Privacy Protocol

This Privacy Policy explains how Vihaya (“we”, “us”, “our”) collects, uses, stores, and shares information when you use vihaya.app and its subdomains, our mobile apps, and related services (the “Services”). It applies to students, educators, institutions, and anyone who visits the Services — even without creating an account.

We are a Kerala-based academic platform focused on KTU BTech and school learners. Our goal is to serve students with the least data possible, and never to sell anything about you.

Information you give us

• Name and email (from Google sign-in or manual signup)
• Academic details — institution, course, department, year and semester
• Uploaded notes, PYQs, or feedback you choose to submit
• Messages you send to support or community channels

Information collected automatically

• Device type, browser, approximate location (city-level, derived from IP)
• Pages visited, features used, crash diagnostics
• Essential and analytics cookies (see Cookies section)

• To show you the right syllabus, notes and PYQs for your course
• To save bookmarks, progress and AI-tutor conversations
• To send transactional emails (account, security, updates)
• To measure which features are useful and fix what’s broken
• To comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms

We do not sell your data to advertisers or brokers. We do not run third-party ad networks on the Services.

We share data only with service providers that help us operate the Services, under contract, and only the minimum needed:

• Google Firebase — authentication, Firestore database, file storage, crash reporting
• Vercel — hosting and edge delivery for vihaya.app
• AI providers — anonymised prompts when you use AI tutor features; conversations are not used to train third-party models without your consent
• Analytics — aggregated, de-identified usage statistics

We also disclose information when required by law, to protect users’ safety, or as part of a corporate transaction — in which case we’ll notify you.

We use three categories of cookies:

• Strictly necessary — sign-in state, CSRF tokens, theme preference. Cannot be disabled.
• Analytics — anonymised usage metrics. Can be disabled in your browser.
• Preferences — remember institution, course, and last-viewed subject.

• Account data — kept while your account is active
• Uploaded materials — kept until you delete them or your account
• Log and analytics data — up to 18 months, then auto-purged
• Support emails — 2 years, then deleted

After account deletion we remove your personal data within 30 days, except where law requires longer retention (for example, tax records).

You can:

• Access the data we hold about you
• Correct inaccurate information from your profile
• Download your account data in a portable format
• Delete your account and associated data
• Object to, or restrict, certain processing activities
• Withdraw consent for optional processing at any time

To exercise any of these rights, email vihaya.app@gmail.com. We respond within 30 days.

Data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest. We follow the principle of least privilege for internal access, rotate secrets regularly, and use Firebase Authentication for identity. If we ever discover a breach that materially affects your data, we will notify you within 72 hours, as required by law.

The Services are intended for learners aged 13 and older. If you are under 18, please use Vihaya with your parent or guardian’s consent. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13; if we learn we have, we will delete it promptly.

Our servers are primarily hosted on infrastructure in the United States and India. By using the Services, you consent to your information being processed in these regions, with appropriate safeguards in place.

We may update this policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you by email or an in-app notice at least 14 days before they take effect. The “Last Updated” date below will always reflect the current version.

Questions, requests, or concerns? Email vihaya.app@gmail.com. We read every message. For formal data-protection requests, mark your email subject with “Privacy Request”.