EPIC.U Privacy Policy
EPIC.U Privacy Policy
Last Updated: [01-October-2024]
This privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”) explains how EPIC.U (“we,” “us,” and/or “our”) collects, uses, and discloses information from individuals (“you”, “your” and/or “User”) who access and use our online community or mobile or other downloadable applications (collectively, the “Community”). Beyond the Privacy Policy, your use of the Community is also subject to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines.
We provide services that enable you to interact with other users, such as through direct messaging and group messaging, and participate in various spaces for communication and engagement (“Services”).
We reserve the right, at our discretion, to change, modify, add, or remove portions of this Privacy Policy at any time. We mandate that you review the Privacy Policy whenever you access the Community to stay informed about our information practices and the choices available to you.
This Privacy Policy is published in accordance with Rule 3(1) of the provisions of Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (“Intermediary Rules”) read with the Information Technology (Reasonable security practices and procedures and sensitive personal data or information) Rules, 2011 (“SPDI Rules”)/Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (“DPDP Act”).
Personal Information We Collect
Personal Information You Provide to Us.
Registration and Profile Information. When you open an account with us through the Community (“Account”), we may ask you to provide us with identifiers and contact information such as your name, email address, and any other information you may provide.
Communications. We may also collect identifiers, such as your name, email address, and other information you choose to provide, when you participate in any interactive features of the Community (like send us a message through the Community), fill out a form, publish statements on our platform, participate in a contest or promotion, communicate with us via third-party social media sites, request customer support, or otherwise communicate with us.
Messages Between Members. When you communicate with other members through the Community, we and our third-party partners receive the content of the messages you send and receive and information about those messages, such as when it was sent or received.
Content. We may collect other content and information you share through the Community when you submit information or content, such as by commenting on a blog or participating in online communities, or when you otherwise interact with the Community.
Payment Information. If you make a purchase through the Community, your payment-related information, such as credit card or other financial information, is collected by our third-party payment processor on our behalf.
Purpose. As part of the Services we offer on the Community, we may collect the following Information from you for purposes set out below. This data helps us in ensuring that we provide you with Services tailored to your needs.
Information accessed
Purpose
Camera (pictures) - Granting camera permission allows the User to use the camera and upload any audio-visual media directly on the Community.
Photo gallery (pictures) - Granting photo gallery access allows the User to upload any picture from their photo gallery on the Community.
Your name - For account creation and personalising user experience.
Your age/date of birth - Age verification for legal reasons
Your city - To personalise experiences and provide location-based services
Your email address - Communication, promotional materials, newsletters and password reset.
Your alternate email address - To offer a secondary option for account recovery and communication.
Your phone number - Contacting the User for order confirmations, shipping updates, or User service inquiries
Your password - For security purposes (Passwords are stored in encrypted format)
Your batch - To group users by year of study for peer interactions
Your roll number - To verify User’s identity and enrolment status
Program enrolled - To tailor content and services based on the user’s academic program
University - To validate university affiliation and provide relevant academic features
Profile Picture - To help Users recognize and interact with peers, fostering a more engaging and personal environment
Chat/Messaging History - To allow Users to review past interactions and ensure continuity in communication on the platform
Information that is typically provided when you contact us for help - Communications and grievance redressal
Information you enter into our system when using the Community - To ensure that no restricted content is posted or uploaded on the Community
The type of mobile device you use - To ensure compatibility and provide an optimised experience based on device capabilities.
Your mobile device’s unique device ID - Authentication, security verification, push notifications, tracking device-specific activity or preferences.
The IP address of your mobile, desktop or laptop device - Geolocation (through your device’s GPS signal, browser’s WIFI signal or Bluetooth technology, if tour device setting allows for this) for security measures and regional promotions.
Your mobile operating system - Optimising the Community’s user experience for different devices and security measures.
The type of mobile internet browsers you use - Optimisation and compatibility, analytics and troubleshooting, personalised content delivery and security measures
Browsing history - Analysing User behaviour to improve the Services.
Details of the user’s telecom service provider or internet service provider - Geolocation (through your device’s GPS signal, browser’s WIFI signal or Bluetooth technology, if your device setting allows for this), connection quality analysis, security monitoring and regulatory/ legal compliance.
Cookies - Remembering user preferences, shopping cart contents, and providing tailored advertisements.
Clickstream data relating to your activity on the Community - User behaviour analysis.
Personal Information That May Be Collected Automatically Through the Community.
When you access or use the Community or transact business with us, we and our third-party partners may automatically collect information you provide to us, information about how you access and use the Community and information about the device you use to access the Community, including:
Device Identifiers. Identifiers, such as your IP address, internet service provider, the type of mobile device you use, the temporary or persistent unique device identifiers (sometimes called UDID), and identifiers associated with browser cookies, web beacons and similar technologies we deploy on the Community.
Internet or Other Electronic Network Activity Information. We and our third-party partners may collect information about the devices and computers you use to access our Community, such as browser type, language, operating system, the referring web page, pages visited, and hyperlinks clicked. When you use our Community, we may collect usage information sent to us by your computer, mobile, or other access device that tells us how you are using the Community and other information about your internet activity (“Usage Information”), including the pages you visit, the links you click, the ads you view and click on, videos you watch, purchase information and your checkout process, your location when you access or interact with our Community, and other similar actions. We may also use third-party tools to collect Usage Information you provide to us or information about how you use the Community and may record your mouse movements, scrolling, clicks and keystroke activity and other browsing, search or purchasing behavior. These tools may also record Usage Information you enter when you interact with the Community or engage in chat features through the Community.
Geolocation Information. We may derive the approximate location of your device from your IP address. We may combine this information with other location-based information, such as your billing or postal code.
Information From Cookies and Similar Technologies. We and our third-party partners collect information using cookies, pixel tags, or similar technologies. Our third-party partners, such as analytics and advertising partners, may use these technologies to collect information about your online activities over time and across different services. Cookies are small text files containing a string of alphanumeric characters. We may use both session cookies and persistent cookies. A session cookie disappears after you close your browser. A persistent cookie remains after you close your browser and may be used by your browser on subsequent visits to the Community.
Option to decline consent:
Your consent is paramount, and you may choose to grant or decline your consent for processing your personal information. You have the option to withdraw the consent given earlier, provided it is sent to us in writing to the email ID: support@epicu.onlinemanipal.com from your registered email ID. Please note that, if you choose to decline your consent for processing of your personal information, we may restrict your access of the Community and the Services offered on the Community at our discretion.
Rights of the User:
If at any point after giving your consent, you wish to retract the consent or have concerns regarding the processing of your personal information. If you have any queries or grievances, you may reach out to us as indicated in the ‘Contact Us’ section of this Privacy Policy. If you feel that your grievance has not been adequately addressed by us, you may approach the Data Protection Board of India to seek further redressal for your grievance.
Managing Your Information
We will provide you with the means to ensure that your information is correct and current. If you have filled out a user profile, we will provide an obvious way for you to access and change your profile from the Community. We adopt stringent security measures to protect your password from being exposed or disclosed to anyone. Upon forgetting the password for your profile on the Community, we will have a right to reset the same for you with your prior approval. You are responsible for keeping your information up to date.
Rectification of Inaccurate or Incomplete Information
You have the right to ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete Information concerning you (and which you cannot update yourself within your Account).
Data Erasure
If you no longer want us to use your information to provide Services/access to the Community to you, you can request that we erase your information and close your Account. Provided, however, any requests for erasure will be acted upon in accordance with applicable law and may adversely impact our ability to provide Services to you. You hereby agree and acknowledge that a mere request for erasure does not guarantee an erasure of information and all such requests will be acted upon in accordance with applicable law alone.
Personal Information Collected from Third Parties.
Information from Third-Party Sources. When you interact with our members in the Community, we may collect from them any content or information you choose to share or provide. We may also obtain information about you from other sources, including but not limited to social media platforms, marketing partners, and other third parties. For example, if you connect your social media account to your Account or create or log into your Account through a social media site, certain information from your social media account will be shared with us, which may include information that is part of your profile or your friends’ profiles.
Personal Information Usage
We use the information we collect about you to:
provide, maintain, and improve the Community and to enhance and personalize your experience;
process, complete, and maintain records on transactions;
send you technical notices, updates, security alerts, and support and administrative messages;
respond to your comments, questions, and requests, and to provide customer service;
communicate with you about products, services, offers, promotions, rewards, and events offered by EPIC.U and others, and provide news and information we think will be of interest to you;
monitor and analyze trends, usage, effectiveness and activities in connection with the Community, including our offers, advertising, communications features, and customer service;
detect, investigate and prevent fraudulent transactions and other illegal activities and protect the rights and property of EPIC.U;
facilitate contests, sweepstakes and promotions and process and deliver entries and rewards;
link or combine with information we get from the Community and from others to help understand your needs and provide you with better service;
maintain appropriate records for internal administrative purposes; and
carry out any other purpose described to you at the time the information was collected or permitted by law.
Personal Information Disclosure
Circle. The Community is powered by a technology platform provided by CircleCo, Inc. (“Circle”) having its registered office at 228 Park Ave S, PMB 52933, New York, NY 10003. We may disclose your information to Circle in connection with the provision of the Community.
Service Providers and Vendors. We may disclose your information to other vendors, consultants, and service providers retained in connection with the provision of the Community.
Other Members of the Community. If you provide or share information with other members of the Community, they may use it for their own purposes. If you post information or content, such as by posting photos, commenting on a blog, or participating in the Community, or when you interact with the Community through social media sites, plug-ins or other applications, depending upon your privacy settings, this information may become public on the internet. We cannot prevent further use of this information. You can control what data you share through privacy settings available on some social media sites. Please refer to those third-party sites’ privacy policies and terms of use to learn more about their privacy practices, which we do not control.
Analytics Partners. We may use analytics services to collect and process certain analytics data. These services may also collect information about your use of other websites, apps, and online resources.
Legal and Law Enforcement. We may share information collected about you with law enforcement, governmental agencies, or authorized third parties, in response to a verified request relating to a criminal investigation or alleged illegal activity or any other activity that may expose us, you, or any other Community member to legal liability or if we believe disclosure is in accordance with, or required by, any applicable law or legal process, including lawful requests by public authorities to meet national security or law enforcement requirements.
In Connection with a Change of Control. We may transfer or disclose your information in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, financing or acquisition of all or a portion of our business by another company.
Consent. Where applicable, we may share your information with your consent or at your specific direction.
Children’s Privacy
The Community is not intended for individuals under the age of 18. No one under the age of 18 is authorized to provide any personal information through the Community. If you believe we might have any information from or about a child under 18, please contact us at the email address: support@epicu.onlinemanipal.com
Data Retention
We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by applicable law. The retention period may vary depending on the type of data and the legal or operational obligations involved. Once your data is no longer needed, we will securely delete, anonymise, or otherwise dispose of it in accordance with our data retention policies. You may request the deletion of your data at any time, subject to applicable legal requirements or legitimate business purposes that may necessitate its retention.
Social Sharing Features
The Community may offer social sharing features and other integrated tools, which let you share actions you take on the Community with other media, and vice versa. Your use of such features enables the sharing of information with your friends or the public, depending on the settings you establish with the entity that provides the social sharing feature. For more information about the purpose and scope of data collection and processing in connection with social sharing features, please visit the privacy policies of the entities that provide these features.
Third-Parties
The Community may contain links to other websites, including our affiliated or co-branded websites and communities. Other websites and communities may also reference or link to the Community. These other websites and communities may not be controlled by us. We encourage the Users to read the privacy policies of every website, community, or mobile application that collects personal information. We do not endorse, screen or approve, and are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of other websites, communities, or mobile applications. Visit these other websites at your own risk.
Security
We make reasonable efforts to protect your information by using security measures designed to safeguard the information we maintain. However, because no electronic transmission or storage of information can be entirely secure, we can make no guarantees as to the security or privacy of your information.
Transfer of Information to the U.S. from Other Countries
The Community is hosted in the United States. If you choose to use the Community from the European Union or other regions of the world with laws governing data collection and use that may differ from U.S. law, then please note that you are transferring your personal information outside of those regions to the U.S. for storage and processing. We may also transfer your data from the U.S. to other countries or regions in connection with storage and processing of data, fulfilling your requests, and operating the Community. By providing any information, including personal information, on or to the Community, you consent to such transfer, storage, and processing.
Contact Us
If you have any questions, comments or concerns about our Privacy Policy, you may email us at support@epicu.onlinemanipal.com.
The grievance officer shall undertake all reasonable efforts to address your grievances relating to the processing of your information at the earliest possible opportunity. You may contact our Grievance Officer at:
Grievance Officer: Dr Preeti Singh
Email ID: support@epicu.onlinemanipal.com
By accepting, you confirm your understanding and voluntary agreement to the processing of your personal information as described above in this Privacy Policy.