Legal
Privacy policy
- No ads, no ad networks, no trackers that follow you around the web. We never sell your data.
- Your semester is saved on your device first and synced to your account so it is on every device you sign into.
- AI features send only the material you choose to Google Gemini to produce the result you asked for.
- Payments go through Razorpay — we never see your card, UPI PIN or bank login.
- Download a copy of your data or delete your account yourself, from inside the app.
1. Who is responsible
Backbench is run by Arvelic, India. Arvelic decides how your personal data is used in Backbench and is responsible for it under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and other Indian law. Contact: support@joinbackbench.com.
2. What we collect
| Data | What it is |
|---|---|
| Account | Your name, email address, password (stored only as a salted PBKDF2 hash — never the password itself), university, college, course and semester. |
| Your semester | Subjects, timetable, attendance, deadlines, notes, flashcards, question bank, marks and settings — kept as one document on your device and on your account. |
| Files | Library files you choose to keep in the cloud, files you share in Class space, files and preview images you list for sale, and screenshots you attach to support requests. |
| Community | What you post in Class space, Study rooms and Circle, and your votes and acknowledgements. |
| Payments | Order and payment IDs, amounts, plans and dates from Razorpay or Google Play. For purchases in the Play Store app, Google Play also gives us a purchase token and a random tag we created for your account (it does not say who you are) — never your card or UPI details. For sellers: the UPI ID and name you give for payouts, and your sales and withdrawals. |
| Orders | If you order merchandise: the delivery name, phone number and address. |
| AI use | How many times you used each AI tool and how much it cost to run, so limits and the daily budget work. Sample papers you generate are saved to your account. |
| Technical | Sign-in sessions, the browser and device type, IP address for rate limits and security, error reports from the app, which days you were active, and notification subscriptions if you turn notifications on. |
3. Why we use it
- To run Backbench for you — your account, syncing your semester, files, classes, rooms and notifications you asked for.
- To keep it fair and safe — limits, credits and referral checks, fraud and abuse prevention, the sign-in log for staff, and removing content that breaks the rules.
- To take and make payments — Pro, marketplace sales and seller payouts, and the records the law requires.
- To answer you — support requests, bug reports and important account messages.
- To keep it working — error reports and simple counts (like daily active students) to find and fix problems.
We do not use your data for advertising, we do not build advertising profiles, and we do not sell it.
4. AI and your notes
When you use AI Studio (sample paper, Ask my notes, Quiz me, AI flashcards, revision sheet) or scan a photo, the material you picked — note text, text and page images from your PDFs, past questions, or the photo — is sent to Google’s Gemini API to produce the result. It is sent only when you start that tool, and only what that tool needs. Nothing is sent to AI in the background.
5. Who processes it
We use a small number of service providers, only to run Backbench:
| Provider | What for |
|---|---|
| Cloudflare | Hosting the website and app, the database and file storage. |
| Gemini AI for AI features and scanning; Google Fonts for the typefaces on our pages; Firebase Cloud Messaging to deliver notifications in the Android app; Google Play to take payments in the app from the Play Store. | |
| Razorpay | Payments, refunds and payment verification on the website. |
| Email provider | Sending sign-up and password codes and support replies. |
| Browser push services | Delivering notifications you turned on (Google, Mozilla, Apple, Microsoft). |
Other students see only what you choose to share: your posts and files in a class or room, your Circle posts, and — for sellers — your first name on a listing and on public PYQ / notes pages. Your email is never shown to other students. We may disclose information if Indian law requires it. Some providers may process data outside India, under their own safeguards.
6. On your device
Backbench stores your semester, files and sign-in on your device (browser storage) so it opens instantly and works without signal. We do not use advertising cookies or third-party analytics. On a shared computer, use You → Take it off this device instead of only logging out, so nothing stays behind.
7. How long we keep it
- We keep your data while your account exists.
- When you delete your account (You → Your data → Delete my account, or see joinbackbench.com/delete-account), we delete your name, email, password, semester, cloud files, sessions, devices, payout details, delivery addresses, AI papers and class and room memberships. Your marketplace listings leave the shelf.
- We keep what the law and our accounts require — the credit ledger, payments, marketplace sales and payouts — but attached to an account that no longer says who you are. Answers you posted in Circle stay for the people who rely on them, shown as “Deleted account”.
- Nightly backups are kept for 14 days, so deleted data leaves the backups within about two weeks.
8. Your rights
Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 you can:
- Access your data — You → Your data → Download a copy, or ask us.
- Correct it — edit your profile in the app, or ask us.
- Erase it — delete your account in the app, or ask us.
- Withdraw consent for optional things like notifications, any time, in the app.
- Raise a grievance and, if you are not satisfied, complain to the Data Protection Board of India.
- Nominate someone to exercise these rights for you in case of death or incapacity.
Write to support@joinbackbench.com — see the contact page for our grievance officer.
9. Security
Passwords are hashed on the server, connections are encrypted (HTTPS), payments are verified with Razorpay or Google Play before they count, files have no public links, and staff panels need a second unlock with two-step sign-in. No system is perfectly secure; if something goes wrong that affects your data, we will tell you and the authorities as the law requires.
10. Under 18
Backbench is built for college students. If you are under 18, please use it with your parent’s or guardian’s consent. If you believe a child is using Backbench without it, write to us and we will help.
11. Changes
If we change this policy in a way that matters, we will tell you in the app before it applies.