Section 01

Introduction and Scope

This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) describes how Dr. Vishwanath Bite, operating under the brand name Literary Rides (“we,” “us,” or “our”), collects, uses, stores, and discloses information in connection with the following digital properties and services (collectively, the “Services”):

• The website located at literaryrides.com and all its subpages;
• The VocabPro web application and Android application available on Google Play;
• All forthcoming applications under the Literary Rides suite, including GrammarPro, SpeakPro, ReadingPro, UGC NET Pro, and MockTestPro;
• The Literary Rides Podcast, distributed via Anchor (Spotify) and other podcast platforms;
• The YouTube channels @literaryrides and @teachingwithtech.

By accessing or using any of the Services, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by this Policy. If you do not agree with the terms of this Policy, you must discontinue use of the Services.

This Policy is governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India, including the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (“DPDP Act”), the Information Technology Act, 2000, and any applicable Rules, amendments, or successor legislation.

Section 02

Data Fiduciary

The Data Fiduciary responsible for personal information collected through the Services, within the meaning of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, is:

Section 03

Information We Collect

We collect the minimum information necessary to provide and improve our Services. The nature of information collected varies by Service as described below.

3.1 Information You Provide Voluntarily

We may collect information you voluntarily provide when you:

• Submit an enquiry or message through the contact form on literaryrides.com;
• Register as a beta tester for a Literary Rides application through a Google Form we publish and you choose to complete;
• Submit a research paper or article to The Criterion or Galaxy journals via linked journal websites;
• Send an email directly to our contact address.

Such information may include your name, email address, institutional affiliation, the examination you are preparing for, your device model, and the content of your communication. This information is used solely to respond to your enquiry or to fulfil the purpose for which it was provided.

Beta tester registration is entirely separate from the application itself. It takes place on a web form before installation, is never a condition of using an application, and no data flows from the application to that record at any time.

3.2 Information Collected by the VocabPro Application

VocabPro requires no registration, offers no accounts, and can be used in full without providing any personal information whatsoever.

The application makes only two categories of network request: it downloads its own program files and word data from its hosting provider (see Section 6.6), and it loads a privacy-first, cookieless analytics script described immediately below. Both are ordinary web requests and neither carries any information about you, your progress or your use of the application.

3.3 Information Collected Automatically

When you visit literaryrides.com, or when you open the VocabPro application, our hosting infrastructure and analytics tools may automatically collect certain technical information, including:

• Internet Protocol (IP) address (anonymised, truncated or discarded after processing, depending on the provider);
• Browser type and version;
• Operating system;
• Referring URL;
• Pages or screens loaded, and the time of loading.

This information is collected and reported in aggregate and is not used to identify individual users, is not linked to any identity, and is not combined with any other information to build a profile.

VocabPro uses Cloudflare Web Analytics. This is a cookieless, privacy-first measurement tool that does not set cookies, does not fingerprint your device, does not collect personal information, and does not track you across websites or applications. It reports only aggregate page-load counts. It replaced no earlier tool and it is the only third-party script the application loads. Full details are in Section 6.2.

3.4 Information We Do Not Collect

Across all Services, we do not collect:

• Financial or payment information of any kind;
• Government identifiers, biometric data, or health information;
• Precise or approximate location data;
• Contacts, photographs, files, or other device content;
• Audio or video recordings;
• Any learning progress, quiz history, streak, badge, or other in-app behavioural data from our applications.

Section 04

How We Use Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

Purpose	Legal Basis	Data Used
Responding to contact form enquiries and email communications	Legitimate use / consent	Name, email, message content
Administering a beta testing programme — sending build announcements, testing instructions and feedback requests to registered testers	Consent	Name, email address, examination, device model
Understanding aggregate website and application usage patterns	Legitimate use	Anonymised, aggregate analytics data
Improving Services and developing new features	Legitimate use	Aggregate usage data and voluntarily submitted feedback only
Complying with legal obligations	Legal obligation	As required by applicable law

We do not sell, rent, trade, or otherwise transfer your personal information to third parties for commercial purposes. We do not use your information for targeted advertising, and we do not carry out any profiling or automated decision-making.

Section 05

Local Storage and Device Data

The Literary Rides applications, including VocabPro, store data locally on your device using a standard web browser technology, localStorage. This is fundamental to how the applications function — enabling offline access, progress tracking, review scheduling, and personalised settings.

5.1 Data Stored Locally by VocabPro

The following categories of data are stored on your device by VocabPro. None of it is transmitted to us or to any third party:

Data Category	Storage Mechanism	Purpose
Quiz history and scores	localStorage	Progress tracking and performance display
Review pool of previously incorrect answers	localStorage	Returning words you answered wrongly for further practice
Saved words and notes	localStorage	Personal word lists and annotations
Daily goals, streaks and streak shields	localStorage	Gamification and motivation features
Application settings and preferences	localStorage	UI personalisation (font size, sound, speech)
Points, levels, and badge records	localStorage	Gamification system

5.2 Control Over Local Data

You retain full control over locally stored data at all times. You may:

• View your own progress, saved words and records at any time within the application;
• Delete all locally stored data by clearing your browser’s site data, or by clearing app data through your Android device settings.

Deleting local data through your device settings removes every trace of your use of the application, because there is nothing held anywhere else. Clearing local data is permanent and cannot be reversed. We do not maintain server-side backups of your learning data and therefore cannot restore it for you. A user-facing data export feature is planned but is not available in the current version.

Section 06

Third-Party Services

We use a limited number of third-party services in connection with our Services. Each third party operates under its own privacy policy, which governs their collection and use of data.

6.1 Google Forms, Google Sheets and Google Apps Script (Beta Testing Programme)

Beta Testing

Where you choose to register as a beta tester, your responses are collected through Google Forms and recorded in a private Google Sheet. Correspondence with registered testers is sent using Google Apps Script and Gmail. The Sheet is stored in a Google account controlled solely by Dr. Vishwanath Bite and is not shared with, sold to, or accessed by any other party. Google acts as a data processor in this arrangement, providing forms, storage and mail infrastructure only. Google’s privacy policy is available at policies.google.com/privacy.

6.2 Cloudflare Web Analytics

literaryrides.comVocabPro

We use Cloudflare Web Analytics on the literaryrides.com website and within the VocabPro application. Cloudflare Web Analytics is a privacy-first analytics tool that does not use cookies, does not fingerprint devices, does not collect personal information, and does not track users across sites or applications. Data collected is aggregated and anonymised, and reports to us consist of page-load counts and broad geographic and browser breakdowns only. We cannot identify any individual from it, and it carries no learning progress, quiz result or other in-app data. Cloudflare’s privacy policy is available at cloudflare.com/privacypolicy.

6.3 Anchor / Spotify (Podcast Hosting)

Podcast

The Literary Rides Podcast is hosted on Anchor, a service operated by Spotify AB. When you listen to the podcast via Anchor, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Audible, or any other platform, your usage is governed by the privacy policy of the respective platform. We receive only aggregate listener statistics (episode plays, geographic distribution, platform breakdown) and do not receive personally identifiable listener data.

6.4 YouTube (Google LLC)

YouTube

Our YouTube channels (@literaryrides and @teachingwithtech) are operated on the YouTube platform, owned by Google LLC. Your use of YouTube is governed by Google’s Privacy Policy available at policies.google.com/privacy. We receive only aggregate channel analytics and do not receive personally identifiable viewer data.

6.5 Bluehost (Web Hosting)

literaryrides.com

The literaryrides.com website is hosted on Bluehost, operated by Newfold Digital. Bluehost may collect server logs including IP addresses for security and operational purposes. Their privacy policy is available at bluehost.com/privacy-policy.

6.6 GitHub Pages (App Hosting)

VocabPro

VocabPro is hosted on GitHub Pages, operated by GitHub Inc. (a subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation). The Android application is a Trusted Web Activity: the installed package holds a secure web address, and the application itself is downloaded from GitHub Pages and then cached on your device for offline use. GitHub therefore receives standard server request logs, which may include your IP address, when application files are first downloaded and when updated files are fetched. These are ordinary web server logs and contain no information about your use of the application. Once the application is cached, it functions fully without any network connection. GitHub’s privacy statement is available at docs.github.com.

6.7 Google Play Store

VocabPro Android

The Android version of VocabPro is distributed via the Google Play Store. Your use of Google Play is governed by Google’s Privacy Policy. The VocabPro application itself does not require a Google account and does not request permissions beyond internet access.

6.8 WPForms (Contact Form)

literaryrides.com

The contact form on literaryrides.com is powered by WPForms. Information submitted via this form is stored in the WordPress database hosted on Bluehost and is used solely to respond to your enquiry. We do not share form submissions with third parties.

Section 07

Cookies

7.1 Website (literaryrides.com)

The literaryrides.com website uses cookies for the following purposes:

Cookie Type	Purpose	Duration
Essential / Functional	WordPress session management, security (Wordfence), consent record (CookieYes)	Session / up to 1 year
Analytics	Cloudflare Web Analytics (cookieless — does not set cookies)	N/A
Cache	Performance optimisation	Session

You may manage cookie preferences through the CookieYes banner displayed on your first visit to literaryrides.com, or through your browser’s cookie settings. Disabling essential cookies may affect the functionality of the website.

7.2 Applications (VocabPro and forthcoming apps)

Literary Rides applications set no cookies. The Cloudflare Web Analytics script used within VocabPro is cookieless by design and sets none. Data persistence is achieved exclusively through browser localStorage, which is a device-local storage mechanism and is not transmitted over the network.

Section 08

Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by applicable law.

Data Type	Retention Period	Basis
Beta tester records (name, email, examination, device)	Retained for the duration of the testing programme and until you request removal	Consent — withdrawn at any time on request
Contact form submissions	Up to 2 years, or until the enquiry is resolved	Legitimate use in maintaining communication records
Server logs (hosting)	As determined by Bluehost / GitHub / Cloudflare (typically 30–90 days)	Security and operational necessity
App data (localStorage)	Indefinitely, until cleared by the user	Stored on your device; not within our control and not visible to us
Aggregate analytics (website and application)	Up to 3 years	Legitimate use in understanding usage patterns

Upon expiry of the applicable retention period, or upon a valid deletion request, personal information is securely deleted or anonymised.

Section 09

Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures include:

• HTTPS encryption for all data transmitted to and from literaryrides.com and for every request made by the VocabPro application;
• WordPress security hardening via Wordfence Security;
• Regular automated backups via UpdraftPlus to Google Drive;
• Restriction of beta tester records to a single controlled Google account, with no third-party sharing;
• No server-side storage of learning data — all progress data remains on the user’s device and is not visible to us;
• No third-party scripts within the VocabPro application other than the cookieless analytics script described in Section 6.2;
• No collection of financial or payment information through our Services (payment processing for any future paid tiers will be handled by third-party payment processors under their own security standards).

While we take reasonable precautions, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security of information transmitted to or stored by our Services.

Section 10

Children’s Privacy

Our Services are directed to teenage and adult learners preparing for competitive examinations. The VocabPro application is declared on Google Play for a target audience of 13 years and above, and is not directed to children.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13. The VocabPro application collects no personal information from any user of any age, so no child can submit personal information to us through it.

Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, the processing of personal data of a child (defined as an individual under 18 years of age) requires verifiable consent from a parent or lawful guardian. We do not knowingly process children’s personal data. Beta tester registration and the website contact form are the only channels through which personal information reaches us, and neither is directed at children.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe that a child has provided personal information to us through the contact form, a registration form, or any other means, please contact us at admin@literaryrides.com and we will delete such information promptly.

Section 11

Your Rights

Subject to applicable law, including the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, you have the following rights with respect to personal information we hold about you:

11.1 Right of Access

You have the right to request a summary of the personal information we hold about you, along with information about how it is used and with whom it is shared. In the case of the VocabPro application, we hold none: your learning data is on your own device and is visible to you within the application at any time.

11.2 Right of Correction

You have the right to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information we hold about you, and completion of information that is incomplete.

11.3 Right of Erasure

You have the right to request deletion of personal information we hold about you, subject to certain legal exceptions. Requests to be removed from the beta tester list are honoured on receipt and the corresponding record is deleted. For data stored locally in our applications, you may exercise this right directly and completely by clearing browser or app data on your device.

11.4 Right to Withdraw Consent

Where processing is based on your consent — as with beta tester registration — you have the right to withdraw consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out prior to withdrawal. Withdrawal is as simple as sending us an email requesting removal.

11.5 Right of Grievance Redressal

You have the right to a readily available means of registering a grievance with us regarding our handling of your personal data. Grievances may be submitted to the contact address in Section 15 and will be responded to within 30 days.

11.6 Right to Nominate

Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, you have the right to nominate another individual to exercise your rights in the event of your death or incapacity. Nominations may be communicated to us at the contact address in Section 15.

11.7 Exercising Your Rights

To exercise any of the above rights, please contact us at admin@literaryrides.com with the subject line “Privacy Rights Request.” We will respond within 30 days. We may require verification of your identity before processing your request.

Section 12

App-Specific Disclosures

The following disclosures are provided for each application in the Literary Rides suite, as required by Google Play and applicable app store policies.

VocabPro — Data Safety Declaration

Category	Detail
Data collected from users	None. The application has no sign-up, no sign-in, no contact form and no mailing list prompt. No personal information is requested or transmitted.
Data shared with third parties	None.
Data stored on device	Learning progress, quiz history, review pool, saved words, gamification records, settings (localStorage). Never transmitted.
Encryption in transit	Yes — all network requests use HTTPS
Data deletion	All data is on-device and is cleared by the user via Android app settings or browser site data. We hold nothing to delete on request.
Account creation required	No. The application has no account system of any kind, local or server-backed.
Advertising	None — the application contains no advertisements and no advertising identifiers
Analytics	Cloudflare Web Analytics — cookieless, aggregate page-load measurement only. No cookies, no device fingerprinting, no cross-site or cross-app tracking, no personal information, no in-app behavioural data. See Section 6.2.
Permissions requested (Android)	Internet access only (required to download and update application resources). No camera, microphone, contacts, location, or storage permissions requested.
Text-to-Speech	Uses the device’s built-in Speech Synthesis API. No audio is recorded or transmitted.
Delivery method	Trusted Web Activity. The installed package holds a secure web address; the application is downloaded from GitHub Pages and cached on device for offline use. Updates arrive over the web without a Play Store download.
Target audience	13 years and above

GrammarPro, SpeakPro, ReadingPro, UGC NET Pro, MockTestPro

These applications are in development and not yet publicly available. When released, each application will adhere to the same data minimisation principles as VocabPro. App-specific data safety disclosures will be added to this Policy upon each application’s release. The foundational principle will remain consistent: no personal data will be collected, transmitted, or stored on our servers without explicit user consent.

Section 13

External Links

Our Services contain links to external websites and platforms, including but not limited to:

• the-criterion.com and galaxyimrj.com (our academic journals);
• vishwanathbite.com (personal academic website);
• YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Audible;
• Google Play Store;
• LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these external sites and services. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any external site you visit. The inclusion of a link to an external site does not constitute endorsement of that site’s privacy practices.

Section 14

Changes to This Policy

We reserve the right to update or modify this Policy at any time. Changes will be effective immediately upon posting of the revised Policy at literaryrides.com/privacy-policy. The “Last Updated” date at the top of this Policy will be revised accordingly.

We will provide notice of material changes through one or more of the following means: a notice posted prominently on literaryrides.com; an in-app notification within applicable applications; or, where we hold your email address and the change is material, notification by email.

Your continued use of the Services following the posting of changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised Policy. If you do not agree to the revised Policy, you must discontinue use of the Services.

Section 15

Contact and Data Requests

For all privacy-related enquiries, data access requests, beta tester list removal requests, or complaints regarding our handling of your personal information, please contact us using the details below. We are committed to resolving all enquiries within 30 days of receipt.

If you are not satisfied with our response to a privacy complaint, you may escalate the matter to the Data Protection Board of India, constituted under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, or seek redress through appropriate legal channels.