Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Aapka PAN Center is an independent private service-assistance platform. Our purpose is to present PAN-related information in a clear, organised and easy-to-understand manner for people who may need help understanding common processes, document requirements and service steps. The website is not an official portal of the Government of India, the Income Tax Department, Protean eGov Technologies Limited, UTIITSL or any other public authority. References to PAN, tax processes or third-party organisations are made only to explain the subject and do not imply ownership, endorsement, affiliation or official status. This Privacy Policy describes our general approach to personal information processed through the website. The exact information involved depends on the feature or service a user chooses to use.

2. Information You Provide

Information may include account details, contact information, service-request information, transaction references and documents or identifiers that are necessary for a selected assistance process. We encourage data minimisation: provide only what is requested and relevant. Do not send passwords, card PINs, CVVs or unnecessary confidential information through general contact forms.

3. Technical Information

Like most websites, servers and security systems may process technical information such as IP address, browser type, device information, timestamps, referring pages, session information and security logs. This information may be used to operate the website, diagnose errors, prevent abuse, protect accounts and understand general performance. Cookies or similar technologies may be used for sessions, preferences, analytics or other functions described on the site.

4. Why We Use Information

Information may be used to provide a requested feature, maintain an account, communicate about a service, process or reconcile payments, respond to support requests, prevent fraud, improve reliability, comply with legal obligations and maintain appropriate records. We do not need every category of information for every user. The purpose should be connected to the service the user requests or a legitimate operational requirement.

5. Service Providers and Third Parties

We may rely on hosting providers, payment processors, communication services, technical vendors or other service providers to operate parts of the platform. Information may be shared with them when reasonably necessary for the relevant function and subject to applicable arrangements. A PAN-related request may also involve an authorised external system. Those organisations may process information under their own rules and privacy practices.

6. Advertising and Analytics

If advertising or analytics services are used, they may use cookies or similar technologies in accordance with their own policies and applicable consent requirements. Advertising should not be interpreted as an endorsement of an advertiser. We aim to avoid placing advertising in a way that misleads users into thinking an advertisement is an official service control. Users may have browser, device or provider settings that allow them to manage certain cookies or personalised advertising choices.

7. Data Security

We use reasonable administrative and technical safeguards appropriate to the nature of the service, but no internet transmission or storage system can be guaranteed absolutely secure. Users also play an important role: choose strong credentials, keep OTPs private, use updated devices and avoid untrusted networks where possible. If you suspect unauthorised access to an account, change available credentials and contact support promptly.

8. Retention

Information may be retained for as long as reasonably necessary for the service purpose, transaction records, dispute handling, security, legal obligations or legitimate operational requirements. Different categories can have different retention periods. Information may be deleted, anonymised or archived when it is no longer required, subject to technical backups and lawful record-keeping obligations.

9. User Choices and Requests

Depending on applicable law and the nature of the data, users may be able to request access, correction or deletion of certain information, or raise a question about how information is used. Some information cannot be immediately deleted when it must be retained for legal, fraud-prevention, accounting or dispute purposes. A request may require reasonable verification so that personal information is not disclosed or changed for the wrong person.

10. Children's Privacy

The website is not intended to encourage children to independently submit sensitive financial or identity information without appropriate legal authority or supervision. Where a PAN-related process lawfully concerns a minor, the applicable official requirements and guardian responsibilities should be followed. A parent or lawful guardian should review the service and ensure that any submission is authorised and accurate.

11. External Links

Our website may contain links to external sources for convenience or reference. Once a user leaves our website, the external site's privacy practices and security controls apply. We do not control third-party cookies, content or data handling merely because a link is provided. Users should review the privacy notice of the destination before submitting personal information there.

12. Policy Updates and Contact

We may revise this policy to reflect changes in services, technology, legal requirements or privacy practices. The version displayed on the website is the current public version. If you have a privacy question or believe information has been handled incorrectly, contact us through the published Contact Us details and provide enough information to understand the issue without sending unnecessary sensitive credentials.

13. Privacy by Good User Practice

Privacy protection also depends on choices made by the user. Avoid uploading more information than a service requests, review screenshots before sending them to support and do not leave downloaded identity documents on a public or shared computer. Keep your email and mobile account secure because recovery messages may be delivered there. Be cautious of phishing messages that imitate support and ask for an OTP, password or banking PIN. If you use a browser that stores form information, consider whether that is appropriate on the device you are using. When a service redirects to an external provider, verify the destination and understand that a different privacy policy may apply. These precautions complement our own safeguards and can reduce the risk created by lost devices, shared systems, malicious messages or accidental disclosure.

Google Advertising, AdSense and Cookies

This website may use Google AdSense or other Google advertising services after advertising is enabled. Google and its advertising partners may use cookies, web beacons, device identifiers or similar technologies to serve, measure and improve advertisements. These technologies may help deliver ads, limit repeated advertising, measure ad performance, prevent invalid activity and, where permitted, provide advertising based on a visitor's previous visits to this website or other websites.

Google may use advertising cookies to enable Google and its partners to serve ads to users based on visits to this website and/or other websites on the internet. Depending on applicable law, region and user settings, advertising may be personalised or non-personalised. Visitors can review and manage advertising personalisation through Google's advertising settings and may also use browser controls or other available tools to manage cookies.

Third-party advertising vendors and ad networks may also use cookies or similar technologies when their advertisements or measurement services are displayed. Their use of information is governed by their own privacy policies and applicable legal requirements. Aapka PAN Center does not control third-party cookies merely because an advertisement is displayed on the website.

Where consent is legally required for advertising cookies or personalised advertising, an appropriate consent or privacy message may be displayed before such technologies are used. Users can make the choices offered in that message. Refusing optional advertising cookies may affect ad personalisation but should not prevent access to ordinary public informational content unless a technically necessary cookie is required for a specific feature.

Advertising Placement and User Experience

Advertising, when enabled, is intended to remain distinguishable from navigation, service controls and official references. An advertisement should not be interpreted as a government notice, PAN approval message, payment instruction or endorsement by an authorised authority. Users should review the identity and destination of an advertiser before interacting with an advertisement, especially where the advertisement relates to financial, identity or document services.