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Privacy Policy

Last updated: [DATE OF PUBLICATION]

This Privacy Policy explains how [ORGANIZATION LEGAL NAME] ("SIH," "we," "us"), registered at [REGISTERED ADDRESS], collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data through the SIH Platform (the "Platform"). It is written to reflect how the Platform actually behaves, not generic boilerplate, and is intended to comply with India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 ("DPDP Act") for users in [JURISDICTION].

1. What we collect

We collect only what the Platform needs to function. Specifically:

  • Account credentials — your email address, optionally a phone number, and a password. Your password is stored only as a salted cryptographic hash; we never store or can retrieve your plaintext password.
  • Builder profile data (members only, and only if you choose to fill it in) — full name, photo, cover image, bio, college, department, batch/semester, tech stack, achievements, certifications, links (GitHub/LinkedIn/website), and availability.
  • Client organization data — organization name, website, industry, description, location, and logo/cover images. This is business information, not personal data about an individual.
  • Project and contribution records — the work you do on the Platform: assignments, contributions, evidence references, milestones, and reviews.
  • Public inquiry submissions — if you submit a project inquiry through our public website, we collect the organization name, contact name, email, phone (optional), and message you provide. This does not create an account.
  • Uploaded documents — resumes, evidence files, and similar documents you upload, stored in object storage (see Section 6).

We do not use cookies for tracking or advertising, and we do not sell personal data to any third party.

2. How your data is protected by default

Your builder profile and identity fields are private by default and visible only to you. If you choose to opt in to a public Portfolio view, only the fields you explicitly enable are shown — your real name and other identity fields are never shown to another person unless you are viewing your own record. Your earnings are always private; the Platform never displays your financial figures on any view another person can see.

The Platform has no composite reputation score, ranking, or leaderboard of any kind. Reputation signals shown to others (if you opt in) are qualitative bands, never a single number you could be ranked by.

3. Why we process your data

We process personal data only for the following purposes:

  • To create and authenticate your account and verify your identity via a one-time code.
  • To operate the builder application, review, and project-execution workflows you participate in.
  • To respond to project inquiries and, where appropriate, set up a client relationship.
  • To send you account-related notifications (e.g. review outcomes, rulings) and, where you have not opted out, an email copy of certain notifications.
  • To maintain an append-only institutional record of decisions for accountability and dispute resolution (see Section 5).
  • To meet legal, security, and fraud-prevention obligations.

4. Your rights under the DPDP Act

As a Data Principal, you have the right to:

  • Access the personal data we hold about you (available directly in your Profile page for most fields).
  • Correct or update inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
  • Request erasure of your personal data, subject to Section 5 below.
  • Withdraw consent for optional processing (e.g. Portfolio visibility, email notifications) at any time through your account settings.
  • Nominate another individual to exercise these rights on your behalf in the event of death or incapacity.
  • Lodge a grievance with us, and if unresolved, with the Data Protection Board of India.

To exercise any of these rights, contact our Grievance Officer at [SUPPORT / GRIEVANCE CONTACT EMAIL]. We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law.

5. How erasure actually works on this Platform

When we approve an erasure request, here is exactly what happens — described accurately, not in generic terms:

  • Your identity fields (name, photo, bio, and every other personal-identity field) are anonymized in place. They are not merely hidden — the underlying values are overwritten and cannot be recovered.
  • For client accounts, the same applies to your contact record (contact name, email, phone).
  • A permanent, PII-free erasure record is kept, noting only that an erasure occurred and when — never what was erased.
  • Your underlying account identifier and the institutional history tied to it (memberships, past application decisions, project contribution records, trust history) are not deleted. This is a deliberate design choice: the Platform's accountability model depends on an append-only institutional record that cannot be rewritten after the fact, for you or anyone else. Erasure removes who a record is about, not that a decision was made.
  • Uploaded evidence documents that are part of a trust-critical record (e.g. evidence behind a ruling) are similarly tombstoned rather than deleted outright, consistent with the same append-only guarantee — this evidence is never publicly visible and exists only to support a specific accountability decision.

An erasure request is reviewed and approved by an accountable member of our team, with a stated reason recorded — it is never processed silently. Erasure requests can be declined only where retention is required by law or is necessary to complete an active, disputed decision; we will explain the reason if this applies to you.

6. Where your data is stored

Account and profile data is stored in a managed relational database. Uploaded documents (resumes, evidence, images) are stored using S3-compatible object storage; access to a stored document is only ever granted through a short-lived, signed download link generated on demand — documents are never served from a public URL.

7. Data retention

We retain personal data for as long as your account is active, and for institutional-record fields (see Section 5), for as long as necessary to preserve the integrity of the accountability history that data is part of, even after your identity fields are erased. Public inquiry submissions that do not result in a client relationship are retained only as long as necessary for our review process, after which they may be deleted or, on request, anonymized.

8. Security practices

Passwords are never stored in plaintext. Session tokens are held in memory in your browser only — never in a cookie or in persistent browser storage — and are cleared when you close or reload the page. Sensitive one-time secrets (verification codes, account-setup invitation links) are never stored in recoverable form; only a cryptographic hash is kept, and each is single-use and time-limited. Object storage and outbound email delivery are both configured through standard, provider-agnostic infrastructure with credentials held only in server-side configuration, never in application code or client-side storage.

9. Children's data

The Platform is not directed at children. If you believe a child has provided us personal data without appropriate consent, contact us at [SUPPORT / GRIEVANCE CONTACT EMAIL] and we will address it promptly.

10. Changes to this policy

We will update this page if how we handle your data changes, and update the "Last updated" date above. Material changes will be communicated to you through the Platform.

11. Contact us

For any question about this policy or your data, contact us at [SUPPORT / GRIEVANCE CONTACT EMAIL], or write to us at [REGISTERED ADDRESS].

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