Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Vidyame ("we," "us," or "our") is an Indic educational learning platform dedicated to preserving and promoting Indian literature, philosophy, culture, and spiritual education. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website, create an account, sign in with Google, and use our personalized learning services. Please read this policy carefully. If you do not agree with the terms of this policy, please do not access the platform.

2. Information We Collect

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect solely to provide, improve, and personalize our educational platform:

• Create and manage your personalized Vidyame learning account

• Authenticate your identity when you sign in with Google

• Provide curated educational content, courses, podcasts, and literature

• Track your learning progress and save bookmarks across sessions

• Deliver personalized recommendations based on your learning history and preferences

• Enable community features such as discussions and group learning

• Process and manage donations and issue tax receipts

• Respond to your inquiries and provide customer support

• Send administrative information, such as updates to our policies

• Monitor and analyze usage to improve our educational platform

• Maintain platform security and prevent unauthorized access

• Comply with legal obligations and protect our rights

4. Google Sign-In and OAuth Disclosure

Vidyame uses Google OAuth authentication to provide a secure and convenient sign-in experience. When you choose to sign in with Google:

• You are authenticating through Google's secure authentication system

• Vidyame only accesses basic profile information (name, email address, and profile picture) necessary to create and identify your account

• We do not request access to your Google emails, contacts, calendar, Drive files, or any other Google services

• Google OAuth is used exclusively for authentication and account creation purposes

• Your Google account credentials are never stored on our servers; we only receive an authentication token from Google

• You may disconnect your Google account at any time by contacting us

5. Limited Use of Google User Data

Vidyame complies with Google's API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. Specifically:

• We do not sell, rent, or trade Google user data to any third parties

• We do not use Google user data for advertising, retargeting, or personalized marketing purposes

• We do not transfer Google user data to data brokers, advertising platforms, or information resellers

• We do not use Google user data to determine credit-worthiness or for lending purposes

• Google user data is used only to provide and improve user-facing features within the Vidyame platform

• Any data transfers are limited to providing or improving appropriate user-facing features, with user consent, or as required by law

• We do not allow human access to Google user data except as necessary for security, legal compliance, or with explicit user consent

6. Sharing Your Information

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to third parties. We may share your information only in the following limited circumstances:

• Service providers (such as Stripe for payment processing, cloud hosting providers, and analytics services) who assist us in operating our platform

• Legal authorities when required by law, regulation, or legal process

• To protect the rights, property, or safety of Vidyame, our users, or the public

• In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, provided the successor agrees to comply with this Privacy Policy

7. Data Security

We implement industry-standard technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal information:

• All data transmitted between your browser and our servers is encrypted using HTTPS/TLS

• Authentication is handled securely through Google OAuth; we do not store your passwords

• Access to user data is restricted to authorized personnel only

• We regularly review and update our security practices to maintain data protection

• All donations are processed securely through Stripe, which maintains PCI-DSS compliance

While we take reasonable steps to protect your information, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.

8. Third-Party Services

Our platform integrates with the following third-party services:

• Google OAuth: Used for secure user authentication and account creation. Subject to Google's Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

• Stripe: Used for secure payment processing for donations. Subject to Stripe's Privacy Policy.

• Cloud Hosting Providers: Used to host and serve our platform securely.

• Analytics Providers: Used to understand platform usage and improve user experience.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third-party services. We encourage you to review their respective privacy policies.

9. Data Retention

We retain your account information and learning data for as long as your account is active or as necessary to provide our educational services. If you request account deletion, we will delete your personal information within a reasonable timeframe, except where retention is required for legal compliance, dispute resolution, or enforcement of our agreements. Anonymized usage data may be retained for analytical purposes.

10. Children's Privacy

Vidyame is an educational platform that may be used by learners of all ages, including children under 13 with parental guidance. If you are under 13, please use our platform only with the involvement and consent of a parent or guardian. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 without parental consent. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information promptly.

11. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you

• Correct inaccurate or incomplete personal information

• Request deletion of your personal information and account data

• Object to or restrict certain processing of your data

• Withdraw consent for data processing where applicable

• Request a copy of your data in a portable format

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the information provided below. We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, platform features, or legal requirements. If we make material changes, we will notify you by posting the updated policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date. Your continued use of Vidyame after any changes constitutes acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at: