Privacy Policy — Janadesh Jansetu

Effective date: 2026-04-23 Last updated: 2026-08-07 Application: Janadesh Jansetu (Android package: com.netaboard.jansetu) Publisher: Esha Media Research Limited (EMRL) Contact: compliance@eshamedia.com

Janadesh Jansetu ("the App", "we", "us") is a white-label citizen-engagement application distributed on behalf of an elected representative or candidate ("the Representative"). This Privacy Policy describes what information we collect from you as a citizen user, how we use it, and the choices you have.

1. Scope

This policy covers the Janadesh Jansetu mobile application installed from the Google Play Store under the package name com.netaboard.jansetu. Although the App is branded per Representative at runtime (name, colours, assets), it ships as a single Android listing; the data-handling practices described here apply uniformly to every branded instance.

Data you submit to your Representative (e.g., grievances, darbar questions, feedback) is processed both by EMRL (as data processor) and by the Representative's authorised office (as data fiduciary under the DPDP Act, 2023).

2. Data we collect

2.1 Information you provide during onboarding

Collected on the 3-step citizen registration:

Screen	Field	Purpose	Mandatory?
Identity	Full name	Identification on grievances and darbar	Yes
Identity	Father's / husband's name	Identity verification	Optional
(OTP)	Mobile number	Primary login + notifications	Yes (verified via OTP)
Address	Area type (rural / urban)	Contextualise services	Yes
Address	House number, street, village / city, landmark	Locate your constituency unit	House + street required
Admin details	State (default: Uttar Pradesh), District, Block, Gram Panchayat, Ward, Booth number	Route your requests to the correct booth worker	Yes
Admin details	PIN code (6 digits)	Postal verification	Yes
Admin details	GPS latitude/longitude	Accurate booth mapping	Optional — you can skip or pick on map

2.2 Content you submit in-app

Grievances (Shikayat): category, description, optional "anonymous" flag, ward, optional GPS coordinates.
Darbar participation: free-text questions, comments, and post-session feedback (star rating + text) attributed to your name and ward, unless submitted anonymously where supported.
Voice messages (Vani): audio notes you record via the in-app recorder. Audio is uploaded to the Representative's office only when you tap send; draft recordings remain on your device.
Pledges: pledge-signing events (which pledge, timestamp).
SOS alerts: emergency category and, where available, GPS coordinates.
Feedback and survey responses you choose to submit.

2.3 Preferences stored on device

Selected language (22 Indian languages are planned; English and Hindi are fully supported today).
Notification preference (on / off).
Onboarding progress (kept locally so you can resume).
Tab customisation and recent-pill history.

These are stored on your device and are cleared when you tap Reset App Data or Logout.

2.4 Location data

The App requests foreground fine and coarse location only when you tap a feature that needs it (registration GPS pin, SOS, grievance capture with geo-tag).
Location capture is skippable; the App works without it.
The App does not run background location tracking and has no foreground-service declaration for continuous tracking.

2.5 Audio

RECORD_AUDIO and MODIFY_AUDIO_SETTINGS are used only by the Vani voice-message feature. The microphone is activated only while you hold to record, and only after you grant permission.

2.6 Photos and files

READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE and WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE are used by the system image / document picker when you attach a photo or document to a grievance.

2.7 Device and technical data

Crash reports and error stack traces via self-hosted GlitchTip (Sentry-compatible), when enabled.
Product analytics events via self-hosted PostHog, when enabled. Events include: screen views, pill taps, shikayat submission category, darbar scheduling, pledge signing, SOS events, ground-report submission, language change, registration completion (area + district), and login / logout.
Standard network metadata (IP address, timestamp, user-agent) recorded by our API servers for security and abuse prevention.

2.8 Permissions summary

Android permission	Why we need it
`INTERNET`	All server communication
`ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION`, `ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION`	Optional GPS pin during registration, grievances, SOS
`RECORD_AUDIO`, `MODIFY_AUDIO_SETTINGS`	Vani voice-message recording
`READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE`, `WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE`	Attach photos / documents to grievances
`VIBRATE`	Haptic feedback on taps and confirmations

3. How we use your data

Create and maintain your citizen profile.
Route your grievances, darbar questions, SOS alerts, and pledges to the Representative's authorised office.
Send you updates on the status of requests you raised.
Diagnose crashes and measure feature usage to improve the App.
Comply with lawful requests from government authorities in India.

We do not use your data for advertising, for resale, or for political profiling outside the Representative's constituency outreach.

4. Who we share data with

The Representative's authorised office — the primary purpose of the App. They can see your grievances, darbar participation, and feedback tagged to your identity and ward (or as anonymous where you chose that option).
Our infrastructure providers — servers and databases self-hosted by EMRL for the Representative.
Crash-reporting / analytics services — self-hosted GlitchTip and PostHog on infrastructure we control. We do not use SaaS analytics vendors that would move your data outside our control.
Law-enforcement / government authorities — only on receipt of a written lawful order under Indian law.

We do not sell your data to third parties. We do not share data with advertising networks. Anonymous grievances you submit are delivered without your name attached, though infrastructure-level metadata (e.g., ward) is retained to route the request.

5. Storage, retention, and security

Data is stored on servers hosted in India.
Transport is encrypted with HTTPS.
Your profile is retained while you have an active account. If you delete your account or request erasure, we delete your personal data within 30 days, except where retention is required by law or to resolve a grievance you have open.
Grievances, darbar submissions, and pledges are retained by the Representative's office for the duration necessary to act on them and to maintain a record of constituency engagement; aggregate (de-identified) analytics may be retained longer.
Local on-device data (drafts, onboarding progress, cached content) is cleared via Settings → Reset App Data or on logout.

6. Your rights

Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act) and applicable Indian law you have the right to:

Access the personal data we hold about you.
Correct inaccurate or outdated data (you can edit your profile in Settings).
Erase your data by requesting account deletion.
Withdraw consent for optional processing such as analytics and notifications. Disabling notifications is available in Settings; disabling analytics requires contacting us until an in-app opt-out is shipped.
Nominate a person to exercise these rights in the event of your death or incapacity.
Grieve any issue with our Grievance Officer (see Section 9).

Changing your phone number

You can change the mobile number on your account from Settings → Change phone number:

Enter the new number.
Enter the 6-digit OTP we send to your current number (proves you still control it).
Enter the 6-digit OTP we send to the new number (proves you control it too).

On success, we update the phone number on your user and citizen_profile records and revoke every active session so that old JWTs cannot be used to impersonate you. You then sign in again using the new number.

A 72-hour cooldown applies after a successful change to mitigate SIM-swap abuse. If you lose access to both numbers, contact the Grievance Officer (Section 9).

Account and data deletion

Deletion runs only through the web form at https://auth.janadesh.app/delete-account — there is no in-app deletion flow. The App's Settings → Delete account row opens this URL in your system browser; you do not need a separate web account.

You can request deletion of your account and associated personal data by either of the following routes. No app install is required for either route.

Web form — open https://auth.janadesh.app/delete-account from any browser, or tap Settings → Delete account in the App (which opens the same URL). Sign in with the mobile number registered with the App and the OTP we send. After signing in, type DELETE to confirm and enter a second 6-digit OTP we send to the same number. Your account is flagged for deletion immediately and any active sessions are revoked.
Email — write to compliance@eshamedia.com from the mobile number registered with the App. Use this route if you have lost access to the registered phone or prefer not to use the form.

30-day grace window and restoration

Once your deletion request is accepted, we do not delete your data immediately. Instead we:

Mark your account as deleted (deleted_at = now()) and revoke every active session.
Keep your personal data intact on our servers for 30 days. During this window you can log back in with OTP to restore the account — logging in automatically clears the deletion flag.
After 30 days, a daily background job permanently anonymises your account: your name becomes "Deleted user"; phone, address, photos, grievance attachments, darbar comments attributed to you, and any other personal fields are set to empty / null; content rows are kept but no longer linked to identifying information so aggregate booth-level counts stay consistent. This step is irreversible.

Any content you posted (grievance text, darbar questions, voice notes) is retained with the "Deleted user" placeholder as the author rather than being purged; this is required so the Representative's office can still act on open tickets. If you want a specific item removed, raise a grievance or email the Grievance Officer before anonymisation runs.

We acknowledge deletion requests within 48 hours and complete anonymisation within 30 days, subject to legitimate retention obligations (for example, resolving a grievance you have open or complying with a lawful order).

To exercise any other right listed above (access, correction, withdrawal of consent, nomination), use the same email.

Anonymous and pseudonymous submissions

Where the App offers an "anonymous" option (e.g., on shikayat), your name is not attached to that specific item. Infrastructure-level data (IP, device, ward) may still be retained for abuse prevention and routing; it is not displayed to the Representative's office alongside the anonymous content.

7. Children

Janadesh Jansetu is intended for citizens aged 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18. If we learn that we have collected data from a minor, we will delete it. Parents or guardians who believe a minor has registered should contact compliance@eshamedia.com.

8. Changes to this policy

We will publish material changes to this policy in the App's Settings → About → Privacy Policy screen and, where appropriate, notify you in-app before they take effect. Continued use after a published update constitutes acceptance.

9. Grievance Officer

In compliance with the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the DPDP Act, 2023:

Grievance Officer Esha Media Research Limited (EMRL) CIN: L72400MH1984PLC322857 Email: compliance@eshamedia.com Address: T 14-16, A Wing, 2nd Floor, Satyam Shopping Centre, Ghatkopar (E), Mumbai, India - 400077

We will acknowledge your grievance within 48 hours and resolve it within 30 days.

10. Contact

General privacy questions: compliance@eshamedia.com
Security reports: compliance@eshamedia.com