Privacy policy

Genre of Design ("we", "us") is an architecture and interior design studio at D-229, Ground Floor, Sarvodaya Enclave, New Delhi 110017, India. This policy explains what personal data we collect, why, and how you can control it.

It covers our website genreofdesign.com, our calls and WhatsApp chats, the enquiry forms on our site, and the forms you fill in our ads on Google, Facebook and Instagram. We follow India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and the Information Technology Act, 2000.

What we collect

We collect only what you choose to give us, plus basic data on how our website is used.

• When you enquire (our website form, a form in our Google, Facebook or Instagram ads, or our project questionnaire): your name, phone number, email, city or site location, and project details such as type, size, budget range and timeline, plus anything you write to us.
• When you call or WhatsApp us: your phone number, your name if you share it, and what we discuss.
• When you become a client: what we need to design and deliver your project, such as the site address, drawings and documents you share, and billing details.
• When you visit our website: pages viewed, how you scroll and click, the link or ad that brought you, your approximate city, and your device and browser type. This is collected through cookies and similar tools (see "Cookies and advertising").

We don't need sensitive information such as health details or government ID numbers, so please don't send them.

How we use your information

• To reply to your enquiry: call, WhatsApp or email you about your project, share relevant work, set up a meeting or site visit, and send a proposal.
• To deliver your project if you hire us: design and drawings, approvals, coordination with consultants and contractors, contracts and invoices.
• To keep in touch, only if you agree: occasional news about our projects and publications. Reply STOP or write to us at any time to stop these.
• To improve our website and ads: for example, to see which ads lead to enquiries so we spend only on what works.
• To meet our legal duties: tax, accounting and other legal requirements, and to protect our legal rights.

We use your data because you consented, because you gave it to us yourself for a specific purpose such as an enquiry (a "legitimate use" under the DPDP Act), or because the law requires it. We don't use it for anything unrelated to these purposes, and we never sell it.

Cookies and advertising

Cookies are small files that a website saves in your browser. We use them to understand how our site is used and to measure our ads:

• Google Analytics (through Google Tag Manager): shows us which pages are visited, for how long, and which link, ad or city a visit came from. We see this as totals and trends; it doesn't tell us your name or contact details.
• Microsoft Clarity: shows us how visitors use our pages, such as clicks, scrolling and mouse movement, through heatmaps and recordings of visits, so we can fix what doesn't work. Microsoft collects this through cookies and similar technology and may also use it for its own purposes, such as security and advertising, as described in the Microsoft Privacy Statement.
• Google Ads: tells us which ads lead to enquiries or calls. It also lets us show our ads to people who have visited our website before (remarketing): third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to show our ads on other websites based on your past visits to our site.
• Meta Pixel (Facebook and Instagram): tells us which of our Facebook and Instagram ads lead to enquiries, and lets us show our ads to people who have visited our site.
• Cloudflare, which hosts our website, also counts page visits, without using cookies.

You can say no to this at any time:

• Block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Our website will still work.
• Turn off personalised ads from Google at My Ad Center.
• Stop Google Analytics from recording your visits with Google's opt-out browser add-on.
• Manage Facebook and Instagram ads under Ad preferences in your Meta account settings.

Who we share it with

We share your data only where needed, and only what is needed:

• Service providers: Cloudflare, which hosts our website and receives our enquiry forms, Supabase, which hosts the system we use to keep track of enquiries and follow them up, and our email provider, all of which store data for us; plus Google (Analytics and Ads), Microsoft (Clarity) and Meta (Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp), which also follow their own privacy policies.
• Ad platforms that pass enquiries to us: when you fill a form inside our Google, Facebook or Instagram ads, that platform collects your details and sends them to us. Its own privacy policy also applies.
• People working on your project: if you hire us, consultants and contractors get only the details they need to do their part.
• Authorities: when the law, a court or a government body requires it.

Some of these providers store data outside India, as Indian law permits. We never sell or rent your personal data.

How long we keep it and how we protect it

• Enquiries: up to 2 years after our last contact, so we can pick up where we left off if you come back. If you become a client, the next point applies.
• Client records: for as long as tax, accounting and other laws require after the project ends.
• Website analytics: up to 14 months in Google Analytics.
• System and access logs: at least one year where the law requires it.

When we no longer need your data, we delete it or make it anonymous. If you ask us to delete it sooner, we will, except anything the law requires us to keep.

We protect your data with reasonable security measures, including secure (HTTPS) connections, password-protected accounts, and access limited to people who need it. No system is completely secure. If a breach affects your data, we will inform you and the Data Protection Board of India as the law requires.

Your rights

You can ask us to:

• Tell you what personal data we hold about you, how we use it, and who we've shared it with.
• Correct, complete or update it.
• Delete it, except anything the law requires us to keep.
• Stop using it for anything you consented to. You can withdraw consent at any time, as easily as you gave it (for example, reply STOP or write to us). This doesn't affect what we did before you withdrew.
• Let someone you nominate use these rights for you if you pass away or become unable to act.

To use any of these rights or to raise a complaint, contact us using the details under "Contact us". We may ask you to confirm your identity first. We'll reply within 30 days. If you're not satisfied with our reply, you can complain to the Data Protection Board of India.

Children

Our services are meant for adults. We don't knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18, and we don't track children or show them targeted ads. If you believe a child has given us their details, contact us and we'll delete them.

Contact us

For any question, request or complaint about your personal data, contact our Grievance Officer:

• Grievance Officer: Gayatri
• Address: Genre of Design, D-229, Ground Floor, Sarvodaya Enclave, New Delhi 110017, India
• Email: info@genreofdesign.com
• Phone / WhatsApp: +91 95996 95099

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when our services, tools or the law change. The "Last updated" date at the top shows the current version. If we make an important change to how we use your data, we'll tell you directly where we have your contact details, and ask for your consent again where the law requires.