Privacy Policy

Last updated: 24 October 2026

In short: we collect only what we need to help cats find homes. Your email is never shown publicly. When you message someone about a cat, they receive your name, email and message so they can reply. We don't sell your data, ever.

Who we are

The Bombay Cats (thebombaycats.com) is a free community board for stray cat adoption in Mumbai. For anything about your data, email meow@thebombaycats.com.

What we collect

Your account: your email address and initials. If you sign in with Google, we receive your name and email from Google.
Listings you post: the cat's name, description, general area, health details and photos. Photos are converted on your device before upload, which removes location data stored inside them.
Messages you send: your name, your message and your account email, along with the cat you're asking about.
Reports and reactions: the reason and any details you give when reporting a listing, and the reactions you add.
Abuse protection: a scrambled (hashed) version of your IP address, used only to limit spam. We never store your actual IP address. Cloudflare Turnstile checks that visitors are human.
Usage data: Google Analytics records pages visited and general device and location information (city level), using cookies.

Why we use it

To run the board: show listings, let you manage your own, and connect adopters with the people caring for a cat.
To keep it safe: review listings, act on reports, and stop spam, fake listings and the sale of cats.
To improve the site, using overall usage numbers.

We rely on your consent, which you give when you create an account, post a listing or send a message. You can withdraw it at any time by asking us to delete your account.

Who sees your information

The public sees listings, photos, the general area and the poster's initials. Never email addresses.
The person who listed a cat receives your name, email and message when you contact them about that cat.
Our admin can see listings, messages and reports in order to moderate the board.
Services that run the site for us: Supabase (database and accounts), Vercel (website hosting), Resend (sending emails), Cloudflare (domain and bot checks) and Google (sign-in and analytics). They process data on our behalf, and some of it may be stored outside India.

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal data, and we never share it with advertisers or sponsors.

How long we keep it

We keep your account, listings and messages while your account is active, and for as long as needed to keep the board safe. Adopted listings may stay visible in our archive to celebrate the adoption. Ask us and we'll delete your account and the data linked to it, except where we must keep a record of abuse or by law.

Your rights

Under India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, you can:

ask what personal data we hold about you
ask us to correct or update it
ask us to delete it, and withdraw your consent
nominate someone to exercise these rights for you
raise a complaint with us, and if you're not satisfied, with the Data Protection Board of India

Email meow@thebombaycats.com from the address on your account and we'll respond as soon as we can.

Cookies and browser storage

Your sign-in is kept in your browser's local storage so you stay signed in. Google Analytics uses cookies to count visits. Cloudflare Turnstile may set a cookie as part of its human check.

Children

The Bombay Cats is meant for adults. If you're under 18, please use it with a parent or guardian, who should create the account.

Changes

If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top. For important changes, we'll tell you on the site.