This policy explains what Parikshafal collects when you use parikshafal.com, why we collect it, who we share it with, and what control you have over it. We have tried to write it in plain English rather than legal boilerplate, because a policy nobody reads protects nobody.
Who we are
Parikshafal is an independent educational website that publishes free previous year question papers, exam information and practice material for students preparing for Indian government and board examinations. We operate the website at parikshafal.com. We are not a government body, an examination authority or an affiliate of one.
For any question about this policy or about your personal data, write to us at support@parikshafal.com or contact@parikshafal.com. We act as the data fiduciary (controller) for the personal data described here.
Information we collect
We collect as little as we can get away with. In practice that falls into three groups.
Information you give us
- Contact form: your name, email address, subject and message, when you choose to write to us.
- Newsletter: your email address, if you subscribe for updates about new papers and results.
- Paper submissions: the exam details you send us, and any file or link you share, when you contribute a question paper.
You do not need an account to use Parikshafal. We never ask for a password, a phone number, an Aadhaar or other government ID, a roll number, or any payment detail — and if a page claiming to be us ever does, it is not us.
Information collected automatically
- Device and browser information such as browser type and version, operating system and screen size.
- Usage information such as the pages you visit, the page that referred you, which papers are downloaded, and roughly how long a page is open.
- Your IP address, which is processed for security and abuse prevention and to derive an approximate location no more precise than city or region level.
Information from cookies and similar technologies
Cookies and similar storage are used by us and by third parties for the purposes described in the cookies and advertising sections below. Full detail is on the Cookie Policy page.
How we use your information
- To deliver the question papers and study material you requested.
- To understand which exams and states are most in demand, so we know what to publish next.
- To reply to your queries, requests and takedown notices.
- To measure and improve site performance, fix errors and detect abuse.
- To display advertising, including personalised advertising where you have consented to it.
- To comply with a legal obligation where one applies to us.
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with third parties for their own independent marketing.
Legal bases for processing
Where the GDPR or the UK GDPR applies to you, we rely on the following bases:
- Consent — for non-essential cookies, personalised advertising and the newsletter. You may withdraw consent at any time.
- Legitimate interests — for security, abuse prevention, aggregate analytics and keeping the site working. We balance these against your rights and use the least intrusive method available.
- Legal obligation — where we are required to retain or disclose information by law.
Where India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 applies, we process personal data for the lawful purposes above, on the basis of your consent or a legitimate use recognised by that Act.
Cookies and similar technologies
A cookie is a small text file stored by your browser. We use them in three ways:
- Strictly necessary — needed for the site to load and function securely. These cannot be switched off from within the site.
- Analytics — help us count visits and see which pages and papers are used, in aggregate.
- Advertising — set by Google and other advertising partners to serve, limit the repetition of, and measure ads.
You can block or delete cookies from your browser settings at any time. The site will continue to work, though some pages may be slower and the ads you see will be less relevant. Our Cookie Policy lists the categories in full and explains how to manage them in each major browser.
Advertising, Google AdSense and third-party vendors
Parikshafal is free to use and is funded by advertising. We work with third-party advertising companies, including Google, to serve ads when you visit the site.
- Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this website or other websites.
- Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visit to this site and/or other sites on the internet.
- You may opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings.
- You can opt out of a third-party vendor's use of cookies for personalised advertising at aboutads.info/choices or optout.networkadvertising.org. Users in the EEA and UK can also use youronlinechoices.eu.
- Third-party vendors and ad networks that we do not control may also serve ads on this site. We encourage you to read their own privacy policies for details of how they use cookies and what choices they offer.
Google's handling of data when you use its partners' sites and apps is described at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.
Where required — in the EEA, the UK and Switzerland — personalised advertising is served only where you have given consent through the consent prompt shown on your first visit, and you can change that choice at any time.
Analytics
We keep a simple, first-party record of page views so we can see which papers and states are actually being used. It stores the page path, the referring page and a timestamp. It does not store your name, email address or a persistent identifier that we can trace back to you.
We may also use Google Analytics. Where we do, Google processes the data as described in its own privacy policy, and you can prevent it entirely with the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.
Who we share information with
We share personal data only with:
- Hosting and infrastructure providers who run the servers and database this site depends on, strictly to operate it.
- Advertising and analytics partners as described above.
- Authorities where we are legally required to, or to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim.
Some of these providers are located outside India. Where personal data is transferred internationally, we rely on the provider's standard contractual clauses or an equivalent safeguard.
How long we keep information
- Contact messages: kept for up to 24 months so we can follow up and keep a record of takedown requests, then deleted.
- Newsletter subscriptions: kept until you unsubscribe. Every email carries an unsubscribe link.
- Page view records: kept in aggregate; individual records are pruned after 12 months.
- Cookies: for the lifetime set on each cookie, which the Cookie Policy lists.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:
- Access the personal data we hold about you.
- Correct data that is inaccurate or incomplete.
- Have your data erased.
- Withdraw consent you previously gave.
- Object to, or ask us to restrict, certain processing.
- Receive a copy of your data in a portable format.
- Lodge a complaint with your data protection authority.
California residents: under the CCPA/CPRA you may request disclosure of the categories of personal information collected, request deletion, and opt out of any “sale” or “sharing” of personal information. We do not sell personal information. To exercise any of these rights, and to be free from discrimination for doing so, email support@parikshafal.com.
We will respond to any verified request within 30 days. We may ask for enough information to confirm you are the person the data relates to.
Children's privacy
Parikshafal is intended for students preparing for competitive and board examinations, and for teachers and parents supporting them. It is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from a child under 13.
We do not serve personalised advertising to users we know to be children, and ad content on this site is configured for a general audience. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, email support@parikshafal.com and we will delete it promptly.
Where a user in India is a child under the DPDP Act, we process their personal data only with verifiable parental consent, and we do not undertake tracking or behavioural advertising directed at them.
Data security
The site is served over HTTPS, access to the database is restricted, and we keep the stack patched. No system is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security — but we do not store passwords, payment details or government identifiers, which keeps the consequences of any incident small. If a breach affects your personal data we will notify you and the relevant authority as required by law.
Links to other websites
Pages here link to official examination boards, commissions and file hosts such as Google Drive. Once you follow such a link you are on someone else's site, governed by their privacy policy, not ours. We are not responsible for the content or the data practices of any external site, and we recommend reading the privacy policy of any site you visit from here. See our Disclaimer for more.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the site changes or the law does. The “last updated” date at the top always reflects the current version, and material changes will be highlighted on the site itself. Continuing to use Parikshafal after an update means you accept the revised policy.