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Privacy Policy

Last updated: March 2026

1. Introduction

HCI Talks ("Platform", "we", "our", or "us") is owned and operated by Talpro India Private Limited, a company incorporated under the laws of India, with its registered office in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

  • GSTIN: 29AAHCT9485A1ZX
  • PAN: AAHCT9485A
  • Website: hcitalks.com

This Privacy Policy is published in compliance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDPA 2023) of India and explains how we collect, process, store, share, and protect your personal data when you access or use the Platform. By using HCI Talks, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.

2. Data We Collect

We collect the following categories of personal data:

A. Information You Provide Directly

  • Full name
  • Email address
  • Phone number
  • LinkedIn profile URL
  • Company name and company information
  • Job title and designation
  • City of residence
  • Profile photograph

B. Information Collected Automatically

  • IP address
  • Device information (browser type, operating system, screen resolution)
  • Usage analytics (pages visited, time spent, navigation patterns)
  • Cookies and session identifiers

3. Purpose of Collection

In accordance with Section 4 of the DPDPA 2023, we collect and process your personal data only for the following lawful purposes:

  • CXO Circle Matching & Peer Group Placement — To match you with relevant peer groups, industry circles, and roundtable cohorts based on your seniority, function, and industry.
  • Event Invitations & Registration — To invite you to relevant events, roundtables, and conferences, and to process your registrations.
  • Intelligence Reports & Content Personalisation — To deliver personalised HCI Intel reports, industry insights, and curated content aligned with your professional interests.
  • Platform Communications — To facilitate connection requests, messages, introductions, and notifications between members.
  • Identity Verification — To verify your identity via email OTP, phone OTP, or other verification mechanisms during registration and login.
  • Analytics & Platform Improvement — To analyse usage patterns, improve Platform features, fix bugs, and enhance overall user experience.

4. Legal Basis for Processing (DPDPA 2023)

We process your personal data under the following legal bases as defined by the DPDPA 2023:

  • Consent (Section 6, DPDPA 2023) — We obtain your explicit, informed, and freely given consent before collecting your personal data. You may provide consent at the time of registration, event sign-up, or when enabling specific Platform features. You may withdraw consent at any time.
  • Legitimate Interests — We may process data where necessary for the legitimate operation of the Platform, including security, fraud prevention, and service improvement, provided such processing does not override your fundamental rights.
  • Contractual Necessity — Where processing is required to fulfil our obligations under membership agreements, event registrations, or service subscriptions you have entered into with us.

5. Data Retention

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this policy, subject to the following retention periods:

  • Active Accounts: Your personal data is retained for the duration of your active account plus two (2) years following a deletion request, to allow for account recovery and to comply with legal obligations.
  • Inactive Accounts: If your account is inactive for three (3) consecutive years, your personal data will be anonymised or deleted.
  • Legal & Compliance Records: Financial, tax, and compliance records are retained for seven (7) years in accordance with applicable Indian laws, including the Income Tax Act, 1961, and the Companies Act, 2013.

6. Third-Party Sharing

We do not sell your personal data to any third party. We may share your data with the following service providers who process data on our behalf under contractual obligations:

  • HubSpot CRM — For contact management, lead tracking, and member relationship management.
  • Resend — For transactional email delivery (event confirmations, OTP verification, account notifications).
  • Razorpay — For payment processing (applicable only when you purchase paid services). Payment information is processed directly by Razorpay in accordance with their privacy policy. We do not store your full payment card details.
  • Analytics Services — Anonymised and aggregated usage data may be shared with analytics providers to improve Platform performance.

We may also disclose your personal data when required by law, court order, or government authority, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Talpro India Private Limited, our users, or the public.

7. Your Rights Under DPDPA 2023

As a Data Principal under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, you are entitled to the following rights:

  • Right to Access (Section 11) — You have the right to obtain confirmation of whether we process your personal data and to request a summary of your data and processing activities.
  • Right to Correction (Section 12) — You have the right to request correction of any inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold about you.
  • Right to Erasure / Deletion (Section 12) — You have the right to request deletion of your personal data, subject to applicable legal retention requirements.
  • Right to Data Portability — You may request a copy of your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.
  • Right to Withdraw Consent (Section 6) — You may withdraw your consent for data processing at any time. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out prior to withdrawal.
  • Right to Nominate (Section 14) — You have the right to nominate another individual to exercise your rights under the DPDPA 2023 in the event of your death or incapacity.

How to Exercise Your Rights: Send an email to [email protected] with the subject line "Data Rights Request" along with your registered email address and the specific right you wish to exercise. We will respond within 30 days.

8. Data Protection Officer

In accordance with the DPDPA 2023, we have appointed a Data Protection Officer (DPO) to oversee compliance with data protection obligations:

  • Name: Data Protection Officer, Talpro India Private Limited
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Address: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

9. Grievance Redressal

If you have any complaints or concerns regarding the processing of your personal data, you may contact our Grievance Officer:

  • Grievance Officer Email: [email protected]
  • Response Timeline: We will acknowledge your grievance within 48 hours and provide a resolution within 30 days from the date of receipt.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may escalate your complaint to the Data Protection Board of India as established under Section 18 of the DPDPA 2023.

10. Cookie Policy

We use the following categories of cookies on the Platform:

  • Essential Cookies — Required for core Platform functionality including session management, authentication, and security. These cookies cannot be disabled.
  • Analytics Cookies — Used to collect anonymised usage data to help us understand how visitors interact with the Platform and to improve our services.

We do not use third-party advertising cookies. For more details, see our Cookie Policy.

11. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction:

  • Encryption: All data is encrypted at rest and in transit using industry-standard TLS/SSL protocols.
  • Access Controls: Strict role-based access controls ensure that only authorised personnel can access personal data on a need-to-know basis.
  • Audit Logging: All access to personal data is logged and monitored for security and compliance purposes.
  • Security Reviews: We conduct regular security assessments and vulnerability reviews of our infrastructure and application.

12. Cross-Border Data Transfer

Your personal data is primarily stored on servers located in India. However, certain third-party service providers (such as HubSpot, Resend, and analytics tools) may process your data on servers located outside India.

In such cases, we ensure that adequate safeguards are in place, including contractual obligations requiring the service provider to maintain data protection standards equivalent to those required under the DPDPA 2023 and any rules notified by the Central Government regarding permissible cross-border transfers.

13. Children's Data

HCI Talks is a professional networking platform designed exclusively for senior executives and business leaders. We do not knowingly collect or process personal data of children (individuals below the age of 18). If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected data from a child, we will promptly delete such data and terminate the associated account.

14. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. For any material changes, we will provide at least 30 days' prior notice via email to your registered address or through a prominent notice on the Platform before the changes take effect.

Your continued use of the Platform after the effective date of the revised policy constitutes your acceptance of the updated terms.

15. Contact

For any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact: