Your privacy at PRISM
PRISM UPSC is an independent preparation initiative led by Akhil. This page says what we keep, why, and how you can have it changed or removed.
Free practice tools
Your answers, mistakes, study profile and quiz history are stored in your browser. When you are logged in to your PRISM account they are also backed up to PRISM, so a closed tab or a new device does not lose them. The backup is tied to your logged-in account; nobody can read or change it without logging in. This also covers the Question Archive and Revision Ledger: which questions you answered and how you graded them (knew, guessed or wrong), your revision ledger, bookmarks and any private notes you write. Notes are private to you; nobody at PRISM reads them. The summary on My Record is generated in your browser and is sent nowhere unless you copy it. Old quiz days are trimmed automatically: after three days only the score is kept, and nothing older than a year is kept at all.
Your student account
One account covers the daily quiz, practice, mock tests, archive, revision ledger and dashboard. When you create it we store your name, email and a salted, one-way hash of your password (we cannot read your password). Each finished practice set or mock test is saved to your account: the questions you were shown, the options you chose, whether they were right, your score and the date, so your dashboard can show accuracy, weak topics and trends. A secure cookie keeps you logged in for 30 days on that browser; “Log out” removes it. If you forget your password, Akhil can set a new one for you through the Telegram bot. You can ask for your account and saved results to be deleted using the contact routes below.
Visitor counts
To show how many people use the site, each browser gets a random identifier stored on the device. We keep only a scrambled, one-way version of it to count unique visitors, plus a simple page-view total. It is not linked to your name, email or account, and nothing is counted if your browser sends a Do Not Track signal. The totals shown in the footer are anonymous.
Details you submit
When you sign up we store your name, email, target year and your choice about study updates. Basic usage events help us understand which tools are used; a first-party visitor cookie connects them to your account.
Mentorship applications
We store the details you choose to submit, including your phone number (needed so we can reach you) and optional work-sample links, to review your application and contact you about the programme. Do not share sensitive identity documents or unrestricted access to unrelated files. Application contact consent is separate from marketing updates.
Telegram channel and bot
Channel (@theprismupsc): joining the channel shares nothing with us beyond Telegram's member count. Quiz poll answers in the channel are anonymous.
Bot (@Prismupsc_bot): when you message the bot, we store your Telegram user ID, first and last name and username as shown on Telegram, when you first and last used it, and simple counts of the options you use (for example, brochure requests). Messages the bot cannot answer are forwarded to Akhil's Telegram account so he can reply; the bot keeps a link between that forwarded copy and your chat for 30 days so his reply reaches you. If forwarding is temporarily unavailable, your message is saved and delivered to Akhil later, then removed from the saved queue. Telegram itself also processes these messages under its own privacy policy.
To have your bot data deleted, send the bot a message starting with “privacy request”.
Your choices
Study-update opt-in is optional. You can request a correction, withdrawal of consent or deletion through your existing conversation with Akhil, the Telegram bot (start your message with “privacy request”), or the PRISM team. If you do not have that contact yet, use the enquiry form, enter “privacy request” in the challenge field and specify your request. We will need to verify ownership before changing stored records.
Third-party services
The site is hosted on Vercel, submitted data is stored through the configured Redis service, and the channel and bot run on Telegram. Linked publisher sites have their own privacy policies. We do not sell your personal information. Avoid using a shared browser for private work samples.