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Privacy Policy

Last updated: March 2025

Welcome to CollegeLoop. We are committed to protecting your personal information and your right to privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and share information about you when you use our mobile application (the "App").

By creating an account or using CollegeLoop, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.

1. Who We Are

CollegeLoop is a verified social network built exclusively for Indian college students. The App is available on Android and iOS and is accessible only to users with a valid institutional college email address.

For any privacy-related questions, contact us at: privacy@collegeloop.app

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide

  • College Email Address — Required to create an account. Used for identity verification, OTP delivery, and domain-based college assignment. Your email domain determines which college community you belong to.
  • Profile Information — Display name (mandatory), profile photo (optional), academic year (mandatory), branch (optional), and bio up to 100 characters (optional).
  • Posts and Content — Text, images, and short videos you publish to your campus feed, as well as comments and reactions.
  • Confession Content — Text you submit anonymously to the confession board. While publicly displayed under a randomly assigned Ghost ID, your real account is privately and securely linked to every confession for moderation purposes.
  • Direct Messages — Messages and images exchanged with other users via the DM feature. These are stored in Firebase Realtime Database and are accessible only to the participants.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

  • Device Information — Device type, operating system version, and unique device identifiers used for push notification delivery via Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM).
  • Usage Data — Features used, screens visited, session duration, and crash reports used to improve the App.
  • Presence and Activity Data — Online/offline status and typing indicators, stored ephemerally in Firebase Realtime Database and not retained after your session ends.

2.3 Information from Third Parties

  • Firebase (Google) — We use Firebase Auth for session management, Firestore for persistent data, Firebase Realtime Database for live messaging and presence, Firebase Storage for media, and FCM for push notifications. Google's privacy policy applies to data processed by Firebase.
  • Google Perspective API — Confession text is sent to the Perspective API for automated toxicity scoring before going live. No personally identifiable information is included in this request.
  • Nodemailer / Email Provider — Used to send OTP emails to your institutional address for account verification.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

  • Verify your college identity and create your account
  • Assign you to the correct college community based on your email domain
  • Display your posts, profile, and activity within your college's feed
  • Moderate confessions using automated toxicity scanning and manual admin review
  • Enable DMs between mutually following users
  • Deliver push notifications for follows, likes, comments, and messages
  • Detect abuse, enforce rate limits, and maintain platform safety
  • Improve the App, fix bugs, and understand usage patterns
  • Comply with applicable legal obligations

4. Anonymity on the Confession Board

CollegeLoop's confession board is designed to be anonymous on the surface. The following applies:

  • Your confession is displayed publicly under a randomly generated Ghost ID (e.g., Ghost #4821). Your name, profile photo, and account are never shown to other users.
  • Your real userId is stored privately in a restricted Firestore subcollection that is inaccessible via any client-facing API.
  • This linkage exists solely to enable moderation — to issue warnings, bans, or take action against accounts that repeatedly violate our community guidelines.
  • Anonymity may be lifted if required by law or in response to a valid legal order.

5. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal data. We share information only in the following circumstances:

  • Within Your College Community — Posts, comments, your profile, and follower/following counts are visible to all verified students of your college.
  • With Moderation Tools — Confession text is sent to Google's Perspective API for toxicity analysis. No personally identifiable information is included.
  • With Firebase / Google — Data is stored and processed on Firebase infrastructure. Google's data processing terms apply.
  • For Legal Compliance — We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or a request from a competent government authority.
  • Business Transfers — In the event of a merger or acquisition, your data may transfer as part of that transaction. You will be notified of any such change.

6. Data Retention

We retain your data for as long as your account is active. When you delete your account:

  • Your profile, posts, comments, and DMs are permanently deleted.
  • Confession records linked to your account are anonymised and the link severed.
  • Some data may be retained for a limited period for legal, fraud prevention, or safety purposes.

You may request deletion of your account by contacting us at privacy@collegeloop.app.

7. Account Suspension

If your institutional college email becomes inactive or is deactivated, your CollegeLoop account will be automatically suspended within 24 hours. Suspended accounts lose the ability to post or interact but their data is retained for 30 days before deletion.

8. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures including:

  • Encrypted data transmission over HTTPS/TLS
  • Firebase's managed security infrastructure with role-based access rules
  • Restricted Firestore rules preventing client reads of private confession data and OTP records
  • OTP codes are bcrypt-hashed before storage and expire after 10 minutes

No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security but take every reasonable measure to protect your data.

9. Children's Privacy

CollegeLoop is intended for college students aged 18 and above. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If you believe a minor has created an account, please contact us at privacy@collegeloop.app and we will take immediate action.

10. Your Rights

You have the right to:

  • Access the personal data we hold about you
  • Request correction of inaccurate profile information
  • Request deletion of your account and associated data
  • Withdraw consent for optional data collection
  • Lodge a complaint with a relevant data protection authority

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@collegeloop.app.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes via an in-app notification. The "Last updated" date at the top reflects the most recent revision. Continued use of the App after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

12. Contact Us

Email: privacy@collegeloop.app