Privacy Policy

Last updated: [DATE — set when you publish]

This policy explains what personal information Scholar For You collects when you use this website, why we collect it, who we share it with, how long we keep it, and what rights you have over it.

We have written it in plain language on purpose. If anything here is unclear, write to us at the address at the end and we will explain it.

1. Who we are

Scholar For You (referred to as "we", "us" or "Scholar4U") is a sole proprietorship registered in India.

We provide research mentorship and analytical support to scholars, researchers and academic professionals. For the purposes of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, we are the Data Fiduciary for the information described below, and you are the Data Principal.

2. What we collect

2.1 Information you give us

When you submit the enquiry form on this website, we collect:

• Your name
• Your mobile or WhatsApp number
• Your email address
• The type of support you are looking for (for example: thesis or dissertation, research paper, literature review, data analysis, implementation)
• Your research stage, if you choose to tell us (optional)
• Any description of your requirement you choose to write (optional)
• Your consent to be contacted, together with the date and time you gave it and the exact wording you agreed to

If you contact us by phone, WhatsApp or email instead, we collect whatever you choose to tell us in that conversation.

2.2 Information collected automatically

When you visit this website we also record:

• Advertising and referral information — if you arrived from a Google Ads advertisement, a click identifier (GCLID) and campaign parameters (UTM values); otherwise, the website that referred you
• Basic technical information — device type, screen size, browser type and version, and language setting
• How you used the page — for example which section you opened or which button you clicked, so we can understand whether the page is working

2.3 What we do NOT collect on this website

• We do not ask for or accept file uploads, datasets, manuscripts or research documents through this website. If you send those later, it happens through email or WhatsApp after we have spoken, and is covered by our engagement terms.
• We do not collect payment or card details on this website.
• We do not store your IP address in readable form. Where we need it to prevent spam, we store only a one-way cryptographic hash of it.
• We do not use session-recording or screen-recording tools.

3. Why we collect it, and on what basis

We process your personal data on the basis of your consent, which you give by ticking the consent box before submitting the enquiry form.

We use the information to:

We do not use your information to send marketing newsletters, and we do not sell, rent or trade your personal data to anyone.

4. Who we share it with

We share your information only with service providers who help us operate this website and respond to you. Each of them is bound to use it only for that purpose.

Some of these providers may process information on servers outside India. Where that happens, it is done under the provider's contractual data protection commitments.

We may also disclose information where we are required to do so by law, by a court, or by a government authority acting within its powers.

We do not share your information with your university, your supervisor, your examiner, or any journal.

5. How long we keep it

• Enquiry records: 24 months from the date of your enquiry, after which they are deleted or anonymised.
• Records of an engagement you go on to accept: retained for as long as required for our contractual and statutory obligations, including tax and accounting requirements.
• Consent records: retained for as long as we hold the associated enquiry, so we can demonstrate what you agreed to.
• Website analytics: retained according to the retention settings of the analytics platform, ordinarily no longer than 14 months.

You can ask us to delete your data sooner — see section 7.

6. Cookies and similar technologies

This website uses a small number of cookies and browser storage entries:

We do not use advertising cookies from any network other than Google, and we do not use cookies to build profiles of you across unrelated websites.

You can block or delete cookies through your browser settings. The website will continue to work normally, though our measurement will be less accurate.

7. Your rights

Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, you have the right to:

• Access — ask what personal data of yours we hold and how we have used it
• Correction — ask us to correct anything inaccurate, or complete anything incomplete
• Erasure — ask us to delete your personal data, where we are not required to keep it by law
• Withdraw consent — tell us to stop contacting you, at any time. Withdrawing consent does not affect anything done before you withdrew it.
• Nominate — nominate another person to exercise these rights on your behalf in the event of your death or incapacity
• Grievance redressal — raise a complaint with us about how we have handled your data

How to exercise them: email services@scholarforyou.com from the email address you used, or write to us at the office address in section 1, including the mobile number you submitted so we can locate your record. We will respond within 30 days.

We may ask you to confirm your identity before acting on a request, to make sure we are not disclosing or deleting someone else's data.

8. Grievance Officer

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, contact our Grievance Officer:

If you remain dissatisfied, you may escalate the matter to the Data Protection Board of India.

9. How we protect your information

• All traffic to this website is encrypted using HTTPS.
• Our database is protected by row-level security. It cannot be read from a web browser under any circumstances — all access goes through an authenticated server-side function.
• Access to enquiry records is limited to the coordinator handling your enquiry and the expert assigned to your requirement.
• Credentials for our systems are stored in a secrets manager, never in our website code.
• We do not store your IP address in readable form.
• Where you later share research files with us, access is limited to your assigned expert and coordinator, and a non-disclosure agreement is available on request.

No system can be guaranteed completely secure, but we take these measures seriously and review them.

10. Children

Our services are intended for postgraduate scholars, researchers and academic professionals, and this website is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18 years of age. If you believe a child has submitted information to us, contact us and we will delete it.

11. Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top. Where a change materially affects how we use your personal data, we will take reasonable steps to bring it to your attention.

12. Contact us