Privacy policy

Last updated 30 October 2026

Who we are

Ek Verse is a free Bhagavad Gita app made by an individual developer based in Canada (called "we" in this policy). We are responsible and accountable for any personal information described here, including under Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). We are also the data fiduciary under Indian law and the controller under EU and UK law. This policy covers the Ek Verse app for Android, iPhone and iPad, its web version, and the Ek Verse website.

What the app collects

Nothing. The app has no accounts and no sign-in. It never sends what you read, the verses you save, your settings, or anything that could identify you or your device, to us or to anyone else. It has no advertising, analytics, crash-reporting or tracking code. Ek Verse sets no cookies, so there is nothing for your browser's Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control setting to switch off.

The only personal information we ever receive is an email you choose to send us, and the routine logs our web host keeps. Both are explained below.

What stays on your device

So that the app opens the way you left it, it keeps a few things on your device: the verses you save, where you were reading (the last verse or chapter card on screen), and your settings (text size; whether to show the transliteration, the English meaning and the Hindi meaning; the theme; and whether the tanpura is on and how loud). In the web version these are kept in your browser's local storage, not in cookies.

The app never sends this information to us, and we cannot see it. To remove a saved verse, tap its bookmark again. Deleting the app removes everything; in the web version, clearing the site's data in your browser does the same. On Android, if you use Google's device backup, the backup may include this information and restore it when you reinstall the app or move to a new phone. That is under your control and Google's terms. On iPhone and iPad it is not included in iCloud backups.

Permissions

The app never asks you for a permission. It does not use your microphone, camera, contacts, location, photos or files. On Android, the store page may also list routine permissions that need no approval from you, such as network access (which Ek Verse does not use) and changing audio settings (so the tanpura can play). The tanpura is a sound file inside the app, and the installed app works without an internet connection.

Sharing a verse

When you tap the share icon, the verse text goes to your phone's share menu (in the web version it may be copied to your clipboard instead). You choose where to send it, for example WhatsApp or email, and that app handles it under its own privacy policy. Nothing is sent to us.

App stores

Apple (App Store) and Google (Google Play) handle downloads and updates under their own privacy policies. They show us overall numbers, such as how many people downloaded the app. If you have agreed in your phone's settings to share diagnostics with app developers, they may also show us crash reports and usage statistics. None of this tells us who you are. If you post a review in a store, we can see the review and the name you post it under, and we may reply there.

The website and web version

The Ek Verse website and the web version are served by our hosting provider, Cloudflare. Like any web server, it processes technical data such as your IP address (your device's internet address) and your browser type to deliver the pages and protect them from attacks, and keeps it only as long as it needs to for those purposes, as described in Cloudflare's own privacy policy. Cloudflare shows us overall statistics, such as the number of visits and the countries they come from, and, if a request is blocked as an attack, the details of that request, including its IP address. We use these only to keep the site working and secure, we do not use them to identify or track you, and we have not turned on any analytics the host offers. Under EU and UK law, the basis for this is our legitimate interest in keeping the site working and secure.

If you email us

If you write to us, we receive your email address, your name if your email shows it, and whatever you choose to tell us, such as a verse number or your phone model. We use them only to reply to you and to fix what you report. We never sell them, never use them for marketing and never pass them to anyone else. Messages to our address pass through Cloudflare's email forwarding and are kept in our Google (Gmail) mailbox; both handle them only to deliver and store our mail.

We keep each conversation for up to 12 months after our last message and then delete it, or sooner if you ask. Under EU and UK law, the basis for this is our legitimate interest in answering you.

Keeping data safe

The app sends none of your information over the internet, so none of it is ever in transit. The Ek Verse website and web version are served only over an encrypted (HTTPS) connection. Our support mailbox and the Cloudflare account that forwards to it are protected by strong, unique passwords and two-step verification, and only the developer can read the mail. If we ever learn that someone has got into it, we will tell the people affected, and the authorities where the law requires.

Children

Ek Verse is made for a general audience and is not designed specifically for children. The app collects no personal information from anyone, children included. If you are under 18, please ask a parent or guardian to write to us for you. If we learn that a child under 13, or in India under 18, has emailed us without a parent's involvement, we will delete the message after replying only to ask a parent to contact us.

Your rights

Wherever you live, you can ask us what personal information we hold about you and ask us to correct or delete it. In practice the only such information is any email you have sent us. Write to [email protected] from the address you used, so that we can find your messages; we reply within 30 days.

If you are in Canada and not satisfied with our answer, you can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. Under India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 you can also name someone to exercise these rights for you, and if you are not satisfied with our answer you can complain to the Data Protection Board of India. If you are in the EU or the UK, you can also object to our use of your information and complain to your local data protection authority (in the UK, the Information Commissioner's Office). We do not sell or share personal information as California law defines those terms. Whatever the app keeps on your device is yours to keep or delete.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, we will update it and the "Last updated" date at the top. If Ek Verse ever starts collecting any personal information, we will say so clearly in the app before it does.

Contact

[email protected]