1.  About Us

This website is operated by United Schools Organisation of India (USO), established in 1951, with registered office at USO House, USO Road, 6, Special Institutional Area, New Delhi – 110 067, India.  USO is a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.

 

2. Scope of this Privacy Policy

USO (“we” or “us” or “our”) respects the privacy of our users (“user” or “you”). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website https://usoindia.org and our mobile application, including any other media form, media channel, mobile website, or mobile application related to or connected thereto (collectively, the “Site”). Please read this privacy policy carefully.  If you do not agree with the terms of this privacy policy, please do not access the site.

 

We reserve the right to make changes to this Privacy Policy at any time and for any reason.  We will alert you about any changes by updating the “Last Updated” date of this Privacy Policy.  Any changes or modifications will be effective immediately upon posting the updated Privacy Policy on the Site, and you waive the right to receive specific notice of each such change or modification.

 

You are encouraged to periodically review this Privacy Policy to stay informed of updates. You will be deemed to have been made aware of, will be subject to, and will be deemed to have accepted the changes in any revised Privacy Policy by your continued use of the Site after the date such revised Privacy Policy is posted. 

 

3. Privacy Policy Principles

As a non-profit in the education sector, we take the privacy of all our visitors, users, and participants very seriously. USO’s Privacy Policy is governed by the following underlying privacy principles:

• We are sincerely committed to providing a safe and secure online environment.
• We only have access to the information provided to us by you and the School.
•  The information shared with USO is confidential and is not shared with any external or third party.
• We do not display any advertising on our website.

4. Our Mandate
It is our mandate to advance the social, cultural and moral standards of school students nationally to international levels.

 

5. Collection Of Personal Information
We may collect information about you in a variety of ways. The information we may collect on the Site includes:

5.1 Personal Data
Personally identifiable information, such as your name, mailing address, email address, and telephone number, mobile number, and demographic information, such as your age, gender, hometown, and interests, that you voluntarily give to us when you register with the Site or our mobile application, or when you choose to participate in our various activities related to the Site and our mobile application, such as online chat and message boards. You are under no obligation to provide us with personal information of any kind; however, your refusal to do so may prevent you from participating in our activities on the Site and our mobile application.

5.2 Derivative Data
Information our servers automatically collect when you access the Site, such as your IP address, your browser type, your operating system, your access times, and the pages you have viewed directly before and after accessing the Site. If you are using our mobile application, this information may also include your device name and type, your operating system, your phone number, your district, your state, your country, your likes and replies to a post, and other interactions with the application and other users via server log files, as well as any other information you choose to provide.

5.3 Financial Data
Financial information, such as data related to your payment method (e.g. valid credit card number, card brand, expiration date) that we may collect when you enrol for any of our activities such as school membership, test enrolment, seminar registration, conference registration, competition participation, campaign sign-ups (not limited to), or request information about our services from the Site or our mobile application. We store only very limited, if any, financial information that we collect. Otherwise, all financial information is stored by our payment processor, One 97 Communications Limited (Paytm) and you are encouraged to review their privacy policy and contact them directly for responses to your questions.

5.4 Facebook Permissions 
The Site and our mobile application may, by default, access your Facebook basic account information, including your name, email, gender, birthday, current city, and profile picture URL, as well as other information that you choose to make public. We may also request access to other permissions related to your account, such as friends, check-ins, and likes, and you may choose to grant or deny us access to each individual permission. For more information regarding Facebook permissions, refer to the Facebook Permissions Reference page.

5.5 Data From Social Networks
User information from social networking sites, such as Apple’s Game Centre, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, including your name, your social network username, location, gender, birth date, email address, profile picture, and public data for contacts, if you connect your account to such social networks. If you are using our mobile application, this information may also include the contact information of anyone you invite to use and/or join our mobile application.

5.6 Mobile Device Data
Device information, such as your mobile device ID, model, and manufacturer, and information about the location of your device, if you access the Site from a mobile device.

5.7 Third-Party Data
Information from third parties, such as personal information or network friends, if you connect your account to the third party and grant the Site permission to access this information.

5.8 Surveys, Submission and Request Data
Personal and other information you may provide when entering, responding to surveys conducted by us, or submitting articles for various purposes, or making a request of any nature.

5.9 Mobile Application Information
If you connect using our mobile application:

5.9.1   Geo-Location Information. We may request access to or permission to track location-based information from your mobile device, either continuously or while you are using our mobile application, to provide location-based services. If you wish to change our access or permissions, you may do so in your device settings.
5.9.2   Mobile Device Access. We may request access to or permission for certain features from your mobile device, including your mobile device’s Bluetooth, calendar, camera, contacts, microphone, reminders, sensors, SMS messages, social media accounts, storage, and other features. If you wish to change our access or permissions, you may do so in your device’s settings.
5.9.3   Mobile Device Data. We may collect device information (such as your mobile device ID, model and manufacturer), operating system, version information and IP address.
5.9.4    Push Notifications. We may request to send you push notifications regarding your account or the Application. If you wish to opt-out from receiving these types of communications, you may turn them off in your device’s settings.

 

6. How We Use Your Information
Having accurate information about you permits us to provide you with a smooth, efficient, and customised experience.  Specifically, we may use information collected about you via the Site or our mobile application to:

• Administer surveys, contests, and/or feedback.
• Assist law enforcement if and when the situation arises.
• Compile anonymous statistical data and analysis for use internally.
• Create and manage your account held with us.
• Deliver newsletters and other information, including email marketing and promotions from the Site and our mobile application, to you.
• Email you regarding your queries, questions, or enrolment in our activities.
• Enable user-to-user communications.
• Fulfil and manage your payments and other transactions related to the Site and our mobile application.
• Generate a personal profile about you to make future visits to the Site and our mobile application more personalised.
• Increase the efficiency and operation of the Site and our mobile application.
• Monitor and analyse usage and trends to improve your experience with the Site and our mobile application.
• Notify you of updates to the Site and our mobile application.
• Inform about new offerings, activities, services, news updates, mobile applications, and/or recommendations to you.
• Perform other business activities as needed.
• Prevent fraudulent transactions, monitor against theft, and protect against criminal activity.
• Process payments and refunds.
• Request feedback and contact you about your use of the Site and our mobile application.
• Resolve disputes and troubleshoot problems.
• Respond to requests received from you.
• Send you our monthly newsletter and/or regular updates on activities.
• Solicit support for the Site and our mobile application.

Any information collected by us shall never be sold, provided or shared with any external party. However, we may share information we have collected about you in certain situations. Your information may be disclosed as follows:

7.1 Disclosure Required by Law
If we believe the release of information about you is necessary to respond to legal process, to investigate or remedy potential violations of our policies, or to protect the rights, property, and safety of others, we may share your information as permitted or required by any applicable law, rule, or regulation.  This includes exchanging information with other entities for fraud protection and credit risk reduction.

7.2 Third-Party Service Providers
We may share your information with third parties that perform services for us or on our behalf, including payment processing, data analysis, email delivery, hosting services, customer service, and marketing assistance. 

7.3 Marketing Communications
Since no advertising is ever displayed on our website, no information shall be shared with any third parties for marketing purposes.

7.4 Interactions with Other Users
If you interact with other users of the Site and our mobile application, those users may see your name, profile photo, and descriptions of your activity, including sending invitations to other users, chatting with other users, liking posts, and following blogs.

7.5 Online Postings
When you post comments, contributions or other content to the Site or our mobile applications, your posts may be viewed by all users and may be publicly distributed outside the Site and our mobile applications in perpetuity.

7.6 Third-Party Advertisers
There are no ads that are currently displayed on our site; hence, no data is shared for advertising. Any future changes will require a policy update and user consent.

7.7 Affiliates
We may share your information with our affiliates, in which case we will require those affiliates to honour this Privacy Policy. Affiliates include our parent organisation and any subsidiaries or divisions.

7.8 Partner Organisations
We may share your information with the organisations we partner with for our various activities to introduce their organisations and services.

7.9 Social Media Contacts 
If you connect to the Site or our mobile application through a social network, your contacts on the social network will see your name, profile photo, and descriptions of your activity.

 

8. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

8.1 Cookies and Web Beacons
We may use cookies, web beacons, tracking pixels, and other tracking technologies on the Site and our mobile application to help customise the Site and our mobile application and improve your experience. When you access the Site or our mobile application, your personal information is not collected through the use of tracking technology. Most browsers are set to accept cookies by default. You can remove or reject cookies, but be aware that such action could affect the availability and functionality of the Site or our mobile application. You may not decline web beacons. However, they can be rendered ineffective by declining all cookies or by modifying your web browser’s settings to notify you each time a cookie is tendered, permitting you to accept or decline cookies on an individual basis. By using the Site, you agree to be bound by our Cookie Policy.

8.2 Internet-Based Advertising
Additionally, we may also use third-party software to serve ads on the Site and our mobile application, implement email marketing campaigns, and manage other interactive marketing initiatives.  This third-party software may use cookies or similar tracking technology to help manage and optimise your online experience with us.  For more information about opting out of interest-based ads, visit the Network Advertising Initiative Opt-Out Tool or Digital Advertising Alliance Opt-Out Tool.

8.3 Social Media Platforms
We use social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and WhatsApp to inform our followers and contacts about our upcoming activities. These platforms normally incorporate tracking technologies that may be present in the pages you access, which may collect information from your browser, including device identifiers and/or cookie IDs. This information is collected directly by these platforms, and USO is in no way a participant.

8.4 Website Analytics
We may also partner with selected third-party vendors such as Adobe Analytics, Google Analytics, and others, to allow tracking technologies and remarketing services on the Site and our mobile application through the use of first party cookies and third-party cookies, to, among other things, analyze and track users’ use of the Site and our mobile application, determine the popularity of certain content and better understand online activity. By accessing the Site and our mobile application, you consent to the collection and use of your information by these third-party vendors. You are encouraged to review their privacy policy and contact them directly for responses to your questions. We do not transfer personal information to these third-party vendors. However, if you do not want any information to be collected and used by tracking technologies, you can visit the third-party vendor or the Network Advertising Initiative Opt-Out Tool or the Digital Advertising Alliance Opt-Out Tool.

 

You should be aware that getting a new computer, installing a new browser, upgrading an existing browser, or erasing or otherwise altering your browser’s cookie files may also clear certain opt-out cookies, plug-ins, or settings.

 

9.  Third-Party Websites
The Site and our mobile application may, in the future, contain links to third-party websites and applications of interest, including advertisements and external services, that are not affiliated with us. Once you have used these links to leave the Site or our mobile application, any information you provide to these third parties is not covered by this Privacy Policy, and we cannot guarantee the safety and privacy of your information. Before visiting and providing any information to any third-party websites, you should inform yourself of the privacy policies and practices (if any) of the third party responsible for that website, and should take those steps necessary to, in your discretion, protect the privacy of your information. We are not responsible for the content or privacy and security practices and policies of any third parties, including other sites, services or applications that may be linked to or from the Site or our mobile application.

 

10. Security Of Your Information
We use administrative, technical, and physical security measures to help protect your personal information.  While we have taken reasonable steps to secure the personal information you provide to us, please be aware that despite our efforts, no security measures are perfect or impenetrable, and no method of data transmission can be guaranteed against any interception or other type of misuse.  Any information disclosed online is vulnerable to interception and misuse by unauthorised parties. Therefore, we cannot guarantee complete security if you provide personal information.

 

11. Children’s Privacy
We do not knowingly solicit information from children. Since most of our activities are meant for school students, we do interact with several school-going children over the phone, social media, messaging, email exchange and any other communication channels. The communication is strictly meant for information-providing purposes only (of our activities) and not to solicit details. The only purpose for us to do so would be to inform the children, either directly or via their parents, when requested for details on our activities.

 

It is important for USO to have parental consent for any information shared with us during the use of the Site and /or our mobile application. When schools share student details with us during enrolment in our various programs and activities, this is taken as consent, in lieu of parental consent, to manage the information collected. If you find that we have inadvertently collected a child’s information without parental consent, please write to us at info@usoindia.org, and the information shall be deleted immediately.

 

12.  Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023 
USO is committed to handling personal data in accordance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and other applicable laws. We collect, use, store, and process personal data only for lawful and specified purposes, and only to the extent necessary for those purposes.

 

Where consent is required, it will be obtained in a free, specific, informed, unconditional, and unambiguous manner. You may withdraw your consent at any time, subject to applicable law and the nature of the services requested. Where applicable, we will also provide notice of the personal data collected, the purpose of processing, and the manner in which you may exercise your rights. 

 

You may request correction, completion, updating, or erasure of your personal data, subject to retention requirements under applicable law. 

 

13. Cookie Policy 
Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to improve website performance, remember user preferences, understand how visitors use the site, and support basic functionality. 

Cookies may be used for the following purposes: 

• to keep the website working properly,
• to remember your preferences,
• to measure website traffic and performance, and
• to improve your browsing experience.

You may choose to disable cookies through your browser settings. However, some parts of the website may not function properly if cookies are disabled. 

 

By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of cookies in accordance with this Cookie Policy.

 

14. Data Retention 
We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purpose for which it was collected, to provide our services, to complete transactions, to maintain records, to comply with legal obligations, to resolve disputes, and to enforce our agreements. 

 

When personal data is no longer required for these purposes, we will delete it, anonymise it, or securely archive it as appropriate and in accordance with applicable law. 

 

Where deletion is requested, we will erase the personal data unless retention is required for the specified purpose or by law. This approach aligns with the DPDP Act’s erasure framework, which allows retention where necessary for the specified purpose or for compliance with the law.

 

15.   Grievance Officer / Grievance Redressal

USO has a Grievance Officer to address concerns related to privacy, personal data, and this Privacy Policy.  If you have any questions, complaints, or requests regarding your personal data, you may contact our Grievance Officer at: 

Name: USO House  
Email: info@usoindia.org 
Phone: (011) 4106 – 8486 / 98100 – 46619
Address: United Schools Organisation of India, USO House, USO Road, 6, Special Institutional Area, New Delhi – 110 067 

 

We will try to acknowledge and address your grievance within a reasonable time. You may also write to us at info@usoindia.org or use the ‘Contact Us’ Form  for support.

 

16. Do-Not-Track (DNT) Features

Most web browsers and some mobile operating systems and our mobile applications include a Do-Not-Track (“DNT”) feature or setting you can activate to signal your privacy preference not to have data about your online browsing activities monitored and collected.  No uniform technology standard for recognising and implementing DNT signals has been finalised. As such, we do not currently respond to DNT browser signals or any other mechanism that automatically communicates your choice not to be tracked online.  If a standard for online tracking is adopted that we must follow in the future, we will inform you about that practice in a revised version of this Privacy Policy.

 

17.  Options Regarding Your Information

17.1 Updating Your Information

You may at any time review or change the information with us by:

1. 1. 1. Emailing us at info@usoindia.org
      2. Contacting us by using the ‘Contact Us’ Form
      3. Sending a mail to our offices: United Schools Organisation of India, USO House, USO Road, 6, Special Institutional Area, New Delhi – 110 067

17.2 Emails and Communications

If you no longer wish to receive correspondence, emails, or other communications from us, you may opt out by:

1. 1. 1. Emailing us at info@usoindia.org
      2. Contacting us by using the ‘Contact Us’ Form
      3. Sending a mail to our offices: United Schools Organisation of India, USO House, USO Road, 6, Special Institutional Area, New Delhi – 110 067

18. Contact Us

If you have questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at: 

• Mail: United Schools Organisation of India, USO House, USO Road, 6, Special Institutional Area, New Delhi – 110 067
• Tel: (011) 4106 – 8486 / 4165 – 1103
• Mobile: 98100-46619
• Email: info@usoindia.org