Privacy Policy

Social Counselling ("Social Counselling", "we", "us" or "our") respects the privacy of individuals who visit our website, enquire about our services, book our services, participate in our services, or otherwise interact with us.

This Privacy Policy explains how Social Counselling collects, uses, stores, protects, retains and, where necessary, shares personal information in connection with:

This Privacy Policy is intended to be read together with the Client Terms & Conditions and the applicable Client Consent & Acknowledgement provided during the booking process.

Social Counselling will handle personal information in accordance with applicable laws and regulations governing the protection of personal data.

This Privacy Policy applies, as relevant, to:

For the purposes of Social Counselling's service model:

Client: The Client is generally the person who approaches Social Counselling, completes the booking process and makes the applicable payment for the service.

Counselee: The Counselee is the person for whom Social Counselling is sought and who participates in the Social Counselling process.

The Client and Counselee may be the same person or may be different persons.

We collect personal information that is reasonably required for providing, administering and managing our services and for meeting applicable legal and operational requirements.

For the purposes of compliance under the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023, Social Counselling operates strictly as a Data Fiduciary, controlling the processing of digital personal data. The Clients and Counselees interacting with this platform are recognized as Data Principals, holding absolute statutory rights over their personal data.

Depending upon the nature of the service and interaction, this may include the following.

We may collect:

Where the Counselee is different from the Client, we may collect:

During the booking process, the Client may be given an opportunity to provide background information relevant to the proposed counselling.

Providing such information is optional but strongly recommended, as it may enable the Social Counsellor to understand the circumstances better and prepare appropriately for the counselling session.

Clients should exercise reasonable discretion and should avoid providing information that is not relevant to the service.

A Client or Counselee may voluntarily share additional personal, family, social, educational, relationship or other contextual information during a Social Counselling or Empathetic Listening session.

Social Counselling recognises that such information may be personal or sensitive in nature.

Social Counselling may use personal information for purposes including:

We will not use personal information for purposes materially unrelated to the purpose for which it was collected unless permitted or required by applicable law.

Social Counselling recognises that information shared during a counselling interaction may be personal, private and sensitive in nature.

Social Counsellors are expected to handle such information with appropriate confidentiality, dignity, discretion and professionalism, subject to:

Privacy of personal information and confidentiality of counselling conversations are related but distinct obligations.

Social Counselling will take reasonable measures to protect information provided in connection with its services.

Social Counselling sessions and Empathetic Listening sessions will not be audio or video recorded by Social Counselling.

Social Counselling does not ordinarily create or maintain audio or video recordings of counselling or empathetic listening sessions.

Social Counsellors and Empathetic Listeners are expected not to independently record any session using personal devices, applications or other means, except where expressly authorised by Social Counselling and where all legally required permissions and consents have been obtained.

The detailed obligations applicable to Social Counsellors and Empathetic Listeners will also be addressed through their respective agreements and internal operating guidelines.

Where a Client selects a Social Counsellor or Empathetic Listener, Social Counselling may provide that person with information reasonably necessary for providing the selected service.

For Social Counselling, this may include relevant information provided by the Client during the booking process, including background information voluntarily provided before the session.

Social Counsellors and Empathetic Listeners are expected to use such information only for purposes connected with the relevant service and to maintain appropriate confidentiality.

Social Counselling allows Clients to review available Social Counsellor profiles and select a Counsellor based on information displayed on the website, which may include:

Such information is intended to assist Clients in making an informed selection.

A stated area of specialisation should not be interpreted as a statutory licence, professional qualification, certification or regulated professional designation unless expressly stated as such. Client may still go ahead and select a particular Counsellor for a particular service, even if it is not stated as Counsellor’s specialization.

Our platform calculates the age profiles of Client as well as Counselee basis the DOB provided by the Client. The booking cannot be done by anyone under the age of 18 years.

Please refer the booking process given in Appendix A.

If anyhow a person (whether adult or minor) fraudulently misrepresents information, the booking will be summarily cancelled without a refund.

Payments for Social Counselling and Empathetic Listening services may be processed through third-party payment gateway or payment service providers.

Social Counselling may receive transaction-related information necessary to confirm and administer a payment, issue an invoice or receipt and maintain appropriate transaction records.

Payment credentials such as card details, banking credentials or other sensitive payment information may be collected and processed directly by the relevant payment service provider in accordance with its own terms and privacy practices.

Social Counselling does not intend to retain payment-card credentials unless specifically required and lawfully permitted.

Social Counselling's website and service-delivery process may use third-party technology and service providers to facilitate website functionality, analytics, communication, scheduling, video conferencing and payments.

The technology currently intended to be used includes:

The actual technology stack may change from time to time.

Where third-party service providers process personal information on behalf of or in connection with Social Counselling, Social Counselling will seek to ensure that appropriate contractual, technical or organisational safeguards are applied, as required by applicable law.

Clients should also review the privacy policies and applicable terms of third-party service providers where relevant.

The Social Counselling website may use cookies, pixels, analytics tools and similar technologies to:

Social Counselling may use Google Analytics and Meta Pixel for these purposes.

Social Counselling does not currently intend to use Google reCAPTCHA.

The specific cookies, pixels and technologies used by the website may change as the website develops.

Where applicable, users may be able to manage certain cookie or tracking preferences through their browser, device or available website controls.

Social Counselling may communicate with Clients through:

Such communications may relate to:

Service-related communications will be distinguished from promotional or marketing communications where required by applicable law.

Social Counselling will take reasonable technical and organisational measures appropriate to the nature of the personal information handled by it to protect personal information against:

However, no website, electronic communication system or data-storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Clients and Counselees should therefore exercise reasonable care when submitting personal information through online or electronic channels.

Social Counselling splits its data retention lifecycle into two strict pathways to balance user privacy with statutory Indian laws:

1. Counselling-Related Footprints: All informal physical session notes are treated as temporary consultation inputs and are permanently destroyed within 7 days following the completion of the relevant counselling engagement.

2. Financial and Tax Records: In accordance with the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961, and GST laws of India, basic transactional personal data (Client Name, Email Address, Phone Number, Invoice Number, and Payment Status) processed through Cashfree (or any applicable payment gateway) will be securely retained for a minimum mandatory period of 8 financial years. This data is isolated and used solely for lawful tax audits and accounting.

Social Counsellors may maintain limited physical working notes on paper note books / note pads solely to maintain continuity of service during active counselling sessions. Such notes are handled with absolute confidentiality and stored under physical locking safeguards. As a core privacy policy, all physical paper notes are permanently destroyed within 7 days of the final session's conclusion. No digital scanning, photographing, or permanent digital filing of these subjective session notes is permitted.

Social Counselling may use properly anonymised or aggregated information for purposes such as:

Such information will be used in a manner intended not to identify an individual Client or Counselee.

Where Social Counselling proposes to publish an identifiable testimonial, statement, photograph or other personally attributable feedback, appropriate permission or consent will be obtained where required.

Social Counselling does not ordinarily sell or commercially trade personal information of Clients or Counselees.

Personal information may, where reasonably necessary, be shared with or accessed by:

Social Counselling will seek to limit such access or sharing to information reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose.

The Social Counselling website may contain links to or integrations with third-party websites, applications or services.

Social Counselling is not responsible for the privacy practices, security, content or policies of third-party websites or services.

Users are encouraged to review the relevant privacy policies and terms of third-party providers before providing personal information directly to them.

Subject to applicable law, individuals may have rights in relation to their personal information, which may include rights to:

Requests relating to personal information may be submitted using the contact details provided in this Privacy Policy.

Social Counselling may require reasonable information to verify the identity or authority of the person making such a request.

Individuals may also exercise their rights to view, review, or withdraw consent through government-approved, interoperable Consent Managers registered with the Data Protection Board of India (DPBI), as and when these platforms are made accessible to the public via official API integrations.

A Client may request withdrawal of consent and/or deletion or erasure of personal data, as applicable. Social Counselling will assess and process such requests in accordance with applicable law. Where Social Counselling is required or otherwise permitted by law, or has a legitimate and lawful basis, to retain particular information (such as transaction invoices for tax compliance), that information may be retained for the applicable retention period and will not be deleted solely on the basis of such request.

If an individual has a concern regarding the collection, use, handling or protection of their personal information, they may contact Social Counselling using the details provided below.

Social Counselling will endeavour to review and address such grievances in accordance with applicable law and its applicable grievance-redressal process.

Grievance / Privacy Contact: Name: Vikram Srivastava Email: captainvikrams@gmail.com

The identity and contact details of the person responsible for privacy-related grievances may be updated from time to time.

Where Social Counselling becomes aware of a personal-data breach or security incident requiring action or notification under applicable law, Social Counselling will take appropriate steps in accordance with the applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

This may include taking measures to contain and mitigate the incident, assess its impact and provide notifications where legally required (including any necessary time barred reporting to the Data Protection Board of India).

Social Counselling may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect:

The revised Privacy Policy will be published on the Social Counselling website together with an updated "Last Updated" date.

Where applicable law requires specific notice or consent for material changes, Social Counselling will take the appropriate steps.

For questions, requests or concerns relating to this Privacy Policy or the handling of personal information, please contact:

Social Counselling Business / Registered Address: [To be inserted] Email: helpdesk@socialcounselling.co.in

This Privacy Policy shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the applicable laws of India.