BlackBook

Privacy Policy

Last updated:

This policy explains what BlackBook (blackbook.study) collects, why, who processes it for us, how long we keep it, and the rights you have over it, including under India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.

1. What we collect

  • Account: your name, email address and password (stored hashed by our sign-in provider), or your Google account's name and email if you sign in with Google.
  • Blackbooks: the project details you enter (title, description, stream, college, guide and similar), the chapters generated for you, and your edits.
  • Your code, if you add it: a zip or repository you add when starting a blackbook is read in your browser and is not uploaded. A summary of it (the file list, your database tables and parts of the key files) is sent to write your blackbook; files that hold passwords, such as .env, are never read. The summary is deleted when the blackbook is written, or after 7 days if it never is. A short list of facts taken from it (table, module and technology names, which appear in your blackbook) is kept for up to 60 days so that a chapter written again still matches, and is deleted with the blackbook.
  • Store: projects you upload, their files, and your UPI ID for payouts; what you buy and the reviews you write.
  • Referrals: your referral code, who invited you or whom you invited, and the UPI ID you give us for referral payouts. The people you invite never see your email address.
  • Payments: the amount, what it was for, and Razorpay's payment and order references. We do not receive card, UPI PIN or bank details.
  • Usage and devices: pages and features used, browser and device type, approximate location from your IP address, and error reports.

2. How we use it

  • To provide the service: generate and store your blackbooks, run the store, and pay sellers.
  • To process payments and send receipts and account emails.
  • To protect content and prevent fraud: preview limits, and marking each sold copy with its buyer's identity.
  • To fix problems and improve the product, using analytics and error reports.

We do not sell your personal data, and we do not use your uploaded store projects to train AI models without your explicit consent.

3. Who processes it for us

These services handle personal data on our behalf, only for the purposes above. Some store or process data outside India.

Supabase

Database, sign-in and file storage: your account, blackbooks, uploads and purchase records.

Google (Gemini), OpenAI, Anthropic (Claude), DeepSeek

The AI models BlackBook AI runs on. They receive the project details you enter and the text you ask to have written or edited, to write your blackbook or project report. If you add your own code, they also receive a summary of it (see below).

Groq

Quick edits in the editor (such as fixing grammar or shortening a passage) and viva practice questions. It receives the passage you ask it to change, and the title, stream and subject of your project.

Razorpay

Payments. Card, UPI and bank details are entered with Razorpay and never reach us.

Zoho ZeptoMail

Emails we send you: receipts, approvals, payout updates and sign-in links.

PostHog

Product analytics: which pages and features are used, to improve them.

Sentry

Error reports, and recordings of a sample of sessions to reproduce bugs.

Inngest

Background jobs, such as cleaning up files that were never used.

4. What others can see

On the store, a project shows its seller's name. A review shows the reviewer's first name and last initial. Your email address and UPI ID are never shown to other users.

5. How long we keep it

  • Your account, blackbooks and uploads: while your account is open, and until we act on a request to delete it.
  • Payment and payout records: as long as tax and accounting law requires, even after an account is deleted.
  • Analytics, error reports and session recordings: for the retention period set with those providers, typically up to a year.

6. Your rights

You can:

  • See and correct your details: your name, email and password are on your Account page.
  • Get a copy of your data, or ask us to correct anything else, by emailing us.
  • Delete your account from the Account page. We settle any balance you are owed, then delete your account, blackbooks and uploads, keeping only records the law requires.
  • Withdraw consent for anything that relies on it, and nominate someone to exercise these rights for you.

7. Security

Data is encrypted in transit, store files are kept in private storage and delivered only to buyers through checks on our servers, and access to our systems is limited to what each person needs. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach affects you, we will tell you and the authorities as the law requires.

8. Children

Some students using BlackBook for school projects are under 18. If you are, please use BlackBook with the knowledge of a parent or guardian.

9. Grievances and contact

For any question, request or complaint about your data, write to our grievance contact at support@blackbook.study. We acknowledge requests within 7 days and aim to resolve them within 30. If you are not satisfied, you may complain to the Data Protection Board of India.

10. Changes

If we change this policy we will update the date above, and tell you by email or in the app before significant changes take effect. Cookies are covered in our Cookie Policy.