Privacy Policy

Last updated: 29 October 2026

In short: we collect only what we need to help cats find homes. Your email is never shown publicly. When you message someone about a cat, they receive your name, email and message so they can reply. When you apply for an NGO's cat, that team receives your Adoption Passport. We don't sell your data, ever.

Who we are

The Bombay Cats (thebombaycats.com) is a free community board for stray cat adoption in Mumbai. For anything about your data, email meow@thebombaycats.com.

What we collect

Your account: your email address and initials. If you sign in with Google, we receive your name and email from Google.
Listings you post: the cat's name, description, general area, health details and photos. Photos are converted on your device before upload, which removes location data stored inside them.
Messages you send: your name, your message and your account email, along with the cat you're asking about.
Your Adoption Passport: if you fill one in to apply for an NGO's cat, your full name, phone number, neighbourhood, type of home, whether your landlord or society allows a cat, who lives with you, other pets, your experience with cats, how long a cat would be alone, whether your windows are netted, anything else you choose to tell us, and your promise to neuter and vaccinate. When you apply, we also keep a copy of these answers with your application, your account email, your note and the application's progress.
Updates after adoption (Munchkins thriving): if you post an update on an adopted cat, the photo, the line you write and the first name you give.
Reports and reactions: the reason and any details you give when reporting a listing, and the reactions you add.
Abuse protection: a scrambled (hashed) version of your IP address, used only to limit spam. We don't store your actual IP address in our database, though the services that host the site may keep it briefly in their logs. A security service checks that visitors are human.
Listing numbers: how many times each cat's page is viewed and shared, and how many messages it gets. These are counts only. To count each visitor once a day, we use a scrambled code that changes daily and is deleted after two days, so it can't be traced back to you.
Usage data: on the home page, an analytics service records pages visited and general device and location information (city level), using cookies.

Why we use it

To run the board: show listings, let you manage your own, and connect adopters with the people caring for a cat.
To keep it safe: review listings, act on reports, and stop spam, fake listings and the sale of cats.
To follow up after an adoption: up to two emails, about two weeks and two months after a cat is adopted, asking how they're doing.
To improve the site, using overall usage numbers.

We rely on your consent, which you give when you create an account, post a listing, send a message, fill in an Adoption Passport or post an update. You can withdraw it at any time by asking us to delete your account.

Who sees your information

The public sees listings, photos, the general area and the poster's initials, and updates posted on adopted cats with the first name given. Never email addresses or phone numbers.
The person who listed a cat receives your name, email and message when you contact them about that cat.
NGO teams: if you list cats for an NGO team on the site, the team's members can see and edit the team's listings, read the messages sent about them, and see their view, share and message counts. Team members can see each other's email addresses.
NGO teams you apply to: when you apply for a cat, that cat's team sees your passport answers, phone number, email and note, and moves your application along. Only the team for that cat sees it. Your passport itself is visible only to you.
Our admin can see listings, messages, applications, updates and reports in order to moderate the board.
Services that run the site for us: providers for our database and accounts, website hosting, email delivery, photo storage, domain and security checks, sign-in, and analytics. They process data on our behalf, and some of it may be stored outside India.

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal data, and we never share it with advertisers or sponsors.

How long we keep it

We keep your account, listings, messages, passport, applications and updates while your account is active, and for as long as needed to keep the board safe. Adopted listings may stay visible in our archive to celebrate the adoption. Ask us and we'll delete your account and the data linked to it, except where we must keep a record of abuse or by law.

Your rights

Under India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, you can:

ask what personal data we hold about you
ask us to correct or update it
ask us to delete it, and withdraw your consent
nominate someone to exercise these rights for you
raise a complaint with us, and if you're not satisfied, with the Data Protection Board of India

Email meow@thebombaycats.com from the address on your account and we'll respond as soon as we can.

Cookies and browser storage

Your sign-in is kept in your browser's local storage so you stay signed in. Our analytics service uses cookies on the home page to count visits. Our security check may set a cookie as part of checking you're human.

Children

The Bombay Cats is meant for adults. If you're under 18, please use it with a parent or guardian, who should create the account.

Changes

If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top. For important changes, we'll tell you on the site.