PRIVACY POLICY

TheGuidedFinance (theguidedfinance.com)

1. Introduction

This Privacy Policy explains how TheGuidedFinance, owned and operated by Shubham Negi (“we”, “us”, “our”), collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data when you visit theguidedfinance.com (the “Website”).

This policy is designed to comply with:

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) — European Union
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) / California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) — United States
Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act) — India
Information Technology Act, 2000 and IT (Amendment) Act, 2008 — India

2. Data Controller Information

Website Owner	Shubham Negi
Brand Name	TheGuidedFinance
Website	https://theguidedfinance.com
Contact Email	shubhamnegi@theguidedfinance.com
Grievance Officer (India)	Shubham Negi — shubhamnegi@theguidedfinance.com
Governing Law	Laws of India
Jurisdiction	Courts of India

Grievance Officer Response Time: We will acknowledge your grievance within 48 hours and resolve it within 30 days, as required under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

3. Information We Collect

3.1 Information You Provide Directly

Name and email address when you contact us via the contact form
Name, email, and payment information when purchasing from our online store
Comments posted on our blog

3.2 Information Collected Automatically

IP address, browser type, device type, operating system
Pages visited, time spent, referring URLs (via log files)
Analytics data via Google Analytics (_ga, _ga_* cookies) — only after your explicit consent

3.3 Information from Third Parties

Google AdSense advertising data (only after your explicit cookie consent)
Akismet anti-spam data for comment submissions (IP address, user agent, commenter details)

4. Lawful Basis for Processing (GDPR — Article 6)

For users in the European Union, we process your personal data only where we have a lawful basis to do so:

Data Type	Purpose	Lawful Basis
Contact form data (name, email)	Responding to enquiries	Consent (Art. 6(1)(a))
Analytics cookies (_ga, _ga_*)	Understanding site usage	Consent (Art. 6(1)(a))
Log files (IP, browser)	Security, site administration	Legitimate Interest (Art. 6(1)(f))
Purchase data	Order fulfilment	Contract (Art. 6(1)(b))
Comment data	Managing user comments	Legitimate Interest (Art. 6(1)(f))
Email communications	Responding to your queries	Consent (Art. 6(1)(a))
Anti-spam (Akismet)	Fraud and spam prevention	Legitimate Interest (Art. 6(1)(f))

5. Data Retention

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary for the stated purposes:

Contact form submissions	2 years from date of submission
Google Analytics data	14 months (Google Analytics default setting)
Log files (IP, access logs)	90 days
Purchase / transaction records	7 years (Indian tax law requirement)
Comment data	Duration of website operation or until deletion requested
Cookie consent records	1 year (CookieYes retention period)

6. Cookies

6.1 How We Use Cookies

We use cookies to improve your experience on our website. A cookie consent banner is displayed to all visitors. Non-essential cookies are only activated after you provide explicit consent by clicking ‘Accept’ on our cookie banner.

6.2 Categories of Cookies We Use

Category	Cookie Name(s)	Purpose
Necessary (Always Active)	cookieyes-*	Stores your cookie consent preferences. No personal data.
Analytics (Consent Required)	_ga, _ga_*	Google Analytics — tracks page views, sessions, and user behaviour anonymously.
Advertisement (Consent Required)	DART cookies (Google AdSense)	Serves personalised ads based on your browsing behaviour.

6.3 Google DART Cookie

Google, as a third-party vendor on our site, uses DART cookies to serve ads to visitors based on their visit to theguidedfinance.com and other sites on the internet. Visitors may opt out of the use of DART cookies by visiting Google’s Ad and Content Network Privacy Policy at: https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads

6.4 Managing Cookies

You may withdraw your cookie consent at any time by clicking the cookie settings icon on our website. You may also disable cookies through your browser settings. Note that disabling certain cookies may affect website functionality.

7. How We Use Your Information

To provide, operate, and maintain our website and services
To respond to your enquiries and provide customer support
To process purchases and fulfil orders
To improve and personalise your experience on the website
To analyse website traffic and usage patterns (analytics)
To prevent fraud, spam, and abuse
To comply with legal obligations

We do not sell your personal data to third parties. We do not use your data for automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects.

8. Sharing of Your Information

We may share your data with the following third parties, solely for the purposes described in this policy:

Third Party	Purpose	Privacy Policy
Google Analytics	Website analytics	policies.google.com/privacy
Google AdSense	Advertising	policies.google.com/technologies/ads
Instamojo	Payment processing for online store	instamojo.com/privacy
Akismet	Spam prevention for comments	automattic.com/privacy
QUIC.cloud / LiteSpeed	Caching and performance	quic.cloud/privacy-policy
Hosting Provider	Website infrastructure	Per your hosting provider

All third-party partners are required to handle your data in accordance with applicable data protection laws. We do not authorise them to use your data for their own independent purposes.

9. Your Rights

9.1 Rights Under GDPR (EU Users)

If you are located in the European Union, you have the following rights under the GDPR:

Right to Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to Erasure (‘Right to be Forgotten’): Request deletion of your personal data, subject to legal obligations.
Right to Restriction of Processing: Request that we limit how we process your data.
Right to Data Portability: Request your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
Right to Object: Object to processing based on legitimate interest.
Right to Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent at any time without affecting prior lawful processing.
Right to Lodge a Complaint: You have the right to file a complaint with your local supervisory authority (e.g., your national Data Protection Authority).

9.2 Rights Under CCPA/CPRA (California Users)

If you are a California resident, you have the following rights under the CCPA/CPRA:

Right to Know: Request disclosure of the categories and specific pieces of personal data we have collected about you.
Right to Delete: Request deletion of your personal data we have collected.
Right to Correct: Request correction of inaccurate personal data.
Right to Opt-Out of Sale or Sharing: You have the right to opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information. We share data with Google AdSense for advertising purposes, which may constitute ‘sharing’ under CPRA. To opt out, click the ‘Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information’ link in our website footer.
Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA rights.

Response Time: We will respond to verifiable consumer requests within 45 days, extendable by a further 45 days where reasonably necessary.

9.3 Rights Under DPDP Act (India Users)

If you are located in India, you have the following rights under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023:

Right to Information: Know what personal data is being processed and the purpose.
Right to Correction and Erasure: Request correction of inaccurate data or erasure of data no longer needed for the stated purpose.
Right to Grievance Redressal: File a grievance with our Grievance Officer (see Section 2).
Right to Nomination: Nominate another individual to exercise your rights on your behalf in the event of death or incapacity.

9.4 Exercising Your Rights

To exercise any of the rights listed above, please contact us at: contact@theguidedfinance.com

Please include your full name, the nature of your request, and sufficient information for us to verify your identity. We will not charge a fee for reasonable requests.

10. Children’s Privacy

Our website is not directed at children under the age of 13 (or 16 in the EU, or 18 in jurisdictions where this applies). We do not knowingly collect personal data from minors. If you believe a minor has submitted personal data to us, please contact us immediately at contact@theguidedfinance.com and we will delete it promptly.

11. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These include SSL/HTTPS encryption, access controls, and secure hosting. However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

12. International Data Transfers

Our website is operated from India. If you are accessing our website from the EU or other regions with data protection laws that differ from India, please be aware that your data may be transferred to and processed in India or by third-party services (such as Google) that may process data in various countries. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as standard contractual clauses to ensure adequate protection of your data.

13. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those websites. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any external sites you visit.

14. Affiliate Disclosure

Some links on this website may be affiliate links. We may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you if you make a purchase or sign up through these links. Affiliate links are clearly disclosed on each relevant page in accordance with FTC guidelines (United States) and applicable disclosure requirements in other jurisdictions.

15. Log Files

We follow standard practice in using server log files. These files record visitor information including IP addresses, browser type, Internet Service Provider (ISP), date/time stamps, and referring/exit pages. This information is used for analysing trends, administering the site, and gathering demographic information. Log file data is retained for 90 days and is not linked to any personally identifiable information.

16. Caching

This site uses caching to improve performance and user experience. Cache files are temporary, are never accessed by third parties except for technical support from the cache plugin provider, and expire on a schedule set by the site administrator. We may use QUIC.cloud services to process and cache data temporarily. See https://quic.cloud/privacy-policy for details.

17. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to update this Privacy Policy at any time. The updated version will be posted on this page with a revised ‘Last Updated’ date. We encourage you to review this page periodically. Continued use of the website after any changes constitutes your acknowledgment of the updated policy. For material changes, we will provide prominent notice on the website.

18. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or the handling of your personal data, please contact us:

Name	Shubham Negi
Website	https://theguidedfinance.com
Email	shubhamnegi@theguidedfinance.com
Contact Form	https://theguidedfinance.com/contact/

For GDPR-related complaints, you also have the right to contact your local Data Protection Authority (DPA). A list of EU DPAs is available at: https://edpb.europa.eu/about-edpb/about-edpb/members_en