Privacy Policy

Phodo (“Phodo”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) is operated by Mahamela Innovations Private Limited.Phodo is published on Google Play as “Phodo: AI tutor, ace JEE/NEET” (package com.sochostudy.app). Phodo was formerly known as Socho — our website domain (sochostudy.com) and contact email still use that name while we migrate to a Phodo-branded domain. This Privacy Policy explains what personal data the Phodo mobile app and website collect, how we use and share it, how long we keep it, and the choices and rights you have. By using Phodo, you agree to this policy.

Phodo is an education app for school students. We design it to collect only what we need to run the learning experience, and we do not sell your personal data or use it for third-party advertising.

1. Who is responsible for your data

Mahamela Innovations Private Limited is the data controller (data fiduciary) for the personal data described in this policy. You can reach us about privacy at hello@sochostudy.com.

2. Information we collect

We collect the following categories of data:

• Account & contact information — your name, mobile phone number, an account identifier (user ID), and optionally your email address. Your phone number is used to create and sign in to your account via a one-time code (OTP).
• Learning profile — details you provide during onboarding, such as your grade, board, and the subjects you want to study.
• Learning activity (app interactions) — how you use the app: lessons and cards you view, practice and quiz answers, videos watched, time spent, and the mastery/progress data our adaptive learning engine derives from this activity.
• AI companion (“Maya”) conversations — the questions and messages you choose to send to Maya, our AI study companion, so it can respond and help you learn.
• Snap / problem images — photos of a homework or practice problem that you choose to upload (for example, when you snap a question to ask Maya about it). We collect the image you upload and the Maya conversation connected to it.
• Voice recordings (Maya voice questions) — when you choose to ask Maya a question by voice, the app records a short audio clip from your device microphone and sends it to a speech-to-text provider to convert it into text. We use the audio only to produce that transcript: the clip is processed and then discarded, and is not stored on our servers. The resulting text becomes part of your Maya conversation (above).
• Technical & security data — limited data such as your IP address, collected only to operate the service securely and prevent abuse (for example, on website forms).

We do not collect your precise or approximate location, your contacts, your files, payment or financial information, or any sensitive categories such as race, religion, political views, or sexual orientation.

3. How we use your data

We use your data to:

• Provide the app’s features — deliver lessons, run practice and quizzes, play videos, and power the Maya AI companion.
• Create and manage your account — verify your phone number, sign you in, and keep your profile.
• Personalize your learning — adapt your learning path and recommendations based on your mastery and activity.
• Understand and improve the product — analyze usage to improve the learning experience. As part of this, a member of the Phodo team (including our founder) may review the snap/problem images you upload together with the related Maya chat transcripts, so we can check answer quality and improve the AI tutor.
• Keep the service secure — prevent fraud and abuse, and comply with our legal obligations.

4. The Maya AI companion

When you send a message to Maya — including a message about a problem you snapped — your message and limited context (such as the topic you are on, or the text read from your problem image) are sent to third-party AI providers that process the data on our behalf to generate a response. We currently use OpenRouter, which routes the request to a large-language-model provider (such as DeepSeek), for Maya’s chat replies, Google (the Gemini API) to read the text from problem images you snap, and Groq to transcribe a voice question into text when you ask Maya by voice (the audio clip is used only for transcription and is then discarded, not stored). We configure these providers so that your data is not used to train AI models, and we do not permit them to use your children’s data to train their own models for their own purposes. Please avoid sharing sensitive personal information with Maya.

When you snap a problem image to ask Maya about it, that image and your related chat with Maya may also be reviewed by a member of thePhodo team (including our founder), under confidentiality, to check the quality of Maya’s answers and improve the AI tutor. This human review is used only to operate and improve Phodo — not for advertising, profiling, or any third-party purpose.

5. How we share your data

We do not sell your personal data and we do not share it for advertising. We share data only with service providers that process it on our behalf to run Phodo, under appropriate confidentiality and data-protection terms:

• Supabase — secure database, authentication, and storage hosting.
• OpenRouter — routes Maya’s chat messages to large-language-model providers (such as DeepSeek) that generate replies on our behalf, under no-training terms (see Section 4).
• Google (Gemini API) — reads the text from problem images you snap (see Section 4).
• Groq — transcribes the voice questions you ask Maya into text; the audio clip is used only for transcription and is then discarded, not stored (see Section 4).
• Bunny.net — delivery of educational video content.
• Our messaging provider — to deliver one-time verification codes to your phone via WhatsApp.
• Vercel — hosting of our web app and APIs.

We may also disclose data if required by law, or to protect the rights, safety, and security of our users and our service.

6. Data retention and deletion

We keep your personal data for as long as your account is active and as needed to provide the service. You can request deletion of your Phodo account and associated data at any time:

• In the app, via the account/settings “Delete account” option (where available), or
• On the web, at sochostudy.com/account-deletion.

When you request deletion, we delete your account and associated personal data (profile, contact details, learning progress and mastery, and activity) within 30 days. We may retain a limited set of records only where required by law, and delete them once no longer legally required.

7. Children’s privacy

Phodo is intended for school students aged 13 and above. It is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly create accounts for, or collect personal data from, children under 13.

Because many of our users are minors, and in line with India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDPA), we expect a parent or legal guardian to provide consent for a minor’s use of Phodo and the processing of their personal data. We do not use a minor’s data for advertising, and we do not carry out tracking, behavioural monitoring, or targeted advertising directed at children. Where a minor uploads a snap/problem image, that image and the related Maya chat transcript may be reviewed by a member of the Phodo team (including our founder), under confidentiality, only to check answer quality and improve the AI tutor — never for advertising, profiling, or any third-party purpose. If you are a parent or guardian and believe a child has provided us data without appropriate consent, contact us at hello@sochostudy.com and we will address it.

8. Security

We protect your data with appropriate technical and organisational measures. All data is encrypted in transit (HTTPS/TLS), access is restricted, and authentication credentials are stored securely on your device. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we work to protect your information and to respond to any incident appropriately.

9. Your rights

Subject to applicable law, you may have the right to access, correct, or delete your personal data, to withdraw consent, and to raise a grievance. To exercise these rights, contact us at hello@sochostudy.com. We will respond within the timeframes required by applicable law.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the “Last updated” date above and, where appropriate, notify you in the app or by other means.

11. Contact us

Mahamela Innovations Private Limited
Email: hello@sochostudy.com