Privacy Policy
Last Updated: April 16, 2026
1. Introduction
Welcome to Government of Odisha - Information Portal ("we," "us," or "our"), accessible at governmentofodisha.com. We are committed to protecting the privacy and security of our visitors ("you" or "users"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website.
By accessing or using our website, you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please discontinue use of the site immediately.
2. Information We Collect
2.1 Personal Information (Voluntarily Provided)
We may collect personal information that you voluntarily provide when you:
- Register an Account — Username, email address, full name, district
- Submit a Contact Form — Name, email address, subject, message
- Post Comments or Forum Topics — Name, email, comment/post content
- Subscribe to Newsletter — Email address
- Update Your Profile — Full name, district, avatar
2.2 Automatically Collected Information
When you visit our website, we may automatically collect:
- Log Data — IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URL
- Page View Analytics — Pages visited, time spent, page titles
- Cookies — Session cookies for login, theme preference cookies
2.3 Information from Third Parties
We may receive information from third-party services integrated into our website, such as Google AdSense and Google Analytics (if enabled by the administrator).
3. How We Use Your Information
We use the collected information for the following purposes:
- To provide, operate, and maintain our website
- To create and manage your user account
- To process and respond to your contact form submissions
- To send newsletter updates (only with your explicit consent)
- To display and moderate user-generated content (comments, forum posts)
- To improve our website, content, and user experience
- To monitor and analyze usage patterns and trends
- To detect, prevent, and address technical issues or security breaches
- To comply with legal obligations
4. Google AdSense & Advertising
We may use Google AdSense to display advertisements on our website. Google AdSense uses cookies and web beacons to serve ads based on your prior visits to our website and other websites on the internet.
4.1 How Google Uses Data
- Google's use of the DoubleClick cookie enables it and its partners to serve ads based on your visit to our site and/or other sites on the Internet.
- You may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ad Settings.
- You may opt out of third-party vendor cookies by visiting the Digital Advertising Alliance's opt-out page.
4.2 Third-Party Ad Vendors
Third-party ad servers or networks may use technologies like cookies, JavaScript, or web beacons in their advertisements and links that appear on our website. They automatically receive your IP address when this occurs. These technologies are used to measure the effectiveness of their advertising campaigns and/or to personalize the advertising content you see.
We have no control over cookies used by third-party advertisers. Please consult the respective privacy policies of these third-party ad servers for more information.
5. Cookies Policy
Our website uses the following types of cookies:
| Cookie Type | Purpose | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Session Cookies | User login authentication and CSRF protection | Browser session |
| Preference Cookies | Theme (dark/light mode) preference | Persistent (localStorage) |
| Analytics Cookies | Internal page view tracking for site improvement | Session |
| AdSense Cookies | Google advertising (if enabled) | Varies (set by Google) |
You can disable cookies in your browser settings. However, doing so may affect the functionality of certain features on our website (e.g., login, theme preference).
6. Data Sharing & Disclosure
We do NOT sell, trade, or rent your personal information to third parties. We may share information only in the following scenarios:
- Legal Compliance — If required by law, regulation, or legal process
- Protection — To protect our rights, privacy, safety, or property
- Service Providers — With trusted hosting and email service providers who assist in operating our website (bound by confidentiality obligations)
- Advertising Partners — Google AdSense may collect anonymized data for ad serving (see Section 4)
- Public Content — Comments and forum posts that you choose to make public are visible to all visitors
7. Data Security
We implement reasonable security measures to protect your personal information:
- Passwords are stored using bcrypt hashing (never in plain text)
- Session management with secure PHP sessions
- Input sanitization and XSS protection on all forms
- X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options, and X-XSS-Protection headers
- Access restriction to sensitive directories and files via .htaccess
However, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security.
8. Your Rights
You have the following rights regarding your personal data:
- Access — Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
- Correction — Update or correct your profile information at any time via your account settings
- Deletion — Request deletion of your account and associated data by contacting us
- Withdraw Consent — Unsubscribe from our newsletter at any time
- Object — Object to processing of your data for direct marketing
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us.
9. Children's Privacy
Our website is not directed at individuals under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that we have collected personal data from a child under 13 without parental consent, we will take steps to delete that information.
10. Links to Third-Party Websites
Our website contains links to official government portals and third-party websites (e.g., odisha.gov.in, opsc.gov.in). We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of these external websites. We recommend reviewing the privacy policies of any external sites you visit.
11. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with the updated "Last Updated" date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Continued use of the website after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
12. Contact Us
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact us:
- Website: Contact Form
- Email: contact@governmentofodisha.com