Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how SeriousPrep (seriousprep.com, "we", "us", "our") collects, uses, and protects your information when you use our Service. By using the Service, you agree to the collection and use of information as described here.

1. Information we collect

• Account information: email address, and optionally your first/last name and phone number. If you sign in with Google, we receive your Google account's email and basic profile info. Passwords are stored as salted, irreversible hashes — we never store your password in plain text.
• Usage data: articles you've read, quiz and flashcard attempts, notes and tags you create, and preparation-progress metrics (e.g. weak-area, streak, and insights data) — used to personalize your experience.
• Technical data: basic device/browser information and log data (e.g. IP address) collected automatically for security, rate-limiting, and troubleshooting purposes.

2. How we use your information

• To provide, maintain, and personalize the Service — including your daily feed, weak-area detection, and preparation insights;
• To authenticate you and keep your account secure, including sending one-time verification codes via email or SMS;
• To respond to support requests sent to us;
• To maintain the security and integrity of the Service (e.g. rate-limiting abuse).

We do not sell your personal data to advertisers or data brokers, and we do not use it for third-party ad targeting.

3. AI processing

We use AI language models (including Anthropic's Claude) to generate study notes, quiz questions, and explanations — this processing runs on the underlying news article and educational reference material, not on your personal account data. We do not send your personal notes, tags, or private account information to AI providers, and we do not use your data to train AI models.

4. How we store & secure your data

Your data is stored on Microsoft Azure infrastructure. Your session is maintained via a signed access token stored in your browser's local storage — clearing your browser data or signing out will end that session. We apply reasonable technical and organizational safeguards to protect your data, but no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure.

5. Third parties we share data with

We share limited data with the following categories of service providers, solely to operate the Service:

• Microsoft Azure — hosting, database, and file storage;
• Anthropic — AI-assisted content generation (see Section 3);
• Google — only if you choose Google Sign-In;
• Azure Communication Services — delivering verification emails and SMS codes.

These providers only receive the data needed to perform their function and are not permitted to use it for their own purposes.

6. Cookies & local storage

We use browser local storage (not third-party advertising cookies) to keep you signed in and remember basic preferences. We don't use third-party ad-tracking scripts on the Service.

7. Data retention

We retain your account data for as long as your account is active. If you request account deletion, we will delete or anonymize your personal data within a reasonable period, except where we're required to retain certain records by law.

8. Your rights

You can access, correct, or delete your personal information at any time — directly from your Profile page for basic details, or by emailing [email protected] for account deletion or other data requests. We'll respond in line with applicable Indian data protection law (including the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023).

9. Children's privacy

The Service is intended for adult UPSC exam aspirants and is not directed at children under 18. We don't knowingly collect personal information from children.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we'll take reasonable steps to notify you (such as an in-app notice) before they take effect.

11. Contact us

Questions about this Privacy Policy, or requests regarding your data? Reach us at [email protected].