Privacy Policy

FactorBeam ("FactorBeam", "we", "us", or "our") is a free educational website and open AI Literacy project operated by Krishna Kumar. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect personal data when you visit or use our website, AI Literacy tracks, quizzes, and related features (collectively, the "Service").

We apply this policy to visitors globally and design our cookie and advertising practices to align with widely recognised standards, including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), UK GDPR, and Google AdSense publisher requirements. By using the Service, you acknowledge this policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.

This policy should be read together with our Terms of Service.

Data controller: Krishna Kumar, trading as FactorBeam, based in Bengaluru, India.

Privacy contact: contact.factorbeam@gmail.com

For questions about this policy, to exercise your privacy rights, or to raise a concern about how we handle personal data, contact us at the email above. We will respond within the timeframes required by applicable law.

This policy applies to personal data processed through the Service. It does not apply to third-party websites, apps, or services linked from FactorBeam, which have their own privacy policies.

Children: The Service is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13. If you are under the age of digital consent in your country (for example, 16 in parts of the European Economic Area or United Kingdom), you may use the Service only with verifiable consent from a parent or legal guardian. If you believe a child has provided us personal data without appropriate consent, contact us and we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

We collect only the data needed to operate the Service, remember your preferences, comply with law, and — where you consent — measure usage and serve advertising.

Data collected automatically when you visit:

• IP address and approximate location (typically country or region level)
• Browser type, version, language, and device identifiers
• Operating system and device type
• Referring URL, pages viewed, and timestamps
• Screen size and similar technical telemetry needed to render the site

Our hosting and content-delivery providers (including Cloudflare) may process this information to deliver, secure, and optimise the Service. Server logs are generated as part of normal website operation.

Data stored locally in your browser:

• Theme preference (light/dark mode)
• Reading progress and quiz state
• Cookie consent choices (category and timestamp)

This information stays on your device unless you clear browser storage. We do not currently operate user accounts or a central profile database.

Data you provide directly: If you email us at contact.factorbeam@gmail.com (via our contact page), you may provide your name, email address, and message content. Messages are handled through your email provider and our inbox; they are not published on the site.

We do not intentionally collect: payment card details, government ID numbers, precise geolocation, health data, or other special categories of personal data through the Service.

Where the GDPR, UK GDPR, or similar laws apply, we rely on the following legal bases:

• Consent — for non-essential cookies, analytics, and personalised advertising (including Google AdSense), where required. You may withdraw consent at any time via Cookie preferences in the footer.
• Legitimate interests — to operate, secure, and improve the Service, prevent abuse, and understand aggregate usage, balanced against your rights. Where local law requires consent instead of legitimate interests for a specific activity, we obtain consent.
• Legal obligation — to comply with applicable law, respond to lawful requests, and enforce our Terms.

In jurisdictions that use different frameworks (for example, consent or notice under U.S. state privacy laws, or legitimate uses under India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act), we process personal data as permitted by those laws.

Cookies are small text files stored on your device. We also use similar technologies such as local storage and pixels/beacons (where advertising is enabled). Cookies and related technologies are grouped as follows:

• Strictly necessary — required for core functionality, security, theme preference, reading progress, quiz state, and remembering your consent choices. These cannot be disabled through our banner because the Service cannot function properly without them.
• Analytics — Google Analytics 4 (GA4) cookies help us understand how visitors use the AI Literacy (for example, which chapters are most read). Loaded only if you grant analytics consent.
• Advertising — used by Google AdSense and its partners to serve and measure ads, including personalised ads where permitted. Loaded only if you grant advertising consent.

On your first visit, a cookie banner asks for your choices. You can change them at any time by clicking Cookie preferences in the footer. Rejecting non-essential cookies means analytics and advertising scripts are not loaded.

Browser settings may also let you block or delete cookies. Blocking strictly necessary cookies may affect site functionality.

FactorBeam may display third-party advertisements through Google AdSense, operated by Google LLC (and Google Ireland Limited for users in the European Economic Area and United Kingdom). Advertising helps keep the Service free. AdSense scripts and ad tags load only after you consent to advertising cookies, except where non-personalised ads are permitted without consent under applicable law.

Required Google advertising disclosures:

• Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a user's prior visits to this website or other websites.
• Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to users based on their visit to our site and/or other sites on the Internet.
• Users may opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings.
• Alternatively, users may opt out of a third-party vendor's use of cookies for personalised advertising by visiting www.aboutads.info (U.S.) or optout.networkadvertising.org (Network Advertising Initiative).

When advertising is enabled, Google and its partners may collect or receive information from your browser or device (such as cookies, device identifiers, IP address, and ad interaction data) to deliver, personalise, and measure ads. Google operates independently of FactorBeam.

For more information, see:

• Google Privacy Policy
• How Google uses information from sites that use its services
• How Google uses data when you use our partners' sites or apps
• Google Publisher Policies

FactorBeam does not sell your personal data to advertisers. We do not share individual-level browsing data with advertisers for their own use beyond what occurs through standard ad delivery when you have consented (or where non-personalised ads are lawfully served). Advertiser content and offers are provided by third parties; we do not control and are not responsible for them. See our Terms of Service for user obligations regarding invalid ad clicks.

If you consent to analytics cookies, we use Google Analytics 4 (GA4), operated by Google LLC (and Google Ireland Limited for users in the European Economic Area and United Kingdom), to understand aggregate traffic and content performance — for example, which AI Literacy chapters are most visited. GA4 scripts load only after you grant analytics consent.

GA4 may collect information such as pages viewed, approximate location (country or region), device and browser type, referral source, and interaction events. Google processes this data under its own privacy policy. See the Google Privacy Policy and How Google uses data from sites that use its services.

Opt-out: Reject analytics cookies in our banner or via Cookie preferences in the footer. You can also install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

We configure GA4 to send page views only after consent and to avoid automatic page-view bursts on single-page navigations without your permission. Analytics data is used in aggregate to improve the Service; we do not sell it.

We use personal data to:

• Provide, maintain, and secure the Service
• Remember your preferences (theme, reading progress, consent choices)
• Understand aggregate usage and improve the AI Literacy
• Serve and measure advertising when you have given consent
• Respond to enquiries, feedback, and support requests
• Detect, prevent, and address abuse, fraud, or security incidents
• Comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms

We do not sell personal data. We do not use the Service to make solely automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects about you. Ad personalisation is controlled by your cookie choices and third-party opt-out tools described above.

We share personal data only as described below. We require service providers that process data on our behalf to protect it appropriately.

• Hosting & security — infrastructure providers such as Cloudflare process technical data to deliver and protect the site.
• Advertising — Google AdSense (Google LLC / Google Ireland Limited) when you consent to advertising cookies.
• Analytics — Google Analytics 4 (Google LLC / Google Ireland Limited) when you consent to analytics cookies.
• Legal & safety — regulators, courts, or law enforcement when required by law or to protect rights, safety, and security.
• Business transfers — in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, subject to continued protection of your data.

We do not share personal data with third parties for their independent marketing purposes.

FactorBeam is operated from Bengaluru, India. Our service providers may process personal data in India, the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and other countries where they maintain facilities.

Where required by law, we rely on appropriate safeguards for cross-border transfers, such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum, or other mechanisms recognised under applicable data-protection law. You may contact us for more information about safeguards relevant to your region.

We retain personal data only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy:

• Server logs — typically for a limited period defined by our hosting provider, then deleted or aggregated.
• Browser-stored data — until you clear site data or change preferences locally.
• Consent records — for as long as needed to demonstrate and respect your choices, and as required by law.
• Analytics — when enabled, generally up to 26 months or the retention period offered by the analytics provider, whichever is shorter, unless a longer period is required by law.
• Email correspondence — as long as needed to handle your request and for reasonable record-keeping, then deleted or archived according to our internal practices.

We may retain anonymised or aggregated data that no longer identifies you.

We implement reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data, including HTTPS encryption in transit and reputable hosting infrastructure. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure; we cannot guarantee absolute security.

If you believe your interaction with us is no longer secure, please contact us promptly at contact.factorbeam@gmail.com.

Depending on where you live, you may have rights regarding your personal data, including:

• Access — request a copy of personal data we hold about you
• Rectification — request correction of inaccurate data
• Erasure — request deletion in certain circumstances
• Restriction — request limited processing in certain circumstances
• Portability — receive data you provided in a structured, machine-readable format
• Objection — object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing
• Withdraw consent — at any time, without affecting prior lawful processing
• Complaint — lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority

To exercise these rights, email contact.factorbeam@gmail.com. We may need to verify your request. We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law (for example, one month under GDPR, or 45 days under CCPA/CPRA where applicable).

You can also manage cookies through Cookie preferences and through the Google and industry opt-out links in the Google AdSense section above.

European Economic Area & United Kingdom: FactorBeam processes personal data as described in this policy. You have the rights listed above under the GDPR and UK GDPR. You may contact your local data-protection authority; UK residents may contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

United States — California (CCPA/CPRA): California residents have the right to know what personal information we collect, use, and disclose; to delete certain personal information; to correct inaccurate personal information; and to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information for cross-context behavioural advertising. FactorBeam does not sell personal information. Advertising through Google AdSense may involve "sharing" as defined under California law when personalised ads are enabled. You may opt out by rejecting advertising cookies in our banner, using Google Ads Settings, or contacting us. We do not discriminate against you for exercising privacy rights. Authorised agents may submit requests on your behalf where permitted by law.

Other U.S. states: Residents of Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Utah, Texas, and other states with comprehensive privacy laws may have similar rights (access, deletion, correction, opt-out of targeted advertising). Contact us to exercise applicable rights.

Brazil (LGPD): Brazilian data subjects may confirm processing, access, correct, anonymise, block, or delete unnecessary data, and lodge complaints with the Autoridade Nacional de Proteção de Dados (ANPD).

Canada: Canadian residents may have rights under federal and provincial privacy legislation, including access and correction. Contact us to exercise applicable rights.

Australia: Australian residents may access and correct personal information and complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au.

India (DPDPA): As the Service is operated from India, we process personal data in accordance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and applicable rules. Data principals may contact us to exercise rights provided under Indian law, including access, correction, erasure, and grievance redressal.

Do Not Track / Global Privacy Control: Where recognised by applicable law, we honour opt-out preference signals for targeted advertising to the extent technically feasible. Cookie choices and third-party opt-out tools remain the primary way to control ads on this site.

The Service may link to external websites, tools, and educational resources. Those third parties process data under their own privacy policies. We are not responsible for their practices. Review their policies before providing personal data.

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in the Service, our data practices, legal requirements, or advertising programme standards (including Google AdSense policies). Material changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date. Where required by law, we will provide additional notice or seek consent.

Continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acknowledgment of the updated policy, except where applicable law requires express consent.