Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

BinRo is a mobile application (Android and iOS) and web platform designed to help users scan, analyse, generate, and manage QR codes with a focus on fraud prevention in the Indian digital payment ecosystem — including UPI, BharatQR, and 80+ payment apps.

BinRo is operated as a private software project under the laws of India, supported by the Kerala Startup Mission. Our registered contact address is Kerala, India.

This Privacy Policy applies to:

• The BinRo Android app (Google Play Store)
• The BinRo iOS app (Apple App Store)
• The BinRo website at https://binan-maker.github.io/binro
• All backend services, APIs, and infrastructure operated by BinRo

By using any BinRo service, you agree to the collection and use of information as described in this policy. If you do not agree, please discontinue use of BinRo immediately.

2. Data We Collect

We collect only the data necessary to operate BinRo's services. Below is a complete breakdown of every category of data we collect, why we collect it, and the legal basis under India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDPA).

2.1 Account & Identity Data

• Email address and display name
• Profile photo (only if you choose to upload one)
• Google account ID and OAuth authentication tokens (if you use Google Sign-In)
• Password hash — passwords are never stored in plaintext; we store only a one-way cryptographic hash (bcrypt)
• Account creation timestamp and last login timestamp
• Account type: standard user, verified merchant, or trust reviewer

2.2 QR Code & Scan Data

• The decoded content of QR codes you scan — including URLs, contact info, Wi-Fi credentials, plain text, or payment data (such as a UPI ID, payee name, or merchant VPA)
• Timestamp, device platform (Android/iOS), and app version at the time of each scan
• Safety analysis result assigned to each scan (e.g., Safe, Suspicious, Dangerous)
• QR codes you generate: their content, destination URLs, scan counts, and creation timestamps
• Community reports, trust votes, and comments you submit on QR codes
• QR codes you bookmark or add to favourites

2.3 Payment & Transaction Data

Please see Section 4 (Payments & Transactions) for the full breakdown. In summary:

• We never collect or store card numbers, UPI IDs (yours), bank account numbers, CVVs, PINs, or Apple ID credentials.
• Payments are handled entirely by Google Play Billing or the Apple App Store.
• We receive only: transaction ID, product purchased, purchase timestamp, and a verification receipt/token.

2.4 Usage & Behavioural Data

• In-app navigation patterns, features used, and session duration
• Scan velocity data — how frequently a particular QR code is scanned across all BinRo users, used to detect coordinated fraud
• Search queries you enter within BinRo
• Friend connections, follows, and social interactions (who you follow, who follows you)
• Notification interaction data (whether you opened or dismissed a push notification)

2.5 Device & Network Data

• Device model, manufacturer, OS version, and screen resolution
• App version and build number
• IP address and approximate geographic location derived from IP (city/region level — we do not collect GPS location)
• Network type (Wi-Fi or mobile data) and network carrier (where available)
• Crash logs and error/exception reports for debugging purposes
• Push notification token (Expo Push / Firebase Cloud Messaging) to deliver notifications to your device

2.6 Camera & Media Data

• If you upload a gallery image for scanning: the image is transmitted securely (TLS), analysed, and then discarded. We do not store your personal images beyond the scan session.
• Profile photos you upload are stored in Firebase Storage and linked to your account.

2.7 Data You Submit Voluntarily

• Feedback and bug reports you send us
• Community report descriptions and evidence you submit
• Merchant or business details if you register as a verified merchant

3. How We Use Your Data

We use your data for the following purposes. The legal basis for each use is noted in brackets, referencing India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.

Purpose	Data Used	Legal Basis
Authenticate your account and maintain secure sessions	Account & identity data, device data	Contract
Analyse QR codes for safety and fraud in real time	QR scan data, device data	Contract
Sync scan history, favourites, and generated codes across devices	QR scan data, account data	Contract
Verify in-app purchases and unlock paid features	Transaction ID, receipt token	Contract
Send push notifications about QR safety alerts, friend activity, and app updates	Push token, account data	Consent
Build and improve our fraud detection models using aggregated, anonymised patterns	Anonymised scan & behavioural data	Consent
Power community trust scores from aggregated user reports	Community reports, scan velocity	Contract
Show relevant in-app advertising to keep BinRo free	Aggregated, non-PII usage data	Consent
Debug crashes and improve app stability	Crash logs, device data	Legitimate interest
Detect and prevent abuse, fraud, and spam	Behavioural data, device data, IP	Legitimate interest
Comply with Indian law and respond to lawful government requests	Account data, scan data (as required)	Legal obligation

4. Payments & Transactions

BinRo offers optional in-app purchases (such as premium features or support contributions) processed exclusively through the official billing systems of your device's app store. Here is exactly how it works:

4.1 How Payments Are Processed

On Android, purchases are processed by Google Play using your Google account's saved payment method. Google's Google Payments Privacy Notice governs that transaction.

On iOS, purchases are processed by Apple using your Apple ID's payment method. Apple's Apple Privacy Policy governs that transaction.

4.2 What BinRo Receives

After a successful payment, the app store sends BinRo only the following limited information to verify your purchase:

• Transaction ID — a unique identifier for the purchase (not linked to your payment method)
• Product ID — which feature or item you purchased
• Purchase timestamp — when the purchase was made
• Verification receipt or token — used only to confirm legitimacy of the purchase with Google/Apple servers
• Subscription status (where applicable) — whether a recurring subscription is active, expired, or cancelled

This purchase information is linked to your BinRo account solely to activate the features you paid for. It is not used for advertising profiling or shared with third parties beyond what is necessary to verify the transaction.

4.3 Razorpay (Website Donations)

If you make a voluntary contribution via the BinRo website, payment is processed by Razorpay Software Private Limited, a PCI-DSS compliant payment gateway licensed by the Reserve Bank of India. Razorpay's Privacy Policy governs the data they process. BinRo receives only a transaction reference ID and the amount contributed — no card details or bank information.

4.4 Refunds

• Android purchases: Contact Google Play Support. Refunds are governed by the Google Play refund policy.
• iOS purchases: Contact Apple App Store Support. Refunds are governed by Apple's refund policy.
• Website contributions via Razorpay: Email us at ahmedsameerbinan2@gmail.com within 7 days of the transaction. Refunds are processed at our discretion and are not guaranteed for digital goods already delivered.

4.5 Financial Data We Do Not Collect

Note: When you scan a payment QR code, the payee's UPI ID or merchant VPA embedded in that QR code may be processed by our fraud-detection engine. This is limited to the payee's public merchant identifier — not your own payment credentials. See Section 5 for details.

5. QR Code & UPI / Payment QR Data

BinRo specialises in scanning and analysing payment QR codes, including UPI QR codes, BharatQR, and QR codes from 80+ Indian payment apps. Here is how we handle this sensitive data:

5.1 What UPI / Payment QR Codes Contain

A typical UPI QR code encodes publicly visible merchant information such as:

• Merchant / payee Virtual Payment Address (VPA), e.g., merchant@upi
• Merchant name or business name
• Optional: requested amount and transaction note
• Optional: BharatQR merchant category code (MCC)

This information is publicly embedded in the QR code and is required for the payment to work. BinRo analyses this data to detect fraudulent or cloned merchant QR codes.

5.2 How We Process Payment QR Data

• The decoded content of payment QR codes you scan is transmitted to our servers over an encrypted TLS connection for safety analysis.
• We check the merchant VPA and associated metadata against our fraud detection database, community reports, and threat intelligence feeds.
• We do not initiate, authorise, or complete any UPI payment on your behalf. BinRo is a scanning and analysis tool only — it does not integrate with UPI payment rails or execute fund transfers.
• Scanned payment QR content is stored in your scan history, linked to your account, for your personal reference.
• Merchant VPAs and patterns from scanned QR codes are added to our anonymised threat intelligence database in aggregate. Your identity is not linked to this database.

5.3 BharatQR & Multi-App Support

BinRo parses QR code formats across 80+ Indian payment applications including PhonePe, Google Pay, Paytm, BHIM, Amazon Pay, and others. This parsing is performed on-device. The decoded content may be sent to our servers for safety analysis as described above.

6. Firebase & Third-Party Services

BinRo relies on the following third-party services to deliver its core functionality. Each service processes certain data and is governed by its own privacy policy:

Service	Provider	Purpose	Data Shared
Firebase Authentication	Google LLC	User account creation, login, session management	Email, Google ID, auth tokens
Firebase Firestore	Google LLC	Primary database for scan history, QR data, user profiles, community reports	Account data, scan data, community data
Firebase Realtime Database	Google LLC	Real-time features such as live scan counts and trust scores	Anonymised aggregated scan/trust data
Firebase Storage	Google LLC	Profile photo storage and uploaded images for scanning	Profile photos, uploaded scan images
Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM)	Google LLC	Delivering push notifications to your device	Push token, notification content
Google Safe Browsing API	Google LLC	Checking URLs decoded from QR codes against Google's threat intelligence database	URLs extracted from scanned QR codes
OpenAI API	OpenAI, L.L.C.	AI-powered QR code analysis and safety explanations	QR code content (no personal identifiers)
Razorpay	Razorpay Software Pvt. Ltd.	Website donation processing	Transaction amount; payment credentials handled by Razorpay only
Google Play Billing	Google LLC	Android in-app purchase processing	Transaction ID, product ID, receipt token
Apple In-App Purchase	Apple Inc.	iOS in-app purchase processing	Transaction ID, product ID, receipt token
Expo Push Notifications	Expo (by Shopify Inc.)	Cross-platform push notification delivery	Push token, notification payload

Firebase (Google Cloud) is compliant with GDPR, SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, and ISO 27701. All Firebase data processing occurs under Google's Firebase Privacy and Security documentation.

We are not responsible for the independent data practices of these third-party providers. We select providers that meet high security and compliance standards, but we encourage you to review their individual privacy policies.

7. Data Pattern Analysis & Threat Intelligence

BinRo maintains a continuously updated threat intelligence database derived from community scan data and reports. This database is the engine that powers our real-time QR code safety scores.

• Scan pattern analysis: Aggregate scan patterns across all users are analysed to detect emerging fraud campaigns, phishing waves, and new malicious QR code formats.
• Payment QR fraud detection: Payment QR codes (UPI, BharatQR) are analysed in aggregate for unusual merchant patterns, VPA registration anomalies, and known fraud signatures.
• URL & domain database: URLs and domains decoded from scanned QR codes are added to our threat pattern database in anonymised form and may be shared with threat intelligence partners.
• Community report modelling: Report patterns are used to build statistical models that weight reporter credibility and detect coordinated abuse.
• AI model training: Anonymised scan content and safety labels may be used to train and improve our machine learning threat detection models. Your personal identity is never included in any training dataset.

8. Data Sharing & Disclosure

We may share your data only in the following circumstances:

8.1 Service Providers

We share data with the third-party services listed in Section 6 solely to deliver BinRo's functionality. These providers are contractually restricted from using your data for their own commercial purposes.

8.2 Threat Intelligence Partners

Anonymised URL, domain, and QR threat patterns (never linked to your identity) may be shared with threat intelligence networks to broaden fraud protection for the wider ecosystem.

8.3 Advertising Partners

Only aggregated, non-personally-identifiable usage data (such as general app category usage, device type, and approximate region) may be shared with advertising partners to serve relevant in-app ads. See Section 14 for your opt-out options.

8.4 Legal & Safety Disclosures

We may disclose data when required by:

• A valid court order or judicial directive
• A lawful government request under Indian law (including the IT Act 2000, DPDPA 2023, or applicable criminal procedure)
• Prevention of imminent harm or safety threats to individuals or the public

8.5 Business Transfers

In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or substantially all of our assets, your data may be transferred to the acquiring entity under equivalent privacy protections. You will be notified of any such transfer via email or in-app notice.

9. Data Retention

• Active account data is retained for as long as your account is active and in use.
• Scan history is retained for up to 2 years. You can delete individual scan records from within the app at any time.
• Payment records (transaction IDs and receipts) are retained for 7 years to comply with Indian accounting and tax record-keeping requirements under the Income Tax Act, 1961.
• Account deletion: Upon requesting deletion, personally identifiable data is removed from active databases within 30 days. See Section 12 for how to request deletion.
• Backup copies may be retained for up to 90 days post-deletion for disaster recovery purposes, after which they are permanently destroyed.
• Anonymised, aggregated data (scan counts, threat patterns, trust scores) may be retained indefinitely as part of our threat intelligence database. This data cannot be linked back to you.
• Community reports submitted by you may persist in anonymised form even after account deletion, as they form part of the shared safety database.
• Legal hold: If your account is subject to a government or legal investigation, we may be required to retain relevant data beyond the above timelines.

10. Data Security & Breach Policy

10.1 Security Measures

• In transit: All data between your device and our servers is encrypted using TLS 1.2 or higher. We enforce HTTPS-only connections.
• At rest: Data stored in Firebase Firestore and Firebase Storage is encrypted at rest using AES-256 by Google Cloud infrastructure.
• Authentication: Firebase Auth uses industry-standard OAuth 2.0, secure token management, and refresh token rotation.
• Passwords: Email account passwords are hashed using bcrypt with a unique salt. Plain-text passwords are never stored or logged anywhere in our systems.
• API security: Our backend APIs use authentication token validation, rate limiting, input sanitisation, and security headers on all endpoints.
• Access control: Internal access to production data is restricted on a strict need-to-know basis with audit logging.

10.2 Data Breach Response

Despite our best efforts, no system is completely immune to security incidents. If a breach occurs that affects your personal data, here is what you can expect from us:

• Notification: We will notify you by email and/or in-app message as soon as practicably possible — and within 72 hours of discovering the breach, in line with applicable data protection law.
• Regulatory reporting: We will report the breach to relevant authorities as required by the DPDPA 2023 and any other applicable law.
• Containment: We will immediately take steps to contain the breach, revoke compromised credentials, and secure affected systems.
• Transparency: We will provide a clear account of what data was affected, what steps we are taking, and what you should do to protect yourself.

11. Profile & Privacy Controls

Public Account (Default)

• Your profile, QR codes you have made public, activity stats, and community contributions are visible to all BinRo users.

Private Account

• Only approved friends can see your full profile, QR codes, and activity.
• Other users see only your display name, username, and profile photo.
• You can switch between public and private at any time from Account Settings.

Friends System

• Friendships are formed only through mutual consent — both parties must accept.
• You can remove a friend at any time. Removal immediately revokes their access to your private profile.
• You can block any user, preventing them from seeing your profile or contacting you.

Scan History Visibility

• Your personal scan history is private by default and visible only to you.
• You can delete individual scans or your entire history from within the app.
• Aggregated, anonymised data derived from your scans remains even after you delete your history.

Push Notifications

• You can manage push notification preferences from your device's notification settings or from within BinRo's app settings at any time.

12. Your Rights

Under India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDPA) and applicable international frameworks, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

Right	What It Means	How to Exercise It
Access	Request a full copy of all personal data we hold about you	Email us at ahmedsameerbinan2@gmail.com
Correction	Update your name, email, or profile photo	Via Account Settings in the app, or by emailing us
Erasure / Deletion	Permanently delete your account and personal data (within 30 days)	Account Settings → Delete Account, or email us
Portability	Receive your personal data in a structured, machine-readable format (JSON)	Email us at ahmedsameerbinan2@gmail.com
Withdraw Consent	Opt out of personalised advertising or AI training use of your data	Email us at ahmedsameerbinan2@gmail.com
Object / Restrict	Object to or restrict certain processing of your data	Email us and we will assess your request
Lodge a Complaint	Complain to the Data Protection Board of India or your local data protection authority	Via the Board's official channel once established under DPDPA 2023
Nominate	Nominate another person to exercise your data rights in the event of your death or incapacity	Email us at ahmedsameerbinan2@gmail.com

We will respond to all verifiable rights requests within 30 days. We may need to verify your identity before processing requests. We do not charge a fee for reasonable requests.

Note: Some rights are limited where data has been fully anonymised and incorporated into community or AI datasets — anonymised data cannot be attributed to a specific individual and is therefore outside the scope of data subject rights.

13. Cookies & Tracking Technologies

13.1 Mobile App

The BinRo mobile app does not use browser cookies. Instead, we use:

• Secure local storage (via Expo SecureStore) to persist your authentication token on your device. This data stays on your device and is not accessible to other apps.
• Firebase SDK analytics to collect anonymous usage data. You can opt out of Firebase Analytics via your device's advertising settings (Android: "Opt out of Ads Personalisation"; iOS: "Limit Ad Tracking").

13.2 Website

The BinRo website may use the following types of cookies:

• Essential cookies: Strictly necessary for the website to function. Cannot be disabled.
• Analytics cookies: Help us understand how visitors use the site (e.g., Google Analytics). These are anonymised and you can opt out via your browser settings or a cookie consent preference.

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Blocking essential cookies may affect website functionality.

14. Advertising & Keeping BinRo Free

BinRo's core safety features are and will remain completely free. In-app advertising helps us sustain the project without charging users.

• Aggregated, non-personally-identifiable usage data (device type, approximate region, general app usage category) may be used to display relevant in-app advertisements.
• We never share your name, email address, specific QR scan content, payment data, or any directly personally identifiable information with advertisers.
• Advertising partners may use device advertising IDs (GAID on Android, IDFA on iOS) to measure ad performance, subject to your device-level advertising consent settings.

To opt out of personalised advertising:

• Android: Settings → Google → Ads → "Opt out of Ads Personalisation"
• iOS: Settings → Privacy → Tracking → disable per-app tracking for BinRo
• Email: Contact ahmedsameerbinan2@gmail.com to request removal from personalised ad segments. Non-personalised ads may still be shown.

15. Government & Law Enforcement Requests

BinRo operates under Indian law. We comply with lawful government and law enforcement requests for user data, including those made under:

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (and amendments)
• The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDPA)
• The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
• Applicable judicial orders from competent Indian courts

Our process for responding to government requests:

• We review all requests for legal validity before complying. Vague or overly broad requests will be challenged.
• We produce only the minimum data necessary to satisfy the lawful request.
• Where legally permitted, we will notify the affected user of the request prior to disclosure, giving them an opportunity to seek legal remedy.
• We do not provide any government agency with backdoor access, encryption keys, or direct system access. All access requires valid legal process served to us directly.
• We maintain a record of all government data requests received and complied with (subject to any lawful confidentiality requirements).

16. Children's Privacy

BinRo is not intended for users under 13 years of age (or under 18 where applicable local law requires parental consent for data processing of minors).

• We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.
• Our account registration process requires users to confirm they are 13 or older.
• If we discover that a child under 13 has created an account or submitted personal data without verifiable parental consent, we will delete that data immediately and close the account.
• If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided personal data to BinRo without your consent, please contact us immediately at ahmedsameerbinan2@gmail.com. We will verify and act within 5 business days.

17. International Data Transfers

BinRo's primary user base is in India. Our backend infrastructure runs on Google Firebase, which stores and processes data in Google Cloud data centres. Firebase data for India-based users is processed within Google's infrastructure, which may include servers located outside India.

Google Cloud and Firebase comply with applicable cross-border data transfer requirements, including standard contractual clauses where required. By using BinRo, you consent to the transfer of your data to Google's global infrastructure as necessary to provide the service.

Calls to the OpenAI API (for AI-powered analysis) involve data transfer to OpenAI's servers in the United States. Only QR code content (no personal identifiers) is included in these requests. OpenAI complies with applicable data transfer frameworks.

18. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will:

• Update the Effective Date at the top of this page and in the app.
• Increment the consent version in the app — all users will be required to review and re-accept the updated policy before continuing to use BinRo.
• Where practically possible, send an in-app notification and/or email alerting you to the key changes before they take effect.

Continued use of BinRo after accepting the updated policy constitutes your agreement to the revised terms. If you do not agree to any changes, you should discontinue use of BinRo and request deletion of your account.

We recommend bookmarking this page and reviewing it periodically. The effective date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.

19. Contact Us

For any privacy questions, data access or deletion requests, or to exercise any of your rights described in this policy, please reach out to us:

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