Privacy policy

Who we are

Raajneeti is run by [registered company name], [registered address] (“we”, “us”). We decide how your personal data is used, so under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 we are the Data Fiduciary.

The short version

• We publish opinions only as totals for groups of at least 30 people. We never publish your name, number or individual answers.
• We never ask for your religion or caste.
• Age, gender, education, occupation and income are optional, and used only with your consent.
• We don't sell your data, show ads, or use advertising trackers.
• You can see and change your details, withdraw consent, and delete your account at any time, in the app or on the website.

What we collect

When you create an account

• Your mobile number, verified with a one-time code sent by SMS. One account per number: it's how we keep it to one person, one voice.
• If you sign in with Google or Apple: the account identifier they give us, and your name and email address if you let them share it. You still add a verified mobile number before taking part.
• Records of sign-in codes: the number a code was sent to, the network (IP) address the request came from, and a scrambled (hashed) copy of the code. We never store the code itself.

Your constituency

• To place you in your constituency the app can use your device's location once, when you ask it to (on the website, your browser asks first). We use the location only to look up your assembly constituency. We save the constituency, not the location, and never track you in the background. You can choose your constituency yourself instead.

When you take part

• Your stances on issues, poll votes, survey answers, the arguments you mark as convincing, and the verified leaders you follow.
• With each answer we keep a copy of where you live (assembly and Lok Sabha constituency, district, state) and, if you have shared them, your demographic groups at that time (for example “25–34”, not your exact age). That way results stay correct if you move or update your details later.

Optional details about you (only with your consent)

• Gender, year of birth (used as an age group), education, occupation and household income band.

If you ask for a verified badge

• The official email or phone number you give us, your organisation, the evidence you send, and our reviewers' notes on how we checked it.

To keep you signed in and the service safe

• Session records (with the type of browser or device), and on the website two cookies that keep you signed in (see Cookies below).
• If you turn on notifications in the app, a notification token for your device.

What we don't collect

• Religion, caste, or anything else not listed above.
• Your contacts, photos or files.
• Your location in the background, or any location history.
• Advertising identifiers. There are no ads or ad trackers on Raajneeti.

How we use it

• To run your account: signing you in, keeping one account per person, and showing you your representatives and constituency.
• To count your stances, votes and answers, and to publish results by place and group.
• To check verified badge requests, and to let verified leaders manage their own profile.
• To prevent abuse: limits on sign-in codes, spotting fake or duplicate accounts, and suspending accounts that break our terms.
• To answer you when you contact us, and to meet our legal obligations.

We use your mobile number and account details because you ask us to run an account for you. We use your optional details only because you consent, and you can withdraw that consent at any time.

What other people can see

• Results only as totals. Results are shown for a place or group only when at least 30 people are in it; smaller groups are hidden. Nobody (including verified leaders and our customers) can see how a particular person answered.
• Leaders' own stances, and verified badges, are public.
• Information about elected representatives and candidates comes from public records (see our terms).

We may share or sell aggregate results and analysis (for example, what people in a state think about an issue, by age group). These never include anything that identifies you, and they follow the same 30-person rule.

Who we share it with

We share personal data only with companies that help us run Raajneeti, under contracts that limit what they can do with it:

• Vercel: hosting for the website and our servers.
• Neon: our database.
• Clickatell: sending sign-in codes by SMS (your mobile number and the message).
• Google and Apple: only if you choose to sign in with them. Their own privacy policies apply to your Google or Apple account.

We may also disclose data when the law requires it, for example to comply with a lawful order from a court or government authority, and we will push back on requests that are too broad.

Your data is stored and processed on servers in the United States. The Act allows this unless the Government of India restricts transfers to a particular country. We protect your data the same way wherever it is.

How long we keep it

• Your account and details: until you delete your account.
• Sign-in code records: 30 days.
• Records of what our staff did in the back office (for accountability): as long as we need them to investigate problems.

When you delete your account we remove:

• your mobile number, email address, name and username, your Google or Apple sign-in link, and your sign-in code records;
• your optional details, your constituency, the leaders you follow, any badge requests, your devices and your sessions.

Your past stances, votes and answers stay in the totals so published results don't change, but they are no longer linked to anything that identifies you.

Your rights

Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 you can:

• See and correct your details: on your account page or in the app's “You” tab.
• Withdraw consent for your optional details: choose “Remove my details and withdraw consent”. We also remove those groups from your past answers. This doesn't affect what we did with your consent before you withdrew it.
• Delete your account: on the delete account page or in the app.
• Get a summary of the personal data we hold about you and who we have shared it with, by writing to us.
• Nominate someone to exercise these rights for you if you die or become unable to.
• Complain to us (see below). If you are not satisfied with our answer, you can complain to the Data Protection Board of India.

Children

Raajneeti is for people aged 18 and over. We don't knowingly let anyone younger create an account, and we delete accounts we learn belong to a child.

Security

Connections are encrypted. Sign-in tokens are kept in your device's secure storage (Keychain or Keystore) in the app, and in cookies your browser's scripts can't read on the website. Sign-in codes and session tokens are stored only in hashed form. Staff access to personal data is limited by role, and back-office changes are logged. If a breach affects your data, we will tell you and the Data Protection Board as the law requires.

Cookies

The website uses only two cookies, both needed to keep you signed in:

• rj_at: your sign-in, valid for 15 minutes.
• rj_rt: renews your sign-in, valid for 60 days or until you sign out.

If you use “Continue with Google” or “Continue with Apple”, the sign-in page loads their sign-in buttons, which may set their own cookies. We don't use analytics or advertising cookies.

Changes

If we change this policy in a way that matters, we'll say so in the app and on the website before the change takes effect. The date at the top shows the latest version.

Questions and complaints

For questions about your data, to use any of your rights, or to complain, write to [privacy email]. We'll reply as quickly as we can, and within the time the law allows. Post: [registered company name], [registered address].