Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Welcome to OpenContribute. We are committed to protecting your personal information and your right to privacy. OpenContribute is a platform that connects volunteers with meaningful opportunities at non-profit organizations (NGOs) and social enterprises across India and globally.

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and what rights you have in relation to it. If you have any questions or concerns about this policy or our practices with regards to your personal information, please contact us at support@opencontribute.org.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide to Us

For Volunteers:

• Account Information: Name, email address, phone number, password
• Profile Information: Date of birth, gender, address, city, state, country, postal code, profile picture, bio, occupation
• Skills & Interests: Skills, languages, areas of interest, availability preferences
• Social Links: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube profiles (optional)
• Emergency Contact: Emergency contact name, phone number, and relation
• Education & Experience: Education history and volunteer experience

For Organizations (NGOs):

• Organization Details: Organization name, type, registration number, founded/established year
• Contact Information: Contact person details (name, email, phone), address, city, state, country
• Visual Content: Logo, cover images, verification documents
• Description: Organization description, mission, vision, tagline
• Online Presence: Website and social media links
• Donation Details: Bank account information (account holder name, account number, IFSC code, bank name, branch name), UPI ID, UPI QR code (only if accepting donations)
• Location: Geographic coordinates (latitude/longitude) for map features

Activity & Engagement Data:

• Applications: Volunteer applications and their status
• Communications: Messages sent and received through the platform
• Social Activity: Posts, comments, likes, follows, and engagement metrics
• Work Showcases: Project presentations, achievements, and portfolios
• Problem Statements & Solutions: Problems posted and solutions proposed
• Reviews & Ratings: Reviews given and received, ratings, helpful votes
• Badges & Certificates: Badges earned, certificates issued, progress tracking
• Events & Tasks: Event registrations, attendance status, quick task signups, completion status
• Volunteer Logs: Hours worked, tasks performed, feedback, verification status
• Reports: Reports submitted about content or users (for moderation purposes)

2.2 Information Automatically Collected

• Usage Data: Page views, user sessions, browsing behavior, referral sources
• Device Information: Browser type, operating system, IP address, device identifiers
• Location Data: City, state, country (from IP address or user-provided)
• Cookies & Tracking: Session cookies, analytics cookies, preference cookies (see Section 6 for details)

2.3 Information from Third Parties

• Social Login: If you sign up using Google OAuth, we receive your name, email address, and profile picture from Google
• Map Data: Location information from Google Maps API when you interact with map features

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your information for the following purposes:

Platform Functionality:

• To create and manage your account
• To match volunteers with appropriate opportunities, events, and quick tasks
• To facilitate communication between volunteers and organizations
• To display your profile to relevant users (volunteers see NGO profiles, NGOs see volunteer applicants)
• To process applications, registrations, and task signups

Social Features:

• To enable social feed interactions (posts, comments, likes, follows)
• To showcase volunteer work, achievements, and problem-solving activities
• To facilitate reviews and ratings between volunteers and organizations
• To award badges and issue certificates for volunteer contributions

Communications:

• To send transactional emails (account verification, application updates, messages, badges earned)
• To notify you about important platform updates or changes to our policies
• To respond to your inquiries and provide customer support

Analytics & Improvement:

• To analyze platform usage and improve our services
• To understand user behavior and preferences
• To generate internal analytics and insights (aggregated data)
• To track NGO profile views, post engagement, and platform performance
• To monitor and improve the recommendation system

Security & Compliance:

• To verify user identity and prevent fraud
• To moderate content and enforce our terms of service
• To process reports of inappropriate content or behavior
• To comply with legal obligations and resolve disputes

4. How We Share Your Information

Information Shared on the Platform:

• Public Profiles: Your profile information is visible to other users on the platform
• Applications: When you apply for opportunities, your profile is shared with the relevant organization
• Social Content: Posts, comments, work showcases, and achievements you share publicly are visible to all users (unless set to "followers only")
• Reviews & Ratings: Reviews and ratings you post are publicly visible on organization profiles
• Badges & Certificates: Badges and certificates on your profile are visible to others; certificates can be verified using unique verification codes
• Follow Relationships: Your followers and following lists are visible to other users

Service Providers:

• Cloud Storage: AWS S3 (optional) - stores uploaded images and files
• Email Service: SMTP providers (Gmail or custom SMTP server) - sends transactional emails
• Analytics: Google Analytics (only if you consent via cookie banner) - analyzes platform usage
• Maps: Google Maps API - provides location and mapping features
• Authentication: Google OAuth - enables social login (optional)

Legal Requirements:

We may disclose your information if required by law or in response to valid legal requests from authorities.

5. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services:

6. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files stored on your device that help us provide you with a better experience on our platform.

Types of Cookies We Use:

Managing Cookie Preferences:

You can manage your cookie preferences at any time by clicking the "Cookie Settings" link in the footer of our website. You can also control cookies through your browser settings.

7. Data Security

We take the security of your data seriously and implement various measures to protect it:

Security Measures:

• Encryption: HTTPS/SSL encryption for data transmission (in production)
• Password Security: Passwords are hashed using industry-standard PBKDF2 algorithm
• Secure Sessions: Secure session cookies with CSRF protection
• Access Controls: Limited access to personal data; role-based permissions
• Content Moderation: Approval system for user-generated content to prevent abuse
• Reporting System: Users can report inappropriate content or behavior
• Email Verification: Email verification system to confirm user identity
• Rate Limiting: Protection against automated attacks and data scraping

8. Your Rights and Choices

You have the following rights regarding your personal information:

Right to Access and Data Portability:

• You can download all your data in machine-readable JSON format from your profile settings
• Data export includes: profile, applications, certificates, messages, social activity, reviews, badges, and more
• Rate limit: Once per 24 hours

Right to Deletion:

• You can delete your account at any time from your profile settings
• Account deletion is permanent and cannot be undone
• Some information may be retained for legal compliance or legitimate business purposes

Right to Correction:

• You can update your profile information at any time from your account settings

Content Visibility Control:

• You can set post visibility to "public" or "followers only"
• You can control who sees your work showcases and achievements

Right to Opt-Out:

• You can manage email notification preferences in your account settings
• You can opt out of analytics cookies via the cookie consent banner

Right to Object and Restrict:

• Contact us at support@opencontribute.org to object to certain data processing or request restrictions

9. Data Retention

Retention Policy:

• Active Accounts: We retain your data as long as your account is active
• Inactive Accounts: Accounts inactive for 5 years (1825 days) may be automatically deleted
• Warning Period: You will receive a warning email 30 days before deletion
• Exemptions: Superuser and staff accounts are exempt from automatic deletion
• Legal Requirements: Some data may be retained longer for legal compliance, dispute resolution, or fraud prevention

After Account Deletion:

• Your personal data will be permanently deleted from our systems
• Some anonymized or aggregated data may be retained for analytics purposes
• Public content (like reviews) may remain visible but will be anonymized
• Backup copies may exist temporarily but will be overwritten per our backup schedule

10. Children's Privacy

While we do not currently enforce a strict age verification system, we are committed to protecting children's privacy. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 without parental consent.

If we become aware that a child under 13 has provided us with personal information without parental consent, we will take steps to delete such information. If you believe we might have information from or about a child under 13, please contact us at support@opencontribute.org.

11. International Data Transfers

OpenContribute is based in India (Noida, Uttar Pradesh), but our platform is accessible globally. Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your country of residence.

Data Storage Locations:

• Database: Hosted on servers that may be located in India or other jurisdictions
• Media Files: If AWS S3 storage is enabled, files are stored in the US East (N. Virginia) region by default
• Third-Party Services: Google Analytics, Google OAuth, and Google Maps may process data in various locations per Google's infrastructure

We ensure that adequate safeguards are in place when transferring data internationally, in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. When we make changes, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy.

If we make material changes to this policy, we will notify you by:

• Posting a prominent notice on our platform
• Sending an email notification to your registered email address
• Requiring you to accept the new policy before continuing to use certain features

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your information.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:

We will respond to your inquiry within a reasonable timeframe, typically within 30 days.