Privacy policy

We collect the following categories of information:

• Account/member information: name, university seat number (USN), institutional email, department, year and semester, and an assigned QARC member ID, provided when a member account is created.
• Optional profile information: phone number, bio, research interests, and links to GitHub/LinkedIn/portfolio profiles, which you may add or remove at any time from your profile settings.
• Event registration and attendance information: which events you register for, and attendance records generated when you check in to an event (including PIN-based attendance sessions run by QARC administrators).
• Certificate information: when a certificate is issued to you, we store the recipient name, USN, department, event/program details, and issue date associated with that certificate, so it can be publicly verified later.
• Content you submit: project, research paper, and idea submissions, including any files or external links you provide.
• Authentication data: a securely hashed password and a session token used to keep you signed in (see "Cookies & Sessions" below).

This website uses a single, strictly necessary cookie (qarc_session) to keep you signed in. It is required for the site to function for authenticated members and administrators, contains no advertising or tracking data, and is not shared with any third party.

We do not currently use any analytics, advertising, or third-party tracking cookies. If that changes in the future, this policy and the site's cookie practices will be updated accordingly.

• To create and manage your QARC member account and authenticate you when you sign in.
• To process event registrations, run attendance tracking, and issue certificates.
• To review and publish member-submitted projects, research papers, and ideas.
• To maintain an internal audit log of administrative actions, for accountability and security.
• To communicate with you about your account, submissions, or QARC activities.

Certificates issued by QARC are designed to be publicly verifiable, similar to other institutional certification systems. A certificate's recipient name, USN, department, program/event, and issue date are visible to anyone who looks up that specific certificate ID on the verification page. This information is limited to what already appears on the printed certificate itself.

Account and activity records are retained for as long as your QARC membership is active, so that event history, submissions, and issued certificates remain accurate and accessible. Certificates are retained independently of your account, since a certificate is a permanent academic record — it remains verifiable even if the associated member account is later removed. If you have questions about a specific record, use the contact details below.

Passwords are stored using one-way cryptographic hashing and are never stored or transmitted in plain text. Access to administrative functions is restricted by role, and administrative actions are recorded in an internal audit log. As with any online service, no method of transmission or storage is guaranteed to be 100% secure, but we take reasonable technical measures to protect your information.

• You can update your bio, phone number, research interests, and social links at any time from your profile.
• Institutional record fields (name, USN, email, department, role) are maintained by QARC administration and can be corrected by contacting us.
• To request access to, correction of, or removal of your information, contact us using the details below.

For any privacy-related questions or requests, contact QARC at qarc@ssit.edu.in.