Privacy Policy

Welcome to NationSetu ("Platform", "we", "us", or "our"), a social media platform operated by Pragati Booster Tech Venture

NationSetu is a platform for social, civic, and good-governance participation — from your Panchayat or Ward all the way to the nation. Because contributing here is a form of civic engagement, NationSetu is intended for adults: you must be at least 18 years old to create an account, aligned with India's voting age (see Section 9).

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and protect your personal information when you use our website, Android app (Google Play Store), iOS app (Apple App Store), and any related services (collectively, the "Services").

By using NationSetu, you agree to the practices described in this policy. If you do not agree, please do not use our Services.

2.1 Information You Provide Directly

• Account Information: Phone number, display name, username, profile photo, bio, and location preferences (governance level such as Panchayat, Ward, Block, District, State).
• Date of Birth: Collected at signup to verify that you meet the 18+ minimum age required to use NationSetu. It is stored in encrypted form and is not shown on your public profile.
• User Content: Posts, comments, likes, shares, hashtags, images, and any other content you publish on the Platform.
• Premium Profile Data: If you apply for premium/verified status, we collect your full name, email, phone number, occupation, organisation, city, state, and social media profile links (Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube).
• Communications: Messages you send to us for support, feedback, or enquiries.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Device Information: Device type, operating system, unique device identifiers, browser type, and app version.
• Log & Usage Data: IP address, access times, pages viewed, features used, interactions with posts, and referring URLs.
• Location Data: Approximate location derived from your IP address or device settings (only when you grant permission). Used for geo-contextual ad serving based on state/district codes.
• Cookies & Similar Technologies: We use cookies, local storage, session storage, and similar tracking technologies to maintain sessions, remember preferences, manage ad session identifiers, and improve the user experience. See Section 6 for full details.

2.3 Information from Third Parties

• Analytics providers (e.g., Google Analytics, Firebase Analytics).
• Advertising partners (Google Ads/AdMob, Facebook/Meta Audience Network) for serving and measuring ad performance.

• Provide, maintain, and improve the Platform and Services.
• Authenticate your identity and secure your account via OTP-based login.
• Personalise your feed and surface locally relevant content based on your governance-level preferences.
• Enable the "Voices Rise" system — promoting community-endorsed content from local to national levels.
• Display advertisements through our integrated advertising system, including our own ad platform, Google Ads/AdMob/AdSense, and Facebook/Meta Audience Network (see Section 6).
• Send notifications about interactions, trending content, and platform updates via push notifications (Firebase Cloud Messaging, Expo Push Notifications).
• Detect, prevent, and address fraud, abuse, and security issues.
• Comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms & Conditions.

We do not sell your personal information. We may share data in the following circumstances:

• Public Content: Posts, comments, profile information, and engagement metrics are visible to other users and may appear in search results.
• Service Providers: Trusted third-party vendors who assist with hosting (Cloudflare R2), analytics, notifications, and customer support — bound by confidentiality agreements.
• Advertising Partners: Aggregated or de-identified data shared with Google Ads, Facebook/Meta Ads, and our own advertising platform to serve relevant ads and measure campaign performance. We do not share personally identifiable information with advertisers without your consent.
• Legal Requirements: When required by law, court order, or governmental authority, or to protect rights, safety, or property.
• Business Transfers: In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your data may be transferred as part of the transaction.

• We retain your personal data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide our Services.
• If you deactivate your account, it enters a 30-day grace period during which you can reactivate by logging back in. After 30 days, your account and personal data are permanently deleted (see Section 8).
• If you request immediate account deletion (without the grace period), we will delete or anonymise your personal data within 30 calendar days of receiving your verified request.
• Certain data may be retained longer where required by law (e.g., tax records, fraud prevention logs).

NationSetu is a free-to-use platform supported by advertising, similar to platforms like Facebook/Meta and X (Twitter). We operate an integrated advertising system comprising:

• NationSetu Ads (Own Platform): Our proprietary ad system serves custom advertisements including banner ads, in-feed promoted posts, and sidebar ads. Ads are geo-contextually targeted based on state/district codes and content being viewed. Each ad session is tracked via unique session identifiers for impression, click, view completion, and dismissal events.
• Google Ads / AdMob / AdSense: We integrate with Google's advertising platforms to serve display ads. On mobile (Android/iOS), we use Google AdMob; on web, we use Google AdSense. Google may use cookies and device identifiers to serve ads based on your prior visits. You can manage Google ad preferences at adssettings.google.com.
• Facebook / Meta Audience Network: We integrate with Facebook's advertising platform to serve ads across both web and mobile. Meta may use cookies and pixel tracking to measure ad performance. You can manage Facebook ad preferences in your Facebook account settings.

6.1 Ad Types

All NationSetu accounts belong to adults (18+), so all ad types are served to a verified-adult audience:

• Contextual Ads: Based on the content you are viewing (e.g., local governance discussions).
• Interest-Based Ads: Based on your activity on the Platform and inferred interests. You can opt out of interest-based advertising at any time (see Sections 6.5 and 7).

6.2 Adults-Only Audience

NationSetu does not knowingly serve any user under the age of 18. Because we do not maintain accounts for minors, we do not build advertising profiles for, create lookalike audiences from, or monetise the data of anyone under 18. If we learn that an account belongs to a person under 18, we suspend it and delete the associated personal data (see Section 9).

6.3 Google Play & AdMob Compliance

• Our Android app complies with Google Play's Developer Program Policies and the Families Policy requirements.
• We use only Google-certified ad SDKs (such as Google AdMob) that comply with COPPA and GDPR requirements.
• Ad content served within the app matches our declared content rating (as determined by the IARC rating system).
• We comply with Google's EU User Consent Policy for users in the European Economic Area.

6.4 Apple App Store & ATT Compliance

• Our iOS app complies with Apple's App Store Review Guidelines and App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework.
• We request user permission via the ATT prompt before tracking activity across other companies' apps and websites.
• Users can opt out of tracking at any time through iOS Settings.

6.5 Cookies, Tracking & Consent

We and our advertising partners use the following tracking technologies:

• Essential Cookies: Required for authentication, session management, and security (e.g., access tokens, refresh tokens). These cannot be disabled.
• Analytics Cookies: Used by Google Analytics and Firebase Analytics to understand how you use the Platform and improve our Services.
• Advertising Cookies: Used by Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and our own ad system to serve relevant ads, track impressions and clicks, and measure ad campaign performance. Ad session identifiers are stored in session storage.
• Preference Cookies: Remember your theme choice (dark/light mode), language preference, and cookie consent status.

On your first visit, we display a cookie consent banner allowing you to accept or manage your cookie preferences. You can change your preferences at any time through your browser settings. Opting out of advertising cookies does not mean you will see fewer ads — only that they may be less relevant.

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you.
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete data via your Settings page.
• Deactivate your account temporarily. Your account enters a 30-day grace period; after which all data is permanently deleted if not reactivated.
• Delete your account and associated data immediately. Upon a verified deletion request, we will erase your personal data within 30 days.
• Object to or restrict certain processing activities, including targeted advertising.
• Data Portability: Request a copy of your data in a portable format.
• Withdraw Consent at any time where processing is based on consent, including advertising cookie consent.
• Opt out of advertising tracking via our cookie consent banner, browser settings, Google ad preferences, or Facebook ad settings.

To exercise any of these rights, use the Settings page, the Data Deletion page, or contact us at pragati.booster@gmail.com.

In compliance with Google Play and Apple App Store requirements, we provide two pathways for removing your account:

8.1 Account Deactivation (30-Day Grace Period)

• You can deactivate your account at any time through the Settings page within the app or website.
• Upon deactivation, your profile, posts, and interactions become hidden from other users immediately.
• You have 30 calendar days to reactivate your account by simply logging back in.
• After the 30-day grace period, your account and all associated personal data are permanently deleted automatically.

8.2 Immediate Account Deletion

• You can request immediate deletion of your account through the Data Deletion page, the Settings page, or by emailing pragati.booster@gmail.com.
• Upon receiving a verified request, we will permanently delete your personal data within 30 calendar days.

8.3 What Gets Deleted

• Profile information (display name, username, bio, avatar).
• All posts, comments, likes, reposts, and bookmarks.
• Notification history and push notification subscriptions.
• All uploaded media (images, videos) from our storage (Cloudflare R2).
• Subscription and follow relationships.
• Premium/verification application data including social media links.
• Ad interaction history and session data.

Some information may be retained in anonymised form for analytics, or as required by law for compliance purposes. Content that was shared publicly may persist in cached or archived forms outside our control.

9.1 Minimum Age — 18 Years

NationSetu is an 18+ platform. You must be at least 18 years of age to create an account or use the Services. Because NationSetu exists for social, civic, and good-governance participation, this minimum age is aligned with India's voting age of 18 — the age at which citizens exercise their civic rights.

We verify age at signup by collecting your date of birth. By creating an account you confirm that you are 18 or older and that the information you provide is accurate. The platform is not directed at children or teenagers, and we do not knowingly create accounts for anyone under 18.

9.2 No Accounts for Minors

• We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18.
• If we become aware that a user is under 18, we will promptly suspend the account and delete all associated personal data.
• We do not serve advertisements to, or build advertising profiles for, anyone identified as under 18.
• A parent or guardian who believes a minor has created an account may contact us at pragati.booster@gmail.com for immediate removal.

9.3 Regulatory Alignment

Our 18+ requirement meets or exceeds the minimum-age thresholds of applicable regulations, including the U.S. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the EU GDPR, and India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act. We retain the date of birth you provide solely to enforce this requirement and store it in encrypted form.

NationSetu integrates with the following third-party social media and advertising platforms:

• Google Services: Google Analytics (web & mobile analytics), Firebase Analytics (mobile app analytics), Google AdMob (mobile ads), Google AdSense (web ads), Google Ads (ad campaign management), Firebase Cloud Messaging (push notifications).
• Facebook / Meta Services: Facebook Audience Network (display ads on web & mobile), Facebook Ads (ad campaign measurement and attribution).
• Social Media Profile Links: When applying for premium/verified status, you may optionally provide links to your Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube profiles. These are used solely for identity verification purposes and are not shared with third parties.

Each third-party service operates under its own privacy policy. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of Google, Meta/Facebook, and other services you interact with through our Platform.

We implement industry-standard security measures including encryption in transit (TLS/SSL), secure token-based authentication (JWT with refresh token rotation), encrypted storage for sensitive credentials, and regular security audits. However, no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

The Platform may contain links to third-party websites or services, including advertiser websites from Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and our own advertising partners. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these external services. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before sharing any personal information.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by posting a notice on the Platform or sending a push notification. Continued use of the Services after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact us: