Privacy Policy

1. Our Approach

IconsHerald is built around a simple privacy principle: your personal contact details (phone number, personal email) are never published or displayed to the public. This policy explains what we collect, why, and what your rights are under Indian law, including the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 ("DPDP Act").

2. What We Collect

From applicants and Members: Full name, email address, mobile number, profession, and city, collected at application; editorial material you choose to supply for your Profile, including biography details, career history, photographs, awards, and publications; payment-related information processed via our payment partner; and your chosen profile address.

From visitors using the Contact Request facility: The name, contact detail, and message content you submit when contacting a Member.

3. What We Do Not Collect or Display

We do not display a Member's phone number or personal email address publicly on any Profile. We do not require or store Aadhaar, PAN, or other government identity numbers through the current application flow described on this site.

4. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to process your editorial profile application; prepare, edit, and publish your Profile with your approval; operate the Contact Request relay; process payments; communicate with you about your application or account; and comply with legal obligations. We do not sell personal data to third parties, and we do not use Member or visitor personal data for unrelated advertising purposes.

5. Legal Basis and Consent

Under the DPDP Act, we process your personal data on the basis of your consent, given when you submit an application, a Contact Request, or otherwise provide information to us. You may withdraw consent at any time, though withdrawal may mean we are unable to continue providing the relevant service.

6. Sharing of Information

We share information with editorial staff and contractors engaged to prepare and review Profiles, under confidentiality obligations; payment processors, strictly to process payments; hosting and infrastructure providers, to operate the Platform; and government or regulatory authorities, where required by law. We do not otherwise disclose your personal contact details to any third party, including to visitors using the Contact Request facility.

7. Data Retention

We retain Member account and Profile data for as long as the Profile remains published, plus a reasonable period thereafter for legal, accounting, and dispute-resolution purposes. Unsuccessful or withdrawn applications, and Contact Request messages, are retained for a defined period, after which they are deleted unless retention is required by law.

8. Your Rights

Under the DPDP Act, you have the right to access a summary of the personal data we hold about you; request correction or completion of inaccurate data; request erasure of data no longer necessary for the purpose collected, subject to our legal retention obligations; withdraw consent; nominate another individual to exercise these rights on your behalf in the event of your death or incapacity; and file a complaint with us, and if unsatisfied, with the Data Protection Board of India.

9. How to Exercise Your Rights / Contact Us

To exercise any of the above rights, or for any privacy question, contact our designated Data Protection contact at [contact details to be inserted]. We will acknowledge your request within a reasonable time and aim to resolve it within the timelines required by applicable law.

10. Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, alteration, or loss. In the event of a personal data breach likely to result in harm to you, we will notify you and the Data Protection Board of India in accordance with the DPDP Act's breach notification requirements.

11. Children's Data

IconsHerald is not directed at and does not knowingly collect personal data from individuals under 18 years of age.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify Members of material changes and indicate the date of the most recent revision at the top of this page.