Privacy Policy

Last updated: 19 October 2026 · Applies to bengalphotographer.com and every district subdomain of the platform.

1. Who we are

This Privacy Policy is issued by West Bengal Photography Welfare Association (WBPWA), Govt. Registration No. S0016622, operating the website https://bengalphotographer.com and its district subdomains (together, “the Platform”). For the purposes of applicable data protection law, WBPWA is the data controller of the personal data described below.

2. Information we collect

• Account data — name, display name, district, locality, mobile number, email address, password (stored only as a hash), profile and cover photo.
• Professional data — experience, bio, equipment, portfolio links, services offered, availability, ratings and reviews.
• Verification & payout data — KYC document links and bank/payout details submitted by members for verification and settlement. These are visible only to the member themself and to authorised administrators.
• Booking data — event type, date, area/block/police station/PIN, budget, requirements and quotations exchanged through the Platform.
• Messages — chat and enquiry content. Contact-looking tokens (phone numbers, email addresses, WhatsApp/social links, UPI IDs) in messages are automatically masked before storage.
• Contact-form enquiries — the details you type into the public enquiry form, forwarded to our official email address.
• Technical data — IP address, browser/device information and request logs, processed by our hosting and security provider (Cloudflare) for delivery, abuse prevention and security.

3. How we use your information

• To create and manage your account, member profile and association listings.
• To publish directory, gallery and district pages exactly as you have chosen to display them.
• To operate bookings, quotations, chat, notices, events and payouts.
• To verify members and prevent spam, fraud, misuse of the Platform and off-platform contact solicitation.
• To respond to enquiries and to send service-related notices (account, booking, verification, policy changes).
• To comply with legal obligations and to protect the rights and safety of our members.

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal data to third parties, and we do not use it for unrelated third-party advertising.

4. When your contact details are shared

Phone numbers and email addresses are kept private by default. They are released to another user only when all of the following are true:

• an administrator has enabled contact disclosure on the Platform;
• the booking has reached a confirmed / in-progress / completed state; and
• the recipient is the customer or the accepted photographer of that same booking.

Until then, all conversation stays inside the Platform and contact details are shown only in masked form. Admin-only views (such as district reports) are never exposed on public pages.

5. Cookies and local storage

• We use browser local storage to keep you signed in, to remember your preferences and to support basic anti-abuse checks.
• We do not use third-party advertising or cross-site tracking cookies.
• You can clear this data at any time through your browser settings; you will simply be signed out.

6. Third-party services we rely on

• Cloudflare — hosting, content delivery, DDoS protection and traffic logging.
• Google (Apps Script / Gmail / Fonts) — delivery of contact-form enquiries to our official inbox and web-font rendering. Google processes this data under its own terms.
• WhatsApp and social networks — only when you choose to click a link to contact us there; that is governed by their policies, not ours.

7. How long we keep it

• Account and member data is kept for as long as the account is active or as needed to provide the service.
• Booking, quotation and payout records are retained for operational, accounting and dispute-resolution purposes.
• You may request deletion of your account and personal data; we will erase it unless retention is required by law or necessary for an unresolved dispute.

8. Your rights

Subject to applicable law (including the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023), you may request to:

• access the personal data we hold about you;
• correct data that is inaccurate or incomplete;
• delete your account and your personal data;
• withdraw any consent you have given, and
• grieve against any use of your data you believe is unlawful.

Most of this is self-service from your Member Login or Association Login. For anything else, write to us using the contact details in section 11.

9. Security

• Passwords are stored only as hashes and are never displayed.
• Private fields (phone, email, IP, tokens, KYC and bank details) are excluded from every public and peer-facing response at the server level — not merely hidden by the interface.
• Data is transmitted over HTTPS, and messages are masked for contact information before they are stored.
• Access to administrative areas is restricted by authentication and role checks.

10. Children

The Platform is intended for adults (18 years or older) engaged in professional or educational photography. We do not knowingly collect personal data from minors; if you believe a minor has provided us data, contact us and we will remove it.

11. Grievance Officer & contact

For any question, request or complaint about this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact:

• Grievance Officer, West Bengal Photography Welfare Association (WBPWA)
• 📍 Agarpara, Shimultala, Kolkata – 109, 24 PGS (N), West Bengal
• ✉ bpwa2018@gmail.com
• 📞 +91 92390 88668

We will acknowledge and resolve your complaint within the time required by applicable law.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page will change whenever we do. Continued use of the Platform after an update means you accept the revised policy.

This page explains how the Platform handles data in practice and is provided for transparency. It is not a substitute for professional legal advice; the organisation should have it reviewed by a qualified advocate before it is treated as final.