Introduction

This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) explains how AetherQuest Consulting OPC Private Limited, together with its affiliates, subsidiaries, and entities under common ownership or control (collectively referred to as “AetherQuest Consulting”, “we”, “us”, or “our”), collects, uses, discloses, and otherwise processes personal data in the course of our business activities. AetherQuest Consulting acts as the data controller of your personal data.

We value your privacy and are committed to safeguarding your personal data. Please read this Policy carefully to understand how and why we process your data, and how you can exercise your data rights. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy alongside any other privacy or fair processing notices we may provide on specific occasions. This will help ensure you are fully informed about how and why we process your personal data. Please note, this Policy is intended to complement, not override, those other notices.

Below is information about AetherQuest Consulting as the data controller, including our contact details.

Data Controller: AetherQuest Consulting OPC Private Limited, a company incorporated in India, with its registered office at Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra – 400705.

For any privacy-related inquiries or concerns, you may contact our Data Protection Officer (DPO) at info@aetherqc.com or by post at the following address:
Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra – 400705, India.

1. Information We Collect

We may collect personal data about you in a variety of ways, including:

When you use or interact with our website,
When you contact us by email, through our contact forms, or via social media,
When you subscribe to our newsletters or request reports,
When you participate in events or otherwise engage with us directly.

Categories of Personal Data

“Personal data” refers to any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. Below are the categories of personal data we may collect during our interactions with you. Please note that certain data elements may fall under more than one category:

Identifiers (e.g., name, alias, unique user or personal identifiers, IP address, email address),
Contact information (e.g., name, email address, phone number, and username),
Usage data and network activity (e.g., information about how you interact with our website, including browser type and version, plug-in details, and browsing behaviour),
Technical data (e.g., IP address, login credentials for API access, browser and operating system details, time zone, and device characteristics),
Sensory data (e.g., audio, visual, or similar recordings, if you participate in a recorded call or meeting),
Inferences (e.g., information derived from other data we collect that may reflect preferences, characteristics, interests, or behaviour).

We do not collect any special categories of personal data, such as information regarding race, ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership, health, or biometric and genetic data. This website is not intended for children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from minors.

2. Sources of Personal Data

We collect personal data from a variety of sources, depending on how you interact with us. These include:

Direct interactions: You may provide personal information directly by completing contact forms on our website, subscribing to newsletters, or communicating with us via email or other channels.
Automated technologies: When you visit our website, we may automatically collect certain technical and usage data (such as IP address, browser type, operating system, browsing actions, and interaction patterns). This data is gathered through cookies and similar technologies (such as pixel tags, HTML5, etc.).
Third-party sources: We may receive certain personal data from trusted third parties and platforms we integrate with, such as:
- Analytics providers (e.g., Google Analytics),
- Customer support or chat tools,
- Social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn),
- An artificial intelligence model called ChatGPT, which processes your chatbot questions to provide answers related to the services we offer.

3. How We May Use Your Personal Data

We will only process your personal data where we have a valid legal basis to do so, as permitted under applicable data protection laws. Most commonly, we rely on one or more of the following legal grounds:

Performance of a contract: Where the processing is necessary to enter into or fulfil a contract with you.
Legitimate interests: Where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests, and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests.
Legal or regulatory obligation: Where we are required to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation.

In general, we do not rely on consent as the legal basis for processing your personal data, except where explicitly required, such as for sending you direct marketing communications. You may withdraw your consent to such marketing communications at any time by following the opt-out instructions provided in our messages or by contacting us directly.

4. Purposes of Use of Your Personal Data

Purpose/Activity	Examples of Data	Lawful Basis for Processing
To contact you when you have submitted a request via our Chatbot or contact form; to respond to your specific inquiries; and to provide tailored solutions and recommendations.	(a) Identity data: name, title, and company name(b) Contact data: email address, phone number	Legitimate interest (to respond to inquiries and improve services), Performance of a contract (where applicable)
To deliver promotional and marketing content via our website when you have subscribed to receive our newsletters.	(a) Identity data(b) Contact data	Your consent
To provide you with relevant website content and assess its effectiveness when you choose to download our whitepapers.	(a) Identity data(b) Contact data(c) Usage and technical data	Legitimate interest (to understand and improve our services and marketing effectiveness)
To leverage data analytics for enhancing our website, products, marketing, and customer experience.	(a) Technical data(b) Usage data	Legitimate interest (to support business development and guide marketing strategy)

Use of Your Data for Marketing Purposes

We will only send you marketing communications if you have provided your explicit consent. You can withdraw your consent at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in our emails or by contacting us directly.

Use of Your Data for New Purposes

If we need to use your personal data for purposes other than those originally intended, we will notify you and clarify the legal basis for the new processing, or obtain your explicit consent where required.

Links to Third-Party Websites

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, plug-ins, or applications. Clicking on these links or enabling such features may allow third parties to collect or share information about you. We do not control these websites and are not responsible for their privacy practices. Please review the privacy policies of any external sites you visit.

Use of Cookies

We use cookies and web analytics tools (such as Google Analytics) to understand how visitors use our website and to improve your experience. You can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings or via our cookie consent tool.

Automated Decision-Making

We do not engage in any solely automated decision-making processes that produce legal or similarly significant effects. Should this change in the future, we will notify you and provide options for human review.

5. Disclosures of Your Personal Data and International Transfers

We may share your personal data with trusted third parties when needed for the purposes outlined in this Policy. This may include transfers of your data outside India. In such cases, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information.

We require our third-party service providers to respect the confidentiality and security of your personal data and to process it only in accordance with our instructions and applicable laws. They are not permitted to use your data for their own purposes.

6. Data Security

We have implemented appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data from accidental loss, unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or misuse. Access to your data is limited to employees, agents, contractors, and other third parties who require it for legitimate business purposes and are bound by confidentiality obligations.

In the event of a suspected personal data breach, we will promptly investigate and take necessary actions. Where legally required, we will inform you without undue delay.

7. Data Retention

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, unless a longer retention period is required by law or necessary for the exercise or defense of legal claims. Once personal data is no longer necessary, we ensure it is securely deleted or anonymized.

8. Your Data Rights

You have the following rights regarding your personal data:

Right of access – Request access to your personal data.
Right to rectification – Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure – Request deletion of your personal data.
Right to restrict processing – Request limitation of how we use your data.
Right to object – Object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing.
Right to data portability – Request transfer of your personal data to you or another controller.
Right to withdraw consent – Withdraw your consent at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@aetherqc.com.

9. Policy Updates

We may update this Privacy Policy at any time. The latest version will always be available on our website.