Privacy Policy

We collect information you provide directly to us when you create an account, enroll in a course, or contact us for support. This includes:

•Account data: name, email address, and password (stored as a one-way hash — we never see your plain-text password).

•Payment data: we do not store card numbers. Payments are processed by Razorpay, which is PCI-DSS Level 1 certified. We store the order ID and payment ID for record-keeping.

•Usage data: pages visited, lectures watched, tests taken, answers submitted, and time spent — used to power your personal analytics dashboard.

•Device data: IP address, browser type, and device type collected automatically for security and performance monitoring.

We use the information we collect to:

•Provide, operate, and improve the UPSC Pathshala platform.

•Process your course enrollments and payments.

•Send you transactional emails (enrollment confirmation, test results, payment receipts).

•Show you personalised performance analytics and course recommendations.

•Respond to support requests.

•Detect and prevent fraud and abuse.

We do not sell your personal data to third parties. Ever.

We share your data only with:

•Razorpay — for payment processing. Subject to Razorpay's Privacy Policy.

•Cloudflare — for content delivery and DDoS protection. Cloudflare may process request metadata.

•Legal authorities — when required by law, court order, or to protect the rights and safety of users.

We do not share your data with advertisers, data brokers, or marketing firms.

We use the following types of cookies:

•Strictly necessary cookies: for authentication sessions. Without these the platform cannot function.

•Analytics cookies: anonymous, aggregated data to understand how students use the platform. You can opt out via your browser settings.

We do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies.

We take security seriously:

•All data is transmitted over HTTPS/TLS 1.3.

•Passwords are hashed using bcrypt with a work factor of 10.

•Database access is restricted to application servers; no public MySQL access is allowed.

•Video and PDF content is served via short-lived signed URLs (valid for ≤ 1 hour), so content links cannot be shared or hotlinked.

•We conduct periodic security reviews of our infrastructure.

No method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure. If you believe your account has been compromised, contact us immediately at help@upscpathshala.com.

You have the right to:

•Access the personal data we hold about you.

•Correct inaccurate data via your account settings.

•Delete your account and associated data by contacting us.

•Export your test history and progress data upon request.

•Withdraw consent for non-essential communications at any time using the unsubscribe link in any email.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at help@upscpathshala.com.

UPSC Pathshala is intended for users who are 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. If we learn that a user is under 18, we will promptly delete their account and data.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and, for significant changes, notify you by email. Continued use of the platform after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us:

Email: help@upscpathshala.com

Address: UPSC Pathshala, Pune, Maharashtra 411001, India