Last updated: September 13, 2026
Hydcircle (“we”, “us”) runs a community discussion forum at hydcircle.in. This page explains what information we collect when you visit or use the forum, how we use it, and the choices you have.
1. Information you give us
- Account details — your username, display name, email address and password when you register. Optionally, a profile picture.
- Content you post — threads, replies, private messages, reactions and any photos or videos you upload.
- Contact messages — anything you send us through the Contact or Report Abuse pages.
2. Information collected automatically
Some information is collected in the background whenever any visitor (signed in or not) opens the site:
- A masked IP address — we store only the network part of the IP (e.g.
103.14.7.* for IPv4 or the /48 block for IPv6), never the full address. It is used to help spot spam and abuse patterns. - Country — detected from the IP by our hosting provider (Vercel), used to show country-level traffic stats to the admin.
- A first-party cookie called
cc_visitor (a random ID) — so a repeat visitor on the same day isn't counted twice in view counts. - Approximate time of visit, the page you were on, and the type of browser you used (from the standard “User-Agent” header).
We do not record your exact IP, your precise location, your name from any device, or anything you type into the site's inputs before you submit.
3. Cookies and similar technologies
We use small text files (“cookies”) to keep you signed in, remember your preferences, and count visits. See our Cookie Policy for the full list. You can clear or block cookies in your browser at any time — if you block essential cookies, you may not be able to sign in.
4. Third-party services we use
We rely on a small number of trusted third-party providers to run the site. Each has its own privacy policy:
- Vercel — hosting, edge network and privacy- preserving usage analytics (page views, load times, country).
- Supabase — database and authentication.
- Meta Pixel — a small tracker from Meta (Facebook) so we can measure whether people who visit from Facebook ads engage with the forum. It reads a Facebook cookie if you have one set in your browser. You can opt out of Facebook-based ad tracking in your Facebook ad settings.
- Google Fonts — the site uses Google-hosted fonts, which may log the request in Google's standard access logs.
5. Advertising (Google AdSense)
We may show ads on Hydcircle served by Google AdSense and other third-party vendors. Google uses cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this and other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads based on your visits to our site and/or other sites on the internet.
You may opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings, or opt out of some third-party vendor's use of cookies for personalised advertising by visiting www.aboutads.info.
6. How we use your information
- Run your account and let you sign in.
- Display your posts, profile and activity to other members.
- Send notifications about replies, reactions and messages.
- Keep the forum safe — reviewing reported content, spotting spam, blocking bans.
- Understand aggregate traffic (roughly how many people visit, from which countries, on which pages) — never to build a personal profile about you.
7. What we don't do
We don't sell your personal information. We don't share your email address publicly — it's only visible to our admin team. We don't read your private messages except when they're reported for abuse.
8. How long we keep information
- Account and posts — kept while your account is active. If you close your account, we remove your profile details; your public posts may remain (attributed to “a former member”) so ongoing conversations aren't broken.
- Visit logs (country + masked IP) — kept for up to 60 days, then aggregated or removed.
- Contact / abuse messages — kept as long as needed to resolve the issue.
9. Children
Hydcircle is not intended for children under 13. Please do not create an account if you are under 13. If you believe a child has registered, contact us and we'll remove the account.
10. Your choices and rights
- Update your profile at any time from your account settings.
- Ask us to remove your account and data by writing to support@hydcircle.in or via the Contact page.
- Clear cookies from your browser at any time to stop the visitor cookie from following you.
11. Contact us
Questions or concerns about privacy? Write to support@hydcircle.in or use the Contact Us page.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we'll change the “Last updated” date at the top of the page. Continuing to use Hydcircle after changes are posted means you accept the updated policy.