Privacy Policy

Our promise in one line: we store your personal and ancestral (lineage) details securely and use them only to perform the offering you requested. We never sell your data, and we never share your ancestral or lineage details with anyone for marketing. We do use cookies and the Meta (Facebook) pixel to measure our social-media advertising — and in section 6 we set out exactly the limited data that shares, and the far more sensitive information it never touches.

This Privacy Policy explains how Gurulight (“we”, “us”, “our”) collects, uses, stores and protects your information when you use our Pitru Paksha website and make an offering. By using our service you agree to this Policy. If you have any questions, contact us at rituals@gurulight.com.

1. Information we collect

Information you give us

• Contact details — your name and email address (and phone number, if you provide it) when you make an offering or contact us.
• Ancestral / lineage information — the details you enter in the lineage form, including the host’s name, gotra, and the names of your deceased ancestors and any other significant people you choose to honour.
• Offering details — the seva you select (Annadaan and/or rituals), the sacred place(s), amount and currency.

Cookies, pixels and device information

When you visit our site, we and our advertising/analytics partner (currently Meta — Facebook and Instagram) use cookies and similar technologies that collect your browser and device type, IP address, the pages you view, and standard actions such as viewing the offering page or completing an offering. What this does and does not share is explained in full in section 6.

Payment information

Payments are processed securely by our payment provider (Razorpay). We do not see or store your card, UPI or bank-account details — only a confirmation that your payment succeeded and a reference number.

Technical information

We keep basic, limited technical logs (such as timestamps and a payment reference) to operate the service securely and to prevent misuse.

2. We store your information

When you submit your personal and lineage information, we store it securely on our systems. We do this for two reasons only: (a) so that our priests can perform the ritual you have requested in your family’s name; and (b) so that, if you return in a future year, we can pre-fill your details for you and spare you re-entering them. Your lineage information is treated with the reverence it deserves.

3. How we use your information

• To perform the Annadaan or ritual you requested, including providing the necessary ancestral names to the priests conducting the ceremony on your behalf.
• To send you a confirmation, your unique reference ID, and any updates about your offering.
• To let you review, update and reuse your details in future years.
• To meet our legal, accounting and record-keeping obligations.

We use the personal and lineage details you give us only to perform your offering, to communicate with you about it, and to meet our legal obligations — never to build advertising profiles, and never shared with advertisers. Separately, we use cookies and the Meta pixel to measure our own social-media advertising; this relies only on limited website-activity data (see section 6), not on your ancestral or lineage information. We do not send you marketing you did not ask for.

4. What we will never do

• We will never sell your personal or lineage information.
• We will never share your ancestral or lineage details — the names of your ancestors, your gotra, or any family information — with Meta or any advertising or analytics provider, ever.
• We will never share your payment or card details (we don't even hold them).
• We will never use your sacred lineage data for anything other than the seva you requested.

5. Who we share it with

We share your information only with those strictly necessary to fulfil your offering:

• The priests / officiants who perform your ritual — they receive only the lineage details needed for the ceremony.
• Essential service providers that help us run the service — our payment gateway (Razorpay), email provider (Google Workspace) and secure hosting provider — who process data only on our instructions and not for their own purposes.
• Authorities, only if we are required to do so by law.
• Meta Platforms (Facebook / Instagram) — limited website-activity data for advertising measurement, exactly as described in section 6. Never your lineage details, and never your payment details.

No one else. We never sell or rent your data to anyone.

6. Cookies, the Meta (Facebook) pixel and advertising

We promote Pitru Paksha on social media (Facebook and Instagram). To understand whether those advertisements are working, we use the Meta pixel on this website and Meta's server-side Conversions API. This is standard advertising-measurement technology.

What we share with Meta:

• Your browser and device information and IP address;
• The pages you visit on our site, and standard events such as viewing the offering page or completing an offering — including only the offering's value and currency;
• Your email address and/or phone number in a securely hashed (one-way, irreversible) form — Meta receives a scrambled code, not your actual email or number — so it can tell whether you had seen one of our ads.

What we NEVER share with Meta or any advertising/analytics partner:

• Your ancestors' names, your gotra, or any lineage or family details;
• The content of your offering beyond its value and currency;
• Your card, UPI or bank details.

Meta processes the limited data it receives as an independent controller under its own Privacy Policy (facebook.com/privacy/policy). This data may be processed in the United States.

Our lawful basis for this limited advertising measurement is our legitimate interest in understanding and improving our outreach, balanced against your privacy. We are transparent about it here rather than hiding it, and we give you clear, easy ways to opt out at any time.

Your control: We do not currently show a cookie banner. You can stop this tracking at any time — block cookies in your browser settings, use a privacy browser or an ad-blocker (which prevents the pixel entirely), adjust your Meta ad preferences (facebook.com/adpreferences), or use the industry opt-outs at youronlinechoices.eu / optout.aboutads.info. If you would rather we did not measure your visit, please use one of these controls before you browse.

7. How we protect it

We protect your information with appropriate technical and organisational measures, including encryption of data in transit (TLS) and at rest, access controls that limit who can view records, and logging of administrative actions. No participant record is permanently deleted without a record of the action.

8. How long we keep it

We keep your information for as long as needed to perform your offering and to enable pre-filling in future years, and thereafter only as required for our legal and accounting obligations. You may ask us to delete your information at any time (see below).

9. Your choices and rights

You can ask us to access, correct or delete the information we hold about you, or ask a question about how it is used. Simply email rituals@gurulight.com and we will respond promptly.

10. Children

Our service is intended for adults making offerings on behalf of their families. It is not directed at children.

11. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time. The “last updated” date above shows when it was last revised. Material changes will be reflected on this page.

12. Contact us

Gurulight — rituals@gurulight.com. We read and reply to every message.