Protecting the digital anonymity of our Indian user base is the foundational principle of the Castle application. This Privacy Blueprint defines our data governance architecture, ensuring compliance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act) and the Information Technology Act, 2000. We are committed to providing a secure media discovery environment across all compatible Android ecosystems.

1. Scope of Telemetry and Background Operations

Castle functions as an automated link directory and does not require user registration, profile creation, or email verification. To maintain search engine stability, we limit our data interactions to the following essential background metrics:

  • System Architecture: We log your Android OS version and device hardware profile to ensure stable media playback and video decoding compatibility.
  • Dashboard Preferences: Your selected UI language, regional settings, and subtitle configurations are saved locally on your hardware and are never transmitted to our servers.
  • Cross-Device Continuity: We maintain temporary, encrypted caches of your watch history and bookmarks to enable seamless transitions between your smartphone and Android TV.
  • Bandwidth Diagnostics: We analyze generalized network strength indicators to route search queries through the most responsive servers on your local ISP.

2. Absolute Prohibition on Identity Tracking

Castle operates under a strict "Air-Gapped" data philosophy. Our application is structurally isolated from the private sectors of your Android device. We categorically refuse to collect, access, or transmit:

  • State Identification: Zero interaction with Aadhaar credentials, PAN databases, or Voter ID systems.
  • Financial Ecosystems: The application cannot access UPI handles, bank account numbers, or digital wallets such as PhonePe or GPay.
  • Physical Biometrics: Castle will never trigger or record data from your device's fingerprint scanners or facial recognition hardware.
  • Private Communications: Your SMS inbox, personal contact lists, and private photo galleries remain entirely inaccessible to our processes.

3. Monetization and Advertising Mechanics

To sustain our search index as a free resource for the Indian public, Castle integrates with third-party advertising networks, including Google AdMob. Our advertising partners deploy anonymized tracking tokens (specifically the Android Advertising ID) to prevent repetitive ad placements. These tokens do not map to your legal name or physical address. You may disable ad personalization at any time within your Android device's privacy settings.

4. Desktop & Emulator Access Policy

Castle is engineered natively and exclusively for the Android operating system. No native installer exists for Windows or macOS. Desktop users must install a third-party Android emulator (such as BlueStacks or LDPlayer) to run Castle. When operating within this virtualized environment, Castle's processes are fully sandboxed and cannot access your PC's hard drive, browser data, or system registry. For full details on supported devices, refer to the Hardware Ecosystem section in our Master Service Agreement.

5. Sovereign Rights of the Data Principal

In accordance with the DPDP Act, 2023, you hold ultimate authority over any data footprint generated by your use of Castle. You may exercise these rights directly within the application:

  • On-Demand Purging: Permanently erase your local cache, search history, and saved queries via the in-app "Settings" interface at any time.
  • Preference Overrides: All UI configurations and localisation data can be modified or deleted at your discretion.
  • Total Network Erasure: To remove background synchronisation tokens linked to your hardware profile, submit a formal deletion request via the Legal Support form on our official website.

6. Grievance Escalation Protocol

In compliance with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules, Castle maintains a designated Grievance Officer responsible for resolving disputes concerning data ethics, user privacy, and legal compliance. To initiate a complaint, submit your concern through the Legal Support form on our official web portal. Our compliance team will acknowledge all formal submissions within 24 hours and issue a comprehensive resolution within the statutory 15-day window.