विKALप — Privacy Policy

Last updated: July 4, 2026  |  Effective: July 4, 2026

1. Who We Are

Vikalp Consultants ("we", "our", "us") operates the विKALप mobile application available on Android and iOS. We are registered under the Shop & Establishment Act (Registration No: UPSA09735493) with our principal place of business in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India.

For privacy-related matters, contact us at: help@vikalpconsultants.com

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide Directly

• Account information: Full name, email address, phone number, password
• Identity verification (mentors only): PAN card number, LinkedIn profile URL, professional photo, years of experience, designation, bio
• Payment information: Bank account number, IFSC code, account holder name, account type (stored in a secure private subcollection accessible only to you and our admin team)
• International payout (mentors only): Wise email address, preferred payout currency
• Referral codes: Referral code entered at registration (if any)
• Support messages: Messages sent via in-app support chat

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Session data: Call duration, start/end time, session status, amount charged
• Transaction data: Wallet top-ups, session payments, payout history, referral credits
• Device information: Device type, operating system version, push notification token
• Usage data: Screens visited, features used, availability settings
• Authentication logs: Login timestamps, OTP request history (for security and rate limiting)

2.3 Information from Third-Party Services

• Razorpay: Payment status, transaction IDs, order IDs for Indian payments
• Wise: Payout confirmation data for international mentor payments
• Agora: Session metadata (user IDs, channel names) for video/audio calls. We do not record calls.
• Firebase (Google): Authentication tokens, push notification tokens, crash reports

3. How We Use Your Information

• Create and manage your account and verify your identity
• Connect mentees with suitable mentors
• Process payments, wallet top-ups, and mentor payouts
• Calculate earnings, platform fees, and GST (as required by Indian tax law)
• Send OTP verification codes and push notifications
• Provide AI-powered customer support via our support chat
• Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and unauthorised access
• Enforce rate limits on OTP requests and support messages to prevent misuse
• Comply with GST, TDS, and other statutory obligations
• Improve our platform and fix bugs
• Communicate service updates and policy changes

4. Video and Audio Calls

विKALप uses Agora RTC to power real-time video and audio calls between mentees and mentors.

• We do not record calls. Sessions are not stored on our servers or Agora's servers beyond the session duration.
• Call metadata (duration, start time, end time, participants) is stored for billing and dispute resolution purposes.
• Agora processes real-time audio and video streams through their secure infrastructure.
• For Agora's privacy practices: agora.io/privacy-policy

5. Payments and Financial Data

5.1 Indian Users and Mentors (Razorpay)

• All payments are processed by Razorpay, a PCI-DSS compliant payment gateway.
• We do not store credit/debit card numbers — these are handled entirely by Razorpay.
• We store only transaction IDs and payment status for reconciliation.
• Duplicate payment prevention: each payment ID is checked before crediting wallets to prevent replay attacks.
• Razorpay privacy policy: razorpay.com/privacy

5.2 International Mentors (Wise)

• International mentor payouts are processed via Wise Business.
• We collect your Wise email address and preferred currency for payout purposes.
• Wise privacy policy: wise.com/legal/privacy-policy

5.3 GST and Tax Compliance

As a GST-registered business, we collect and store transaction amounts, GST amounts, and PAN card numbers (mentors only) for statutory compliance and tax filings. This data is retained for 7 years as required by Indian law.

5.4 Mentor Bank Details

Bank account details (account number, IFSC, account holder name) are stored in a secure private subcollection in our database. Access is strictly limited to:

• You (the mentor who provided the details)
• Vikalp Consultants admin team for processing payouts

These details are never visible to other users or mentors and are protected by strict server-side security rules.

6. AI-Powered Support Chat

Our in-app support chat is powered by Anthropic's Claude AI. When you send a support message:

• Your message is sent to Anthropic's API to generate a response.
• We apply rate limits (5 messages per day, 20 per week) to prevent abuse.
• Support conversations are stored in our database for 1 year for quality assurance.
• Anthropic privacy policy: anthropic.com/privacy

7. Data Storage and Security

• All data is stored on Google Firebase (Firestore) in the Asia South (Mumbai) data centre.
• All API keys and secrets are stored in Google Cloud Secret Manager — never in our app code.
• Data is protected by strict Firestore Security Rules enforcing role-based access (user, mentor, admin).
• All data transmission uses HTTPS/TLS encryption.
• Passwords require minimum 8 characters including uppercase, lowercase, digit, and special character.
• Phone number verification uses one-time passwords (OTPs) with rate limiting (maximum 3 OTPs per hour per number).
• Payment verification uses HMAC-SHA256 cryptographic signatures to prevent fraud.
• Admin access to sensitive data requires admin role verification at both the application and database level.

8. Data Sharing

We do not sell your personal data. We share data only with the following third parties and only as necessary to operate the platform:

Third Party	Purpose	Data Shared
Razorpay	Payment processing	Name, email, phone, payment amount
Wise	International payouts	Mentor name, Wise email, payout amount
Agora	Video/audio calls	User ID, channel name, session token
Firebase (Google)	App infrastructure, authentication, notifications	All app data (stored on Firebase)
Anthropic	AI support chat responses	Support message content
Tax authorities	GST filing, TDS compliance	Transaction amounts, PAN numbers

We may also disclose your information if required by law, court order, or government authority.

9. Data Retention

Data Type	Retention Period	Reason
Account data	Until account deletion	Platform operation
Transaction and financial records	7 years	GST and tax statutory requirement
Call metadata	2 years	Billing disputes and quality assurance
Support conversations	1 year	Quality assurance
OTP attempt logs	24 hours	Rate limiting and security
Push notification tokens	Until account deletion or token refresh	Notifications delivery

10. Your Rights

Under Indian law and as a matter of good practice, you have the following rights:

• Access: Request a copy of your personal data we hold
• Correction: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information
• Deletion: Request deletion of your account and personal data (subject to statutory retention requirements)
• Portability: Request your data in a machine-readable format
• Opt-out: Opt out of marketing communications at any time

To exercise any of these rights, email us at help@vikalpconsultants.com with the subject line "Privacy Request".

11. Account Deletion

To delete your account:

• Open विKALप → Profile → Settings → Delete Account, or
• Email help@vikalpconsultants.com with subject "Account Deletion Request"

Upon deletion:

• Your profile is removed from the app immediately
• Financial records are retained for 7 years (statutory requirement)
• All other personal data is permanently deleted within 30 days

12. Children's Privacy

विKALप is intended exclusively for professional use by adults aged 18 years and above. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If we become aware that a person under 18 has provided us with personal data, we will delete it immediately. If you believe a minor has registered, please contact us at help@vikalpconsultants.com.

13. Cookies and Tracking

The विKALप mobile application does not use browser cookies. We use Firebase Analytics SDK to collect anonymised usage statistics to improve the app experience. You can opt out of analytics data collection by contacting us.

14. International Data Transfers

Your data is primarily stored on Google Firebase servers in the Asia South (Mumbai) region. When you use Agora for calls, Wise for payouts, or Anthropic for support chat, your data may be processed on servers outside India. These transfers are governed by the privacy policies of the respective services and applicable data protection laws.

15. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by:

• Displaying a notice in the विKALप app
• Sending an email to your registered email address
• Updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this page

Continued use of विKALप after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.