Privacy Policy

IMU CET for SeaScholar

Creating an account (required)

You must sign in or create an account before using the app, so that your progress and Premium status can follow you across devices.

• Your email address and password are handled entirely by Firebase Authentication (a Google service) — we never see or store your password ourselves; Google's own security and privacy practices apply to that layer. After signing up, Firebase sends you a verification email — you're not required to click it to keep using the app, but we may ask you to confirm it later.
• Right after creating an account, you're asked for your name, phone number and email as a short required details step. This is saved to your account (synced via Firestore, described next) and to a private Google Sheet we use to keep a simple record of who's using the app — it is never sold, shared with unrelated third parties, or used for marketing.
• Your study progress (revised topics, mock-test history, profile fields, theme, Premium unlock status) is copied to a private database (Firestore) tied to your account, so it can sync to your other devices when you sign in. It is not visible to other users.
• Signing in on a new device replaces that device's local progress with your account's saved progress — the sign-in screen tells you this before you continue.
• You can request account deletion at any time — this permanently deletes this synced copy, including your name/phone/email details. Progress already saved locally on a device isn't affected by that deletion.

What stays only on your device

There is no analytics. Beyond the account/sign-in details above, everything else the app remembers — revised topics, mock-test scores, your profile fields, theme choice, Premium unlock status — is saved with localStorage directly on your own device/browser (and additionally synced to your account as described above) and is never sent anywhere else.

What we do collect — Premium contact details

If you open the "Go Premium" screen, the name, phone number and email you type into "Your details" are sent to a private Google Sheet we use to match your payment to you and send your unlock code. This is sent when you leave a field, or when you tap "Open in UPI app" / the payment-screenshot button. It is not sent if you never open that screen, and typing in those fields is the only thing in the app that leaves your device.

• We use this only to identify your payment and deliver your code — never for marketing, and never shared with anyone else.
• It is stored in a Google Sheet under our Google account (Google's own privacy terms apply to that storage layer).
• If you send your payment screenshot on WhatsApp instead of email, that message and image are handled by WhatsApp/Meta under their own privacy terms — we only use it to verify your payment and send your code, the same as with email.
• Email us at the address below to have your details deleted from that Sheet at any time.

Advertising

The Android app shows ads served by Google AdMob — a short video ad you can optionally watch for a temporary free unlock, and occasional interstitial ads while browsing or between mock-test questions. AdMob may collect device and advertising identifiers (such as your Android advertising ID) and ad interaction data to select and measure ads, and may use this data for personalised advertising unless you've limited ad tracking in your device settings. We do not receive or store any of this data ourselves — it is handled entirely by Google under Google's own privacy and advertising policies. See Google's ad policy for details.

Doubts & Discussion — shared with other users

Unlike everything above, this one area is deliberately public to every signed-in user, not private to you. If you post a doubt or a response there, it is visible to everyone using the app, shown under your real name (the one you gave in the required details step, not your email).

• Only your name is shown publicly — your email, phone number and other account details are never shown to other users, only the display name.
• You can delete your own doubts and responses at any time from within the app; deleting one removes it for everyone.
• Anything you post here is stored in the same Firestore database as your account, but in a shared area any signed-in user can read — unlike your progress/profile data, which only you can read.
• Email us if you'd like a post removed and can't do it yourself (e.g. you're locked out of your account).

What that means in practice

• Because your account keeps a synced copy of your progress, signing in on another device (or reinstalling and signing back in) restores it — you're not solely relying on one device's local storage.
• No third party can see your study progress, scores or profile details beyond the Firebase account-sync layer described above (only reachable by you, signed into your own account). Two things ARE shown elsewhere by design: the Premium contact fields described above, and your name plus anything you choose to post in Doubts & Discussion, described above.

Third-party services

The app loads its fonts from Google Fonts (fonts.googleapis.com), which may see your IP address purely to serve the font file. Firebase (Google) handles your account sign-in and stores your synced progress, as described above. Google AdMob serves the app's ads, described above. Premium contact details (name/phone/email from "Your details") are sent to Google Sheets/Apps Script. Payment itself happens entirely inside your own UPI app (GPay/PhonePe/etc.) or an external payment page — we do not see or store your card, UPI PIN, or bank details at any point; we only ever see the screenshot you choose to send us, on WhatsApp or by email.

Children's use

This app is exam-preparation content aimed at IMU DNS CET aspirants (typically 17+) and does not knowingly collect personal information from anyone, including children.

Changes

If this policy changes, the "updated" line above will change. Continued use of the app after an update means you accept the revised policy.

Contact

Questions about this policy: support@oceanmate.in