Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Welcome to Hidden Routes ("we", "our", "us"), an independent publishing project based in Pakur, Jharkhand, India. We are committed to protecting the personal information you share with us when placing a pre-order for The Hills Remember Everything by Priyanshu Gupta. This Privacy Policy explains what data we collect, how we use it, how long we retain it, and your rights under applicable law.

By using this website and submitting a pre-order, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to the practices described in this policy.

2. Consent

By submitting a pre-order form on this website, you explicitly consent to the collection, processing, and storage of your personal data as described in this Privacy Policy. Your consent is the legal basis under which we process your data.

You may withdraw your consent at any time before dispatch by contacting us at editor@hiddenroutes.in. Withdrawal of consent will result in cancellation of your pre-order and a full refund where applicable.

3. Minors

This website and the pre-order service are intended for individuals who are 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from persons under the age of 18. If you are under 18, please do not submit any personal data through this website.

If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected data from a minor, we will delete it promptly upon notification. If you believe a minor has submitted a pre-order, please contact us immediately.

4. Information We Collect

When you place a pre-order, we collect the following personal information:

• Full name — to address your order and correspondence
• Email address — to send order confirmation and shipping updates
• Phone number — for delivery coordination if required
• Delivery address (house number, street, city, district, state, pincode) — to ship your book
• Payment information — processed entirely by Razorpay; we do not store card or UPI details on our servers
• Razorpay Payment ID — stored to confirm and reference your transaction
• Optional delivery notes — landmark or special instructions you choose to provide

We do not collect browsing data, IP addresses, device fingerprints, or any information beyond what is necessary to fulfil your order.

5. How We Use Your Information

We use the information you provide solely for the following purposes:

• Processing and confirming your pre-order
• Dispatching the book to your delivery address
• Sending order confirmations, shipping updates, and delivery notifications to your email
• Responding to customer service queries and refund/cancellation requests
• Maintaining accurate financial and order records as required by law
• Complying with legal and regulatory obligations

We do not use your data for marketing, advertising, profiling, automated decision-making, or any purpose unrelated to your order.

6. Payment Processing

All payments are processed securely by Razorpay Financial Solutions Pvt. Ltd., a PCI-DSS compliant payment gateway regulated under the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). We do not have access to, nor do we store, your credit/debit card numbers, CVV, UPI PIN, net banking credentials, or wallet passwords.

The payment data you submit is governed entirely by Razorpay's Privacy Policy. We encourage you to review it before transacting.

7. Data Storage and Security

Your order data (name, contact details, address, payment reference) is stored securely in a Cloudflare D1 database hosted on Cloudflare's global infrastructure, with restricted administrative access protected by strong authentication.

We implement the following security measures:

• Encrypted connections (HTTPS / TLS 1.3) for all data in transit
• Access controls limiting data visibility to authorised personnel only
• Regular security reviews of our data handling infrastructure
• No storage of sensitive financial credentials on our servers

We retain your order data for as long as necessary to fulfil your order and meet our legal obligations — typically no longer than 3 years after dispatch. After this period, your data will be securely deleted.

8. Data Breach Notification

In the unlikely event of a data breach that poses a risk to your rights and freedoms, we commit to:

• Notifying affected individuals within 72 hours of becoming aware of the breach
• Informing you of the nature of the breach, categories of data affected, and likely consequences
• Describing measures taken or proposed to address the breach
• Providing a point of contact for further information

Notification will be sent to the email address associated with your pre-order.

9. Sharing of Information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data to any third party. We share your information only in the following strictly limited circumstances:

• Logistics / courier partners — your name and delivery address are shared with the courier or postal service handling your shipment, solely for delivery purposes
• Razorpay — your name and email are shared to facilitate payment processing and issue receipts
• Legal requirement — if compelled by applicable law, a court order, or governmental authority

All third-party service providers are bound by confidentiality obligations and are not permitted to use your data for any purpose other than the service they provide to us.

10. Third-Party Links

This website may contain links to third-party websites, including Razorpay's payment interface and hiddenroutes.in. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those sites. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any third-party site you visit.

11. Cookies

This website does not use tracking cookies, analytics, or advertising cookies of any kind. No cookies are set on your browser for profiling or marketing purposes.

Google Fonts is loaded from Google's CDN and Razorpay's checkout script is loaded from Razorpay's servers — these third parties may set their own performance or security cookies, governed by their respective policies.

12. Your Rights under the DPDP Act, 2023

In accordance with India's Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023, you, as a Data Principal, have the following rights:

• Right of Access — request a summary of the personal data we hold about you and how it has been processed
• Right to Correction — request correction or updating of inaccurate or incomplete personal data
• Right to Erasure — request deletion of your personal data, subject to our legal retention obligations
• Right to Grievance Redressal — raise a complaint with us and receive a response within a reasonable time
• Right to Withdraw Consent — withdraw your consent to data processing at any time (this will result in pre-order cancellation)
• Right to Nominate — nominate a person to exercise your rights in the event of your death or incapacity

To exercise any of these rights, please write to us at editor@hiddenroutes.in. We will respond within 30 days of receiving your request.

13. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

This Privacy Policy and all matters relating to the collection, storage, and use of your personal data shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of India.

Any dispute, claim, or legal proceeding arising from or in connection with this Privacy Policy shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in Pakur, Jharkhand, India. By using this website, you irrevocably submit to the jurisdiction of these courts.

14. Dispute Resolution

In the event of any dispute relating to your personal data or this Privacy Policy, we encourage you to first contact us directly at editor@hiddenroutes.in so that we may attempt to resolve the matter amicably and in good faith.

If a resolution cannot be reached within 30 days, either party may seek appropriate legal remedies under applicable Indian law before the courts of Pakur, Jharkhand.

15. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or services. Any material changes will be published on this page with an updated "Last Updated" date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Continued use of the website after any changes constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

16. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or grievances regarding this Privacy Policy or the handling of your personal data, please reach out to our designated contact: