Privacy Policy

Who We Are

Organisation: Aksharamaala (NGO)

Parent Initiative: Aksharadaan

Contact: privacy@aksharadaan.net

Information We Collect

We collect the minimum information needed to run an invite-only mentoring platform:

• Mobile number (required): to create, verify and secure your account, and to connect students and volunteers.
• Basic profile details (optional, if you provide them): name, language preference, city, availability, role (student/volunteer), and similar mentoring preferences.
• Communication metadata: timestamps of messages or sessions, and basic engagement signals to improve safety and quality. We do not access your personal device contacts or messages outside the app.
• Technical data: device identifiers, app version, and logs generated by our authentication and security systems (e.g., Firebase), used for reliability, security, and abuse prevention.
• Cookies & similar (website only): essential cookies to keep you signed in and protect your session; we avoid unnecessary tracking.

We do not collect or process payment information because no payments are involved.

How We Use Your Information

• To authenticate users and operate an invite-only space (e.g., OTP-based sign-in).
• To connect students with volunteers and enable mentoring features.
• To communicate important service updates, safety notices, and support responses.
• To maintain safety, prevent misuse, and enforce our community guidelines.
• To improve app stability, accessibility, and user experience (e.g., crash diagnostics).
• To comply with applicable laws and respond to lawful requests when required.

Legal Basis

Where applicable, we rely on one or more of the following legal bases: your consent (e.g., providing your number for OTP sign-in), our legitimate interests in operating a safe, invite-only mentoring platform, and compliance with legal obligations. We aim to align with India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act) and other applicable laws.

How We Share Information

• No selling of data: We do not sell your personal information.
• Service providers: We use trusted third-party processors to run our app (e.g., Google Firebase for authentication, hosting, and messaging). These providers process data on our behalf under contracts that require appropriate security and privacy measures.
• Legal & safety: We may disclose information if required by law or to protect our users, volunteers, or the public from harm, fraud, or abuse.
• Organisational changes: If Aksharamaala’s structure changes (e.g., merger into another registered not-for-profit), your information may transfer subject to this Policy or a substantially similar one.

International Transfers

Our service providers (such as Firebase) may process data on servers located outside your state or country. Where applicable, we take steps to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place consistent with relevant laws.

Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as needed to provide the service and meet legitimate operational or legal requirements. If you request deletion of your account, we will delete or de-identify your personal data within a reasonable time, subject to any retention required for safety, security, or legal purposes.

Your Choices & Rights

• Access & correction: You can request a copy of your personal information and ask us to correct inaccuracies.
• Deletion: You can ask us to delete your account and associated personal information.
• Consent withdrawal: Where we rely on consent (e.g., to contact you), you can withdraw it at any time.
• Contact: Email privacy@aksharadaan.net to exercise your rights. We may need to verify your identity before acting on requests.

Students & Children’s Privacy

Our platform serves students and volunteer mentors in a supervised, invite-only environment. If a student is a minor under applicable law, we require appropriate consent and oversight from a parent/guardian, school, or authorised program coordinator. We do not knowingly collect more data than necessary from minors.

Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information (for example, industry-standard authentication via Firebase, encrypted transport (HTTPS), access controls, and logging). However, no system can be guaranteed 100% secure.

Third-Party Services

Our app and website may link to or integrate third-party services (e.g., Firebase Authentication, push notifications, analytics limited to operational metrics). Your use of those services may be subject to their own privacy terms. We encourage you to review their policies.

No Payments

Aksharamaala does not accept payments through the app or website and does not process payment or financial data.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the updated version on this page and revise the “Last updated” date. Material changes will be communicated via the app or email where feasible.

Contact Us

If you have questions or concerns about this Policy or our data practices, contact us at privacy@aksharadaan.net.