Mere Vakil

Mere Vakil ("we", "us", "our", or "Company") is committed to protecting the privacy of our users ("User", "Citizen", or "Advocate"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, process, store, use, and protect your personal data in connection with the Mere Vakil website and mobile application (collectively, the "Platform").

By accessing or using our Platform, you explicitly consent to the collection, storage, and processing of your personal data as described in this Privacy Policy. This policy has been drafted in strict compliance with the Information Technology Act, 2000, the IT (SPDI) Rules, 2011, and the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023 of India.

1. Data Principles & Individuals Covered

This Privacy Policy applies to:

• Citizens (Users): Individuals seeking legal information, documentation, and consulting independent legal practitioners.
• Advocates (Legal Practitioners): Independent licensed advocates, retired judges, or consultants listed on our platform directory.

2. Data We Collect

We only collect personal data that is strictly necessary for the performance and delivery of our technology intermediary services.

A. Information Provided by Citizens

• Authentication Data: Phone Number (Primary identifier for secure login).
• Profile Data: Full Name, preferred language (English, Hindi, or regional languages).
• Location Data: State, District, Tehsil, and Police Station (user-selected only — we do not track continuous background GPS coordinates).
• Case Information: Fact descriptions, incident dates, or legal documents uploaded during interactive screening wizards.
• Payment Details: We do not store card numbers, CVVs, or UPI PINs. All billing is processed by our PCI-DSS compliant partner, Razorpay. We only receive transaction metadata (transaction ID, amount, payment status).

B. Information Provided by Advocates

• Identity & Professional Data: Full Name, Phone Number, Email, and Location of practice.
• Regulatory Credentials: State Bar Council Enrollment Number and digital scans of your Bar Council ID or Certificate of Practice.
• Financial Data: Bank Account details (Account Number, IFSC, or UPI ID) solely to process weekly payouts of earned consultation fees.

C. Ephemeral Communication Data

3. How We Use Your Data

• Authenticate your identity and secure your account.
• Route and display local legal practitioners relevant to your selected district and police station.
• Generate printable legal draft documents based on your inputs in our automated wizards.
• Securely escrow, release, and audit transaction fees between Citizens and Advocates via Razorpay.
• Prevent fraud, platform bypass, or malicious access to our database.
• Send transaction-related alerts (SMS, WhatsApp, and push notifications) via Firebase Cloud Messaging.

4. Data Sharing & Third-Party Disclosures

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data with any third-party marketing companies. Your data is shared strictly in the following scenarios:

• Between Citizen and Advocate: When a consultation is booked and paid for, your name, location, and legal summary are shared with the matched Advocate.
• Razorpay Software Private Limited: To execute secure payment gateway processing.
• Google Firebase Cloud Messaging: To route push alerts and consultation notices to your device.
• Legal & Government Obligations: We may disclose personal data to law enforcement only when legally mandated by a valid warrant, subpoena, or administrative order under Section 69 of the IT Act, 2000.

5. Data Security & Retention

• Encryption in Transit: All data is encrypted using SSL/TLS 1.3 between the App/Site and our FastAPI backend.
• Database Security: Hosted on secure cloud environments utilizing PostgreSQL Row-Level Security (RLS).
• Retention: General user account data is retained only while your account is active. Accounts inactive for more than 24 consecutive months, or subject to a deletion request, will have their data permanently deleted or anonymized.

6. Your Rights as a Data Principal

Under the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023, you hold the following rights:

• Right to Access: Request a summary of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to Correction & Erasure: Update inaccurate profile information in-App or request complete account deletion.
• Right to Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent by closing your account and ceasing use of the Platform.

To exercise any of these rights, contact our Grievance Officer at support@merevakil.in.

7. Contact Us

For any privacy-related queries or concerns, please reach out to us at:

• Email: support@merevakil.in
• Website: https://merevakil.in