improve your experience, analyse site traffic, and support secure authentication. We categorise these as follows:

  • Strictly Necessary: These are essential for the website to function, including security, authentication, and remembering your privacy preferences. These do not require consent under the DPDP Act.
  • Performance and Analytics: We use Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and Google Tag Manager (GTM) to understand how visitors interact with our content. These scripts only execute in full tracking mode if you provide explicit consent by clicking “Accept All” on our cookie banner.
  • Functional: These remember your choices, such as your reading history, to provide a personalised experience. This data is stored locally in your browser and is only collected with your consent.

Google Consent Mode v2

In compliance with the DPDP Act and global privacy standards, our site implements Google Consent Mode v2. By default, all consent categories (ad storage, analytics storage, ad user data, ad personalisation) are set to “denied” until you make an affirmative choice.

If you click “Accept All,” consent is updated to “granted” and full analytical features are enabled. If you click “Reject All,” the denied state is maintained, Google tags operate in a restricted cookieless mode, and no personal identifiers are stored for analytics purposes.

Third-Party Service Providers

We engage the following third parties to provide specific services:

  • Google (Analytics and Authentication): Google Analytics 4 and Google Tag Manager are used for site analytics. Google Identity Services is used for the Google sign-in prompt. These scripts do not load or execute until you have provided affirmative consent via the “Accept All” option on our cookie banner.
  • Razorpay (Payment Processing): Razorpay is used for processing voluntary contributions on our support page. Razorpay collects payment-related information (name, email, phone, GST number) strictly for invoicing. The Razorpay script loads only on the support page when you initiate a payment.

Our technical implementation ensures that third-party tracking scripts cannot set cookies or fingerprints unless you have provided affirmative consent. FFPPL does not sell your personal data to third parties.

Information Sharing and Disclosure

We do not share your personally identifiable information with third parties except as described in this policy. We may disclose personal information:

  • to service providers who perform work for us under contract, as described above;
  • in response to a court order or legal process, to the extent permitted and required by law;
  • to protect user security or the security of other persons, consistent with applicable laws;
  • in connection with a sale, joint venture, or other transfer of some or all of FFPPL or its assets; or
  • to enforce the Site’s Terms of Use.

Public Postings

Any personally identifiable information that is voluntarily posted by a user to a public area of the Site (for example, comments on articles) may be collected and used by others. We cannot prevent such uses.

Information Security

The security of your personal information is important to us. We follow generally accepted industry standards to protect personal information, both during transmission and in storage. No method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

All information gathered on the Site is stored and maintained in secure facilities with access limited to authorised personnel only.

Retention of Information

Your cookie consent preference is stored locally in your browser. Account and authentication data is retained for as long as your account remains active. Reading history (stored locally in your browser) is cleared automatically if you withdraw consent. Analytics data collected with your consent is subject to Google’s data retention policies. We retain other personal information for as long as you are a registered user of our services, and for a reasonable time thereafter as required by law.

Your Rights Under the DPDP Act

Under the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023, you have the following rights:

  • Right to Consent: Your personal data for analytics and personalisation purposes is collected only with your free, specific, informed, and unambiguous consent, provided via the cookie consent banner.
  • Right to Withdraw Consent: You may withdraw your consent at any time. Withdrawing consent is designed to be as simple as giving it. You can change your preference using the “Manage Cookie Preferences” link in our website footer. When you withdraw consent, our system immediately updates the consent state to “denied” for all integrated scripts, analytics data collection ceases, and any locally stored tracking data (such as your reading history) is cleared from your browser.
  • Right to Erasure: You may request deletion of your account and all associated personal data by contacting us at support@foundingfuel.com.
  • Right to Access and Correction: You may request access to or correction of your personal data by contacting us at the address below.

Core site functionality, including login, comments, and bookmarks, continues to work regardless of your cookie preference. Rejecting cookies only affects analytics tracking, reading history, and the Google sign-in prompt.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

If we decide to change this Privacy Policy, we will post the changes here and update the effective date. We reserve the right to modify this policy at any time. Please review it periodically.

Data Protection and Grievances

In compliance with the DPDP Act, 2023, if you have questions regarding your data, the logic of our processing, or wish to exercise your rights (including access, correction, or erasure of your personal data), please contact our designated grievance lead:

Attn: Data Privacy Lead
Email: support@foundingfuel.com
Address: Founding Fuel Publishing Pvt Ltd, D5/71, Greenfields, JV Link Road, Andheri East, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400093

We will respond to your request within the timeframe prescribed by applicable law.