Privacy Policy

Top10EV is an independent editorial publication about electric vehicles in India, operated by [Legal Entity Name]. For the purposes of the DPDP Act, [Legal Entity Name] acts as the Data Fiduciary in respect of personal data processed through the Services. The Data Protection Officer can be contacted at the email address below.

We collect only what we need to operate the Services. Categories include: (a) information you provide voluntarily, such as your email address when you subscribe to the newsletter, and any name, message or attachment when you write to us or use a contact form; (b) if you create an account or use a comment or reviewer profile, the account information you provide, which may include a display name and password hash; (c) content you submit, including comments, reader questions and error reports; (d) technical information generated automatically when you visit the Services, including IP address, approximate location derived from IP, browser type and version, device type, operating system, referrer URL, and pages and events viewed; (e) cookie identifiers and similar identifiers used by our analytics and, where applicable, advertising partners; and (f) search history within the on-site search — retained in your browser as a convenience and not sent to our servers unless you submit a search.

We do not knowingly collect financial account credentials, government identifiers (such as Aadhaar or PAN), health data, biometric data or precise geolocation. We do not sell personal data. We do not use personal data to train third-party artificial-intelligence models.

We process personal data for the following purposes, in each case on a lawful basis under the DPDP Act — usually your consent, or our legitimate business purpose to operate and secure the Services: (i) delivering the newsletter you subscribed to; (ii) responding to correspondence; (iii) enabling account and comment features; (iv) analytics — understanding aggregate reader behaviour so we can improve editorial coverage and site performance; (v) fraud prevention, security and abuse detection; (vi) complying with legal obligations, including responses to lawful requests from Indian authorities; and (vii) enforcing our Terms of Use.

We use a small number of essential cookies for session state and preferences, and analytics cookies to understand aggregate usage of the Services. Where we use third-party analytics or advertising services, they are described in the Cookie Policy. You can control non-essential cookies through your browser and, where applicable, our on-site consent controls. Blocking essential cookies will break parts of the site.

If you subscribe to a newsletter, we retain your email address and any unsubscribe or bounce state until you unsubscribe. Every newsletter includes a one-click unsubscribe link. Delivery is handled by a third-party email service provider identified in Section 9.

Personal data is stored on infrastructure provided by reputable cloud service providers. Access is restricted to editorial and operations personnel who require it to perform their role. We apply standard security controls, including transport encryption (TLS) for data in transit, access controls, logging and periodic review. No system is perfectly secure; you should not send us any sensitive personal data by email.

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purpose it was collected, or as required by law. Indicative retention periods: newsletter subscriber records until you unsubscribe; correspondence for up to 24 months from the last exchange; anonymised or aggregated analytics for up to 26 months; server access logs for up to 90 days; account records for as long as the account is active plus a reasonable period after closure. Longer retention may apply where required for legal, tax or security reasons.

We share personal data with a limited set of third-party processors that help us operate the Services: hosting and content delivery, email delivery (for newsletters and transactional email), analytics providers (such as Google Analytics), and, where applicable, advertising and affiliate networks. Each processor operates under its own privacy policy and is authorised to process personal data only on our instructions. A current list of processors is available on request from the Data Protection Officer.

Where the Services display advertising, third-party ad partners may use cookies or similar technologies to serve and measure adverts. See the Cookie Policy and Advertising & Affiliate Disclosure for more detail. You can opt out of personalised advertising through the relevant provider's controls (for example, Google's Ads Settings) or through your browser.

Subject to the DPDP Act and any exceptions permitted under it, you have the right to: (a) confirmation of, and access to, the personal data we hold about you; (b) correction and completion of inaccurate or incomplete personal data; (c) erasure of personal data that is no longer necessary for the purpose it was collected, subject to legal retention requirements; (d) withdrawal of consent at any time (this does not affect the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal); (e) grievance redressal through the Data Protection Officer; and (f) to nominate another individual to exercise these rights in the event of your death or incapacity. To exercise any of these rights, contact the Data Protection Officer using the details below.

If you have a grievance regarding the processing of your personal data, please contact the Data Protection Officer using the contact details below. We will acknowledge the grievance within a reasonable time and endeavour to resolve it within the timelines prescribed by the DPDP Act rules once notified. If you remain dissatisfied, you may approach the Data Protection Board of India in accordance with the DPDP Act.

The Services are not directed at children under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data of children. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such data, please contact us and we will delete it promptly. Where the DPDP Act requires verifiable parental or guardian consent for the processing of a child's personal data, we will comply with that requirement once its rules take effect.

Some of our processors host data outside India. Where personal data is transferred outside India, we transfer it only to countries not restricted by the Central Government under the DPDP Act, and we require the processor to protect the data to a standard consistent with this Policy.

We do not use personal data for automated decision-making that produces a legal or similarly significant effect on you.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The current version and its effective date are shown at the top of this page. Where a change materially affects the way we process personal data of newsletter subscribers, we will use reasonable efforts to notify affected users by email.