Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

We collect various types of information to provide and improve our educational services:

A. Information You Provide Directly

• Account & Registration Data: Student's name, parent/guardian's name, class, school name, email address, phone number, and state/city.
• Payment Data: Billing address and transaction details. (Note: We do not store full credit/debit card numbers; payments are processed securely by our third-party payment gateways like Razorpay/PayU).
• Communication Data: Information provided when you contact customer support, submit feedback, or respond to surveys.

B. Information Collected Automatically

• Device & Usage Data: IP address, browser type, operating system, device identifiers, and information on how you interact with the SIO Platform (pages visited, time spent, click patterns).
• Exam Performance Data: Responses to Olympiad questions, scores, time taken per question, and final rankings.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected data for the following legitimate business and operational purposes:

• Service Delivery: To register students for the Olympiad, conduct online examinations, generate scorecards, and issue digital certificates.
• AI Personalization: To power the AI Dashboard, provide customized study material, adapt practice questions, and enable the "AI Tutor Mahi" to answer student queries.
• Communication: To send exam schedules, login credentials, result notifications, and important platform updates.
• Marketing: To send promotional materials about future Olympiads, courses, or events (you can opt-out at any time).
• Security & Fraud Prevention: To monitor exam integrity, prevent cheating, and protect the platform against malicious activity.
• Compliance: To comply with our legal obligations under Indian law and protect our legal rights.

3. Children's Privacy & Parental Consent

• Verifiable Parental Consent: By completing the registration process and ticking the acceptance checkbox, the Parent/Legal Guardian explicitly consents to the collection, processing, and use of their child's personal data as described in this policy.
• Restricted Marketing: We do not send direct marketing emails or promotional materials directly to minors. All marketing communications are addressed to the parent/guardian's contact details.
• Data Minimization: We only collect data strictly necessary for conducting the Olympiad and generating performance insights.

4. AI Dashboard & Third-Party Processing

If you opt for the AI Dashboard Add-on (₹599), your data will be processed using advanced Artificial Intelligence to provide a personalized learning experience.

• Google Gemini Integration: The "AI Tutor Mahi" and analytical features are powered by Google Cloud's Gemini API. When a student asks a doubt or submits an answer, the text/data is securely transmitted to Google's servers to generate a response.
• No Unauthorized Training: We configure our API settings to ensure Google does not use your personal or performance data to train their foundational AI models.
• AI Limitations: While AI is highly accurate, it may occasionally generate incorrect information (hallucinations). We are not liable for AI-generated study advice, but we continuously monitor and improve our prompts for safety and accuracy.

5. Examination Proctoring & Data

• Proctoring Data: During the exam, we may access the student's webcam, microphone, and screen recording to monitor for malpractice.
• Use of Data: This audio-visual data is analyzed by AI proctoring tools to detect suspicious behavior, eye movement, or presence of unauthorized persons/devices.
• Retention: Proctoring video data is kept strictly confidential, used solely for exam integrity verification, and deleted within 90 days after the final results are declared, unless a formal dispute is pending.

6. Cookies & Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to track the activity on our Platform and store certain information. Cookies are files with a small amount of data which may include an anonymous unique identifier.

• Essential Cookies: Required for the website to function correctly (e.g., keeping you logged in during the exam).
• Analytics Cookies: Used to understand how visitors interact with the website (e.g., Google Analytics).
• Marketing Cookies: Used to deliver relevant advertisements (e.g., Meta Pixel).

You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, if you do not accept cookies, you may not be able to use portions of the SIO Platform or take the online exam.

7. Data Sharing & Disclosure

We do not sell your personal data. We may share your information with the following categories of third parties strictly for operational purposes:

• Cloud Service Providers: Google Cloud (for hosting, AI processing, and data storage).
• Payment Gateways: Razorpay, PayU, or similar providers to process registration fees.
• Communication Platforms: Email service providers (e.g., SendGrid) and SMS/WhatsApp gateways (e.g., Twilio) to send you notifications.
• Schools & Partners: If a student is registered through a school bulk registration, we may share performance data and certificates with the respective school administration.
• Legal Authorities: If required by law, court order, or government agency, to protect our legal rights, privacy, safety, or property.

8. Data Security & Retention

We implement administrative, technical, and physical security measures designed to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction.

• Encryption: All data transmitted between your device and our servers is encrypted using SSL/TLS protocols.
• Access Control: Strict internal access controls ensure only authorized personnel can access student data.
• Retention Period: We retain your data for as long as your account is active or as necessary to provide services. Exam performance data and certificates are retained for 5 years to allow students to access them for academic portfolios. After this period, data is permanently anonymized or deleted.

9. Your Privacy Rights (DPDP Act 2023)

Under the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023 of India, and other applicable global privacy laws, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right to Access: You can request a copy of the personal information we hold about you or your child.
• Right to Correction: You can request the correction of inaccurate or incomplete data (e.g., correcting a misspelled name on a certificate before issuance).
• Right to Erasure (Right to be Forgotten): You can request the deletion of your personal data, provided it is not required for ongoing exam processing, legal compliance, or dispute resolution.
• Right to Grievance Redressal: You have the right to lodge a complaint if you believe we have violated your privacy rights.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact our Grievance Officer using the details provided below.

10. International Data Transfers

While our primary servers are located in India, using global cloud services (like Google Cloud) means that some data may be transferred to and processed in servers located outside of India. We ensure that such transfers comply with the DPDP Act, 2023, and are subject to appropriate safeguards to protect your data privacy.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to update or modify this Privacy Policy at any time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date at the top. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

12. Contact Our Grievance Officer

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact our designated Grievance Officer: