Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 23, 2026

1. Introduction

Your privacy is important to us. This Privacy Policy explains how GradConnect ("the Platform") collects, uses, and protects your personal information when you use our services. GradConnect is built exclusively for the MVJCE community.

2. Information We Collect

We collect the following types of information:

  • Account Information: Your Google account name, profile picture, and email address provided during Google OAuth authentication.
  • Profile Information: Details you provide in your GradConnect profile — branch, year of study, graduation year, bio, skills, phone number, internship details, and project information.
  • College Email: Your @mvjce.edu.in email address used for verification purposes.
  • Usage Data: Log information including IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited, and timestamps.
  • Messages & Content: Chat messages, posts, and other content you create on the Platform.
  • Profile Pictures: Avatar images you upload are stored on Cloudinary. We store only the URL reference; the image file itself is managed by Cloudinary's infrastructure.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

  • Provide, maintain, and improve the Platform's features.
  • Verify your identity and MVJCE enrollment.
  • Enable connections, messaging, and networking between users.
  • Send important account notifications (e.g., verification status, connection requests).
  • Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and security incidents.
  • Generate anonymized, aggregate statistics for platform improvement.

4. Data Sharing

We do not sell your personal data. We may share your information with:

  • Other Users: Your public profile information (name, branch, year, bio, skills, avatar) is visible to other verified MVJCE users on the Platform.
  • Admins: Platform administrators can access user data for verification, moderation, and platform management.
  • Service Providers: Third-party services (Google OAuth, Cloudinary for image hosting, Vercel for hosting) that help operate the Platform. These providers are bound by their own privacy policies.

5. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your data, including encrypted JWT tokens, HTTPS, and database-level access controls. However, no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

6. Data Retention

We retain your information for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account or are removed by an administrator, your profile data and messages will be permanently deleted within 30 days. Anonymized analytics data may be retained indefinitely.

7. Your Rights

You have the right to:

  • Access and download a copy of your personal data.
  • Update or correct your profile information at any time via the Profile Edit page.
  • Request deletion of your account and associated data.
  • Opt out of non-essential notifications.

8. Cookies & Local Storage

GradConnect uses cookies and browser local storage to maintain your authentication session (access and refresh tokens), remember your theme preference (dark/light mode), and provide offline capabilities via our Progressive Web App (PWA). You can clear these through your browser settings, though this will sign you out.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by posting a notice on the Platform or sending an email to your registered address. Your continued use of GradConnect after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

10. Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please contact the GradConnect admin team at admin@mvjce.edu.in.