What we collect, and what stays private.

You give us: your name, email, password and date of birth when you register. Optionally a username, profile photo, district, PIN code, highest qualification, degree stream, category, target exams and a short bio.

Why the date of birth: to work out whether you are under 18. Indian law treats anyone under 18 as a child and requires a parent or guardian's consent before their information may be used. We calculate your age on our servers from the date you give — we do not simply take your word for which side of 18 you are on. Your date of birth is never shown to other users.

If you are under 18: we also collect your parent or guardian's name, email address, mobile number and relationship to you, so we can ask them to consent. These details are used only for that consent and for contacting them about your account. They are never shown to other users and never used for marketing.

You create: study sessions, posts, reels, comments, messages, book listings, savings goals and mentor bookings.

We record automatically: when you last opened the app, for the online indicator and last-seen line, and basic request logs for security.

To run the service: show your study history, match notifications to your qualification and district, let people find and message you, and keep your savings goals.

Category is used only to filter which notifications apply to you. It is never shown to another user and never appears in search.

We do not sell your data, and we do not run advertising.

Other users see a restricted public profile: name, username, avatar, district, target exams, streak and medal. That restriction is enforced on the server, not just hidden in the interface.

Private (one-to-one) messages are end-to-end encrypted. They are encrypted on your device before they are sent and can be decrypted only on the devices of you and the person you are messaging. Photos and voice notes in private chats are encrypted the same way. We store and deliver only the encrypted form: SmartFuture Hub, its administrators and anyone with access to our database cannot read their content. Each conversation has a security code you can compare with the other person to confirm that no one has come between you.

Some limits are worth knowing. Group and study-room messages are visible to the members of that group or room and are not end-to-end encrypted. Messages sent before encryption was introduced remain as they were. Your encryption keys live on your device, so a new device or a cleared browser cannot read earlier messages. We can still see who messaged whom and when (needed to deliver messages), but not what was said. If you report a private message, moderators cannot read it unless you share its content with us.

Moderators can see reported content and account details when handling a report or a safety issue.

You can access, correct, export or delete your data. Deletion removes your account along with your posts, comments, likes, follows and listings.

You can withdraw consent at any time by deleting your account. Write to the address below and expect a reply within 30 days.

Passwords are hashed with bcrypt and never stored in readable form — we cannot see your password, and no one from SmartFuture Hub will ever ask you for it or for a one-time password (OTP). Sessions use short-lived access tokens plus a rotating refresh token; reusing an old token revokes the whole session family.

Password fields have a show / hide control so you can check what you typed. The password is shown only on your own screen, only while you choose to see it, and is sent exactly as before. Use it where no one can see your screen.

You are responsible for keeping your password, OTPs and devices secure. Do not share them with anyone — including someone claiming to be from SmartFuture Hub, a mentor, or a payment recipient. If you think someone else has used your account, change your password and contact us.

Uploaded photos are re-encoded on the server, which strips EXIF metadata — including GPS coordinates that phones attach to photos by default.

No system is perfectly secure. If we discover a breach affecting your data we will tell you and the Data Protection Board.

Under 13: we do not open accounts, and we do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 13. If we learn that we have, the account and its data are deleted.

13 to 17: the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 treats you as a child. Before your account opens, we email a consent code to the parent or guardian address you give, and the account stays closed until they enter it. If nobody consents, the pending account is deleted automatically within 7 days.

We record who consented, when, from which network address, and which version of this policy they agreed to. That record is kept for as long as the account exists, so there is always an answer to what exactly was agreed.

What we do not do with children's data. The Act forbids behavioural monitoring of children and advertising directed at them. We show no advertising to anyone, we do not build behavioural profiles, we do not track anyone across other websites, and we never sell or rent data.

Withdrawing consent. A parent or guardian can write to support@smartfuturehub.com at any time to withdraw consent, see what we hold about their child, or have the account deleted. We act within 30 days and do not require a reason.

An honest limitation. We verify a parent's consent by sending a code to the address given at signup. This is a reasonable check, not a perfect one — a determined teenager could supply an address they control. We require the guardian address to differ from the student's own, and we keep the full consent record, but we would rather state the limit plainly than imply a certainty we do not have. If you believe a child has registered without your knowledge, write to us and we will close the account.

Whatever your age: do not share personal contact details in public posts or with people you have not met. Report anything that worries you using the flag on any post, comment or message. Reports are private and the person reported is not told who flagged it.

SmartFuture Hub does not currently provide an integrated payment system and does not collect or store card, bank or UPI details. If you pay a mentor or consultation provider using an external or direct method, that payment is handled outside the platform, between you and the provider. Share only the payment details that are needed, and never your password or OTP.

Privacy questions and data requests: support@smartfuturehub.com, attention Honnappa E K, Director, who is the grievance officer for this service under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules.