Privacy Policy

Last Updated: October 2026

Effective Date: Immediate upon user access or interaction on gradvol.com

1. Overview & Commitment

Gradvol (“Platform”, “We”, “Us”, “Our”) operates as an independent higher-education discovery, academic counseling, and admissions advisory platform. We are committed to protecting the privacy, confidentiality, and integrity of the personal and academic data shared by prospective learners, applicants, and platform visitors (“User”, “You”, “Data Principal”).

This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, process, store, disclose, and protect your digital personal data under the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act and applicable Indian information technology regulations.

2. Categories of Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the personal information strictly necessary to assess your educational eligibility, deliver academic counseling, and assist with authorized university application procedures:

1. Identity & Contact Details: Full legal name, email address, mobile number, WhatsApp contact details, residential address, city, and state of residence.
2. Academic & Qualification Data: Highest completed degree/diploma, graduation stream, passing year, aggregate marks/percentages, institution names, and academic certificates/marksheets submitted for eligibility pre-screening.
3. Professional Background: Current employment status, work experience, industry domain, and career goals (relevant for executive postgraduate programs like Online MCA or Online MBA).
4. Technical & Telemetry Data: IP address, browser type, device identifiers, and anonymized browsing behavior collected via functional cookies to optimize site performance.

Note on Financial Data: Gradvol does not collect, store, or process your credit/debit card numbers, UPI PINs, or net banking credentials. All tuition fees and semester installments are transacted directly on the designated partner university’s secure payment gateways or through verified institutional EMI partners.

3. Purpose & Legal Basis for Processing

We process your digital personal data under the lawful grounds of explicit, informed consent provided when you submit an inquiry form or contact our admissions desk:

Purpose of Processing	How It Is Used
Academic Counseling & Advisory	Evaluating your profile against UGC-DEB entitled program eligibility criteria and answering your course questions via Phone, WhatsApp, or Email.
University Application Processing	Assisting you in submitting documentation directly to your selected partner university’s registrar portal upon your request.
Fee & Financing Guidance	Explaining institutional fee schedules, semester breakdown plans, and no-cost EMI structures.
Regulatory & Operational Compliance	Fulfilling statutory requirements, fraud prevention, and maintaining verifiable digital consent records.

4. Zero-Data-Broking Commitment & Data Sharing

We do not sell, rent, lease, or trade your personal or academic data to third-party data aggregators, commercial brokers, or advertising networks under any circumstances.

Your data is shared strictly under the following operational conditions:

1. Designated Partner Universities: When you choose to apply for an academic program, your contact and qualification records are securely transmitted directly to the admissions department of that specific accredited university for enrollment verification.
2. Authorized Service Infrastructure: We share necessary operational data with verified technology processors under strict confidentiality contracts—such as enterprise CRM systems, secure transactional messaging infrastructure (WhatsApp Business Cloud), and web hosting providers.
3. Legal & Lawful Obligations: We may disclose personal data if mandated by statutory law enforcement authorities, court orders, or governmental bodies under Indian legal jurisdiction.

5. Consent, WhatsApp Communication & DND Override

By submitting your contact information on gradvol.com or interacting with our automated WhatsApp desk:

• You grant affirmative, unambiguous consent to receive educational counseling calls, transactional SMS updates, email brochures, and WhatsApp notifications regarding your degree inquiry.
• You acknowledge that this consent overrides any registration on the National Do Not Call (NDNC) or National Customer Preference Register (NCPR) under Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR).
• Withdrawal of Consent: You retain the right to revoke communication consent at any time by replying “STOP” on WhatsApp or emailing support@gradvol.com. Upon receiving your request, marketing and counseling outreach will cease within 48 hours.

6. Data Retention & Erasure Policy

In alignment with data minimization principles, Gradvol does not retain personal records longer than necessary:

• Prospective Inquiries: Records of general counseling inquiries that do not result in university application are archived and securely purged after 12 months from the date of initial interaction.
• Enrolled Candidates: For candidates who successfully enroll in a university through our advisory support, basic transactional records are retained for statutory audit and accreditation support for the duration of the degree cycle.
• Right to Erasure: You may request the premature deletion of your personal data from our internal counseling databases by contacting our Grievance Desk, subject to legitimate statutory compliance requirements.

7. Technical Data Security Measures

We deploy robust administrative, organizational, and technical safeguards to protect your personal data against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or accidental destruction:

• Encryption in Transit: All traffic across gradvol.com is secured via 256-bit Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) / Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption.
• Restricted Access Controls: Access to student contact details and uploaded academic marksheets is strictly role-gated and restricted exclusively to verified academic counselors.
• No Local Device Storage: Counselor communication workflows operate within centralized CRM infrastructure rather than unencrypted local storage.

8. Protection of Minors

Our services are primarily directed at adult learners, graduates, and working professionals (aged 18 and older). If a prospective undergraduate applicant is under 18 years of age, personal details and academic records must be submitted with verifiable parental or legal guardian consent in accordance with Section 9 of the DPDP Act.

9. Your Rights as a Data Principal

Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, you possess clear statutory rights:

1. Right to Access & Summary: You can request a summary of the personal information we hold about you and the processing activities undertaken.
2. Right to Correction & Updating: You may request corrections to any inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated personal or academic records.
3. Right to Grievance Redressal: You have the right to register complaints regarding data handling and receive prompt remediation.
4. Right to Nominate: You may nominate an authorized individual to exercise your data rights in the event of incapacity or death.

10. Grievance Redressal Officer

In compliance with the DPDP Act and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, Gradvol maintains a dedicated Data Protection & Grievance Desk:

• Platform: Gradvol Admissions & Educational Advisory
• Grievance Officer: Admissions Compliance Lead
• Dedicated Redressal Email: support@gradvol.com
• Resolution Timeline: Grievance submissions are acknowledged within 48 hours and investigated/resolved within statutory timelines (not exceeding 30 calendar days).

11. Policy Updates

We reserve the right to amend this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect technological advancements, operational changes, or amendments in statutory data protection laws. The latest revision will always be accessible via this page with the updated date clearly visible.