Privacy Policy

Effective date: 21 October 2026

This Privacy Policy explains what information is collected when you visit gitaessence.com (the “website”) or use the Gita Essence – A way of Life app for Android and iPhone (the “app”), why it is collected, and the choices you have. The website and the app are published by M/s Soni PixelCraft (“we”, “us”, “our”).

If you have any question about this policy or your information, write to us at contact@sonipixelcraft.com.

In short

  • The app needs no account or sign-up and shows no advertisements.
  • Your journal, bookmarks, reading progress, streaks, jap counts and settings stay on your phone. We never receive them.
  • If you allow notifications, Google Firebase creates a push token so that we can send you the notifications you chose. It is not linked to your name or email address.
  • We do not sell, rent or trade your personal information.

1. The Gita Essence app

1.1 Information that stays on your phone

Everything you create or record in the app is stored only on your device, inside the app’s private storage:

  • journal entries and reflections, including the mood you choose;
  • bookmarked verses, reading progress, streaks, milestones, quiz answers and verses you are learning;
  • naam jap (mala) counts and goals;
  • your settings, such as name for the greeting, language, theme, reminder time and music choices;
  • a photo you choose as wallpaper, or an audio file you choose for background music (copied into the app’s storage);
  • verses, mantra recordings and other content downloaded from gitaessence.com for offline use.

We have no access to this information. It is removed when you uninstall the app or clear its data. Depending on your phone’s settings, Android’s or Apple’s own device backup may include it; that backup is handled by Google or Apple under their policies.

1.2 Backups and sharing

When you use Backup & Restore, the app creates a backup file and you choose where to save or share it (for example Google Drive, iCloud Drive or your phone’s files). When you share a verse card, a quote or your journal, it goes to the app you pick in your phone’s share menu. We do not receive any of this; it is governed by the service you choose.

1.3 Push notifications (Firebase Cloud Messaging)

If you allow notifications, the app uses Firebase Cloud Messaging, a service of Google, to receive announcements, new-article alerts and verse updates. For this, Firebase creates a push token and a Firebase installation ID for your copy of the app, and the app subscribes to the topics you switch on under You → Notifications.

  • We send notifications to topics, not to individual people. We do not store your push token on our servers and it is not linked to your name, email address or any other personal information.
  • You can switch topics off in the app, or turn off notifications for the app in your phone’s settings, at any time. After you uninstall the app, its token stops working.
  • Google processes this data under the Firebase privacy and security terms and the Google Privacy Policy.

The daily reminder and festival reminders (Ekadashi, Janmashtami, Gita Jayanti) are scheduled on your phone itself and do not involve our servers.

1.4 Content from gitaessence.com

The app downloads verses and their meanings, the mantra chanting library and its audio files from gitaessence.com, and the Live tab shows pages of the website. Like any website, our web server receives standard technical information with each request, such as your IP address, device and browser type, and the date and time. Our hosting provider keeps this in server logs for security and to keep the service running. Pages opened in the Live tab are covered by the website section of this policy (section 2).

1.5 Listen mode (text-to-speech)

Listen mode reads verse meanings aloud using the text-to-speech service built into your phone (for example Speech Services by Google or Apple’s voices). The text is processed by that service under its own privacy policy; some voices may use an internet connection. The app does not send this text to us.

1.6 Permissions the app uses

  • Notifications (optional): for reminders and the notifications you choose.
  • Background audio / media playback: so that Listen mode and mantra chanting continue with the screen locked, with play and pause controls on the lock screen and in the notification.
  • Internet: to download verses, mantras and pages from gitaessence.com, and to receive notifications.
  • Vibration: for the naam jap counter and gentle feedback.
  • Photos and files: only when you choose a wallpaper photo, an audio file or a backup file yourself, through your phone’s own picker. The app cannot browse your photos or files.

The app does not use your camera, microphone, location or contacts, and it does not use an advertising ID.

1.7 Ratings and app statistics

The app may occasionally show Google Play’s or Apple’s own rating prompt. The rating is handled entirely by Google or Apple. The app contains no advertising or analytics software. Google Play and the App Store may give us anonymous, aggregated statistics (such as the number of installs and crash reports) if you have allowed your phone to share them with app developers.

2. The gitaessence.com website

2.1 Comments

When you leave a comment, we collect the data shown in the comment form (name, email address and, optionally, website), as well as your IP address and browser user-agent string to help detect spam. An anonymised string created from your email address (a “hash”) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it (Gravatar privacy policy). After your comment is approved, your profile picture is visible to the public next to your comment. Comments may be checked by an automated spam-detection service.

2.2 Newsletter

If you subscribe to our newsletter, we store your email address to send you new articles and updates. Every newsletter contains a link to unsubscribe, and you can also ask us to remove your address at any time.

2.3 Cookies

  • If you leave a comment, you may opt in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies, so you don’t have to fill them in again. These cookies last for one year.
  • If you log in to the website, temporary cookies are set to check whether your browser accepts cookies and to keep you logged in. They are removed when you log out or close your browser, or after a short period.
  • Analytics cookies may be set as described in section 2.4.

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings; some features (such as remembering your comment details) may then not work.

2.4 Website statistics (Google Analytics)

We use Google Analytics, connected through the Site Kit by Google plugin, to understand how visitors use the website: for example which pages are read, how visitors arrive and the type of device used. Google Analytics uses cookies and receives information such as pages visited, approximate location derived from your IP address, and device and browser details. We use these statistics only in aggregate to improve the website. You can learn more in How Google uses information from sites that use its services, and you can opt out with the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.

2.5 Embedded content from other websites

Articles may include embedded content (for example videos or posts from other sites). Embedded content behaves exactly as if you visited the other website: it may collect data about you, use cookies and track your interaction with that content, especially if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

2.6 Contacting us

If you email us, we receive your email address and whatever you choose to write, and use it only to reply to you.

3. How we use information

  • to deliver the website and the app and their content, including content you download for offline use;
  • to send the notifications and newsletters you asked for;
  • to publish and moderate comments;
  • to keep the website and app secure and working, and to understand and improve them in aggregate;
  • to answer your messages and requests;
  • to meet legal obligations.

Where the law requires a legal basis, we rely on your consent (for example notifications, newsletter and optional cookies), which you can withdraw at any time, and on our legitimate interests in running a secure and useful website and app.

4. Sharing of information

We do not sell, rent or trade personal information, and we do not share it for advertising. Information is processed only by service providers that help us run the website and app, under their own privacy and security terms:

  • our web hosting provider, which stores the website and its server logs;
  • Google (Firebase Cloud Messaging for app notifications, and Google Analytics through Site Kit if enabled as described in section 2.4);
  • Automattic (Gravatar) and our comment spam-detection service;
  • our newsletter / email delivery service.

We may also disclose information if required by law, or to protect the rights, safety and security of our users, the public or ourselves.

5. International transfers

Some of these service providers, such as Google, may process information on servers outside India. Where this happens, they apply safeguards required by applicable law.

6. How long information is kept

  • App data on your phone: until you delete it in the app, clear the app’s data or uninstall the app.
  • Push tokens: managed by Firebase; they stop working when you turn off notifications or uninstall the app, and unused tokens expire.
  • Comments: kept indefinitely with their metadata, so follow-up comments can be approved automatically, unless you ask us to remove them.
  • Newsletter: until you unsubscribe.
  • Server logs and analytics: for a limited period needed for security and statistics, in line with our providers’ settings.

7. Security

The website and all connections from the app to gitaessence.com and Google use encrypted HTTPS connections. App data is kept in the app’s private storage on your device, which other apps cannot read. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect the information we handle.

8. Your rights and choices

Depending on where you live, including under India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and, for visitors in the European Union or United Kingdom, the GDPR, you may have the right to:

  • ask what personal information we hold about you and receive a copy;
  • have it corrected or completed;
  • have it erased (for example your comments or newsletter subscription);
  • withdraw consent at any time (this does not affect earlier processing);
  • object to or restrict certain processing;
  • nominate another person to exercise your rights in case of death or incapacity, where the law allows;
  • raise a complaint with us, and with your data protection authority if you are not satisfied with our response.

To exercise any of these rights, email contact@sonipixelcraft.com. We may need to confirm your identity first, and we aim to reply within 30 days.

Deleting your data

  • App: uninstall the app, or clear its storage in your phone’s settings. This deletes your journal, progress and settings, which exist only on your phone. To stop notifications, switch them off under You → Notifications or in your phone’s settings.
  • Website: email us to remove your comments or your newsletter subscription.

9. Children

The website and the app are meant for a general audience and are not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has given us personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

10. Grievances

If you have a concern or complaint about how your information is handled, please contact our grievance contact at contact@sonipixelcraft.com with the subject line “Privacy grievance”. We will acknowledge your message and try to resolve it promptly.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when the website or the app changes or when the law requires it. The new version will be published on this page with a new effective date. Significant changes will also be announced on the website or in the app.

12. Contact

M/s Soni PixelCraft – publisher of gitaessence.com and the Gita Essence app
Email: contact@sonipixelcraft.com
Website: https://gitaessence.com/