Effective date: 1 April 2026 · Last updated: April 2026
1. Who we are
This Privacy Policy describes how MPSC PYQ QUIZ ("the Service", "we", "us", "our"), operated by Don't know Academy, a one-developer education project based in Pune, Maharashtra, India, collects, uses, stores, shares and protects information when you visit www.mpscs.in or use the Android / iOS apps that share the same backend.
For any privacy-related question, you can email us at dontknowacademy@gmail.com. We acknowledge every privacy request within 7 days.
2. Scope
This policy applies to all visitors and to all logged-in users of the Service. It applies regardless of whether you access the Service from India or outside India. It does not apply to third-party websites that we link to (mpsc.gov.in, NCERT, news websites, etc.) — those have their own policies.
3. Information we collect
3.1 Account information (only if you choose to sign in)
We use Firebase Authentication (a Google service) to provide sign-in with Google or Apple. When you sign in we receive from the identity provider:
- Your full name, as it appears in your Google / Apple profile.
- Your email address.
- Your profile picture URL.
- A stable, non-public user ID assigned by Firebase.
We do not receive your password. You can use the public pages and quiz practice areas without signing in. If you continue as a guest, we ask only for a display name and keep a random guest ID in your browser so the daily leaderboard can work.
3.2 Quiz activity and progress
When you attempt a quiz we record, in your browser's localStorage and (if you are signed in) in our Firestore database:
- Which quiz set you opened.
- Your answer to each question.
- Whether the answer was correct.
- The time you spent on each question.
- The final score and language used.
If you submit a quiz, your daily aggregate score is also written to a public leaderboard collection in Firestore so the daily leaderboard can rank participants. The leaderboard publishes only your display name and, for signed-in users, profile picture — never your email address.
3.3 Device and log information
Like every web server, ours automatically receives certain technical information when you visit a page: your IP address, the browser type and version, the operating system, the page you requested, the page that referred you, and the time of the request. These logs are retained for up to 30 days for security and abuse-prevention purposes and are then deleted.
3.4 Cookies and similar technologies
We use the following cookies and similar technologies:
- Strictly necessary: a session cookie set by Firebase Authentication after you sign in. Without it you cannot stay logged in.
- Functional (localStorage): we use your browser's
localStorage(not a cookie) to remember your dark-mode preference, your language preference, and your in-progress quiz answers. This data never leaves your browser unless you are signed in. - Analytics: we use Google Analytics (or a privacy-friendly equivalent) to understand which pages are visited and broadly which device types are used. The cookies set by Google Analytics are
_ga,_gid,_gatand similar, with retention periods between 24 hours and 26 months. You can opt out using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on. - Advertising: third-party vendors, including Google, may use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this and other websites. See section 4 below for the full list and your opt-out controls.
4. Advertising — Google AdSense and partners
We are applying to enrol the Service with Google AdSense to display advertisements. Once enrolled:
- Google, as a third-party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on the Service. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visit to the Service and / or other sites on the Internet.
- You can opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings.
- Alternatively, you can opt out of a third-party vendor's use of cookies for personalised advertising by visiting www.aboutads.info.
- Google's own privacy policy is available at policies.google.com/technologies/ads and the list of Google's ad-tech partners is at support.google.com/adspolicy/answer/9012903.
- For users in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, we will show a Consent Management Platform (CMP) banner that complies with the IAB Europe Transparency & Consent Framework (TCF v2). You may grant, refuse or withdraw your consent for personalised advertising at any time using the "Manage cookie preferences" link in the footer.
- We do not display interest-based advertising to users we know to be under the age of 18.
5. How we use the information
We process the data above for the following purposes only:
- To authenticate you and keep you logged in across sessions.
- To save your quiz progress and analytics so you can resume.
- To display the daily leaderboard.
- To respond to your support, error-report and feedback requests.
- To detect, investigate and prevent abuse, fraud, spam or attacks.
- To measure, in aggregate, which features of the Service are used and which need improvement.
- To display advertisements (once AdSense is enabled) and to comply with applicable advertising-policy requirements.
- To comply with legal obligations under Indian law (including the Information Technology Act 2000 and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023).
We do not sell your personal data to anyone, and we do not share it with third parties for their own marketing purposes.
6. Where your data is stored
Your account data and quiz progress are stored in Google Firebase (Firestore and Firebase Authentication). Firebase is operated by Google LLC and the data is stored on Google Cloud servers, primarily in the asia-south1 (Mumbai) region. By using the Service you agree to the transfer of your data to Google for processing as described in Firebase's privacy and security policy.
7. Data retention
- Account information: retained until you delete your account or for two years after your last activity, whichever is sooner.
- Quiz progress and analytics: retained until you delete your account.
- Leaderboard entries: retained for 30 days, then automatically purged.
- Server logs: retained for up to 30 days.
- Backups: retained for up to 30 days for disaster recovery, then overwritten.
8. Your rights
Depending on your country of residence, you have one or more of the following rights with respect to your personal data:
- Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Rectification — ask us to correct any inaccurate data.
- Erasure — ask us to delete your data and your account.
- Restriction — ask us to stop processing your data while a complaint is investigated.
- Portability — ask for your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
- Objection — object to specific processing activities, including direct marketing and personalised advertising.
- Withdraw consent — at any time, where processing is based on your consent.
- Lodge a complaint — with the Indian Data Protection Board (under the DPDP Act 2023) or, if you are an EEA / UK resident, with your local data protection authority.
To exercise any of these rights, email us at dontknowacademy@gmail.com. We will verify your identity (typically by replying from the same email address you used to sign in) and complete the request within 30 days.
9. Children's privacy
The Service is intended for adult MPSC aspirants (typically 21+ years of age) and is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13. If you believe we have collected such data, please contact us and we will delete it promptly. Under the Indian DPDP Act 2023, we will not process the data of a person under 18 without verifiable parental consent and we will not display interest-based advertising to such users.
10. Security
We use industry-standard safeguards to protect your information:
- HTTPS / TLS for all traffic between your browser and our servers.
- Firestore security rules that prevent users from reading or modifying anyone else's data.
- Sign-in via Firebase Authentication (Google OAuth, Apple Sign-In) — we never see or store your password.
- The principle of least privilege for the small number of administrators who have read access to support tickets.
No system is 100% secure, however. If we ever experience a personal-data breach that is likely to result in a high risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify the Data Protection Board within the timelines required under the DPDP Act 2023 and will notify affected users by email within 72 hours of becoming aware of the breach.
11. Third-party services we rely on
- Google Firebase Authentication — sign-in functionality. Privacy policy.
- Google Cloud Firestore — leaderboard and progress storage. Same policy as above.
- Google Hosting / Vercel / Cloudflare — hosting infrastructure for the Service.
- Google Analytics — aggregate, anonymised usage analytics. Google's privacy policy.
- Google AdSense (subject to approval) — advertising. AdSense privacy policy.
- OpenStreetMap — basemap tiles for the Maharashtra map. Privacy policy.
12. Account deletion
To delete your account and all associated data, email us at dontknowacademy@gmail.com from the address you used to sign in, with the subject line "Delete my account". We will confirm receipt within 24 hours and complete the deletion within 7 days. Your past leaderboard entries will be anonymised. Server backups containing the data will be overwritten within the 30-day backup-retention window.
13. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the date of the most recent change. Material changes will additionally be communicated through a banner on the home page for at least 14 days. Continued use of the Service after the effective date of any change constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
14. Contact
Don't know Academy (MPSC PYQ QUIZ)
Email: dontknowacademy@gmail.com
Location: Pune, Maharashtra, India
Grievance Officer (DPDP Act 2023): the email address above.