Privacy Policy

This privacy policy explains how 1stepGrow collects, uses, shares, protects and retains personal data when you visit https://www.1stepgrow.com, subscribe to our newsletter, pitch a guest post, nominate someone or write to us. It applies to every reader, contributor, nominee and correspondent whose personal data we process, and it takes effect on 11 September 2026.

Who we are and what this policy covers

1stepGrow is an independent technology publication based in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, and it decides why and how the personal data described in this policy is processed. Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (the "DPDP Act"), that makes 1stepGrow the Data Fiduciary and you, the individual the data relates to, the Data Principal.

We publish tech news, course comparisons, career guides and tutorials, and run a guest-post programme, interview features and recognition lists. We do not sell or run any course, and readers do not create accounts, log in or make payments on the site.

This policy covers personal data processed through our website, forms, newsletter and email, but not websites we link to, which have their own policies.

The laws that apply

We process personal data in line with Indian law, principally the DPDP Act and the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025 (the "DPDP Rules"). The Act and the Rules are being brought into force in phases, and we apply each provision as it takes effect.

Alongside that framework, we follow:

• the Information Technology Act, 2000, including section 43A to the extent it continues to apply during the transition (the DPDP Act provides for that section to be omitted once the relevant provision commences);
• the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011, to the extent they apply; and
• the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, where applicable, including their grievance redressal requirements.

Personal data we collect

We collect personal data in two ways: when you choose to type it into a form or email us, and in a limited technical form when your browser connects to our website.

Information you give us

Every form on 1stepGrow is optional, accepts plain text only and asks only for what we need to handle your request.

If you nominate someone, share only professional details that are public or that the nominee is happy for you to share. Where the law requires it, we seek the nominee's own consent before publishing.

Information collected automatically

When you visit 1stepGrow, we automatically record your IP address, device type, operating system and browser, the pages you view and when, the referring page, and your approximate location (such as city or region) inferred from your IP address. This comes from our server and security logs, from cookies set by advertising networks, and from analytics tools where enabled. We use it to run and protect the site, not to identify you, except where we need to investigate misuse or a security incident.

Personal data we do not collect

1stepGrow does not collect passwords, payment details or sensitive personal data, because the site has no accounts, logins or payments. We never ask for login credentials, bank or card details, government identifiers such as Aadhaar, PAN or passport numbers, or health, biometric or other sensitive information.

Please do not include such data in our forms or emails. If we receive it anyway, we will not use it and will delete it once we notice, unless the law requires us to keep it.

Why we use your data and how long we keep it

We use personal data only for the specific purposes listed below, and each purpose relies either on your consent or on a legitimate use permitted under section 7 of the DPDP Act.

When a purpose has been served, or you withdraw consent, we erase the related personal data and ask our service providers to do the same, unless the law requires us to keep it. Where the DPDP Rules or another law set a minimum retention period for certain data or logs, we keep them for that period in restricted storage and use them only as the law allows.

Cookies and advertising

1stepGrow is funded partly by display advertising, and the advertising networks we use, including Google AdSense, may place cookies on your device. Cookies are small text files that let a website or ad service recognise your browser later. The site may use essential cookies needed to load pages securely, advertising cookies set by ad networks, and analytics cookies set by Google Analytics 4, which we use to count visits and see which pages readers find useful. Google Analytics does not give us your name or email address. You can stop it measuring your visits with Google's opt-out browser add-on.

Google AdSense and other ad networks

Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a user's prior visits to 1stepGrow or to other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visits to this site and/or other sites on the internet.

You can opt out of personalised advertising from Google through Google's Ads Settings, and you can opt out of some third-party vendors' use of cookies for personalised advertising at www.aboutads.info. You will still see ads, but they will be less tailored to you. Ad networks act under their own privacy policies, and we do not control the cookies they set. Our disclaimer explains how advertising and sponsorship fund the site.

Managing cookies in your browser

You can block or delete cookies, or browse privately, through your browser settings at any time. Blocking advertising cookies makes ads less personalised, while blocking essential cookies may stop parts of the site from working. Where we display a cookie or consent notice, you can also make and change your choices there.

Notice and consent

When we rely on your consent, we ask for it through a clear, itemised notice that tells you what personal data we collect, why, and how to withdraw consent or complain.

Consent under the DPDP Act must be free, specific, informed, unconditional and unambiguous, given by a clear affirmative action and limited to the data needed. We therefore ask only for the fields listed in this policy, make this policy available wherever we collect data, and never pre-tick consent or bundle unrelated purposes. On request, we will provide this notice in English or any language in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India, as the Act provides.

Withdrawing consent

You can withdraw consent as easily as you gave it, using the unsubscribe link in any newsletter or by emailing contacts@1stepgrow.com with the subject line "Data request". Withdrawal does not affect processing that took place before it, and we stop the related processing within a reasonable time. As a result, you will stop receiving the newsletter, we will be unable to consider a pending pitch or nomination, and we may be unable to reply to an open enquiry.

Consent Managers

The DPDP Act lets you give, manage, review and withdraw consent through a Consent Manager registered with the Data Protection Board of India. Where that option becomes available for our processing, you may use it instead of contacting us directly.

How we share personal data

We do not sell or rent personal data, and we share it only where needed to run 1stepGrow or where the law requires it.

• Service providers: Data Processors for hosting, email and newsletter delivery, spam protection and advertising, acting under contract and only on our instructions.
• Advertising networks: ad networks such as Google, which collect data through their own cookies as described above.
• Legal requirements: courts, government agencies or law enforcement, where the law or a lawful order requires, or to protect the security of the site and its users.
• Published contributions: if your guest post, interview or recognition feature is published, the name, byline and other details you agreed to publish become public.
• Change of ownership: a new owner, if 1stepGrow is reorganised or transferred, who must keep protecting the data under this policy and the law.

Processing outside India

Some of our service providers may store or process personal data on servers outside India. The DPDP Act permits this, except to any country or territory that the Central Government restricts by notification under section 16. We do not transfer personal data to a restricted destination, and we choose providers with security safeguards suited to the data involved.

How we protect your data

We protect personal data with reasonable security safeguards built around a simple principle: the site accepts plain text and never accepts files.

• All pages and forms are served over HTTPS.
• We never accept file uploads of any kind.
• Forms accept plain text only. HTML, scripts or code, SQL, and links to executable or downloadable files are rejected automatically.
• Submissions are rate-limited and protected against automated spam.
• Contributors share an approved final draft only as a view-only Google Docs link.
• Access to form submissions and inboxes is restricted to the people who need it.
• IP addresses and request logs are processed to detect and prevent unauthorised access and abuse.

No website can guarantee complete security, but we review these measures as the site and the law evolve.

If a personal data breach occurs

If a personal data breach occurs, we will notify the Data Protection Board of India and each affected Data Principal in the form and within the time required under the DPDP Act and the DPDP Rules. We will explain what happened, the likely consequences, what we are doing about it and how you can protect yourself, and we will report to other authorities, such as CERT-In, where the law requires.

Children's personal data

1stepGrow is written for adults and is not directed at anyone under 18, the age below which a person is a child under the DPDP Act. We do not knowingly collect children's personal data. If we ever need to process it, we will first obtain verifiable consent from a parent or lawful guardian, as section 9 of the DPDP Act requires. We do not undertake tracking, behavioural monitoring or targeted advertising directed at children.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has sent us personal data, email contacts@1stepgrow.com with the subject line "Data request" and tell us which form or email address was used. We will delete the data once we have confirmed the request.

Your rights as a Data Principal

The DPDP Act gives you the right to know what personal data we hold about you, to have it corrected or erased, to withdraw consent, to have grievances addressed and to nominate someone to act for you.

• Access to information: a summary of your personal data and how we process it, and the identities of other Data Fiduciaries and Data Processors we have shared it with, with a description of what was shared.
• Correction, completion and updating of inaccurate, incomplete or outdated data.
• Erasure of data no longer needed for its purpose, unless the law requires us to keep it.
• Withdrawal of consent for processing based on consent.
• Grievance redressal through our Grievance Officer.
• Nomination of another individual to exercise your rights in the event of your death or incapacity.

Some of these rights apply only to data processed on the basis of consent or voluntary provision, and the Act sets out limited exceptions.

Your duties as a Data Principal

Section 15 of the DPDP Act places duties on Data Principals, and the Act provides penalties for breaching them. When dealing with us, you must comply with applicable law, not impersonate anyone or furnish false particulars, not suppress material information where the law requires it, not file false or frivolous grievances, and provide only verifiably authentic information when asking us to correct or erase data.

How to exercise your rights

To exercise any of your rights, email contacts@1stepgrow.com with the subject line "Data request". Please include:

• your name and the email address you used with us;
• the right you want to exercise;
• the form, newsletter or conversation concerned, with an approximate date; and
• if you act as a nominee or for a child, your relationship to the Data Principal.

We verify your identity before acting, usually by confirming the request with the email address we hold. We ask only for the minimum information needed and never for passwords or financial details. We respond within the period prescribed under applicable law, and if we cannot fully meet a request, we explain why.

Grievance Officer

If you have a concern about how 1stepGrow handles personal data, you can contact our Grievance Officer, who will acknowledge your complaint within 24 hours.

Grievance Officer, 1stepGrow — contacts@1stepgrow.com — Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

We aim to resolve complaints within 15 days and, in any case, within the timelines prescribed by law. The DPDP Act asks you to use our grievance process first. If you are not satisfied with the outcome, you may complain to the Data Protection Board of India once its processes apply to your matter.

Links to other websites

Our articles link to other websites, and this privacy policy does not cover how those websites handle your data. Read the privacy policy of any institute, course provider, advertiser or other site before sharing personal data with it.

Changes to this privacy policy

We may update this privacy policy when our practices, service providers or the law change, and the date on this page shows when it was last revised. If a change materially affects data you have already given us, we will tell you where appropriate, for example through a notice on the site or in the newsletter, and ask for fresh consent where the law requires it.

Governing law and jurisdiction

This privacy policy is governed by the laws of India. Subject to your right to approach the Data Protection Board of India, the courts at Bengaluru, Karnataka have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising from it.

Contact us

For any question about this privacy policy or your personal data, email contacts@1stepgrow.com or use our contact page. You may also want to read our terms and conditions, disclaimer and editorial policy.