Privacy Policy

1 Information We Collect

We collect information in the following categories when you use a-startup.io:

Account & Registration Data

• Full name, email address, phone number
• Password (stored as a one-way bcrypt hash — never readable)
• Account creation date and plan type

Startup Profile Data

• Industry, business stage, team size, annual revenue
• City, state, and target market
• Startup name and description (if provided)

Usage & Behavioural Data

• Pages visited, features used, grants and investors viewed
• Items saved to your shortlist
• Readiness assessment responses and scores

Payment & Transaction Data

• Plan selected, billing cycle, payment amount
• Transaction IDs from Razorpay
• We do not store card numbers, CVV, or bank account details

Communications

• Messages submitted through our contact form (name, email, phone, message)
• Support-related correspondence

2 How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect solely to operate and improve a-startup.io:

• Service Delivery: Match your startup profile with relevant grants, schemes, and investors
• Account Management: Create, authenticate, and manage your account
• Personalisation: Generate your Fundability Score and personalised recommendations
• Payments: Process subscription payments and maintain billing records
• Communications: Send transactional emails (OTP, payment confirmation, plan changes)
• Deadline Alerts: Notify you of grant deadlines for opportunities you follow
• Product Improvement: Analyse usage patterns to improve features and fix bugs
• Legal Compliance: Meet obligations under applicable Indian laws

3 Data Sharing & Disclosure

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We may share data only in these limited circumstances:

• Payment Processors: Razorpay processes payments on our behalf. It is bound by its own privacy policy and PCI-DSS standards.
• Email Service: We use Gmail/Google Workspace to deliver transactional emails. Email addresses are shared only as the delivery recipient.
• Legal Requirements: We may disclose data if required by a court order, government authority, or applicable law in India.
• Business Transfer: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, user data may be transferred — users will be notified in advance.

4 Data Security

We implement industry-standard security controls to protect your information:

• Passwords are hashed with bcrypt (cost factor 10) — they are never stored in plaintext
• All data is transmitted over HTTPS/TLS encryption
• Authentication uses signed JWT tokens with 30-day expiry
• Payment credentials are handled exclusively by Razorpay — we never see raw card details
• Admin access is protected by a separate authentication layer
• Database files are stored on secured infrastructure with restricted access

5 Data Retention

We retain your data for as long as your account remains active or as necessary to provide services:

• Active accounts: Data retained until you request deletion
• Deleted accounts: Most personal data removed within 30 days of deletion request
• Payment records: Retained for 7 years as required by Indian financial regulations
• Contact form submissions: Retained for 12 months, then deleted
• Email logs: Retained for 6 months for support and debugging purposes

6 Cookies & Local Storage

a-startup.io uses browser-based storage, and one third-party advertising tool. Browser storage is used as follows:

• localStorage: Stores your authentication token and basic profile data to keep you logged in
• sessionStorage: Caches temporary UI state during your session

This data exists only on your device. Clearing your browser storage will sign you out.

Meta Pixel. We use the Meta (Facebook) Pixel to measure how well our advertising works. It sets cookies and sends Meta the pages you visit on a-startup.io, along with events such as creating an account or completing a payment (the amount and currency, never your name, email, phone, PAN, Aadhaar, GST number, bank statement or any document you upload). Meta may combine this with data it already holds about you. You can opt out through your Meta ad settings, or by using a browser that blocks third-party trackers — the site works normally either way.

7 Your Rights & Choices

Under applicable law including the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 (India), you have the following rights:

• Right to Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Right to Correction: Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data
• Right to Erasure: Request deletion of your personal data (subject to legal retention obligations)
• Right to Withdraw Consent: Opt out of non-essential communications at any time
• Right to Portability: Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
• Right to Grievance Redressal: Lodge a complaint with our Grievance Officer

To exercise any of these rights, email us at info@a-startup.io. We will respond within 7 business days.

8 Payment Data

All payment processing is handled by our payment partners:

• Razorpay: For all payments — Razorpay Privacy Policy

We only receive a transaction confirmation and order ID from these processors. Card numbers, UPI PINs, or banking credentials are never transmitted to or stored by a-startup.io.

9 Third-Party Links

Our platform includes links to external websites such as grant portals, government schemes, and investor pages. These third-party sites have their own privacy policies. We are not responsible for their data practices. We encourage you to review their policies before providing any personal information.

10 Children's Privacy

a-startup.io is intended for adults aged 18 years and above. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If you believe a minor has created an account, please contact us immediately at info@a-startup.io and we will promptly delete the account.

11 Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do:

• The "Last Updated" date at the top of this page will be revised
• For material changes, we will send an email notification to registered users
• Continued use of a-startup.io after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated policy

We recommend reviewing this page periodically to stay informed about how we protect your data.

12 Grievance Officer & Contact

As required under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and rules thereunder, we have appointed a Grievance Officer:

For general privacy enquiries, you may also reach us via our Contact Form on the website.