Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Forensic Live ("we," "us," or "our") is operated by LexFunis. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information when you use our website, services, and content (collectively, the "Platform"). By using Forensic Live, you agree to the practices described in this policy.

We comply with India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act) and follow global best practices aligned with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide

• Newsletter Subscription: Email address and field preference (Law, Forensic Science, or Both)
• Content Submissions: Name, email, college name, and submitted article content
• Advertising Inquiries: Organisation name, contact name, email, phone, and message
• Push Notifications: Browser push notification subscription data (endpoint, encryption keys)

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Usage Data: Pages visited, articles read, time spent on pages, and navigation patterns
• Device Data: Browser type, operating system, screen resolution, and device type
• Cookie Data: Consent preferences, theme settings, and authentication tokens

3. How We Use Your Information

• Send newsletter digests and breaking news alerts (with your consent)
• Process and review content submissions
• Respond to advertising inquiries
• Send push notifications about new content (with your consent)
• Improve our content through privacy-friendly, cookieless analytics
• Maintain platform security and prevent abuse
• Comply with legal obligations

4. Consent

We operate on an opt-in consent model. We only collect and process your personal data when you have given explicit consent, such as:

• Subscribing to our newsletter
• Enabling browser push notifications
• Submitting content through our UGC form
• Submitting an advertising inquiry
• Allowing analytics cookies in the cookie banner (used for cookieless usage statistics)

You may withdraw your consent at any time by unsubscribing from newsletters, disabling push notifications, changing your cookie preferences via the “Cookies” button on any page, or contacting us directly.

5. Data Storage and Security

Your data is stored on secure cloud infrastructure provided by Neon (PostgreSQL) and Vercel (application hosting). We implement industry-standard security measures including:

• Encrypted data transmission (TLS/HTTPS)
• Password hashing using bcrypt with salt rounds
• HTTP-only secure cookies for authentication
• Role-based access controls for admin functions

We retain your personal data only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy. Newsletter subscriber data is retained until you unsubscribe. Submission data is retained for editorial purposes.

6. Your Rights

Under the DPDP Act and applicable privacy laws, you have the right to:

• Access — Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Correction — Request correction of inaccurate data
• Deletion — Request deletion of your personal data
• Withdraw Consent — Withdraw consent for data processing at any time
• Grievance Redressal — Lodge a complaint if you believe your data rights have been violated

To exercise any of these rights, contact our Grievance Officer at info@lexfunis.com.

7. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services that may process your data:

• Umami Cloud — Cookieless, privacy-friendly analytics; loads only if you allow analytics cookies
• Resend — Email delivery for newsletters and alerts
• Vercel — Application hosting
• Neon — Database hosting
• Cloudflare R2 — File storage for uploaded content

These services are bound by their own privacy policies and data processing agreements. We do not sell your personal data to any third party.

8. Cookies

We use the following cookies:

We do not use tracking cookies. The analytics service we use (Umami) is cookieless, and it loads only if you allow analytics in the cookie banner. What is stored on your device:

• cookie-consent — Stores your cookie consent preferences
• Local Storage — Bookmarks, reading streak, and theme preferences (stored on your device, not our servers)

The only cookie we set is admin-token, an HTTP-only authentication cookie for admin users (8-hour expiry). You can manage cookie preferences through the cookie consent banner or your browser settings.

9. Children's Privacy

Forensic Live is designed for law and forensic science students, who are typically 18 years or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. If we become aware that a child has provided us with personal data, we will take steps to delete it promptly.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Significant changes will be communicated via email to newsletter subscribers and through a notice on our platform. The "Last Updated" date at the top reflects when the policy was last revised.

11. Grievance Officer

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact our Grievance Officer: