Summary: ModernSchools collects and uses personal data solely to deliver school ERP services and official school-to-parent communication via WhatsApp Business API. We never sell or share data for advertising. All messaging requires explicit parental opt-in consent. You can opt out or request data deletion at any time.

1. Who We Are

ModernSchools ("we", "our", "us") is a WhatsApp Business communication platform designed exclusively for schools, educational institutions, and their parent/student communities. Our platform operates under the WhatsApp Business API and is governed by Meta's Business Policy and Terms of Service.

Platform URL: https://modernschools.in
Contact Email: support@modernschools.in
Phone: +91 9391969169
Data Controller: ModernSchools (operated under applicable jurisdiction)

2. Scope of This Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to:

School Administrators who register and use the ModernSchools admin portal
Parents and Guardians who receive WhatsApp messages via their school's ModernSchools account
Students whose data is managed within the platform for attendance, fees, and academic records
Visitors to our website at modernschools.in

3. Data We Collect

3.1 School Administrator Data

Data Type	Purpose	Retention
Name, email address	Account creation and authentication	Duration of account + 90 days
School name, address, phone	School profile and WhatsApp Business setup	Duration of account + 90 days
Payment information	Annual subscription billing (processed by secured payment gateways)	As required by law
Login activity logs	Security and audit trail	12 months

3.2 Parent / Guardian Data

Data Type	Purpose	Retention
Name, WhatsApp phone number	Sending school notifications via WhatsApp	Duration of school enrollment + 30 days
Opt-in consent record (timestamp)	Compliance with WhatsApp Business Policy	Duration of enrollment + 12 months
Message delivery status	Confirming message receipt	90 days
Inbound message text (queries only)	AI assistant response generation	30 days

3.3 Student Data

Data Type	Purpose	Retention
Name, admission number, class/section	Student identification for notifications	Duration of enrollment + 30 days
Attendance records	Generating attendance alerts to parents	Duration of enrollment + 12 months
Fee records	Generating fee reminders to parents	As required by applicable financial law

3.4 Technical / Website Data

IP address (for security and fraud prevention)
Browser type and version
Pages visited and timestamps
Session cookies (for login state)

4. How We Use Your Data

We use personal data only for the following lawful purposes:

School-to-parent communication: Sending attendance alerts, fee reminders, exam notices, school announcements, and emergency notifications via WhatsApp Business API
Two-way query handling: Enabling parents to query attendance, fees, and school information via WhatsApp, with AI-assisted responses
Account management: Creating and managing school administrator accounts
Compliance: Maintaining consent records and audit logs as required by WhatsApp Business Policy, GDPR, and applicable law
Security: Detecting and preventing unauthorized access, fraud, and abuse
Platform improvement: Anonymous, aggregated analytics to improve the platform

We do NOT: sell your data to third parties, use data for advertising, send promotional messages to parents, share data with non-essential third parties, or retain data beyond the periods stated above.

5. Parental Opt-In Consent (WhatsApp Messaging)

In compliance with WhatsApp Business Policy Section 4 on user opt-in, all parents must provide explicit consent before receiving any WhatsApp messages from a school. Specifically:

Schools collect parental consent during student admission or via a school-managed digital opt-in form
Parents are clearly informed of the types of messages they will receive (attendance alerts, fee reminders, school announcements)
The school's WhatsApp Business number is disclosed at the time of consent collection
Every consent event is timestamped and stored in our system for audit purposes
Parents may opt out at any time by replying STOP to any message, contacting the school directly, or emailing support@modernschools.in
Opt-out requests are processed immediately and permanently — no further messages will be sent

6. Message Templates and Content Policy

All WhatsApp message templates used by ModernSchools:

Are submitted to and approved by Meta/WhatsApp before deployment
Are limited to transactional, educational, and utility categories
Include only: attendance alerts, fee reminders, exam schedules, holiday notices, and official school announcements
Never contain promotional content, advertising, marketing material, or unsolicited messages
Comply with WhatsApp's Business Policy and Meta's Commerce Policy

7. Data Storage, Security, and Transfers

All data is stored on Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure with the following protections:

Encryption at rest: AES-256 encryption for all stored data
Encryption in transit: TLS 1.2+ for all data transmission
Access control: Role-based access, least-privilege principles
Backups: Automated daily backups with 30-day retention
Geographic location: Data is stored in Azure data centers (India/Asia-Pacific region where available)
Breach notification: In the event of a data breach, affected parties will be notified within 72 hours as required by GDPR

8. Third-Party Service Providers

We share data with the following third-party providers strictly to deliver our service:

Provider	Purpose	Data Shared
Meta / WhatsApp Business API	WhatsApp message delivery	Phone number, message template content
Microsoft Azure	Cloud infrastructure and database hosting	All platform data (encrypted)
Azure OpenAI / AI Services	AI-powered query responses	Anonymised query content only

We do not share data with any advertising platforms, data brokers, or other third parties.

9. Your Rights (GDPR and Applicable Law)

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

Right of Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
Right of Rectification: Correct inaccurate or incomplete data
Right to Erasure: Request deletion of your personal data ("right to be forgotten")
Right to Restrict Processing: Limit how we use your data
Right to Object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests
Right to Data Portability: Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
Right to Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent for WhatsApp messaging at any time

To exercise any of these rights, email support@modernschools.in. We will respond within 30 days. For WhatsApp opt-out, reply STOP to any message for immediate effect.

10. Children's Privacy

ModernSchools is a school management platform. Student data may include minors. We process student data only to facilitate official school communications to their parents or guardians. We do not:

Collect data directly from children (students)
Use student data for advertising or profiling
Share student data with third parties beyond those listed in Section 8

Parental consent is required for all communications. Schools are responsible for ensuring they have appropriate consent under applicable laws (e.g., COPPA, India's POCSO Act).

11. Cookies

We use only essential cookies:

Session cookie: Keeps you logged in to the admin portal (expires on browser close)
Anti-forgery token: Prevents cross-site request forgery (CSRF) attacks

We do not use advertising cookies, tracking pixels, or third-party analytics cookies.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last Updated" date. For material changes, we will notify school administrators via email at least 30 days in advance. Continued use of the platform after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

13. Contact Us

For privacy-related queries, data requests, or to report a concern:

Email: support@modernschools.in
Website: https://modernschools.in
Subject line: "Privacy Request – [Your Name/School Name]"
Response time: Within 30 days for formal requests; within 24–48 hours for general queries

For WhatsApp Business API Reviewers (Meta): This platform is a school communication tool using the WhatsApp Business API exclusively for transactional, educational notifications (attendance alerts, fee reminders, school announcements). All recipients provide explicit opt-in consent. No promotional or marketing messages are sent. Templates are submitted for WhatsApp approval. Full compliance documentation is available on request at support@modernschools.in.