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Policies

Privacy policy

What we collect, why, who sees it, how long we keep it, and how you stay in control.

This policy explains how the Social Innovation Academy (SIA) handles personal information: on this website, on WhatsApp and email, and in our programmes and events. “We” means SIA. “You” means anyone who uses the website or takes part in our work.

SIA, a registered social enterprise and training academy, is responsible for your information.

The short version

  • We collect only what we need to answer you, run our programmes and keep the website safe.
  • We never sell your information. We use no advertising cookies, and nothing that follows you to other websites.
  • Visitor numbers are counted without cookies and without anything that identifies you.
  • You can ask to see, correct or delete your information at any time.
  • We record consent for photos of people who can be recognised, and never show photos marked “no consent”.

Questions about your data?

Ask us anything about this policy, or ask for a copy of your information. The team replies in Urdu or English.

Ask on WhatsAppOther ways to contact us

Part 1

What we collect, feature by feature

This list updates itself: it shows only the parts of this website that are switched on today. Information you give us in person, on paper or by phone is handled the same way.

  • Forms: applications, questions, partner requests, feedback

    What we collect
    What you type in the form (usually your name, email or WhatsApp number, city and your answers), the page you sent it from and the time. Your IP address is used, scrambled, for one hour to stop automated spam, and is not stored.
    Why
    To answer you, to consider your application, and to keep a record of what was agreed.
    Who else sees it
    The SIA team members who handle that kind of form. A copy may be emailed to the team’s mailboxes. Complaints and safeguarding concerns also go to the safeguarding lead.
    How long we keep it
    Until the team deletes them. You can ask us to delete yours at any time.

  • Reviewing applications

    What we collect
    Scores and notes that SIA reviewers add to your application.
    Why
    To choose participants fairly and consistently.
    Who else sees it
    Only the SIA reviewers of that cohort.
    How long we keep it
    As long as the application itself.

  • Files you upload with a form

    What we collect
    Documents or photos you attach to a form, such as a CV or a business plan.
    Why
    To consider what you sent us.
    Who else sees it
    Only the SIA team. Files are stored privately, outside the public part of the website.
    How long we keep it
    With the form they came with; deleting the form deletes its files.

  • Your My SIA account

    What we collect
    Your name, email address, WhatsApp number, city, organisation, password (stored scrambled, never readable), what you do with SIA (applicant, partner, mentor, alumni), your choices about emails and WhatsApp, your messages with the team, and when you last signed in.
    Why
    To run your account: show you your applications, tickets, certificates and receipts kept under your confirmed email address, and let you and the team write to each other.
    Who else sees it
    Not shared outside SIA. Emails reach you through our email provider.
    How long we keep it
    Until you delete your account (Privacy, in your account). Then the team removes the rest of your records, except what the law or our funders require us to keep.

  • Following your application

    What we collect
    Your reference number and the email or WhatsApp number you applied with (to sign you in), the messages between you and the team, and documents you send. A cookie keeps you signed in while you use the page.
    Why
    So you can see where your application is, answer the team and send what they ask for.
    Who else sees it
    Only the SIA team. Documents are stored privately.
    How long we keep it
    With your application.

  • Programme cohorts and attendance

    What we collect
    When you take part in a programme: your name, email and WhatsApp number as the team adds them, the sessions you attended (and when you were marked present), and the certificate you earned.
    Why
    To run the programme, issue certificates based on attendance, and report to the funders of the programme in totals.
    Who else sees it
    The SIA team. Your personal check-in code is only shown to you, in your account.
    How long we keep it
    With the programme’s records. You can ask us to remove your name.

  • Certificates

    What we collect
    Your name, email, the programme and the date, and the certificate’s code.
    Why
    To issue your certificate and let anyone you show it to check that it is real.
    Who else sees it
    Anyone who has the code can check it on this website and sees only whether it is valid, your name, the programme and the date.
    How long we keep it
    As long as the certificate is valid, so it can always be checked.

  • Newsletter

    What we collect
    Your email address, when you signed up and confirmed, and whether you unsubscribed.
    Why
    To send you open calls, events and news, about once a month, only after you confirm.
    Who else sees it
    Only the SIA team.
    How long we keep it
    Until you unsubscribe (every email has a link). Sign-ups never confirmed are deleted after 30 days. If you unsubscribe we keep your address marked “unsubscribed” so we never add you again by mistake.

  • Partner area

    What we collect
    For people with a partner account: the organisation you belong to, the requests you send, and when you open the documents the SIA team shares with your organisation.
    Why
    To give your organisation its documents, figures and key dates, answer your requests, and know that documents reached you.
    Who else sees it
    The SIA team, and the other people linked to the same organisation (they see your name). Documents are stored privately.
    How long we keep it
    While your organisation works with SIA. Your link and history go when your account is deleted.

  • “Notify me when it opens”

    What we collect
    Your name if you give it, your email address and/or WhatsApp number, what you asked to hear about, and the campaign link that brought you to the website, if any.
    Why
    To confirm your request by email, then tell you once when the programme, course or event opens (once for each thing you chose), because you asked for it.
    Who else sees it
    Emails go through our email service. WhatsApp messages go through Meta’s WhatsApp Business Platform, and only if you agreed to them. Alerts on your phone go through your browser’s notification service, without the text of the message.
    How long we keep it
    Deleted 90 days after the message, or after 365 days if it never opens. You can delete your details sooner with the link in our email.

  • Stories you share

    What we collect
    When you share your story: your name, email address or WhatsApp number, city, the programme you took part in, your story in your own words, the photos you add, what you allow us to show (your name, photos, a quote, your city), whether you are under 18 with your parent’s or guardian’s name, and the consent you gave (the statement you read, when, a shortened form of your internet (IP) address, and your signature if you signed).
    Why
    To check your story with you, and to publish it in Stories of change, in our reports and on social media only in the ways you allowed.
    Who else sees it
    The SIA team reads your story. Only what you allowed is published, and only after the team has reviewed it. Your contact details and the photos you did not allow are never published.
    How long we keep it
    Until you withdraw your consent, which you can do at any time from My SIA or the private link we email you. Then the story comes off the website and its photos are marked “do not use”. When you delete your account or ask us to erase your data, your details and photos are deleted.

  • Mentoring

    What we collect
    For mentors: your mentor profile (what you help with, sectors, languages, city, availability, a few lines about you, LinkedIn), your mentees, the sessions you log and your steps on the facilitator track. For mentees: your name and email as the SIA team gives them to your mentor, and your mentor’s notes from your sessions.
    Why
    To match founders with mentors, follow how mentoring goes, and train and certify facilitators.
    Who else sees it
    The SIA team and the mentor. A mentee sees the notes their mentor chooses to share. A mentor’s profile is public only if the mentor chooses to appear on the website.
    How long we keep it
    While you mentor or are mentored with SIA. Session records stay with the programme’s records after an account is deleted, without the mentor’s account.

  • Volunteering

    What we collect
    When you volunteer: the hours you log (day, activity, programme or event, your note), whether the team approved them, the openings you said you are interested in, and your volunteer profile (skills, when you are free, languages).
    Why
    To thank and recognise volunteers, issue volunteer certificates, and count volunteering in SIA’s reports (as totals, without names).
    Who else sees it
    The SIA team. Reports show totals only.
    How long we keep it
    While you volunteer, and after you stop so your certificate can be checked. When you delete your account or ask us to erase your data, your profile goes and your hours stay only as anonymous totals.

  • Downloads

    What we collect
    Your name and email, when a toolkit or report asks for them before the download.
    Why
    To know who uses our resources and, if you tick the box, to send you new ones.
    Who else sees it
    Only the SIA team.
    How long we keep it
    Deleted after 24 months.

  • My documents (in My SIA)

    What we collect
    Documents you choose to keep in your account, such as an ID card copy or business registration.
    Why
    So you can attach them to applications without uploading them each time.
    Who else sees it
    Nobody, until you attach one to an application: then the team handling it sees a copy.
    How long we keep it
    Until you delete them, or your account.

  • Notifications in My SIA

    What we collect
    Short notes about your applications, messages, bookings and things that suit you, and whether you read them.
    Why
    To keep you up to date, in your account and by email as you choose.
    Who else sees it
    Nobody outside the SIA team.
    How long we keep it
    One year, or until you delete your account.

  • The "Ask" assistant (AI)

    What we collect
    The question you type and the answer. Please do not type personal details into it. A scrambled form of your IP address is kept for one hour to limit how many questions one visitor can ask.
    Why
    To answer your question from the pages of this website.
    Who else sees it
    Anthropic, the company that makes the Claude AI models, receives your question with passages from this website to write the answer.
    How long we keep it
    We do not keep your questions.

  • Campaign links

    What we collect
    When you open one of our short links (from a WhatsApp message, a post or a poster), we add one to that day’s count for the link. A cookie (sia_src) also remembers the campaign, where the link was shared, the name of the website you came from and the first page you opened, and a form you send within 30 days is marked with that campaign.
    Why
    To see which messages, posts and posters bring people to SIA.
    Who else sees it
    Only the SIA team.
    How long we keep it
    The cookie lasts 30 days and is never set if your browser asks websites not to track you (Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control). Daily counts are numbers only. The campaign noted on a form is kept with the form.

  • Visitor numbers

    What we collect
    The page you open, the site that sent you and your type of device. No cookies. To count different people per day, your IP address and browser are combined with a value that changes daily; the result is used once and never stored. If your browser asks sites not to track you, you are not counted.
    Why
    To see which pages help people and which need work.
    Who else sees it
    No one: the numbers are counted on this website.
    How long we keep it
    Only daily totals, which nobody can trace back to you, kept for 25 months.

  • Working offline, and your preferences

    What we collect
    Your browser keeps copies of the pages you open and of the website’s files, so pages open faster and work without a connection, whether or not you install the site as an app. Forms you fill in without a connection wait on your device until they can be sent. Your choices on this site (such as “I am a…”, data saver) are remembered in your browser.
    Why
    So the site works on slow or no connections, and remembers your choices.
    Who else sees it
    No one: this stays on your device until a waiting form is sent. Pages with personal details are never saved for offline use.
    How long we keep it
    Until you clear your browser’s data; older copies are replaced automatically.

  • Photos of people

    What we collect
    Photos from SIA programmes and events and, for photos of people who can be recognised, a record of their consent (a parent’s or guardian’s for anyone under 18).
    Why
    To show our work honestly, and only with permission.
    Who else sees it
    Everyone who visits the site sees the published photos. Photos marked “no consent” are never shown.
    How long we keep it
    Until you ask us to remove a photo of you.

  • Linking your SENPak account

    What we collect
    Only if you link your My SIA account to your SENPak account: your name, email address, SIA badges (founder, alumni, partner, mentor) and, if your venture is listed on this site with your consent, its public profile go to SENPak; your SENPak membership status, joining date and the addresses of your SENPak profile and website come to SIA.
    Why
    So both networks recognise you without asking for the same details twice. You confirm the link yourself.
    Who else sees it
    SENPak (Social Enterprise Network Pakistan), through a private, signed connection between the two websites.
    How long we keep it
    Until you unlink the accounts or delete your account. Unlinking removes these details on both sites.

  • "For you" feed

    What we collect
    The items you save or hide in your feed, whether you want alerts, and when you last opened it. Matches use the sectors, city and Pathway stage in your profile.
    Why
    To show you open calls, events and jobs that fit you, and to tell you about new ones if you want that.
    Who else sees it
    Nobody: the team does not see your saved items.
    How long we keep it
    Until you remove them or delete your account.

  • Founder progress in My SIA

    What we collect
    The Pathway stage the team sets for you, the milestones you tick, and the monthly figures you send: revenue, new jobs (and how many went to women), new customers and any note.
    Why
    To support you through the Pathway, and to report SIA’s results to funders as totals that never name you.
    Who else sees it
    The SIA team. Published figures are totals of checked reports only.
    How long we keep it
    While you have an account. Deleting your account deletes your figures and milestones; totals already published stay as they are.

  • Seed grants

    What we collect
    The grant awarded to you, its payments and milestones, how and when each payment was made, and the receipts or proof you send from My SIA.
    Why
    To pay the grant against its milestones and to account for it to SIA’s funders and auditors.
    Who else sees it
    The SIA team, and SIA’s auditors and the funder of the grant when they check the accounts.
    How long we keep it
    Grant and payment records are kept as long as SIA’s financial records must be kept. If you delete your account, the files you sent are deleted; the payment records stay.

  • Digital badges

    What we collect
    The badges you earn, when, and what earned them (a stage, a certificate number, events attended, mentoring sessions).
    Why
    So you can show what you achieved with SIA, and anyone you share a badge with can check it is real.
    Who else sees it
    Each badge has a public page with your name, unless you hide it. Its credential file holds a scrambled (hashed) form of your email address, not the address itself.
    How long we keep it
    Until the team revokes the badge or you delete your account.

  • Signing in safely

    What we collect
    For people who sign in: the time and IP address of each sign-in attempt, and a cookie that remembers a trusted device.
    Why
    To stop password guessing and warn you about sign-ins from a new device.
    Who else sees it
    Only the website’s administrators.
    How long we keep it
    The sign-in log is deleted after 30 days.

  • Backups

    What we collect
    Regular copies of the whole website, including the personal data described above.
    Why
    To restore the website if something goes wrong.
    Who else sees it
    Kept on our web server, where only administrators can open them.
    How long we keep it
    Only the most recent copies are kept; older ones are deleted automatically.

  • Looking after the website

    What we collect
    Technical health figures only: whether pages load, how fast, and totals such as visits and failed sign-ins. No visitor’s personal details.
    Why
    To keep the website fast, safe and up.
    Who else sees it
    Archaeo Agency LLC, the company that builds and maintains this website for SIA, and Google PageSpeed, which tests the home page’s speed.
    How long we keep it
    Up to about a year, for trends.

  • Alerts on your phone or computer

    What we collect
    Only if you turn alerts on: the address your browser’s push service gives for your device (it does not identify you), the topics you chose, the kind of browser (“Chrome on Android”), when you turned alerts on, and the alerts waiting for your device. If you are signed in to My SIA, the device is linked to your account.
    Why
    To show you the alerts you asked for.
    Who else sees it
    Your browser’s push service (Google, Mozilla, Apple or Microsoft) only receives an empty signal to wake your device; the text of an alert comes straight from this site.
    How long we keep it
    Until you turn alerts off, remove the device in My SIA, or the push service tells us the device is gone. Waiting alerts are deleted after 30 days. Deleting your account removes its devices.

  • The invitation to install the app

    What we collect
    Your browser remembers how many pages you opened here, and when you chose “Not now”, so the invitation shows at the right time (stored on your device only, no cookie). The site counts per day how many people saw it, installed the app or said “Not now”, without knowing who. To stop misuse, a scrambled form of your internet address is kept for one day.
    Why
    To invite people to the app at a good moment, and to know whether the invitation helps.
    Who else sees it
    Nobody. The SIA team sees the daily totals in the reports.
    How long we keep it
    Daily totals for about two years. What your browser remembers stays on your device until you clear the site’s data.

  • How the team keeps track of who it works with

    What we collect
    The team sees, in one place, what you have done with SIA on this website (applications, events, certificates, donations, subscriptions, messages). They may add short notes and labels to your profile and link records that belong to the same person. We record when we send you a message and whether it was delivered, and when you ask not to get these messages.
    Why
    To answer you well, avoid asking for the same thing twice, and only send you messages that are relevant to you.
    Who else sees it
    Only the SIA team members who handle programmes and forms. Emails go through our email service; WhatsApp messages through Meta’s WhatsApp Business service, only if you agreed to receive them.
    How long we keep it
    Notes and labels until you ask us to remove them or delete your account; the record of a message for two years. Your request not to receive messages is kept, without your address in readable form, so we keep respecting it.

Part 2

Why we use your information

We use your information only for the purpose you gave it for, or one closely linked to it. In each case we rely on one of these reasons:

  • You asked us to do something: answer your question, consider your application, register you for an event, send your certificate or receipt.
  • You agreed: for example to receive the newsletter, to be listed as an alumni venture, or to appear in a photo or story. You can withdraw your agreement at any time, and that does not affect what we did before.
  • We need to, to run SIA responsibly: keeping the website secure, stopping spam and fraud, improving our programmes, and reporting results to funders as totals that do not name you.
  • The law requires it: for example keeping financial records of donations.

We do not use your information for automated decisions about you. People at SIA decide who joins a programme.

Part 3

Who we share it with

Your information is seen by the SIA team members who need it for the task. We share it outside SIA only in these cases:

  • Services that work for us, under agreements that limit what they can do with it: our web host, the services that deliver our emails, Meta (WhatsApp messages), Anthropic (the Ask assistant), Brevo or Mailchimp (newsletter, if we use one), Google (backups in Google Drive), and the bank or payment service you choose when you donate.
  • Archaeo Agency LLC, the company that builds and maintains this website for SIA. It can see the website’s data while it fixes or improves the site, and keeps it confidential.
  • Funders and partners of a programme you join: usually only totals (how many people, which districts). If a funder needs names, for example to check attendance, we tell you when you apply.
  • When the law requires it, or to protect someone from serious harm.

We never sell your information or let others use it for their own marketing.

Part 4

Information stored outside Pakistan

Some of the services above store information on servers outside Pakistan, for example in the European Union or the United States. We choose established services that protect information with encryption and access controls, and we send them only what they need.

Part 5

How long we keep it

We keep information only as long as we need it for the purpose above, then delete it or keep only totals that do not identify anyone. The list in part 1 gives the period for each part of the website. Some records we must keep longer: donation and financial records for as long as the law requires, and the records of a programme until it has been reported to its funder.

Part 6

Your rights, and how to use them

Whoever you are and wherever you live, you can ask us to:

  • See the information we hold about you, and get a copy.
  • Correct it if it is wrong or out of date.
  • Delete it, unless the law requires us to keep something (we will tell you what and why).
  • Stop using it for something you agreed to, such as the newsletter or a photo.
  • Object to how we use it, and we will look again.

If you have a My SIA account, you can download your information and ask for your account to be deleted from the account’s privacy settings. Every newsletter email has an unsubscribe link.

Otherwise, message us on WhatsApp, use the contact page, or email support@socinacademy.com. We may ask you to confirm who you are before we share or delete anything.

If you live in the European Union or the United Kingdom, the data protection law there may give you further rights, including the right to complain to your local data protection authority.

Part 7

Children and young people

Many SIA programmes, such as Changemaker Schools and the STEAM labs, work with young people. We collect as little as possible about anyone under 18, and school programmes are arranged through the school.

  • If you are under 18, please ask a parent or guardian before you send us your details or create an account.
  • We publish a photo, video or story of anyone under 18 only with the written consent of a parent or guardian. See Photo and media consent.
  • Our safeguarding policy explains how we keep children and young people safe.

Part 8

Keeping it safe

  • The website uses an encrypted connection (https), and documents you upload are stored privately, outside the public part of the site.
  • Only the team members who need information can see it. Team accounts are protected against password guessing and can use two-step sign-in.
  • The website is backed up regularly, and backups are kept where only authorised people can open them.
  • Pages with personal details are never saved by the installable app or shared caches.

No system is perfectly secure. If something goes wrong that is likely to affect you, we will tell you what happened and what we are doing about it, as soon as we can.

Part 9

The law in Pakistan

Pakistan does not yet have a single, comprehensive data protection law in force: a Personal Data Protection Bill has been in preparation for several years. The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 already makes it an offence to obtain, use or share someone’s identity information without permission.

Until a data protection law is in force, we follow this policy and recognised international good practice, as if such a law already applied to us. When a law is passed, we will update this policy.

Part 10

Changes to this policy

When we change how we use information, we update this page and the date at the top. If a change matters for people who already gave us their information, we tell them by email or WhatsApp.

Part 11

Contact us

For anything about your information, or to make a complaint about how we used it, contact SIA. If you are not happy with our answer, you can use our complaints procedure.

Data protection contact: support@socinacademy.com

Phone and WhatsApp

+92 330 8470975

Open WhatsApp

Email support@socinacademy.com

Web

socinacademy.org

Instagram @socin.academy

Our offices and hubs

  • QuettaHeadquarters
  • LahoreOffice
  • IslamabadOffice
  • QuettaIncubation hub

    SIA Impact Studio

  • QuettaIncubation hub

    WBIC, SBK Women’s University

    SBK Women’s University, Quetta

  • LoralaiIncubation hub

    Centre for Entrepreneurship at the University of Loralai (CEUL)

    University of Loralai, Loralai

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