Aapti-Episteme Research Foundation (“Aapti Institute”) is a research institution that generates public, policy-relevant, actionable, and accessible knowledge on technology and society, about our networked lives, to support the creation of a fair, free, and equitable society.

Aapti Institute is a space to understand and think through legal, policy, governance, and technological issues. This privacy policy will help you understand how we collect, use, and protect your personal data.

Most fundamentally, we do not rent or sell visitor information to third parties. We will not transfer or share this information with other third parties unless compelled by law, and we will vigorously challenge any overbroad government request to access it.

Applicability of this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to all of Aapti Institute’s, its Data Economy Lab and Digital Public Lab team resources with access to your data (“we” or “us”) when you visit the website, subscribe to our mailing list, and sign on to any feature from our website.

What we collect

We strive to collect as little personal data as we need to further our mission.

We collect minimal information when you visit our site, subscribe to our newsletter, or engage with our tools or guides. We’ll let you know what information is required for each action, and try to require the least amount of information necessary. This will usually involve details such as your name and email.

We collect information regarding visits to our website. Like most servers, IP addresses [which can include browser type, operating system, visiting time (local and server), and location (to the level of the city)] are logged automatically on access to our website however these IP addresses are not tied or collated against the responses that you send by using our forms and petitions. We undertake to delete these IP logs after a 90-day retention period as required by law.

The aapti.in website and any services it provides are not intended for or designed to attract, individuals under the age of 18. We do not seek to collect information about individuals under the age of 18. No information should be submitted to or posted on aapti.in website or any services by users under 18 years of age.

Cookies

We use cookies for a limited number of purposes. A “cookie” is a tiny element of data that our site can send to your browser, which may then be stored on your hard drive. Its purpose is to remember information about you, similar to a preference file created by a software application. While cookies serve many functions, their most common purpose is to store login information for a specific site.

If you are concerned about your privacy and the use of cookie technology you may set your web browser to notify you when you receive a cookie. You may also set your browser to refuse the cookies our site attempts to send you, or install extensions such as Privacy Badger or Disconnect. If you choose to reject cookies, there is a possibility that a few features on the website may be limited.

How we store and use your data

We take industry-standard security measures to protect personal information under our control from loss, misuse, and breach, but like with every website, there are risks associated with uploading your information online.

When you are asked for your personal information, you are sharing that information with Aapti Institute and its team alone, unless stated otherwise. We use this information to further our mission, to further digital rights online. You retain the right to view and request copies, deletions, and modifications of any personal information you enter on the website. Contact us to start exercising these rights.

We store contact data for our newsletter mailing list subscription to which we seek specific and prior consent in addition to this policy. This data is stored in our internal database.

Social Media and third-party platforms

We use social media and third-party platforms to promote our work and disseminate our digital output. These platforms and applications are often provided by third-party service providers. Please see their privacy policies for more information, and let us know if you have specific concerns.

Updates and Contact

If we update or change the privacy policy, we will inform visitors on our website. In case you have any questions, comments, or complaints please send us an email at [email protected].

It has been brought to our notice that several of our partners across the world have received emails purporting to be from colleagues at Aapti. These could be phishing attempts. Aapti Institute operates only from one domain name - https://aapti.in. Please reach out to us at our personal numbers (if we’re connected!) or through our contact email address contact[at]aapti[dot]in if you believe that we have attempted to be in touch.