Privacy and record retention notice

Last updated: 10 October 2026

About this notice

We use information to respond to enquiries, register and coordinate participants, manage contributions and receipts, and protect our website. This notice explains how Agastheeswarar Arapani Arakattalai handles information across our main website, participation services and payment services. Our retention policy is set out below.

Information we collect and use

When you contact us, we collect your name, contact details, organisation, subject, message and consent. Participant records include profile details, location, skills, interests, availability, preferences, account status, charter and privacy acknowledgements, and programme responses. Contribution records include donor contact and address details, purpose, amount, payment-provider references and identification where required. Please do not send unnecessary sensitive documents or Aadhaar numbers. Razorpay handles payment entry; we do not receive your card PIN, CVV or payment password through our forms.

Your account and preferences

We store participant passwords as hashes. Verification and password-reset links expire and can be used only once. Account verification and security emails support your account; programme invitation alerts are optional and can be changed in your account settings. Choosing recognition allows us to ask for permission to share your contribution. We obtain specific permission before publishing your name, photograph or story. You may pause or withdraw from participation. Withdrawal does not cancel a completed contribution or remove records needed for accounting or dispute handling.

Access to information

Authorised Trust personnel access records for their responsibilities. Our participant directory is not public. We use hosting and database services, Google Workspace email and Razorpay to deliver our services. These providers handle information under their own policies and may process or store it outside India. We may share necessary records for audit, reporting, lawful requests, safeguarding or dispute handling. Receipt links provide access to the acknowledgement; anyone with the full link may view it. Please keep these links private.

Enquiry and participant records

We normally retain ordinary enquiry correspondence for two years after the enquiry closes. We normally retain verified participant profiles, consent and review records, and programme history during participation and for three years after permanent withdrawal or recorded closure. After three years of account inactivity, we review whether the account is still needed and seek confirmation before closing it. We review unverified registrations after 30 days and declined profiles after 90 days. We remove or anonymise unnecessary details, retaining minimal security, consent or dispute evidence where justified.

Email and security records

We remove completed or exhausted participation-email queue records after 30 days and clear the contents of successfully sent messages. Expired verification and password-reset links cannot authorise access. We normally retain necessary account audit and security records for at least one year, and longer where programme history, incidents or legal requirements make this necessary. Hosting providers manage some access logs, error logs and cookies under their own retention arrangements. Our form-security records use hashed identifiers and timestamps rather than storing enquiry messages.

Financial and dispute records

We retain receipts, contribution registers, donor identification needed for reporting, settlement and reconciliation records, and related exports for applicable tax, accounting, audit and grant requirements. Our accountant determines the applicable retention period and reference year, including any transitional requirements. These records follow the financial retention schedule rather than the shorter participant schedule. We retain records subject to an audit, complaint, legal hold or unresolved dispute until the matter and the required retention period are complete. We keep only necessary details. Opting out of programme invitations does not remove accounting obligations.

Deletion reviews and backups

We review our retention schedule at least quarterly. We review database records, mailbox copies and private exports before authorised deletion or anonymisation. Retention periods guide these reviews; disposal is not automatic in every system. Backups follow separate recovery cycles, so information removed from active systems may remain until the relevant backup expires. When restoring a backup, we reapply recorded deletion restrictions. We keep a minimal disposal record without retaining the deleted message content.

Cookies and website security

Our participation and payment services use session cookies for sign-in, form security and administration. Hosting services may record IP addresses, dates, requested URLs and browser information. Cookie and logging arrangements can vary across the hosting and payment services we use. For questions about these arrangements, please contact us. Use HTTPS and keep your credentials and password-reset links private.

Requests and concerns

For access, corrections, preference changes, withdrawal, deletion requests or participant concerns, contact admin@agastheeswarartrust.org. If your concern involves the primary contact, write to info@agastheeswarartrust.org and request review by someone not involved in the matter. We may verify your identity and explain why certain records must be retained. We aim to acknowledge requests within seven working days and respond within 30 days. We will explain any extension; applicable legal deadlines take precedence. Required financial records may need to be retained. Your rights to lawful reporting and statutory remedies remain available.

External links and updates

External websites have their own privacy practices. We update this notice as our services or requirements change. Where an acknowledged participation purpose changes materially, we provide appropriate notice and obtain renewed consent where necessary. Programme invitation and publicity choices remain separate.