Privacy Policy

Last updated: April 15, 2026

1. Who We Are

Pehchaan is a school digitization platform operated by Pehchaan Tech Labs. We provide school management tools (Pehchaan Cloud and Pehchaan Box) and parent communication via WhatsApp.

Contact: satya@pehchaan.io · Website: pehchaan.io

2. Data We Collect

  • •Student academic data: name, class, section, attendance records, exam marks, homework, fee records, progress reports
  • •Parent/guardian data: name, phone number (for WhatsApp communication)
  • •Teacher data: name, phone number, role, PIN (hashed)
  • •School data: school name, address, UPI ID, configuration
  • •WhatsApp messages: inbound and outbound message text, timestamps, intent classification

We do NOT collect: browsing habits, behavioural patterns, psychological profiles, biometric data, location data of students, or any data for advertising purposes.

3. How We Use Data

  • •Providing academic records to schools and parents/guardians
  • •Sending automated WhatsApp notifications (attendance, fees, bus tracking, progress reports)
  • •Processing fee payment claims (UPI reference matching)
  • •Generating AI-powered progress reports (Holistic Progress Cards aligned with NEP 2020)

We do NOT use data for advertising, behavioural monitoring, psychological profiling, selling to third parties, or any purpose beyond educational assessment and school operations.

4. Children's Data Protection (DPDP Act 2023 Compliance)

  • •All students are treated as children (under 18) under the DPDP Act 2023
  • •We process student data ONLY for educational assessment and school management purposes
  • •Schools act as the primary Data Fiduciary — they collect and manage student data
  • •Pehchaan acts as a Data Processor providing tools to schools
  • •Schools obtain parental consent during admission — the parent providing their phone number constitutes consent for receiving academic updates
  • •Student names are anonymized before any AI processing (replaced with "STUDENT")
  • •AI chat logs on Pehchaan Box NEVER leave the device or sync to cloud
  • •Only structured academic data (marks, attendance, ratings) syncs from Box to Cloud
  • •We do NOT perform behavioural monitoring, tracking, or targeted advertising directed at children
  • •We do NOT build psychological profiles or "curiosity scores"

5. WhatsApp Data Handling

  • •When a parent messages our WhatsApp number, we process the message to identify their child and respond with academic data
  • •Message text is automatically deleted after 90 days from our servers
  • •Message metadata (phone number, timestamp, intent type) is retained for analytics
  • •Payment claims (UPI references, amounts) are retained for 7 years per Indian tax law
  • •We use Meta's WhatsApp Cloud API — messages are processed on Meta's servers and our Vercel-hosted server
  • •Parents can stop receiving WhatsApp messages at any time by messaging "STOP"

6. Data Sharing

  • •We share student data ONLY with: the student's school administration, and the student's parent/guardian
  • •We do NOT sell, rent, or trade personal data to any third party
  • •We do NOT share data with advertisers
  • •AI processing uses Sarvam AI (language translation) and Google Gemma (on-device only for Pehchaan Box) — student names are anonymized before any AI call
  • •Fee payments go directly from parent to school's bank account via UPI — Pehchaan never handles money

7. Data Storage and Security

  • •Cloud data: stored on Supabase (PostgreSQL) with Row Level Security — each school can only access their own data
  • •Box data: stored locally on the school's Pehchaan Box device (SQLite, encrypted)
  • •All API communication uses HTTPS
  • •WhatsApp webhook endpoints are protected with Meta signature verification
  • •Teacher PINs are bcrypt hashed
  • •Student QR tokens can be regenerated (invalidating old tokens) for lost ID cards

8. Data Retention

  • •Active student data: retained while the student is enrolled at the school
  • •WhatsApp message text: automatically deleted after 90 days
  • •WhatsApp metadata: retained for analytics
  • •Financial records (fee payments, receipts): 7 years per Indian tax law
  • •AI chat logs (Box only): stored locally on device, never synced, deleted when school requests

9. Your Rights (Data Principal Rights under DPDP Act 2023)

  • •Access: Parents can view all data about their child via the QR-based parent portal — no login required
  • •Correction: Contact the school to correct any inaccurate student data
  • •Erasure: Request deletion of data by contacting the school or emailing satya@pehchaan.io
  • •Withdrawal of consent: Parents can stop WhatsApp messages by messaging "STOP" or contacting the school
  • •Grievance: File a complaint with us at satya@pehchaan.io — we will respond within 30 days
  • •Data Protection Board: If unsatisfied with our response, you may file a complaint with the Data Protection Board of India

10. Cookies and Tracking

  • •pehchaan.io uses essential cookies for authentication only
  • •We do NOT use advertising cookies, tracking pixels, or analytics that identify individual users
  • •The parent portal (QR access) uses no cookies — it's token-based, no tracking

11. Changes to This Policy

We will update this policy as needed and post the revised version at pehchaan.io/privacy. Material changes will be communicated via WhatsApp to connected parents.

12. Contact

Email: satya@pehchaan.io

Website: pehchaan.io

Address: Hyderabad, Telangana, India