Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Best Side of Plane is an independent web service based in India that provides window seat recommendations for commercial flights. We operate at bestsideofplane.com.

This Privacy Policy applies to all pages and services under that domain, including the live engine at / and the static route guides at /posts/.

For any privacy-related queries, contact us at: privacy@bestsideofplane.com

2. What We Collect and Why

Flight query data (not stored personally)

When you use the live engine, you enter an origin airport, destination airport, and departure time. This data is used only to compute your recommendation in real-time. We do not store this against any personal identifier. Once the response is returned, the query is not retained in a form linked to you.

Automatically collected technical data

Our server logs and any analytics tools we use may collect:

• IP address (anonymised or truncated where possible)
• Browser type and version
• Pages visited and time on site
• Referring URL
• Device type (mobile / desktop)

This is used to monitor uptime, diagnose errors, and understand aggregate usage patterns. It is not used to build individual profiles.

Contact messages

If you email us, we retain your email address and message content only to respond to your query. We do not add you to any mailing list without explicit consent.

What we do NOT collect

• Name, phone number, or address
• Payment information (the service is free)
• Booking references or airline account details
• Precise location (we use airport codes only)

3. Third-Party Services

Data APIs we call

To generate recommendations, we make server-side calls to:

• Weather APIs — current cloud cover and visibility for your route
• OpenStreetMap / Overpass API — geographic feature data
• Open-Elevation API — terrain elevation along the flight path

These calls are made server-side with your airport codes only. Your IP address is not forwarded to these services.

Google AdSense

We display advertisements via Google AdSense. Google may use cookies to serve ads relevant to your interests based on your prior browsing. This is governed by Google's Privacy Policy. You can opt out at adssettings.google.com.

Google Analytics

We may use Google Analytics (with IP anonymisation enabled) to understand aggregate traffic patterns. This data is not linked to personal identities. You can opt out using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

Hosting infrastructure

The site is hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS) infrastructure. AWS processes data in accordance with their privacy policy. Server logs may be retained by the hosting provider for security and operational purposes.

4. Cookies

We use the following categories of cookies:

• Strictly necessary — required for the site to function (no consent needed)
• Analytics — anonymised usage data to improve the service
• Advertising — placed by Google AdSense for relevant ads

You can manage or block cookies through your browser settings (Chrome: Settings → Privacy → Cookies; Firefox: Settings → Privacy & Security; Safari: Preferences → Privacy). Blocking advertising cookies will not affect the core recommendation functionality.

5. India — DPDP Act 2023

We are an Indian entity and operate under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act). Under this Act:

Since we do not collect significant personal data (no accounts, no names, no payment data), the practical scope of these rights is limited — but we are committed to honouring them fully for any data we do hold.

6. Data Retention

• Flight query data — not retained beyond the API response cycle
• Server logs — retained for up to 90 days for security and debugging, then deleted
• Contact emails — retained until the query is resolved, then deleted within 12 months
• Analytics data — aggregate anonymised data retained indefinitely; individual session data expires per Google Analytics defaults (14 months)

7. International Users

Our service is accessible worldwide. If you are accessing from outside India — including from the EU, UK, USA, or Australia — please be aware:

• We are governed by Indian law (DPDP Act 2023) as the primary framework
• We do not have a legal entity in the EU and are not formally subject to GDPR, though we aim to follow equivalent privacy principles
• Data may be processed on servers located in India or the US (AWS infrastructure)

Given that we collect minimal personal data, the practical privacy risk for international users is low.

8. Children's Privacy

This service is not directed at children under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data from minors. Under the DPDP Act 2023, processing of children's data requires verifiable parental consent. If you believe we have inadvertently collected data from a child, contact us immediately and we will delete it.

9. Security

We implement standard security measures including HTTPS encryption for all data in transit, restricted server access, and regular security reviews. However, no internet transmission is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security of data transmitted to or from our site.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy as our service evolves or as legal requirements change. The "Last updated" date at the top will always reflect the most recent version. For significant changes, we will display a notice on the site for 30 days.

11. Contact and Grievance Officer