Privacy notice

Who I am

This site, kumarchandrachooda.com, is my personal portfolio, blog and design system. I'm Kumar Chandrachooda, based in Leeds, United Kingdom, and I'm responsible for the personal data described here. You can reach me at kumarchandrachooda@gmail.com.

If you just read the site

You don't need an account. I don't use analytics, advertising or tracking of any kind, and no third-party scripts run on these pages. Two cookies may be set, and both are strictly necessary.

• __Host-kc.prefs remembers the reading preferences you choose on the settings page, such as theme and motion. It lasts a year and holds no identifier.
• __Host-kc.antiforgery protects forms on the site from cross-site requests. It lasts until you close your browser.

Your browser's storage keeps things like where you are in a series and how you like lists shown. That stays on your device and is never sent to me. The site runs on Amazon Web Services, and keeps a log of requests so that it keeps working and stays secure. That request log is deleted after 30 days.

If you sign in

Anyone can create an account, with an email address and a password, or by signing in with Google, GitHub or Microsoft. Some parts of the site need a role I give, such as an author role or a recruiter pass. I keep

• your account: an identifier, your display name, your email address, how it was verified, when it was created and its status,
• each way you sign in: the provider and its identifier for you (for a password, your email address), a label, and when you linked it and last used it,
• your password: if you use one, a scrambled copy of it that can't be turned back into the password, never the password itself, and a count of failed attempts, so that I can suspend the password after 100 failed attempts in a row and send you a reset link,
• your catch phrase: if you set one to confirm sensitive changes, a scrambled copy of it, kept the same way,
• your sessions: when each started, when it expires (after 30 days) and how you signed in,
• each session's device: a short code made from your browser's description and a coarse part of your IP address, so that you can see your sessions and end them,
• your roles: each role on the site, why it was given and when you last used it,
• your security record: the security actions on your account, such as signing in, confirming a sensitive change or deleting the account.

In short, I keep what lets you sign in safely and manage your account, and nothing to track you.

When you choose a password, the site asks the Pwned Passwords service whether it has appeared in a data breach. It sends only a small piece of a scrambled copy of the password, never the password, your email address or your IP address. I send email through Amazon Web Services to confirm your address, to send a sign-in or reset link, and to tell you about security changes to your account. You can't turn off the security emails while you have an account.

Two more cookies are set when you sign in. __Host-kc.session keeps you signed in until you close your browser, and for 30 days at most. __Host-kc.oidc lasts only for the trip to your sign-in provider and back. If I invite you, I keep your email address, why I invited you and whether you accepted, from before you have an account. If you publish writing on the site, your byline, profile and what you publish are public.

Google user data

With Google sign-in I ask only for your basic profile (openid, email and profile). I use your Google account identifier and email address only to sign you in and to write to you about your account. Google also sends your name and profile picture. I don't read or keep them. Your display name starts as the part of your email address before the @, and you can change it. I don't keep any access or refresh token from Google.

Your Google identifier and email address are kept with your account, in the databases named below, and are deleted when the account is deleted, apart from the security log described under how long I keep it. I don't use Google user data for advertising, I don't sell it, I don't use it to train AI models, and I share it with no one beyond the companies named below. You can remove this site's access at any time from your Google account, at myaccount.google.com/connections.

Why I use it

To provide the account you asked for, which is the agreement between us. To keep the site and your account secure and to stop misuse, such as repeated attempts to sign in or one person making many accounts, which is my legitimate interest in running a safe site. You can object to that second use, and I'll consider it.

Where it is kept, and who else sees it

The site itself runs on Amazon Web Services, in the United States. Your account, your sessions and the site's other records are kept in databases run for me by Supabase and MongoDB Atlas. I'll name the region they run in here before accounts open on the site. Email goes through Amazon Web Services to your own email provider. Where your data leaves the United Kingdom, it goes under each company's data transfer terms for the UK.

Nobody else sees your data. The only exceptions are these companies, who host the site, its databases and its email, and the sign-in provider you chose, who already holds your account. I never sell personal data.

How long I keep it

Account data stays until you delete your account or ask me to. Sessions end after 30 days at most. A sign-in or reset link works for 30 minutes at most, and a link to confirm your address for 24 hours. A recruiter pass lasts 90 days, and an author role lapses after 180 days without use. A role that has ended stays on your account as a record until the account is deleted. When an account is deleted, its sessions, ways in, password, profile and roles go with it, and anything you published stays on the site. Every backup copy of the databases, on the hosting company's storage or on my own computer, is deleted within six weeks of being made. Until then I use it only to check that it can be restored, and if I ever have to restore one, I'll delete again anything you asked me to delete before the restored copy is used.

An invitation is kept, with the email address it went to and why, even if it was never accepted or the account has since been deleted. Ask me and I'll remove it.

The site's security log is never changed, only added to, because it is how I can show what happened. It names accounts by an identifier, which leads to no one once the account is deleted. Some entries say more. An invitation's entry names the email address the invitation went to. When someone who is not me signs in with the sign-in provider I use, the entry for that attempt keeps that provider's identifier for them and a coarse part of their IP address. I keep these entries to protect the site against one person making many accounts, and against other abuse. If you were an author, the address of your author page is kept so that it is never given to someone else.

Your rights, and the way out

You can ask to see, correct, delete or take a copy of what I hold about you, or ask me to limit or stop using it. If you have an account, you can download your data and delete the account yourself from your account page. If you'd like your details wiped, email kumarchandrachooda@gmail.com from the address you used here. I'll delete everything I hold about you that can be deleted within one month, tell you when it's done, and tell you what is kept and why.

If you're unhappy with how I've handled your data, you can complain to the UK's data protection regulator, the ICO (formally the Information Commission since 30 September 2026), at ico.org.uk.

Changes

Each version of this notice is dated and kept at its own address. If I change how I use your data, I'll update this notice first, and if the change affects Google user data I'll ask for your agreement before it applies.