Privacy Policy

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Personal Information

When you create an account, we may collect:

• Email address — used for account authentication and communication
• Display name / username — used for community identification
• Profile picture — provided via Google OAuth or uploaded directly
• Authentication data — managed securely through Supabase Auth

2.2 Usage Data

We automatically collect certain information when you use the Service:

• Pages visited and features used
• Questions viewed, bookmarked, or liked
• Practice exam attempts, scores, and performance data
• Gamification data (points, streaks, achievements, levels)
• Practice mode mastery progress
• Device type, browser type, and operating system
• IP address and approximate location (country/region)

2.3 User-Generated Content

Content you voluntarily submit, including interview questions, interview experiences, comments, and feedback. Please review our Terms & Conditions regarding content licensing and sensitive data warnings.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information to:

• Provide and maintain the Service — authenticate users, display content, track progress
• Personalize your experience — show relevant questions, track mastery levels, maintain bookmarks
• Operate gamification features — calculate points, levels, streaks, achievements, and leaderboard rankings
• Moderate content — review submitted questions and interview experiences for quality
• Improve the Service — analyze usage patterns to enhance features and fix issues
• Communicate with you — send notifications about account activity, content approvals, or platform updates
• Display advertisements — serve relevant ads through Google AdSense (see Section 5)
• Ensure security — detect and prevent fraud, abuse, or unauthorized access

4. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services that may collect information about you:

5. Cookies and Advertising

5.1 Cookies We Use

We use the following types of cookies:

• Essential cookies — required for authentication and basic functionality (e.g., session tokens)
• Preference cookies — store your settings like theme, cookie consent, and display preferences
• Analytics cookies — help us understand how visitors interact with the Service
• Advertising cookies — used by Google AdSense to display personalized ads

5.2 Google AdSense

We use Google AdSense to serve advertisements on our platform. Google AdSense uses cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to our website or other websites on the Internet.

• Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads based on your visit to our site and/or other sites on the Internet
• You may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings
• You may opt out of third-party vendor cookies by visiting aboutads.info

5.3 Managing Cookies

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling essential cookies may affect your ability to use certain features of the Service. We provide a cookie consent banner that allows you to accept or decline non-essential cookies.

6. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information:

• All data is transmitted over HTTPS (TLS encryption)
• Database access is protected by Row Level Security (RLS) policies
• Passwords are hashed and never stored in plain text
• Authentication tokens are securely managed by Supabase Auth
• Admin operations require server-side role verification

While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

7. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you with the Service. Specifically:

• Account data — retained until you delete your account
• User-generated content — retained as described in our Terms (content license survives account deletion)
• Usage analytics — aggregated and anonymized after 12 months
• Practice exam results — retained until you delete your account
• Gamification data — retained until you delete your account

8. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Correction — request correction of inaccurate personal data
• Deletion — request deletion of your personal data (subject to legal obligations)
• Portability — request a machine-readable copy of your data
• Objection — object to processing of your personal data for certain purposes
• Withdraw consent — withdraw consent for data processing where consent is the legal basis

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at contact@appianverse.com. We will respond to your request within 30 days.

9. Children's Privacy

The Service is not intended for use by individuals under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under 13, we will take steps to delete such information promptly. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us at contact@appianverse.com.

10. Notifications and Communications

We may send you notifications related to:

• Content approval/rejection status for your submissions
• Replies to your comments or questions
• Achievement unlocks and gamification milestones
• Platform updates and new features

In-app notifications are managed through the Service. You can manage your notification preferences from your profile settings.

11. Account Deletion

You may request account deletion at any time by contacting us at contact@appianverse.com. Upon account deletion:

• Your profile information, bookmarks, and progress data will be permanently deleted
• Your submitted content (questions, interviews, comments) may be retained in anonymized form as described in our Terms
• Gamification data (points, levels, achievements) will be removed
• Practice exam history and results will be deleted

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.