Privacy Policy

The Samvardhana Neurologically Diverse Minds Foundation (SOUND) operates its infrastructure in full compliance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and the Information Technology Act, 2000. We collect only data voluntarily provided by users and strictly necessary for platform operation, donation processing, and legal compliance. Storage is limited to periods required under Indian tax laws, security protocols, or statutory obligations. No foreign funding is accepted or processed in any form due to the absence of FCRA registration.

The platform does not collect, store, or process any protected health information, clinical histories, diagnostic details, or therapeutic narratives. Any such data transmitted by users is automatically rejected. We collect only: • Technical data (IP address, browser type, device information) for security and rate-limiting; • Donor information (name, email, phone, payment details and PAN, as mandated for 80G certificates), processed through our payment processor, Cashfree; • Volunteer information (name, email, date of birth, authentication credentials, roles, call notes and check records, and activity logs — sign-up needs an invite code from us); • Invite requests (name, email, WhatsApp number if given, college or workplace, hours available, and why you want to volunteer if you tell us), if you ask us for a volunteer invite code; • Professional profile information (name, category, geography, contact details and practice information; a phone number confirmed with a one-time code sent by WhatsApp or text message through our verification vendor, MSG91); • WhatsApp messages to a professional about finishing their profile and when it goes live, sent only if they have ticked the opt-in box for this, through MSG91; • Story submissions made anonymously where legal name is not required; • Anonymous directory feedback you choose to give — whether you reached a listed professional, a private review of them, or a note about the platform (see section 9); • Self-screening answers, which stay on your own device and are never sent to us or stored by us; • An email address and city, if you ask to be notified when SOUND opens in a new city, added to our mailing list (Mailchimp) tagged with that city; • Publicly available directory information for professionals' profiles, sourced from Google Maps/Places. This policy protects the Foundation, its Directors, employees and volunteers from any PHI-related compliance burden.

All narratives, stories, community postings or other user-generated content submitted to the platform are processed without any representation or warranty by the Foundation as to accuracy, medical validity or fact. The Foundation claims full safe-harbour protection under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000. The Foundation, its Directors, employees and volunteers shall bear no liability for any content uploaded by users. Content is not moderated except pursuant to a valid judicial order from a competent Indian court.

We use collected information solely to: (a) operate and maintain the directory and platform; (b) process donations and issue 80G receipts; (c) manage volunteer coordination, training and platform security — a volunteer can see a profile's phone number only while that profile is part of their current work, and their calls are logged against that profile; (d) communicate with you regarding your interaction with the platform, including WhatsApp reminders to a professional who has opted in, and a notify-me email if you asked to hear about a new city; and (e) check directory profiles and improve the platform using anonymous feedback. We do not sell, rent, share for commercial gain, or otherwise exploit any personal data.

We share personal data only when strictly required: (a) with relevant financial intermediaries solely for transaction processing; (b) pursuant to a valid court order, legal requirement, or direction from a competent Indian authority; or (c) to protect the legal rights and interests of the Foundation, its Directors, employees or volunteers. We use trusted services to run the platform: Google (Firebase) for storage and sign-in, Vercel for hosting, Cashfree for payments, MSG91 for WhatsApp messages, and Mailchimp for the notify-me emails. Your data is stored in India where we can choose, and these services handle it only on our instructions. We never sell your data.

We implement reasonable security measures consistent with industry standards for Indian non-profits. The Foundation, its Directors, employees and volunteers shall not be liable for any data breach caused by circumstances beyond our reasonable control, including cyber-attacks, third-party service provider failures or acts of God.

You may request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal data by writing to hello@sound.ngo. Requests are subject to legal retention requirements (including tax and donation records). We respond within 7–14 working days. The Foundation reserves all rights to reject or limit requests that would expose it, its Directors, employees or volunteers to legal risk or operational burden.

We use only essential functional cookies: for authentication and session management, and, while our self-screening quizzes are in private preview, one cookie that remembers you have entered the preview password (kept 30 days, holding no personal data). If you say yes to the visit-counting question, Google Analytics also sets cookies that count visits and pages, without names or contact details, with advertising features switched off; if you say no, none are set. When a gift goes through, our server also tells Google Analytics the amount and whether it was monthly, with no name, email or other details of the donor, whether or not you accepted visit counting. No advertising cookies are used. You can change your mind by clearing the site data in your browser. Directory follow-ups use your browser's local storage, not cookies (see section 9).

When you use a profile's contact button (call, WhatsApp, email or copy), your browser remembers which profile you contacted and when, so the platform can later ask whether you got through. This memory is kept in your browser's local storage on your own device. It is not a cookie, it is not sent to us, and you can clear it at any time using the button below. If you choose to answer — whether you reached the professional, a private review of them, or feedback about the platform — we receive only your answer, the profile or page it concerns, and a one-way code that lets a repeat answer replace an earlier one without identifying you. We do not ask for, and do not store, your name or IP address with these answers. Contact details typed into a note are removed before it is stored; please do not include names or health information. The one exception is optional: if you give a "not good" answer or tell us something worried you, you may leave a phone number or email and tick a box so we can reply. We use it only to reply about that answer, never share it with the professional, and delete it after 90 days. Answers are read only by the SOUND team, are never published, and are used to check profiles and improve the directory. We also count, without identifying anyone, how often each profile's contact buttons are used. Answers are deleted automatically after 24 months.

We keep personal data only as long as we need it for the purposes in this Policy, or as long as Indian law requires. Donation and 80G receipt records: 8 years from the end of the financial year, as the Income Tax Act and Companies Act require. Professional profiles and their claim records: while the profile is on SOUND, and deleted within 30 days of a removal request (a short note of the request itself is kept). WhatsApp reminder consent: until you opt out, and the record of your consent for 3 years after that. Volunteer accounts, call notes and profile checks: while you volunteer, and 3 years after your last activity. Invite requests: 1 year if no invite is sent. Check-ins and private reviews: 2 years. City notify-me emails: until you unsubscribe. Stories and feedback: until you ask us to remove them. Self-screening answers never reach our servers.

We may update this Privacy Policy at any time. Continued use of the platform after any update constitutes acceptance of the revised Policy. The Foundation, its Directors, employees and volunteers shall not be liable for any consequences arising from such updates.

Grievance Officer: hello@sound.ngo