1) Applicability & Scope

• This Policy applies to all users (“you”, “your”, “User(s)”) of O2 IAS Academy’s Services, including prospective students, registered users, visitors, and others.
• It covers personal information collected through our website (e.g., o2iasacademy.in), mobile apps, APIs, and any offline or event-based interactions associated with the Services.
• This Policy does not apply to third-party websites, content, tools, or services that are not operated or controlled by us (even if linked to from our Services). You should review the privacy policies of those third parties separately.

2) Roles: Controller / Processor

• O2 IAS Academy is the data controller for personal information collected in connection with its Services, unless otherwise stated.
• We may engage third-party processors (e.g., payment gateways, analytics providers, hosting services) to process data on our behalf. These entities are contractually bound to adhere to applicable data protection standards and this Policy.

3) Types of Information We Collect

4) Legal Basis for Processing (Where Applicable)

• Your Consent – when you have explicitly given permission for specific uses (e.g., promotional emails).
• Performance of a Contract – to fulfill our obligations under agreements you have with us (e.g., providing courses, processing payments).
• Legitimate Interests – for our business operations, improving services, fraud prevention, etc., provided these do not override your rights and interests.
• Legal Compliance – to comply with applicable laws, regulations, or government orders.

5) Purposes of Use & Sharing of Information

How We Use Your Information

• To Provide Services: Account setup, course enrollment, progress tracking, notifications, support, and other core functionality.
• Improvement & Personalization: Analyze usage, optimize user experience, recommend content, develop features, debug issues.
• Communications & Marketing: Send newsletters, promotional offers, updates, surveys (you will have choice to opt out).
• Security, Compliance & Fraud Prevention: Monitor for misuse, enforce policies, protect rights, and comply with legal obligations.
• Legal & Business Purposes: Enforce agreements, exercise legal rights, claims, or defense; transactions such as merger or acquisition.
• Analytics & Research: Aggregate or anonymize data to perform research, trends, benchmarking.

Sharing of Your Information

• Affiliates & Within O2 Group: To internal teams or group companies needing data to provide Services.
• Service Providers / Processors: Third parties (payment gateways, email services, analytics, CDN, cloud hosts) who process data on our behalf under contract.
• Third-party Platforms or Tools: For integrated features (e.g., discussion forums, video conferencing) with your consent.
• Legal Disclosures: If required by law, court order, governmental or regulatory request, or to protect the rights, safety, or property of O2 IAS, users, or others.
• Business Transfers: In the event of merger, sale, or transfer of assets; we will ensure continuity of privacy obligations.

We do not sell your personal information to third parties for monetary gain.

6) Cross-Border Data Transfers

Your information may be stored, processed, or transferred to servers located outside your country (e.g., data centers in other jurisdictions). Such countries may have different data protection laws. You consent to these transfers, provided we take appropriate safeguards (e.g., encryption, standard contractual clauses) as needed under law.

7) Data Retention

We retain your personal information only as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, or to comply with legal, regulatory, tax, or security obligations. Where feasible, we will anonymize or delete data.

Certain content you publish (e.g., comments) may remain visible even after account deletion, but we will disassociate personal identifiers where possible.

8) Your Rights & Controls

• Access / Confirmation: Know what data we hold about you.
• Correction / Update: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Deletion / Erasure: Request deletion of your data in certain cases (“right to be forgotten”).
• Restriction / Objection: Restrict or object to some processing activities.
• Data Portability: Receive a portable copy of personal data you provided.
• Withdraw Consent: You may withdraw consent previously given (for non-essential processing); this will not affect processing done prior to withdrawal.
• Opt Out: Unsubscribe from marketing or promotional communications.

To exercise any of these rights, please email us at [email protected] or use options available in your account settings. We may verify your identity before processing the request. Note: Some rights may be limited by law or because of legitimate reasons (e.g., compliance, security, or legal claims).

9) Cookies, Tracking & Advertising

Cookies & Similar Technologies

• We use cookies, web beacons, SDKs, or other tracking tools to collect usage data, authenticate users, remember preferences, and analyze traffic.
• We may use first-party and third-party cookies (e.g., Google Analytics, advertising networks).
• You can disable or block cookies via your browser settings (though this may affect certain features).

Interest-Based Ads & Analytics

• We may use your anonymized or pseudonymized data for interest-based advertising, analytics, or remarketing.
• Advertising partners may place cookies via our site to serve you relevant ads; they may collect information such as your IP address, browser, device, etc.
• We do not provide personally identifying data (like name, email) directly to advertisers without your consent.

10) Children & Minors

Our Services are intended for users who meet certain age requirements. If a user is a minor (under the applicable legal age), that person may only use the Services under parental or guardian supervision, and with consent where required by law.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children without proper consent. If we learn we have collected data from a child without permission, we will promptly delete it.

11) Information Security

We use technical, administrative, and organizational safeguards to protect personal data, such as encryption (TLS/SSL), access controls, data isolation, regular audits, and staff training. However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure. You should also protect your account credentials, and notify us if you suspect unauthorized access.

12) Promotional Communications & Email Marketing

• You may receive marketing and promotional communications if you opted in or implicitly consented (e.g., by checking a box).
• You can unsubscribe or opt out any time via links in emails, account settings, or by contacting us.
• Transactional, service, administrative, or legally required communications may still be sent even if you opt out of marketing.

13) Modifications to This Policy

We may revise or update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When changes are made, we will post the updated version with a new effective date. If changes are material, we may notify users by email or via a notice on the site. Continued use of Services after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

We will not materially reduce the protections afforded to previous data without your consent, where required by law.

14) Grievance & Contact Information

In your communication, please include: (a) the information you provided & where; (b) whether it is “personal” or “sensitive personal”; (c) your contact details; (d) a description of your concern or complaint; (e) a statement that the information is correct to your belief; and (f) any supporting information for your request. We will acknowledge your complaint, may seek additional verification, and aim to respond within a reasonable timeframe as permitted by law.