Privacy Policy

Last Updated: October 15, 2026 | Effective Date: October 15, 2026

1. Introduction & Scope

This Privacy Policy explains how MLA Connect collects, stores, uses, processes, and protects personal information when you access or use our website (adbysms.com), mobile applications, communication gateways (including SMS, WhatsApp, and email channels), and related citizen governance tools.

Whether you are an elected public representative (MLA, MP, or candidate), an office staff member, or a citizen accessing our grievance and communication services, this policy applies to your interaction with our platform.

2. Information We Collect

We only collect information necessary to provide, manage, and improve our civic communication services:

A. Information You Provide Directly

• Account & Representative Information: Name, official designation, political party affiliation, constituency name, ward details, official email address, mobile number, and office address.
• Citizen Grievances & Inquiries: Citizen full name, mobile number, email address, residential address/ward, complaint description, photos/documents attached to substantiate civic issues (e.g. road repair, water supply, electricity), and communication logs.
• Demo & Inquiry Details: Full name, contact number, role, constituency, requested demo date, and custom messages provided on booking forms.

B. Information Collected Automatically

• Device & Technical Telemetry: IP address, device type, browser model, operating system, timestamp of access, and referrer headers for security and rate limiting.
• Interaction & Delivery Logs: Delivery receipts, open rates, SMS/WhatsApp delivery status, and click events on official updates.
• Cookies & Session Storage: Temporary cookies and session markers used strictly to maintain user preferences and secure authentication sessions.

3. How We Use Your Information

Your information is processed for specific, lawful purposes:

• Civic Issue Resolution: Facilitating the registration, tracking, delegation, and status communication of citizen grievances to authorized constituency office teams.
• Direct Citizen Communication: Sending critical legislative updates, constituency announcements, welfare scheme alerts, and event notifications via verified channels.
• Service Maintenance & Security: Preventing fraud, DDoS attacks, abusive submissions, spam, and enforcing platform rate limits.
• Analytics & Work Reports: Generating aggregated, anonymized performance metrics and progress reports for legislative transparency.

4. Data Sharing & Disclosure

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data to commercial advertisers or third-party brokers. Information is shared only in the following limited circumstances:

• Constituency Offices: Grievance details submitted by citizens are accessible to the designated MLA office staff to enable prompt resolution.
• Infrastructure & Service Providers: Trusted technical partners providing database hosting, cloud compute, SMS/WhatsApp delivery gateways (e.g., telecom infrastructure providers), who are bound by strict non-disclosure and security covenants.
• Legal & Regulatory Mandates: Where required under applicable Indian laws, judicial orders, or governmental directives.

5. Data Security & Storage

We maintain robust organizational, physical, and technical safeguards designed to protect personal data:

• Industry-standard TLS/SSL encryption for data in transit.
• Restricted role-based access control (RBAC) ensuring only authorized administrative personnel can access grievance registries.
• Regular security audits, rate-limiting layers, and automated backups.

6. Citizen Data Rights & Retention

Under applicable data protection guidelines, you have the following rights:

• Right to Access: You may request confirmation of whether we process your personal data and obtain a summary of such data.
• Right to Rectification: You may request the correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal records.
• Right to Erasure (User Data Deletion): You may request the permanent deletion of your profile, contact details, or registered grievances at any time through our dedicated User Data Deletion Request Page.

7. Children's Privacy

MLA Connect is not intended for individuals under the age of 18 without parental or guardian oversight. We do not knowingly collect personal data from minors.

8. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect evolving regulatory frameworks or service enhancements. Any modifications will be posted here with an updated "Last Updated" date.

9. Grievance Redressal Officer & Contact Info

If you have questions, feedback, or wish to exercise your data privacy rights, please reach out to our designated Grievance Officer: