Adhyathmika Bhikshun publishes Buddhist teachings in English and Sinhala. This policy explains what personal information this website collects, why we collect it, where it is stored, and the choices you have.
1. Who we are
Adhyathmika Bhikshun ("we", "us") operates this website and decides how the personal data described here is used. You can reach us at [email protected] or (+94) 76 482 7109.
This policy covers the websites adhyathmikabhikshun.org and adhyathmikabhikshun.lk. Our meditation mobile app collects different information and is covered by its own policy at https://adhyathmikabhikshun.org/app/privacy-policy.
2. Information you give us
We only receive personal information that you choose to send through one of the forms on this site. We do not buy information about you, and we do not build advertising profiles.
Contact form
When you write to us we collect your name, email address, subject and message. We use them only to read and answer your enquiry.
Donation form
When you record a donation we collect your name, email address, the amount and currency, and — if you choose to provide them — your phone number, city, country, and an image or PDF of your payment receipt. We use these to acknowledge your donation and to keep proper records.
Donations are transferred through your own bank or payment provider. We do not collect card numbers, bank credentials, or any payment details through this website.
Newsletter
To subscribe you give us your email address only — no name is required. Every newsletter contains a one-click unsubscribe link, and you can also unsubscribe by writing to us.
Search
Words you type into the search box are sent to our server so it can return matching articles. Search terms are not linked to your identity.
3. Information collected automatically
If you accept analytics cookies (see section 4), Google Analytics records usage information such as an approximate location derived from your IP address, your device and browser type, the pages you view, and how long you spend on them. We read this only in aggregate, to understand which teachings are being read and how to improve the site.
If you decline, no analytics scripts are loaded and no analytics cookies are set. Independently of your choice, our hosting and CDN providers keep short-lived technical logs — including IP addresses — as a normal part of delivering and protecting the site.
4. Cookies and your consent
The first time you visit, a banner asks whether you accept analytics cookies. We do not load Google Analytics until you accept. The only cookie we set beforehand is the one that remembers your answer, which is strictly necessary and therefore permitted without consent.
You can change or withdraw your choice at any time through the "Cookie settings" link in the footer of every page. Our Cookie Policy lists each cookie individually.
5. Where your information is stored
Form submissions and subscriber addresses are stored in our content management system, on a PostgreSQL database hosted by Supabase. Files you upload, such as donation receipts, are stored in Cloudflare R2. The websites run on Vercel and are served through Cloudflare.
These providers operate servers outside Sri Lanka, so your information may be processed in other countries, including in the European Union and the United States. We rely on the standard contractual protections offered by each provider for those transfers.
6. Third-party services we use
- Supabase — hosts the database that holds form submissions and subscriber addresses.
- Cloudflare — content delivery, caching and security; also stores uploaded files in R2.
- Vercel — hosts and serves the websites.
- Brevo — delivers our newsletter. Subscriber email addresses are shared with Brevo for that purpose only.
- Google Analytics — website statistics. Loaded only if you accept analytics cookies.
- YouTube — some articles embed a video. We use YouTube's privacy-enhanced mode, so YouTube sets cookies only if you start playing.
- Cloudflare Turnstile — checks that our contact, donation and newsletter forms are being used by a person rather than a bot. It runs only on pages with a form.
To protect our forms from automated abuse, Cloudflare Turnstile receives your IP address, browser user-agent and a site identifier when a form page loads. Cloudflare processes these to tell people from bots. This is described in more detail in the Cloudflare Turnstile Privacy Addendum.
Each provider handles data under its own privacy policy. We do not sell, rent or trade your personal information, and we never share it for advertising. We disclose information only to these providers, or where the law requires it.
7. How long we keep it
Contact messages are kept for as long as we need them to answer you and to follow up. Donation records and receipts are kept for as long as we need to account for the donation. Subscriber addresses are kept until you unsubscribe. Analytics data is held for the retention period configured in our Google Analytics property and is never linked to your name or email address.
8. Security
Traffic to and from this site is encrypted with HTTPS. Access to the content management system is limited to authorised administrators. No transmission over the internet can be guaranteed completely secure, but we follow accepted practice to protect what you send us.
9. Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:
- ask what personal data we hold about you, and receive a copy of it;
- have inaccurate data corrected;
- have your data deleted;
- object to, or ask us to restrict, how we use your data;
- withdraw consent you have given — for example by unsubscribing, or by declining analytics cookies;
- receive your data in a portable format; and
- complain to your national data protection authority.
To exercise any of these, email [email protected]. We aim to respond within 30 days.
10. Children
This website is not directed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect their personal information. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.
11. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the site changes. The date at the top shows when it was last revised, and material changes will be announced on this page.
12. Contact us
Adhyathmika Bhikshun, Sri Lanka
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (+94) 76 482 7109
Website: https://adhyathmikabhikshun.org