1. Who We Are
ShivHari Academy ("we", "us", "our") is an educational initiative of ShivHari Dharma Foundation Trust, a charitable trust. The Academy is operated at academy.shivharidharma.org and is not a separate legal entity from the Trust.
For any privacy-related queries, write to us at shivhariacademy@gmail.com.
2. Information We Collect
We collect only the information necessary to provide our educational services:
- Account information: full name, email address, phone number, and account type (learner, faculty, corporate, or institutional) provided during registration.
- Enrolment data: courses enrolled in, enrolment date, scholarship application details (where applicable), and enrolment status.
- Learning progress: module completion status, assessment scores, quiz attempts, and time spent on content.
- Certificate data: certificate ID, issue date, course name, and recipient name generated upon course completion.
- Payment information: order reference numbers and payment status. Detailed card and bank details are processed directly by Razorpay and are not stored on our servers.
- Communication data: messages sent through the contact form, newsletter subscriptions, and support enquiries.
- Technical data: IP address, browser type, device information, and pages visited, collected automatically via server logs and session cookies.
3. How We Use Your Information
- To create and manage your Academy account.
- To provide access to enrolled courses, learning materials, and assessments.
- To issue course completion certificates and maintain a verifiable certificate registry.
- To send transactional communications: enrolment confirmations, payment receipts, certificate delivery, and course updates.
- To respond to your support queries and scholarship applications.
- To send periodic newsletters and educational communications (you may unsubscribe at any time).
- To improve our platform, detect technical issues, and ensure security.
- To comply with applicable Indian laws and Trust governance obligations.
4. Data Sharing and Disclosure
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties. We share data only in the following limited circumstances:
- Email service providers: to deliver transactional and newsletter emails on our behalf, under confidentiality obligations.
- Payment processors: Razorpay processes payments under their own Privacy Policy and PCI-DSS certification. We receive only order references and payment status.
- Legal obligations: if required by a court order, government authority, or applicable Indian law.
- Trust governance: aggregated, anonymised statistics may be shared with the Trustees of Shivhari Dharma Foundation for oversight and reporting purposes.
5. Data Retention
- Account and activity data is retained for 3 years from your last login or last activity, whichever is later.
- Certificate records are retained indefinitely to support lifelong verification.
- Payment records are retained as required by Indian accounting and tax law (typically 8 years).
- You may request deletion of your account and associated data at any time (see Section 6). Certificate records will be anonymised rather than deleted to preserve verification integrity.
6. Your Rights
Under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act), you have the right to:
- Access: request a summary of the personal data we hold about you.
- Correction: request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
- Deletion: request deletion of your personal data, subject to our legal retention obligations.
- Withdrawal of consent: withdraw consent for newsletter communications at any time via the unsubscribe link or by writing to us.
- Grievance redressal: raise a complaint with us; we will respond within 30 days.
To exercise any of these rights, email us at shivhariacademy@gmail.com with the subject line "Privacy Request — [Your Name]".
7. Cookies
- Session cookies: used for authentication to keep you logged in during your session. These are deleted when you close your browser.
- Preference cookies: may be used to remember your language or display preferences.
- Analytics (future): we may introduce analytics tools in future. If we do, this policy will be updated and you will be notified.
You can disable cookies in your browser settings; however, some features of the Academy (including login) will not function without session cookies.
8. Data Security
We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data: passwords are hashed using bcrypt, connections are encrypted via HTTPS, and access to personal data is restricted to authorised personnel on a need-to-know basis. No method of internet transmission is 100% secure; we cannot guarantee absolute security but commit to promptly notifying affected users in the event of a confirmed data breach.
9. Children's Privacy
ShivHari Academy is intended for users aged 18 and above. We do not knowingly collect personal data from minors. If a learner under 18 is enrolled with parental or guardian consent, the parent or guardian is responsible for ensuring the account is used appropriately. If you believe a minor's data has been collected without consent, please contact us immediately.
10. Legal Basis and Applicable Law
This Privacy Policy is governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India, including the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. Any disputes arising from this policy shall be subject to the jurisdiction of courts in Darbhanga, Bihar, India.
11. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify registered users of material changes by email and by displaying a prominent notice on the platform. The date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Your continued use of the platform after any change constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
12. Contact Us
For any questions, complaints, or requests relating to this Privacy Policy, please contact:
ShivHari Academy — Privacy Grievance
Shivhari Dharma Foundation Trust
Email: shivhariacademy@gmail.com
Subject line: "Privacy Request — [Your Name]"
