Privacy Policy | Sahayak

Sahayak (sahayakapps.in, contact: sahayakapps@gmail.com) is a free citizen-help tool. This page tells you exactly what we store, what Google and other partners store, and what we never touch.

1. What we collect

If you register: your name, email, and a one-way bcrypt-hashed password. Even we cannot read your password.
Preferred language so we can show the app in your language.
Saved searches — only ones you explicitly click "Save" on. Nothing is auto-saved.
Feedback messages you send us (max one per day).

2. What we NEVER collect

Aadhaar number, PAN number, bank details or any government IDs
Phone number, precise location, contacts, device IMEI
Your questions when you're NOT logged in — used once for the AI reply and immediately forgotten

3. Cookies we use

Login cookie (access_token): secure, httpOnly, expires in 7 days. Required to stay logged in.
Language preference (sahayak_lang): stored in your browser only.
Advertising cookies (see section 4) set by Google and its partners.

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Blocking the login cookie simply logs you out.

4. Google advertising cookies (AdSense)

We show ads from Google AdSense to keep Sahayak free. Required disclosure:

Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this website or other websites.
Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visit to our site and/or other sites on the Internet.
We may show personalized ads (based on interests) and non-personalized ads (based on context only). Non-personalized ads still use cookies for frequency capping and measurement.
Other third-party vendors may serve ads on our site in future; this section will be updated with their names and opt-out links if so.

5. Your advertising choices (opt-out)

Google Ads Settings: myadcenter.google.com — turn off personalized ads.
Industry opt-out (US): aboutads.info/choices.
Industry opt-out (EU): youronlinechoices.eu.

6. Analytics

We use privacy-friendly analytics (Google Analytics / PostHog) to count visits and fix broken pages. Analytics data is aggregated, never sold, and retained for a maximum of 14 months. You can block analytics with any content blocker or by disabling JavaScript — the guides still work.

7. Who else processes your data

AI provider (Google Gemini via our backend): processes your question text to generate an answer. It does not receive your name or email.
Email provider (Resend): delivers verification and password-reset emails to the address you registered.
Hosting/CDN (Vercel and equivalents): delivers pages; server logs (IP, user-agent) are kept briefly for security.
We never sell your data. Ever.

8. Data retention

Account data is kept while your account exists. Verification tokens expire in 24 hours, password-reset tokens in 1 hour. If you delete your account, everything (profile + saved history + feedback) is removed within 7 days. Server and analytics logs are kept no longer than 14 months.

9. Your rights

Write to sahayakapps@gmail.com and we will:

Delete your entire account and all saved history within 7 days
Export a copy of everything we hold about you
Stop personalized ads data use on our site (via the opt-outs in section 5)

10. Children

Sahayak is intended for users above 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 13, and personalized advertising is never directed at children. Parents: please supervise use by minors.

11. Third-party links

We link to official government portals and other external sites. Their privacy practices are their own — review their policies before submitting personal information or payments there.

12. Changes to this policy

We update this page when our practices change (e.g. new ad partners). The "Last updated" date above always reflects the current version. Continued use of Sahayak after changes means you accept the updated policy.

13. Calculators, prices and guides need nothing from you

All calculators (EMI, ITR, FD/RD, insurance cover, rent, HRA, stamp duty) run entirely on your device — your numbers never leave your phone or browser. Mandi prices come from the public Agmarknet feed (data.gov.in) and carry their source and date; viewing them needs no account. Site search below also runs on-device with no query logging.

14. Disclaimer

Sahayakapps is a privately owned educational information app. It does not represent, is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by any government entity in India. All content is compiled from publicly available sources and open datasets (including data.gov.in) for educational purposes only. Sahayakapps does not provide government services, does not process applications on behalf of any department, and users should verify all details from the official source website before taking action.

15. Contact

Questions about privacy: sahayakapps@gmail.com. General help and corrections: our Contact Us page.