This Privacy Policy ("Policy") outlines Aakash EduTech Private Limited's and its affiliates' (collectively, "Meritnation", "we", or "us") practices in relation to the collection, storage, use, processing, and disclosure of personal data that you have chosen to share with us when you access our website available at www.meritnation.com ("Website") or the Meritnation mobile app available on the Google Play Store at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.meritnation.school&hl=en_IN&gl=US and on the Apple App Store at https://apps.apple.com/in/app/meritnation/id757895298?mncid=blog_APP (collectively, "App"). The Website and App are c ollectively referred to as the "Platform". The provision of the Platform and the products and services available on or through the Platform are hereafter referred to as "Services".

At Meritnation, we are committed to protecting your personal data and respecting your privacy. Please read this Policy carefully to understand our practices regarding your personal data and how we treat it. The Policy sets out the basis on which any personal data, that we collect from you or that you provide to us, will be processed by us.

By using the Services, you confirm that you have read and agree to the terms of this Policy and consent to the process activities described under this Policy. You may use the Services only if you have reached the age of majority in your jurisdiction. If you are under the age of majority in your jurisdiction, your parent or guardian must agree to and accept this Policy on your behalf.

1. THE PERSONAL DATA WE COLLECT ABOUT YOU
   1. Personal data, or personal information, means any information about an individual from which that person can be identified. It does not include data where the identity has been removed (for example, anonymised data).
   2. We may collect, use, store, and transfer different kinds of personal data about you in connection with your use of the Services, including but not limited to:
      1. Identity and profile-related data: This includes identity data, including first and last name, username, passwords, date of birth, gender, year of study, school name, and board of education;
      2. Contact data: This includes contact details including permanent address, email address, alternate email address, and phone number;
      3. Transaction data: This includes transaction data including details of the Services you have availed, your credit or debit card details for tracking transactions that are provided to us by payment processors, and UPI IDs for processing payments;
      4. Technical and device data: This includes technical data, including IP addresses, browser types and versions, internet service provider details, time zone settings, location data, details of operating systems, access time, device ID, device type, and other technology on the devices you use to access the Services;
      5. Usage data: This includes information about how you use the Services, your activity on the Platform, user taps and clicks, time spent on the Platform, page views, and links you click on the Platform;
      6. Marketing and communications data: This includes marketing and communications data including your preferences in receiving marketing from us and your communication preferences, any feedback you provide to us, and survey responses.
   3. We also collect, use, and share aggregated data such as statistical or demographic data for any purpose. Aggregated data could be derived from your personal data but is not considered personal data as this data will not directly or indirectly reveal your identity. For example, we may aggregate your usage data to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific feature of the Platform. However, if we combine or connect aggregated data with your personal data so that it can directly or indirectly identify you, we treat the combined data as personal data which will be used in accordance with this Policy.
   4. What happens if I refuse to provide my personal data?
      Where we need to collect personal data by law, or under the terms of a contract (such as the Terms), and you fail to provide that data when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract (for example, to provide you with the Services). In this case, we may have to cancel or limit your access to the Services, but we will, where reasonably practical, notify you if this is the case at the time.
2. HOW WE COLLECT PERSONAL DATA
   We use different methods to collect and process personal data about you, including through:
   1. Direct Interactions. You provide us your personal data when you interact with us. This includes personal data you provide when you, for example:
      1. create an account or profile with us at the time of registration;
      2. use the Platform or the Services;
      3. enter a promotion, user poll, or online surveys;
      4. request marketing communications to be sent to you; or
      5. report a problem with the Platform and/or our Services, give us feedback, contact us, or provide testimonials.
   2. Automated technologies or interactions. We automatically collect technical and device data about your equipment, browsing actions, and patterns each time you use the Services. We collect this personal data by using cookies, web beacons, pixel tags, server logs, and other similar technologies. We may also receive technical data about you if you visit other websites that employ our cookies.
   3. Third parties and publicly available sources. We receive personal data about you from various third parties and public sources including those set out below:
      1. analytics providers such as Google and Facebook;
      2. search information providers;
      3. contact, financial, and transaction data from providers of technical, payment, and delivery services; and
      4. identity and contact data from publicly available sources.
3. HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL DATA
   1. We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to do so. Most commonly, we will use your personal data where we need to provide the Services, or where we need to comply with a legal obligation. We use your personal data for the following purposes:
      1. to verify your identity, and create your user account with us on the Platform at the time of registration;
      2. to provide the Services to you;
      3. to monitor your activities on the Platform;
      4. to monitor trends and personalise your experience;
      5. to improve the functionality of our Services based on the information and feedback we receive from you;
      6. to improve customer service to effectively respond to your requests, grievances, and support needs;
      7. to track transactions and process payments;
      8. to send periodic notifications to manage our relationship with you including to notify you of changes to our Services, and to receive occasional company news and updates related to us or the Services;
      9. to assist with the management of the Services offered to you, including to send you information and updates about the Services you have availed;
      10. to administer and protect our business and the Services, including for troubleshooting, data analysis, system testing, and performing internal operations;
      11. to improve our business;
      12. to perform our obligations that arise out of the arrangement we are about to enter or have entered with you;
      13. to enforce our terms and conditions;
      14. to market our Services to you;
      15. to comply with our legal obligations; and
      16. to respond to court orders, establish or exercise our legal rights, or defend ourselves against legal claims.
   2. By using our Services or accessing the Platform, you authorise us, our associate partners, and affiliates to contact you via email, phone, or otherwise. This is to enable us to provide the Services, provide you with marketing material, and ensure that you are aware of all the features of the Services.
   3. You allow us to collect, compile, and share any and all information pertaining to you, whether or not you directly provide it to us (via the Services or otherwise), including but not limited to personal correspondence such as emails, instructions from you, etc., in order to render the Services to you. This may include but not be limited to vendors, social media companies, third-party service providers, storage providers, data analytics providers, consultants, lawyers, and auditors. We may also share this information with our group entities in connection with the above-mentioned purposes.
   4. You authorise us to share data without your consent when it is required by law or by any court or government agency or authority to disclose such information. Such disclosures are made in good faith and belief that it is reasonably necessary to do so for enforcing this Policy or the Terms, or in order to comply with any applicable laws and regulations.
4. COOKIES
   1. We collect data using cookies. Cookies are small data files which are sent to your browser from the Platform and are stored on your computer or device (hard drive). The cookies shall not provide us with access to data in your computer or device such as email addresses or any other data that can be traced to you personally.
   2. We use cookies to help us understand and save your preferences for future visits, keep track of advertisements, and compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction so that we can offer better site experiences and tools in the future. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you use or browse our Platform and allows us to improve the Platform.
   3. The cookies shall enable you to access certain features of the Services. Most web browsers and devices can be set to notify you when you receive a cookie or prevent cookies from being sent. If you do prevent cookies from being sent, it may limit the functionality that we can provide when you visit the Platform.
   4. We use the following cookies:
      1. Essential Cookies. These cookies are sometimes called "strictly necessary" cookies and are required for the operation of our Platform. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our Platform.
      2. Analytical or Performance Cookies. These allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our Platform when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our Platform works, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily.
      3. Functionality Cookies. These are used to recognise you when you return to our Platform. This enables us to personalise our content for you and remember your preferences (for example, your choice of language).
      4. Targeting Cookies. These cookies record your visit to our Platform, the pages you have visited and the links you have followed. We will use this information to make our Platform more relevant to your interests.
   5. Additionally, you may encounter cookies or other similar devices on certain pages of the Platform that are placed by third parties. We do not control the use of the cookies by third parties. If you send us personal correspondence, such as email or letter, or if other users or third parties send us correspondence about your activities or postings on the Platform, we may collect such information into a file specific to you.
5. DISCLOSURES OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA
   1. We may share your personal data with third parties set out below for the purposes set out in Clause 4:
      1. Internal third parties, which are other companies within the Meritnation group of companies; and
      2. External third parties, such as:
         • trusted third parties such as our associate partners, and service providers that provide services for us or on our behalf. This includes hosting and operating our Platform, providing marketing assistance, conducting our business, processing payments and transaction-related processes, transmitting content, and to enable us to provide the Services to you;
         • analytics service providers and advertising networks that conduct web analytics to help us improve our Platform and Services. These analytics providers may use cookies and other technologies to perform their services; and
         • regulators and other bodies, as required by law or regulation.
   2. We require all third parties to respect the security of your personal data and to treat it in accordance with the law. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes and only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.
6. ACCESS AND UPDATING YOUR PERSONAL DATA
   You must ensure that all personal data that you provide us with is accurate, up-to-date, and true. When you use our Services, we make best efforts to provide you with the ability to access and correct inaccurate or deficient data, subject to any legal requirements.
7. TRANSFER OF PERSONAL DATA
   1. We comply with applicable laws in respect of storage and transfers of personal data. As a part of your use of the Services, the information and personal data you provide to us may be transferred to and stored in countries other than the country you are based in. This may happen if any of our servers are from time to time located in a country other than the one you are based in, or one of our service providers is located in a country other than one you are based in.
   2. By submitting your information and personal data to us, you agree to the transfer, storage, and processing of such information and personal data in the manner described above.
8. DATA RETENTION
   1. You agree and acknowledge that your personal data will continue to be stored and retained by us for as long as necessary to fulfil our stated purpose(s) and for a reasonable period after the termination of your account on the Platform or access to the Services to comply with our legal rights and obligations.
   2. In some circumstances, we may aggregate your personal data (so that it can no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical purposes, in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.
9. DATA SECURITY
   We implement appropriate security measures to protect your personal data from unauthorised access, and follow standards prescribed by applicable law.
10. BUSINESS TRANSITIONS
    You are aware that in the event we go through a business transition, such as a merger, acquisition by another organisation, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, your personal data might be among the assets transferred.
11. CHANGE IN PRIVACY POLICY
    1. We regularly review and may occasionally update our Policy. If we make changes to this Policy, we will notify you of the changes through the Platform or through other reasonable means. We encourage you to periodically review this Policy for the latest information on our privacy practices.
    2. It is also important that the personal data we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your personal data changes during your relationship with us.
    3. To the extent permitted under applicable law, by accessing our Platform or Services after such notice, you consent to updates made to this Policy.
12. CONTACT US

    You may contact us at [011-47195322] for any enquiry relating to this Policy or your personal information (for example, accessing, reviewing, updating, or seeking deletion of your information). You can also do so by writing to our Grievance Officer at the address provided below:

    Name: Aakash EduTech Pvt Ltd
    Address: Aakash Tower, 8, Pusa Road, New Delhi - 110005
    Email: info@meritnation.com