Tirtha Yatra — Privacy Policy

Effective date: 25 September 2026
App: Tirtha Yatra (तीर्थयात्रा) — the Android app and the website https://tirtha.kariwala.com
Who we are: Tirtha Yatra is built and run by Anil Kariwala ("we", "us").
Contact: anil@kariwala.com

Tirtha Yatra is a personal record of the temples you have visited and the people who were with you. This policy explains, in plain language, what information the app handles, why, and what your choices are.

The short version: we collect only what the app needs to work. We do not sell your information. We do not show ads and we do not use advertising or analytics trackers. Your visits and companions are private to you.

1. What we collect

When you sign in with Google we receive your name, email address and profile picture from Google. We store your email address and your first name as your display name (used to greet you and to label your reviews; you can change it in the app's settings). We do not store your profile picture, and we never see your Google password.

Your record

Visits: which temples you mark as visited, and the year, month and/or day if you choose to add them.
Companions: the names you type for the people who were with you (for example "Ravi" or "Mother"), and the list of people you create. These are stored exactly as you typed them.
Your settings: which traditions you show (Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist) and your language (English, Hindi or Tamil).
Temples you add: the name, city and map coordinates of any temple you add yourself, and any temple you suggest for the shared lists.

Things you choose to post

Reviews: a 🙏 rating and optional note about a temple, shown with your display name — or as "A pilgrim" if you choose anonymous. (Even for an anonymous review we keep a private link to your account so you can edit or remove it and so we can moderate abuse; other users never see it.)
Feedback: what you type in the feedback form, the screen you were on, and — only if you choose — your name. If you send feedback anonymously, we store no name and no account link with it at all.

Location

The app asks for your device location only when you ask it to:

Nearby tab: your position is used on your device to work out which temples are close to you. It is not sent to or stored on our servers.
"Use my location" when adding a temple: your coordinates are sent to our server, which asks OpenStreetMap's Nominatim service to turn them into a city name (see section 4). If you then save or suggest that temple, its coordinates are stored with it. Otherwise they are not kept.

We never track your location in the background.

Technical and usage information

The time of your last sign-in, and when you took actions such as saving a visit (used to run the app and to see, in aggregate, how many people use it).
Whether the "invite a friend" banner was shown or dismissed, and when you tapped Share (we record the method — WhatsApp or email — and the time; we never see your contacts or the message).
Counts and times of your submissions, used to stop abuse (for example, limiting how many reviews can be posted in an hour).
Our hosting provider keeps standard server logs (such as IP address, the page requested and the time) for security and reliability.

On your device

A sign-in cookie that keeps you signed in.
A cached copy of the app's pages and of your record, so the app can open when you have weak or no signal. Signing out or clearing the app's storage removes it.

What we do not collect

Contacts, photos, camera, microphone, files, phone number, payment information, advertising ID, or your precise location in the background. The app contains no advertising or analytics software.

2. Why we use it

To sign you in and show you your own record.
To provide features: sets and cities, companions, reports, Nearby, temple pages, reviews.
To show anonymous totals (for example "12 pilgrims on Tirtha Yatra have been here").
To review temple suggestions, feedback and reviews, and to remove abuse.
To keep the service secure and working.

We do not use your information for advertising, profiling, or to make automated decisions about you.

3. Who can see your information

Only you can see your visits, dates and companions. Other users never see them.
Other users can see the reviews you post (with your display name, or as "A pilgrim") and anonymous totals.
The app's administrators (the owner and people he authorises to help run the service) can see account information (name and email), activity totals, and the reviews, feedback and suggestions people submit, in order to run and moderate the service.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with anyone for advertising or marketing.

To run the app we rely on a few service providers who handle information on our behalf, only to provide their service to us:

Provider	What it does for us	What it handles
Supabase	Database hosting (data centre in Mumbai, India)	All the information described in section 1 that is stored on our servers
Vercel	Web hosting and servers (United States)	Requests to the app, and the data passing through them
Google	Sign-in	Your Google account details during sign-in

Some information also reaches other services because the app uses them to work:

OpenStreetMap Nominatim and Photon (by Komoot) — used for city search and "use my location". Our server sends them the city text you typed, or your coordinates for "use my location". They receive it from our server, not from your device, and without your name or account.
Google Fonts — supplies the app's typefaces; your device requests them directly.

We may also disclose information if the law requires it.

5. Security

All connections use HTTPS. Our database is not reachable from your device or the open internet; it is accessed only by our own servers, after checking that you are signed in. No system is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable care to protect your information.

6. How long we keep it, and deleting your data

We keep your information for as long as you have an account.

To delete your account and everything linked to it: open the app, tap Profile & settings, scroll to the bottom, tap Delete my account and confirm. It happens immediately and cannot be undone. Step-by-step instructions are at https://tirtha.kariwala.com/delete-account.

If you can no longer sign in, email anil@kariwala.com from the address you sign in with, with the subject "Delete my Tirtha Yatra account". We will delete your account within 30 days and confirm by email.

Deleting your account removes your visits, companions, settings, temples you added, suggestions, reviews, feedback linked to you, and your sign-in record. What remains: feedback you sent anonymously (it was never linked to you, so it cannot be found), and any temple you suggested that has already been added to the shared lists (it stays, without your name). Copies held in our hosting provider's routine backups expire on that provider's normal schedule.

You can also, at any time inside the app: edit or remove any visit, rename or change your companions, and sign out.

7. Your choices and rights

You can ask us to show you the information we hold about you, correct it, or delete it, using the email address above. Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under local law (for example in the EU/UK or India); we will respect them.

You can turn off location for the app at any time in your Android settings; the app will still work, without Nearby and "use my location".

8. Children

Tirtha Yatra is not directed at children under 13, and Google sign-in is not available to them. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you believe a child has given us information, email us and we will delete it.

9. Changes to this policy

If we change this policy in a way that matters, we will update the date at the top and, where appropriate, tell you in the app. The current version is always available at the address where you found this page.

10. Contact

Questions, requests, or concerns: anil@kariwala.com