Terms of Use & Privacy Policy

1. Terms of Use

1.1 Acceptance

By accessing or using Times of Adirai, including browsing articles, submitting news tips, uploading gallery images, posting comments, registering an author account, requesting advertising, using community tools (such as prayer times or the helpline directory), or installing the Site as an app on your device, you agree to these Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Site.

1.2 About the Site

Times of Adirai is a local news and community information service focused on Adirampattinam and the surrounding region. Content and tools are provided for general information. They are not professional legal, medical, financial, religious, or emergency advice.

1.3 News content & disclaimer

We strive for accuracy but do not warrant that every article, headline, contact listing, prayer time, or community tool is complete, current, or error-free. Opinions expressed by authors or guest contributors are their own. Emergency contact numbers and helpline listings are provided as a community convenience; always verify critical numbers with official authorities when possible. Prayer times and related countdowns are approximate aids only.

1.4 User submissions

If you submit news drafts, comments, gallery photos, or advertising requests, you confirm that:

• you have the right to share the content and any images;
• the content is not unlawful, defamatory, harassing, or misleading;
• you grant Times of Adirai a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to review, edit, publish, distribute, and archive the submission on the Site and related channels;
• we may reject, edit, delay, or remove submissions at our discretion without notice.

1.5 Accounts

Author accounts require registration and admin approval. You are responsible for keeping login credentials confidential and for activity under your account. We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms.

1.6 Installable app (PWA)

Where your browser supports it, you may install Times of Adirai as a Progressive Web App (for example “Install app” or “Add to Home Screen”). The installed app remains a way to access the Site under these same Terms. Install prompts are optional; dismissing them does not affect normal browsing.

1.7 Prohibited use

You must not: attempt unauthorized access to the Site or databases; scrape or harvest data in a way that burdens our systems; upload malware; impersonate others; spam; abuse forms or security checks; or use the Site for illegal purposes.

1.8 Intellectual property

Site branding, layout, and original editorial content are owned by Times of Adirai or its licensors. You may share links and brief quotations with attribution. Do not republish full articles without prior written permission.

1.9 Third-party links & ads

The Site may include links, embeds (for example Instagram), advertising, security checks (such as Google reCAPTCHA), or analytics provided by third parties. We are not responsible for their content, policies, or practices.

1.10 Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Times of Adirai and its operators are not liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from use of the Site, reliance on content or community tools, or inability to access the Site. The Site is provided “as is” without warranties of any kind.

1.11 Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of India, with courts in Tamil Nadu having jurisdiction, without regard to conflict-of-law principles.

1.12 Contact

Questions about these Terms: timesofadirai@gmail.com · +91 999 4222 582.

2. Privacy Policy

2.1 What we collect

• Account data — username, display name, email, and password (stored hashed) when you register.
• Comments & tips — name, email and/or phone, and message content you submit.
• Gallery uploads — images, captions, and the name you provide.
• Advertising requests — business and contact details you enter on the advertise form.
• Usage & visit counters — approximate page views (including article views), site visit totals, and unique-visitor style counts for selected pages (for example Adirai Helpline “Visitors Served”). These use anonymous or pseudonymous identifiers, not your name.
• App install signals — when you install the Site as an app or open it in installed/standalone mode, we may record an anonymous install count once per browser/device for internal statistics.
• Technical data — information typically sent by browsers (such as IP address, user agent, and request timing) in server or security logs, used for operation and abuse prevention.
• Security checks — when Google reCAPTCHA is enabled on forms (comments, news tips, gallery, login, registration, and similar), Google may process interaction data under its own terms and privacy policy.
• Optional analytics/ads — if enabled by admins (for example AdSense), third parties may collect device and usage data under their own policies.

2.2 How we use data

We use personal and technical data to operate the Site, publish or moderate submissions, notify site administrators of new tips or gallery uploads, manage accounts, respond to enquiries, measure reach (including page and app-install statistics), improve reliability and security, display relevant advertising where configured, and comply with legal obligations.

2.3 Cookies & local storage

We use cookies and similar technologies, including:

• Session & security — login sessions and CSRF protection.
• Unique visit / event cookies — long-lived anonymous IDs (for example toa_vid_* / toa_ev_*) so we can count unique visitors or one-time events such as app installs without storing your name.
• Local storage — preferences such as light/dark theme, whether you dismissed the install prompt, and whether an install has already been counted on this device.

You can clear cookies and site data in your browser settings; some features (login, accurate counters, or remembering dismissals) may stop working as before.

2.4 Google reCAPTCHA

When enabled, form submissions may require Google reCAPTCHA to reduce spam and abuse. Use of reCAPTCHA is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Google Terms of Service. We receive a pass/fail style verification result from Google; we do not use reCAPTCHA to build marketing profiles about you.

2.5 Sharing

We do not sell your personal information. We may share data with service providers who host or process the Site on our behalf (including email delivery of admin notifications), with Google when reCAPTCHA or other Google services are used, with law enforcement when required by law, or when you have asked us to publish your name with a submission.

2.6 Retention

We retain account and published content for as long as needed to run the Site. Aggregate counters (visits, unique visitors, app installs) may be kept indefinitely for historical statistics. Pending registrations, rejected content, and spam may be deleted earlier. Backups may retain data for a limited period.

2.7 Security

We use reasonable administrative and technical measures (including hashed passwords, CSRF tokens, and optional reCAPTCHA). No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure.

2.8 Children’s privacy

The Site is intended for a general audience. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided data, contact us to request deletion.

2.9 Your choices

You may request access, correction, or deletion of personal data we hold about you (subject to legal exceptions) by emailing timesofadirai@gmail.com. Authors may ask admins to deactivate an account. Clearing site cookies removes our anonymous visitor/install identifiers from that browser; it does not erase already recorded aggregate totals.

2.10 Policy updates

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top will change when we do. Continued use of the Site after updates constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

2.11 Contact

Privacy questions: timesofadirai@gmail.com · +91 999 4222 582.