Privacy Policy – The Voice of Sikkim
Effective Date: March 10, 2026
Welcome to The Voice of Sikkim (www.voiceofsikkim.com), Sikkim’s most trusted online news source. At The Voice of Sikkim (referred to as “we,” “our,” or “us”), amplifying the voices of the Northeast goes hand in hand with protecting your personal data. This Privacy Policy, which includes our updated AI Content Policy, outlines the types of information we collect, how we utilize it, and the security measures we employ when you visit our website. By using our site, you agree to the practices described in this policy.
1. Information We Collect
We collect data to improve your reading experience and deliver the most relevant local and regional news. The information falls into two categories:
A. Personal Information
Personal information is data that can identify you as an individual. We only collect this when you voluntarily provide it through interactions such as signing up for newsletters, submitting queries, or commenting on articles. This may include:
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Name
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Email address
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Contact information
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Other details submitted via website forms
B. Non-Personal Information
As you navigate our website, we automatically collect non-personal data that cannot be used to identify you directly. This helps us optimize website performance and includes:
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IP address
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Browser type and operating system
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Device type
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Referral URLs
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Pages visited and time spent on the site
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Cookies and similar tracking technologies
2. How We Use Your Information
The Voice of Sikkim uses your information to enhance your experience and keep our platform secure. Specifically, we use it to:
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Provide, maintain, and improve our news publishing services.
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Personalize your user experience and deliver highly relevant news content.
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Respond promptly to reader inquiries, feedback, or comments.
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Send periodic emails, newsletters, or breaking news notifications (if you have opted in).
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Analyze website traffic and reading patterns to improve our editorial offerings.
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Prevent fraud and ensure the security of our website and its visitors.
3. AI Content and Usage Policy (New)
As media evolves, The Voice of Sikkim remains committed to journalistic integrity and data protection regarding Artificial Intelligence (AI).
A. Editorial Transparency
We may utilize AI-assisted tools for research, grammar checks, translation, or summarizing public data sets. However, all published news articles, reports, and editorial content undergo strict human editorial oversight by our team. We do not publish entirely AI-generated news articles without human verification to ensure factual accuracy and authenticity.
B. Protection Against AI Scraping
The original reporting, text, images, and multimedia content published on www.voiceofsikkim.com represent our intellectual property. We strictly prohibit the unauthorized crawling, scraping, or harvesting of our website content by third-party AI bots, machine learning models, or large language models (LLMs) for training purposes without explicit, written consent from The Voice of Sikkim.
C. User Data and AI Training
We prioritize your privacy. We do not use our readers’ personal information or private user data to train any internal or external Artificial Intelligence models. Your personal information remains completely isolated from automated generation systems.
4. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
Our website utilizes cookies to ensure a seamless browsing experience. Cookies are small files stored on your device that remember your preferences, track user-specific page visits, and provide analytics to optimize our site. You can manage or disable cookies through your browser settings, though doing so may limit certain features on our platform.
5. Third-Party Services
We may integrate third-party service providers to help operate our website, such as Google Analytics to track performance, or social media plugins to allow you to share our articles easily. These providers have access to your non-personal data only to the extent necessary to perform their specific functions. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of these third-party platforms to understand their data handling practices.
6. Sharing of Information
We do not sell, trade, or unlawfully transfer your personal information to outside parties. We only share information under the following circumstances:
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Service Providers: With trusted third parties who assist us in operating our website or serving our readers, bound by strict confidentiality agreements.
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Legal Requirements: If required by law, court order, or in response to valid requests by public and government authorities.
7. Data Security
We employ rigorous security measures to protect your data, including SSL encryption for secure data transmission, secure server hosting, and regular security audits. While we strive to protect your personal information, no method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure, and absolute security cannot be guaranteed.
8. Your Rights and Choices
As a reader, you retain full control over your personal data. You have the right to:
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Access the personal information we hold about you.
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Correct or update any inaccurate data.
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Request the deletion of your personal data, subject to standard legal obligations.
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Withdraw your consent for data processing at any time.
To exercise these rights, please reach out to us using the contact details provided in Section 12 below.
9. Links to Third-Party Sites
Our news articles may contain links to external websites for reference or context. These third-party sites are not governed by this Privacy Policy. We are not responsible for their content or privacy practices and encourage you to review their policies independently.
10. Children’s Privacy
The Voice of Sikkim is intended for a general audience. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13. If we discover that such information has been inadvertently collected, we will take immediate steps to delete it.
11. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We reserve the right to modify or update this Privacy Policy at any time to reflect changing legal requirements or technological advancements. Updates will be effective immediately upon posting to this page, and the “Effective Date” will be revised. We recommend reviewing this page periodically.
12. Contact Us
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy, our AI Content Policy, or how your data is handled, please contact us at:
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Email: info@voiceofsikkim.com
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Address: Digitech, Pakyong District, Sikkim, India IN
By continuing to use www.voiceofsikkim.com, you agree to the terms outlined in this Privacy Policy.
