Privacy policy

1. Who we are

UPSC By Aptness.ai ("we", "us" or "our") is a UPSC preparation service operated by [Registered legal name of the business], a [Entity type, e.g. sole proprietorship or private limited] with its registered office at [Registered address, City, State, PIN code, India]. We provide current affairs quizzes, answer-writing practice with AI-assisted evaluation (reviewed by teachers for students of an institute), and an AI study mentor through [https://your-domain.in] (the "Service").

This policy explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, who we share it with and the choices you have. It is published under the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. By using the Service, you agree to the collection and use of your data as described here.

2. Data we collect

Account data. You sign in with your Google account. Google shares your name, email address and profile picture with us. We do not receive or store your Google password.

Learning data. Your quiz attempts, selected options, written answers, scores, AI-generated feedback, teacher reviews and performance history.

Answer sheets. The photos or PDF scans of your handwritten Mains answers, which may show your handwriting and anything else you write on the page, and the text our AI reads from them. We remove location and other metadata from photos when you upload them. Pages you upload but do not submit are deleted after about a day.

AI mentor data. The messages you send to the AI mentor and its replies, saved as your conversation history. Images and PDFs you attach are sent to our AI provider to generate a reply and are not saved in your conversation history.

Purchase data. The plan you buy, amount paid, payment status, transaction and order IDs, your plan's validity, and how much of each daily limit you use. Payments are processed by Razorpay. We do not collect or store your card number, CVV, UPI PIN, net banking password or other payment instrument details.

Technical data. Your IP address, browser and device type (user agent), and sign-in session timestamps, collected when you sign in and use the Service.

Communications. Emails and messages you send us, including support requests and grievances.

3. How we use your data

• To create and secure your account and keep you signed in.
• To show you quizzes, record your attempts, evaluate your answers and show your results and progress.
• If you belong to an institute on the Service, to let its teachers check your answer sheets and the AI evaluation before your result is released to you, and to follow your performance. If you study on your own, your Mains answers are evaluated by AI alone.
• To answer your questions through the AI mentor.
• To process payments, activate plans and apply daily limits, issue invoices and handle refunds.
• To send you service emails, such as payment receipts and important changes to the Service.
• To prevent fraud and abuse, enforce our terms and conditions, and comply with legal obligations.
• To fix problems and improve the Service.

We do not sell your personal data, and we do not use it for third-party advertising.

4. Who we share your data with

We share personal data only with service providers that help us run the Service, and only as much as they need to do their job:

• Google: sign-in (Google OAuth), AI-generated evaluations and mentor replies (Google Gemini API, which receives your answer sheets to read and mark them), and service emails.
• Cloudflare: private storage of your answer sheets (Cloudflare R2). They are never public; each view uses a link that expires within minutes.
• Razorpay Software Private Limited: payment processing. Razorpay handles your payment details under its own privacy policy and the Reserve Bank of India's rules.
• Hosting, database and background job providers: to store data and run the Service securely.

Teachers of your institute, if you belong to one, can see your answers, answer sheets, evaluations and performance so they can review your results. Teachers of other institutes cannot. We may also disclose data when required by law, a court order or a government authority, or to protect the rights and safety of our users and the Service.

Some of these providers may process data on servers outside India. Where they do, we rely on their contractual and security commitments to protect your data.

5. Cookies and local storage

We use a strictly necessary cookie to keep you signed in. We also store your in-progress quiz answers in your browser's local storage, so you do not lose them if the page reloads. We do not use advertising or third-party tracking cookies. If you block cookies, you will not be able to sign in.

6. How long we keep your data

We keep your account and learning data while your account is active. If you ask us to delete your account, we will delete or anonymise your personal data within 30 days, except for records we must keep by law. Payment and invoice records are kept for as long as Indian tax and accounting laws require, which is usually up to 8 years.

Answer sheet files are deleted 30 days after your result is released, or 30 days after an evaluation fails. Until then you can download them from your result. Your marks, feedback and the text read from your pages are kept with your learning data.

7. How we protect your data

We use reasonable security practices, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), access controls that limit teacher and staff access to what their role needs, and secure session handling. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security. If a data breach affects you, we will notify you and the authorities as required by law.

8. Your rights

Under applicable Indian law, you can:

• Ask for a summary of the personal data we hold about you.
• Ask us to correct or update inaccurate data.
• Ask us to delete your account and personal data, subject to the legal retention described above.
• Withdraw your consent. This stops future processing but may mean you can no longer use the Service.
• Nominate another person to exercise these rights on your behalf if you die or become incapacitated.
• Raise a grievance with our grievance officer.

To use any of these rights, email info@aptness.ai from the email address on your account. We will respond within 30 days.

9. Age requirement

The Service is meant for people aged 18 or older. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We will change the "Last updated" date above and, for significant changes, notify you by email or in the app before they take effect.

11. Grievance officer

For complaints about how we handle your personal data, contact our grievance officer:

• Name: [Grievance officer's full name]
• Email: [grievance@your-domain.in]

We will acknowledge your complaint within 48 hours and resolve it within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may approach the Data Protection Board of India.

12. Contact us