This Privacy Policy describes how Smit Parekh ("I", "me", "my") collects, uses, and protects information when you visit https://www.smitparekh.co.in (the "Site"), use the free browser-based tools, create a user account, or enquire about or engage my freelance development services.
1. Information I Collect
Information you provide directly
- Contact and enquiry form: name, email address, subject, budget or project description, and any message you write. This applies to general enquiries, freelance project briefs, and student project enquiries.
- User account (Google sign-in): when you sign in with Google via the Site, I receive your Google account email address, display name, and a unique Google account identifier. No password is stored — authentication is delegated entirely to Google via Supabase Auth.
- Free tools — file and text uploads: some tools (e.g. background remover, ATS resume checker, image compressor) accept files or text you provide. These are processed to produce the requested result. Files are deleted immediately after the result is returned; text inputs are not retained beyond the request.
- Feedback submissions: if you submit feedback via the feedback page, I receive your name, email (optional), and the content of your feedback.
Information collected automatically
- Usage data: pages visited, referrer URL, approximate location (country and region only), device type, browser, operating system, and timestamps — collected via privacy-friendly analytics.
- Tool usage and quota tracking: to enforce daily usage limits on the free tools, the Site tracks how many times each tool is used per session (for guests) or per user account (for signed-in users). For guest sessions, your IP address is processed through a one-way SHA-256 hash with a server-side salt before being stored. The raw IP address is never logged or retained.
- Cookies and local storage: a small number of cookies and browser storage items are used for essential functionality — session state, dark/light mode preference, and authentication tokens. Third-party advertising cookies (Google AdSense) are also used to display ads that help keep the tools free — see Section 8 for details and opt-out options.
2. How I Use Information
- To respond to enquiries and project briefs submitted through the contact form.
- To deliver the requested results from the free tools.
- To maintain and enforce per-user and per-session tool usage quotas.
- To manage your user account and provide access to the personal tools dashboard.
- To communicate about freelance or student project engagements, including scoping, updates, delivery, and support.
- To improve the Site, fix bugs, and understand which tools and content are most useful.
- To prevent abuse, spam, and misuse of the free tools.
- To comply with applicable legal obligations.
3. Freelance and Student Project Enquiries
When you submit a project brief — whether for freelance development or student project work — the information you provide (project description, budget, deadlines, and any supporting materials) is treated as confidential. I do not share this information with third parties, use it to train AI models, or reference it publicly without your prior written consent.
For ongoing engagements, project-related communications (emails, messages, deliverables) are retained for the duration of the project and for a reasonable period thereafter for support and reference purposes.
4. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR / UK GDPR)
If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or another jurisdiction with equivalent data protection law, my legal basis for processing your personal data is one or more of the following:
- Consent — where you have actively provided information (e.g. contact form, account creation).
- Contract performance — to deliver a service you have requested or engaged me to perform.
- Legitimate interests — to operate, secure, and improve the Site and its tools.
- Legal obligation — where required by applicable law.
5. Sharing and Third Parties
I do not sell your personal data. I share data only with the following service providers who help operate the Site, and only to the extent necessary:
- Vercel — hosting and edge network for the Site.
- Supabase — user authentication (Google OAuth), database (usage quotas, account data), and serverless functions. Data is stored in Supabase-managed infrastructure. Supabase is SOC 2 compliant.
- Resend — transactional email delivery used to send contact form confirmation emails and project update notifications. Resend receives your email address solely to deliver the email.
- Cloudinary — image transformation and storage for portfolio images and blog assets. User-uploaded files for tools are not sent to Cloudinary.
- Hugging Face / Python tools service — certain AI-powered tools (e.g. background remover) use a self-hosted inference service deployed on Hugging Face. Files you upload for these tools are sent to this service solely to generate the result and are not retained.
- Google AdSense — advertising network used to display ads on the Site. Google may use cookies (including the DoubleClick cookie) to serve ads based on your prior visits to this or other websites. This helps keep the tools and content free. You can opt out of personalised advertising at Google Ads Settings or via aboutads.info. See also Google's advertising policies.
- Analytics provider — privacy-friendly, cookie-optional analytics that do not share data with advertising networks.
6. Data Retention
- Contact form messages and project enquiries: retained for as long as needed to respond and, for active projects, for the duration of the engagement plus a reasonable support period.
- User accounts: retained while your account is active. You may request deletion at any time.
- Tool usage quota records: hashed IP data and session usage counts are retained for up to 24 hours (one daily quota cycle) and then purged.
- Uploaded files: processed in-memory or in temporary storage and deleted immediately after the result is returned. No uploaded file is retained beyond the single request.
7. Your Rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:
- Access the personal data I hold about you.
- Correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
- Request deletion of your data ("right to be forgotten").
- Request a portable copy of your data.
- Object to or restrict certain processing.
- Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.
To exercise any of these rights, email smitparekh03@gmail.comwith the subject line "Privacy Request". I will respond within 30 days.
8. Cookies
The Site uses cookies and browser storage for the following purposes:
- Essential cookies: authentication session tokens, CSRF protection, and dark/light mode preference. These cannot be disabled without breaking core functionality.
- Analytics: privacy-friendly, aggregate-only analytics with no cross-site fingerprinting.
- Advertising cookies (Google AdSense): Google AdSense places cookies — including the DoubleClick cookie — to serve ads personalised to your interests based on your browsing history on this and other sites. These cookies may track you across websites. To opt out of personalised ads, visit Google Ads Settings or the NAI opt-out tool. Opting out means you will see non-personalised ads rather than no ads.
You can disable cookies in your browser settings. Essential cookies (authentication, tool quotas) are required for core functionality. Disabling advertising cookies will not affect your ability to use any tool on this Site.
9. Security
I use industry-standard measures to protect your data: HTTPS on all endpoints, hashed credentials, least-privilege database access, and one-way IP hashing for quota tracking. No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure, and I cannot guarantee absolute security.
10. International Transfers
The Site is operated from India and uses infrastructure providers (Vercel, Supabase, Resend) that may process data in the United States or the European Union. Where such transfers occur, they are made subject to appropriate safeguards (e.g. Standard Contractual Clauses) or to jurisdictions with an adequacy decision.
11. Children's Privacy
The Site is not directed at children under 13. I do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has submitted data to the Site, please contact me and I will delete it promptly.
12. Changes to This Policy
I may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be reflected by updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. For significant changes, I may also notify signed-in users by email.
13. Contact
Questions about this policy or a data request? Reach me at smitparekh03@gmail.com or via the contact page.