Legal
Privacy Policy
Last updated: 2 September 2026 · Applies to sihbuddy.com
Who we are
What we collect and why
1. Vercel Analytics — no cookies, no consent needed
We use Vercel Analytics to understand how the site is used. It records page views, approximate country, device type, and custom events (e.g. which problem statements are viewed, which verdict types are most browsed). Vercel Analytics does not use cookies, does not track you across sites, and does not store personally identifiable information (IP addresses are used only to derive approximate location and are not retained). Vercel's server infrastructure retains access logs for up to 30 days. No consent is required for this processing.
2. Google Analytics 4 (GA4) — requires consent
When you accept cookies, we enable Google Analytics 4 via Google Tag Manager (tag ID G-EGJ5VFC5DH). GA4 sets cookies to measure sessions, traffic sources, and user behaviour. If you decline, GA4 operates in cookieless modelling mode — no persistent identifiers are stored or linked to you. Data is retained for 14 months on Google's servers.
3. Google AdSense — requires consent
We show ads served by Google AdSense (publisher ID ca-pub-5815657771774363). When you accept cookies, AdSense may personalise ads using your Google account data and browsing history. This involves automated profiling by Google to infer your interests — no such profiling is performed by us directly. When you decline, AdSense serves non-personalised ads only — no interest profiling occurs. You can manage Google's ad personalisation at adssettings.google.com.
4. Your account, if you create one
Signing up is optional — browsing, the card deck, comparing and the shortlist all work without an account. If you do register, we ask for your first name, university, year of study and email address, and optionally a phone number. We store those fields, together with the date you registered, in Google Firestore, and your email address and password credential in Google Firebase Authentication. Passwords are handled entirely by Firebase; we never see or store them.
5. What we do with it
We use your name to address you in the interface, and your email address to identify your account so your shortlist follows you between devices. University, year of study and phone number are collected to understand who is using the site and to reach you about it — nothing more. We do not sell this data, we do not share it with advertisers, and we do not use it for advertising or profiling. The legal basis is your consent, given when you choose to register.
6. Where your shortlist is stored
Your shortlist lives in your own browser. If you are signed in, a copy is also stored against your email address in Vercel KV so it appears on your other devices. Creating a share link stores that list under a random token which expires automatically after 90 days. Anyone holding a share link can view the list it points to, so treat those links as you would any unlisted URL.
7. How long we keep it, and how to delete it
Account data is kept until you ask us to delete it. Email ganeevsingh477@gmail.com from your registered address and we will delete your account, your profile record and your stored shortlist within 30 days. Share links expire on their own after 90 days.
8. Your consent choice
Your cookie preference (accept or decline) is stored in your browser's localStorage under the key sih-buddy:consent. It is never sent to any server. You can change your choice at any time via the Cookie Settings link in the footer.
Legal basis (GDPR)
International transfers. Google LLC is based in the United States. Data transferred to Google is covered by Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) adopted by the European Commission. See Google's data processing terms for details.
Right to complain. You have the right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority in your EU member state (Article 77 GDPR) if you believe we have processed your personal data unlawfully.
India — DPDP Act 2023
Third parties we share data with
- Google LLC — Google Analytics, Google AdSense, and Firebase Authentication and Firestore, which hold your account credential and profile record. Google's privacy policy: policies.google.com/privacy
- Vercel Inc. — Hosting, Vercel Analytics, and Vercel KV, which holds your synced shortlist and any share links you create. Vercel's privacy policy: vercel.com/legal/privacy-policy
We do not sell your data to any third party.
Your rights
- Access — obtain a summary of the personal data we process about you
- Correct or erase — request correction or deletion of inaccurate data
- Export — receive your data in a portable format
- Restrict — ask us to limit how we use your data
- Object (Art. 21 GDPR) — object to processing based on legitimate interest, including Vercel Analytics; we will stop unless we have compelling grounds
- Nominate (DPDP Act) — if you are in India, you may nominate another person to exercise your data rights on your behalf or after your death
If you hold an account, we can action requests about your profile record and stored shortlist directly. Requests about analytics or advertising data should be directed to Google, and requests about server logs to Vercel. To exercise any right or to ask a question, email ganeevsingh477@gmail.com. We will respond within 30 days.