Privacy Policy

Effective Date: September 27, 2026 Last Updated: September 27, 2026

1. Introduction

Welcome to Stories by Shamim (“we,” “our,” or “us”). We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting personal data collected through https://storiesbyshamim.com/ (the “Site”) and any associated applications or services.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and disclose information when you interact with our website or use services integrated with Google OAuth or other authentication and API services.

2. Information We Collect

A. General Personal Information

  • Contact Data: Name, email address, and message contents when you fill out contact forms or subscribe to site updates.
  • Comments & Posts: Data submitted via comment forms, including IP address and browser user agent strings for spam prevention.
  • Technical & Usage Data: IP addresses, browser types, operating systems, referring URLs, and page navigation patterns collected via cookies and server logs.

B. Data Collected via Google APIs & OAuth Services

When you use Stories by Shamim on our Site, we may request specific permissions to access your Google account data to ensure reliable email delivery via WP Mail SMTP. We request access to the following:

  • Google Account Information: Basic profile details including your name, primary email address, profile picture URL, and unique Google account identifier.
  • Specific API Scopes (Gmail API): We request access to the Gmail API ([https://www.googleapis.com/auth/gmail.send](https://www.googleapis.com/auth/gmail.send)) strictly to send automated transactional emails (such as contact form notifications, password resets, and administrative alerts) from the website securely on your behalf.

3. How We Use Your Information

We process your personal data for the following specific purposes:

  • To authenticate users and provide secure access to user accounts.
  • To respond to user inquiries, contact form submissions, and support requests.
  • To execute the specific Google API functionality explicitly requested by you (e.g., sending authorized website emails via your Gmail account).
  • To monitor, maintain, and optimize site security and performance.
  • To prevent fraudulent activity, spam, and unauthorized access.

4. Google API Services User Data Policy Compliance (Limited Use Disclosure)

Stories by Shamim‘s use and transfer to any other app of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

Specifically, regarding data obtained through Google APIs:

  • No Sharing / Sale: We do not sell, rent, or trade your Google user data to any third parties, advertising networks, or data brokers.
  • No Unrelated Uses: Google user data is used solely to provide or improve user-facing features explicitly visible in our application/site interface (such as sending automated site emails).
  • No Human Access: No humans will read your Google user data unless required for security investigations (such as investigating abuse), complying with applicable law, or when you explicitly consent to technical support assistance.
  • No AI Training: Google user data is never used to train generalized artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML) models.

5. Data Sharing & Third-Party Services

We do not sell personal data. We only share data with trusted service providers under strict privacy agreements:

  • Spam Detection Services: Comments and form entries may be processed by automated spam detection services (e.g., Akismet).
  • Hosting & Infrastructure: Managed web hosting providers that store site databases under encrypted, secure environments.
  • Legal Requirements: We may disclose information if required to do so by applicable legal process, warrant, or court order.

6. Data Retention and Deletion

  • Comments & Interactions: Comments and metadata are retained indefinitely to allow automatic recognition and approval of follow-up comments.
  • Account Data: Google user profile data and account settings are retained as long as your account remains active on the Site.
  • Data Deletion Requests: You may request the deletion of your personal data or revoke Google API integration at any time by contacting us at storiesbyshamim@gmail.com. Upon receiving your request, we will permanently remove your stored personal data within 30 days.

7. How Users Can Revoke Access

You can revoke our application’s access to your Google account at any time:

  1. Visit your Google Security Account Settings.
  2. Locate Stories by Shamim under third-party apps with account access.
  3. Click Remove Access.

8. Cookies and Embedded Content

  • Cookies: We use session and preference cookies to retain user settings, login sessions, and comment details. You can disable cookies through your browser settings.
  • Embedded Content: Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g., videos, maps). Embedded content from third-party websites behaves exactly as if you visited the external site directly.

9. Contact Information

If you have questions, concerns, or data deletion requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our Google API compliance, contact us:

Site URL: https://storiesbyshamim.com/

Email: storiesbyshamim@gmail.com

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