Privacy Policy

School Scout helps parents and guardians in India discover, compare and shortlist schools for their children — through verified school profiles, fee and facility information, parent reviews, and comparison tools, available on our website and mobile app (Android and iOS).

Account information. When you register, we collect your name, mobile number and/or email address, and a PIN or password used to secure your account (via Firebase Authentication).

Child profile information. If you choose to add a child profile to get personalised school recommendations, we collect information you provide about your child (such as name, age/class, and preferences). This information is provided and controlled by you, the parent or guardian — see "Children's Privacy" below.

Location information. With your permission, we collect approximate or precise device location to show nearby schools and estimate commute distance. You can disable location access at any time in your device settings.

Content you submit. This includes school reviews and ratings, replies to reviews, enquiries/leads sent to schools, chat messages, and school registration requests you submit.

Usage and device information. We automatically collect device identifiers, app version, crash logs, and usage analytics (pages viewed, searches performed, features used) to improve the Service and diagnose issues.

Cookies and similar technologies. On our website, we use cookies to remember your selected city, keep you signed in, and measure site usage (see "Third-Party Services & Cookies" below).

• To create and maintain your account and provide the core features of the Service (search, shortlist, compare, reviews, chat).
• To personalise school recommendations based on your location, preferences and child profile.
• To send you push notifications and (where you've opted in) email/SMS updates about admissions, shortlisted schools, and product updates.
• To connect your enquiries with the schools you contact through the Service.
• To detect, prevent and address fraud, abuse, technical issues and security incidents.
• To analyse usage trends and improve the Service's features, performance and content.
• To comply with legal obligations.

We use the following trusted third-party services to operate the Service. Each processes data under its own privacy policy:

• Firebase (Google) — authentication, database (Firestore), push notifications (Cloud Messaging), analytics and crash reporting.
• Google Analytics — website and app usage analytics.
• Google Maps / Geolocation — map views and distance calculations.
• Cloudinary / content delivery networks — hosting of school images and media.
• Google AdSense — displaying advertisements on our website (see below).

Our website uses cookies to remember your selected city, keep you signed in between visits, and measure aggregate site usage. You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings; some features of the website may not function correctly without them.

Our website uses Google AdSense to display advertisements. Google, as a third-party vendor, uses cookies (such as the DoubleClick cookie) to serve ads based on your prior visits to our website and other websites on the internet. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads based on your visit to our site and/or other sites.

You may opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings. Alternatively, you can opt out of a third-party vendor's use of cookies for personalised advertising by visiting www.aboutads.info.

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

• With schools you contact. When you submit an enquiry or lead to a school through the Service, we share the details you provide (name, contact information, enquiry details) with that school so they can respond to you.
• With service providers who process data on our behalf (e.g. Firebase/Google, cloud hosting, analytics), under confidentiality obligations.
• For legal reasons, if required by law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request, or to protect the rights, property or safety of School Scout, our users, or others.
• With your consent, for any other purpose we disclose to you at the time of collection.

We use industry-standard safeguards to protect your information, including AES-256 encryption for sensitive API traffic between our app and servers, TLS/SSL for data in transit, and SSL certificate pinning in our mobile apps. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security, but we work to protect your information using commercially reasonable measures.

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Service, comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. You can delete your account and associated personal data at any time from Profile → Settings → Delete Account in the app, or by writing to us at support@myschoolscout.in. Some information may be retained where required by law (e.g. for tax, accounting or fraud-prevention purposes).

The Service is intended for use by parents and guardians (18 years and older) to help them research schools for their children. We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children. Any child profile information within the Service is entered and controlled by the parent or guardian using their own account, for the sole purpose of personalising school recommendations. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information directly and without parental involvement, please contact us at support@myschoolscout.in and we will take steps to remove such information.

Subject to applicable law (including India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023), you have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you.
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Request deletion of your account and personal data.
• Withdraw consent for optional data uses (such as location access or marketing communications) at any time.
• Lodge a grievance with our Grievance Officer (below) or the relevant data protection authority.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at support@myschoolscout.in.

In accordance with the Information Technology Act, 2000 and rules made thereunder, the Grievance Officer for School Scout can be reached at:

Grievance Officer
School Scout
Email: support@myschoolscout.in

We acknowledge complaints within 24 hours and aim to resolve them within 15 days of receipt, in line with applicable regulations.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by posting the new policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date above. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please reach out via our Contact page or email us directly at support@myschoolscout.in.