1. Introduction

AfterTheory (“we”, “us”, “our”) is a creative technology studio. We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and secure personal information when you visit or use our website (aftertheory.xyz) or contact us via forms or email. It applies to all users in India and elsewhere, in accordance with the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act) and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act).

2. Data We Collect

We collect personal data to provide and improve our services. This includes:

Contact Information: When you fill out a contact or inquiry form or correspond with us, we collect personal details such as your name, email address, phone number, company name, and any other information you provide.
Project/Business Data: In providing quotes or services, we may collect information about your project requirements, business type, or preferences.
Payment Data: If you make a payment, we use payment gateways (such as Stripe or Razorpay) that collect billing information (card or bank details) and store/transfer it securely. We do not store raw payment details on our servers; these go directly to the payment processor.
Usage Data: We automatically collect certain data about your visit to our website, such as IP address, browser type, device type, pages viewed, and referral source. This data is collected via cookies and similar technologies.
Cookies and Tracking: We use cookies and web beacons to distinguish you from other users and to improve your experience. For details, see our Cookie Policy below.

3. How We Use Your Data

To Operate Our Services: We use your contact and project data to communicate with you, provide customer support, prepare quotes, and fulfill any services you request. Processing for these purposes is necessary to perform our contract with you.
To Improve Our Website: Usage data (from cookies and analytics) is used to monitor site performance, diagnose technical issues, and improve content and design. We aggregate analytics data (e.g. through Google Analytics) to see overall traffic trends; this data is not used to identify you personally.
Marketing and Outreach: With your consent, we may send you newsletters or promotional materials about our services. You can opt out of such communications at any time.
Legal Compliance: We may use or disclose your data if required by law or to protect our rights.

4. Lawful Basis and Consent

Under Indian law, we rely on the following bases to process personal data: (a) your consent (e.g., when you submit a form or opt in to marketing); (b) performance of a contract (providing services you requested); and (c) our legitimate interests in operating our business (such as maintaining security and complying with legal obligations). For sensitive personal data (e.g., financial or health data), we will obtain explicit consent before collection. At any time you may withdraw consent for non-essential processing or cookies.

5. Data Sharing and Third Parties

We do not sell your personal data. We share data only with:

Service Providers: We share data with trusted third-party vendors who perform services on our behalf (such as payment processors, hosting, CRM, email delivery, analytics). Examples include Google Analytics, OpenAI (for AI features), WhatsApp Business API, Stripe/Razorpay (for payments), and cloud services (e.g. AWS). These providers are contractually obligated to safeguard your data and use it only for agreed purposes.
Professional Advisors: We may share personal data with our accountants, lawyers, or auditors as needed for business operations.
Legal Authorities: We will disclose personal data if required by law or to enforce our policies.
Business Transfers: In case of a sale or merger of AfterTheory, personal data may be transferred to new owners; we will notify you if this happens.

6. Data Security

We implement reasonable security measures to protect your data, such as encryption of sensitive data (SSL/TLS), access controls, and secure servers. However, no method of transmission over the internet is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Data Retention

We retain your personal data only as long as necessary for the purposes above, or as required by law. When data is no longer needed, we delete or anonymize it securely. If retention is required by a legal obligation or court order, we will keep data for the mandated period.

8. Your Rights

You have rights under the DPDP Act and IT rules: you may request access to the personal data we hold about you, request corrections, or request deletion of data that is no longer needed. You can also withdraw consent at any time for processing activities based on consent. To exercise these rights, contact us at the details below. We will respond within a reasonable timeframe (generally within 30 days).

9. Cookies and Tracking

Our Cookie Policy explains how we use cookies. In brief, we only set non-essential cookies (analytics or marketing) if you consent (via our cookie banner). You can disable cookies in your browser to refuse tracking.

10.Children’s Privacy

Our site is not intended for users under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data from minors. If you believe a minor has provided us personal data, please contact us and we will delete it.

11. Grievance Officer

In compliance with the Information Technology Rules, 2011, we have designated a Grievance Officer to address privacy concerns.

Mansvi Choudhary

hello@aftertheory.in

Jaipur, India

12. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in law or our practices. The “Last Updated” date at top will reflect the revision. We will notify users on our website of significant changes.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions or requests about this Privacy Policy, please contact: privacy@aftertheory.in or our Grievance Officer (details above).