Privacy

Privacy is the default. Here is exactly what we do and do not collect.

ArrivoBuddy is built for Indian students. We treat your data with the standards expected under India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 (DPDP Act) and aim for clarity rather than legalese.

Draft — pending review by a qualified Indian lawyer before launch. This page is published for transparency. Until the review is complete, treat its contents as a working version, not a final binding statement. Last reviewed by ArrivoBuddy: 3 May 2026.

One-paragraph summary

We collect only the information you give us through the forms on the site — your name, email, broad location in India, your selected planning topic, and (when you create an account) your course start and planned arrival dates. We use this information to send you relevant guides and to power the planning tools on your account. We do not sell your data. We do not buy your data. We do not ask for sensitive identity or financial documents. You can delete your data at any time by emailing us.

What we collect

From the early-access form (homepage)

  • Your name (required).
  • Your email (required).
  • Your current city or state in India (optional).
  • The topic that confuses you most (optional, from a list).

From the registration form (when accounts go live)

  • Your name and email.
  • A password — stored as a one-way hash, never in plain text.
  • Your current city or state in India.
  • Your target city in Italy.
  • Your current preparation stage.
  • Your course start date and planned arrival date.

From routine site usage

  • Standard server logs (IP address, user agent, page visited) for security and uptime, retained for a short period.
  • Cookies strictly necessary for keeping you signed in (when accounts go live).

What we do not collect

  • We do not collect or process your passport, Aadhaar, PAN, academic transcripts, bank statements, or any other sensitive document.
  • We do not collect your phone number, biometric data, or precise location.
  • We do not collect children’s data — see the “Users under 18” section.

Why we collect it

  • To email you the guides and updates that match your selected topic.
  • To compute your personal timeline (deadlines depend on your course start and arrival dates — see /dashboard).
  • To improve the site by understanding which guides Indian students need first.
  • To provide basic security and prevent abuse.

We do not use your data for any other purpose without asking you.

How we store it

Your data is stored in encrypted databases managed by Supabase, our database provider. Passwords are stored only as one-way hashes. Communication between your browser and our servers is encrypted with HTTPS. Access to production data is limited to a small set of named operators who require it for support purposes.

We do not run any data warehouse, analytics pipeline, or third-party tracking that would copy your personal data outside our database without your consent.

Who we share it with

We share your data only with service providers strictly required to operate the site:

  • Supabase — database and authentication.
  • Vercel — website hosting.
  • Razorpay — payment processing (only when you actually pay; payment card details never touch our servers).
  • An email-sending provider (to be named before launch) — only your name and email, only for the messages you have asked to receive.

We do not sell, rent, or share your data with advertisers, recruiters, agents, or third parties for marketing.

Your rights

Under the DPDP Act 2023 and as our commitment to you, you have the right to:

  • Ask for a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
  • Ask us to correct any data that is wrong.
  • Ask us to delete your data (the “right to erasure”), subject to a small set of legal-retention obligations.
  • Withdraw consent for marketing emails at any time.
  • Raise a complaint to the Data Protection Board of India if you believe we have mishandled your data.

To exercise any of these rights, email privacy@arrivobuddy.com. We will respond within 30 days of receipt. The published email will be confirmed before launch.

How long we keep data

  • Early-access form responses: until we have sent you the relevant guide, plus six months for follow-up; deleted on request immediately.
  • Account data: while your account is active, plus 12 months after deletion request to satisfy any audit-trail need around payments.
  • Server logs: 30 days unless required longer for a security incident.

Cookies and analytics

The site uses only the cookies strictly required for navigation, authentication, and basic security. We do not use third-party advertising or behavioural tracking cookies. If we ever add product analytics, we will publish the change here and ask for fresh consent before enabling tracking.

Users under 18

ArrivoBuddy is built for adult applicants planning their own studies abroad. Although Indian school-leavers may be 17 at the time they begin researching, we do not target users under 18 with marketing, and we ask you to tick a confirmation that you are at least 18 — or have a parent or guardian filling the form on your behalf — before creating an account. Data of users known to be under 18 is treated as “child’s data” under the DPDP Act 2023 and is processed only with verifiable parental consent.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the service evolves and as Indian privacy regulations are clarified. Material changes will be communicated to registered users by email. Continuing to use the site after a change means you accept the updated policy.

Contact

For any privacy question or to exercise your rights, write to privacy@arrivobuddy.com. The Data Protection Officer for ArrivoBuddy will be named here before launch.

Need to talk to a human about this page? Email hello@arrivobuddy.com — we will respond on a best-effort basis. Replace this email with your verified contact before launch.