Privacy Policy for eRural

Last Updated: September 9, 2025

1. Introduction

Welcome to eRural ("we," "our," "us"). We are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our mobile application (the "App"). Please read this policy carefully. If you do not agree with the terms of this privacy policy, please do not access the application.

⭐ Important Disclaimer: No Government Affiliation ⭐

eRural is an independent, private application. It is NOT affiliated with, authorized, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with the Government of India, or any of its agencies or subsidiaries. The app is designed to provide easy access to publicly available information from official government sources for the convenience of users, but it does not represent any government entity.

2. Information We Collect

We may collect information about you in a variety of ways. The information we may collect via the App includes:

Personal Data

Contact Information: Your mobile phone number is collected for the sole purpose of user authentication, account verification, and security (e.g., via OTP).
Profile Information: Personally identifiable information, such as your name, profile picture, and your selected State, District, and Village, which you voluntarily give to us when creating your profile.

User-Generated Content

We collect content you create, upload, or post within the App. This includes posts, comments, photos, videos, marketplace listings, and any other information you choose to share with the community.

Device and Usage Data

Device Information: We may collect device identifiers, such as the Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) token, to send you push notifications for important updates, news, and alerts relevant to your village.
Usage Data: We automatically collect information on how the App is accessed and used. This may include information such as your device's IP address, device type, operating system version, and the pages of our App that you visit.

3. How We Use Your Information

Having accurate information about you permits us to provide you with a smooth, efficient, and customized experience. Specifically, we use information collected via the App to:

Create and manage your account and profile.
Deliver village-specific and personalized content, such as local news, Panchayat updates, job postings, and agricultural advisories.
Enable user-to-user communications and interactions within the community marketplace and feed.
Send you push notifications regarding activity on your account or important community alerts.
Monitor and analyze usage and trends to improve your experience with the App.
Maintain the security and integrity of our platform and prevent fraudulent activity.
Respond to your requests and provide user support.

4. Disclosure of Your Information

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal identification information to others. We may share information we have collected about you in certain situations:

With Third-Party Service Providers: We may share your information with trusted third parties that perform services for us or on our behalf, including data storage (Google Firebase), authentication services (Google Firebase), and push notifications (Google Firebase). These third parties are obligated to protect your data.
By Law or to Protect Rights: If we believe the release of information about you is necessary to respond to legal process, to investigate or remedy potential violations of our policies, or to protect the rights, property, and safety of others, we may share your information as permitted or required by any applicable law.

5. Sources of Public Information

For features related to government services and public information, eRural acts as an aggregator. We compile information from official, publicly accessible sources to make it easily available to our users. We do not create, alter, or claim ownership of this information. Our primary sources include:

Government Schemes & News: Information is sourced from public RSS feeds provided by the National Portal of India (https://www.india.gov.in/).
Village and Panchayat Directory Data: Information regarding local government body names and hierarchies is sourced from the Local Government Directory (https://lgdirectory.gov.in/).

We strive to provide source links within the App where applicable so that users can verify the information independently.

6. Data Security, Retention, and Your Rights

Security of Your Information

We use administrative, technical, and physical security measures to help protect your personal information. While we have taken reasonable steps to secure the personal information you provide to us, please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable.

Data Retention

We will retain your personal information only for as long as your account remains active or as needed to provide you with services and comply with our legal obligations.

Your Rights and Data Control

You have the right to access, update, or correct your personal information at any time through the profile settings in the App. You may also request the permanent deletion of your account and all associated data by contacting us directly.

7. Policy for Children

We do not knowingly solicit information from or market to children under the age of 13. If you become aware of any data we have collected from children under age 13, please contact us using the contact information provided below.

8. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by updating the "Last Updated" date of this Privacy Policy. You are encouraged to periodically review this Privacy Policy to stay informed of updates.

9. Contact Us

If you have questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:

villagconnect@gmail.com