Your privacy matters

Information we collect

• Account information: your name, email address, and phone number.
• If you create an account with a password, we store it as a secure hash — we never store or have access to your actual password.
• If you sign in with Google, we receive your name, email address, and profile photo directly from Google.
• Profile photo: whether uploaded by you or imported from Google, your photo is stored securely via Cloudinary.
• Profile information: bio, languages, skills, and pricing (for listeners).
• Booking information: session dates, durations, and statuses.
• Payment information: processed securely via Razorpay. We never store your card or bank details.
• Usage data: pages visited and features used, to improve the platform.

How we use your information

• To create and manage your account.
• To verify your identity when you sign in with Google.
• To match users with appropriate listeners.
• To process bookings and payments.
• To contact you about your bookings, using your phone number if necessary.
• To send transactional emails (booking confirmations, payment receipts).
• To improve the platform and user experience.
• To enforce our Terms of Service and community guidelines.

Information we do not collect

• We do not record, store, or monitor the audio or video content of your sessions. Google Meet is used only to generate a private video call link for each booking — the call itself never touches our servers.
• We do not collect government identification numbers.
• We do not collect financial information beyond what is needed for payment processing.
• We do not collect location data.

How we share your information

• We do not sell your personal information to any third party.
• We share minimal data with Razorpay solely to process payments.
• We share minimal data with Resend solely to deliver transactional emails.
• We share your profile photo with Cloudinary, which securely hosts uploaded images.
• If you sign in with Google, your sign-in is verified directly through Google's own systems, and Google Meet is used to generate your session's video call link.
• We may disclose information if required by law or to protect safety.
• We never share your session content with anyone.

Data retention

• Your account data is retained as long as your account is active.
• You may request deletion of your account and data by emailing contact@collus.in.
• Payment records are retained for 7 years as required by Indian tax law.
• Deleted accounts are purged from our systems within 30 days.

Cookies & browser storage

Collus does not use cookies to keep you signed in. Instead, we use your browser's local storage to remember your session between visits — this data stays on your own device and is never accessible to other websites. We do not use advertising or tracking cookies.

Your rights

• Access: you can request a copy of your personal data at any time.
• Correction: you can update your name and profile information in settings.
• Deletion: you can request full account deletion by contacting us.
• Portability: you can request your data in a machine-readable format.

Security

All data is transmitted over HTTPS. Passwords are hashed using bcrypt. If you sign in with Google, we never see or store your Google password — that verification happens entirely within Google's own secure systems. Session tokens expire after 7 days. Payment data is handled entirely by Razorpay and never touches our servers.

Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes via email. Continued use of the platform after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.