Last updated: [DATE] · lavenderstreet.org
This page still has real information missing — anywhere you see text in [brackets] below (the business name, address, and grievance officer contact) needs to be filled in with the real details, and an Indian lawyer familiar with the DPDP Act should read it once before this goes live for real users. It is drafted carefully but it is not legal advice.
Lavender Street is a platform that helps people in Mumbai find homes for street animals. It is operated by [YOUR FULL NAME / ENTITY NAME], [ADDRESS], India.
For anything in this policy, write to [privacy@lavenderstreet.org].
This policy explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, who sees it, and what you can ask us to do with it. It is written to comply with India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and the rules made under it, together with the Information Technology Act, 2000 and its rules.
We have tried to write this in plain language rather than legal language. If anything is unclear, ask us and we will explain it.
When you post an animal:
When you enquire about an animal:
Automatically, when anyone visits: IP address, browser type, device type, approximate region derived from IP, pages visited, and timestamps. This is standard server and security logging.
What we do not collect: We do not collect your precise location in the background. We ask for location only at the moment you create a listing, and only if you tap the button. We do not track you across other websites. We do not run advertising and we do not sell data to anyone, for any purpose, ever.
We process your personal data on the basis of the consent you give when you create an account, post a listing, or send an enquiry. You are giving that consent freely and you can withdraw it — see Section 8.
| What we use | What we use it for |
|---|---|
| Mobile number | Verifying you are real; connecting rehomers and adopters; preventing duplicate and fraudulent accounts |
| Name | Displaying who is rehoming or enquiring |
| Email address | Sending you enquiry alerts and check-in reminders |
| Animal photographs and details | Displaying the listing publicly and generating the shareable poster |
| Location | Showing roughly where the animal is, so nearby adopters can find it, and so animal welfare organisations can spot clusters that indicate an unsterilised mother in the area |
| Screening answers | Helping the rehomer judge whether a home is suitable |
| Identity document | Creating a record of who took responsibility for an animal, as a deterrent against resale and mistreatment |
| Enquiry activity counts | Showing rehomers patterns that may indicate someone collecting animals for resale |
| Server logs | Security, abuse prevention, and keeping the site working |
This deserves its own section because it carries real risk.
By default, the location shown publicly on a listing is approximate. We deliberately offset the pin by roughly 500 metres before displaying it. Your exact coordinates are stored but never shown publicly unless you actively choose the “exact pin” option.
We do this because a precise pin on an animal still living on the street tells anyone who wishes it harm exactly where to find it, and a precise pin on a fostered animal reveals the foster’s home address.
You can choose to share an exact pin. We recommend you do not.
Public — visible to anyone on the internet:
Not public — visible only to specific people:
A warning about posters. The shareable poster this site generates has a contact phone number printed on it, because it is meant to be posted on Instagram and WhatsApp where there is no other way to reach you. Once you share that poster, that number is public and outside our control. Use a number you are comfortable making public, and consider a secondary number.
We do not sell your data. We share it only with service providers who help us run the site, and only to the extent needed:
Some of these providers store data on servers outside India. We take reasonable steps to ensure they protect it appropriately.
We may also share data where we are legally required to — for example, under a valid court order or a request from a law enforcement authority acting within its powers.
We do not automatically send your data to animal welfare organisations. When you tag NGOs in a poster you share on social media, that is you posting to your own account, not us sending anything.
Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 you have the right to:
To exercise any of these, write to [privacy@lavenderstreet.org]. We will respond within 30 days.
Withdrawing consent will mean we can no longer show your listings or pass on enquiries, so your listings will be taken down.
As required by law, we have named a Grievance Officer to handle complaints about how your personal data is handled:
Name: [YOUR FULL NAME]
Email: [grievance@lavenderstreet.org]
Address: [ADDRESS], Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
We will acknowledge complaints within 24 hours and resolve them within 15 days.
We protect your data using encrypted connections (HTTPS), encrypted storage, access controls limiting who on our side can see personal data, and one-time password verification rather than stored passwords.
No system is perfectly secure. If a breach occurs that is likely to affect you, we will notify you and the Data Protection Board of India as the law requires.
This service is for people aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has created an account, tell us and we will remove it.
We use only the cookies necessary to keep you logged in and to keep the site secure. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies, and there is no third-party analytics collecting your behaviour across the web.
If we change this policy in a way that materially affects you, we will tell you by email and show a notice on the site before the change takes effect. The date at the top always reflects the current version.
[privacy@lavenderstreet.org]
[YOUR FULL NAME / ENTITY NAME]
[ADDRESS], Mumbai, Maharashtra, India