Earthquake Early Warning System Laboratory

Last Updated on 10th September 2026

Thank you for choosing to be part of our community at Earthquake Early Warning System (EEWS) Lab, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee ("Company", "we", "us", "our"). We are committed to protecting your personal information and your right to privacy. If you have any questions or concerns about this privacy notice, or our practices with regard to your personal information, please contact us at kamal.iitr@gmail.com.

When you use the BhuDEV mobile application (the "App") and related services (the "Services"), you trust us with information that may be important during an earthquake or related safety event. This notice explains what information we collect, how we use it, how we protect it, and the choices available to you.

This privacy notice applies to information collected through our Services, including the App, earthquake alerts, notifications, Safe/Help responses, feedback forms, instructional content, and related web pages.

Please read this privacy notice carefully as it will help you understand what we do with the information that we collect.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. WHAT INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?
2. HOW DO WE USE YOUR INFORMATION?
3. WILL YOUR INFORMATION BE SHARED WITH ANYONE?
4. LOCAL STORAGE AND OFFLINE SAFE/HELP QUEUE
5. HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION?
6. DO WE COLLECT INFORMATION FROM MINORS?
7. WHAT ARE YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS?
8. PERMISSIONS AND DEVICE SETTINGS
9. DO WE MAKE UPDATES TO THIS NOTICE?
10. HOW CAN YOU CONTACT US?

1. WHAT INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?

In Short: We collect the information needed to register users, send earthquake-related alerts, support Safe/Help reporting, improve reliability, and operate the App.

Personal information you disclose to us

We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide when you register, update your profile, contact us, submit feedback, or use App features. This may include your name, mobile number, emergency contact numbers, language preference, feedback, and any information you choose to provide in connection with the Service.

Information collected through our App

If you use our App, we may collect or process the following information:

• Mobile number and profile details: used for registration, OTP verification, account management, and alert targeting.
• Emergency contact numbers: used for emergency contact features and safety-related app functionality.
• Geo-location information: we may request access to your device location for location-based early warning features, registration/profile update support, Safe/Help response reporting, and emergency-response coordination where applicable. You can change location permissions in your device settings.
• Push notification information: we use Firebase Cloud Messaging tokens or related device notification identifiers to send critical alerts, silent alerts, mock drills, false alarm notifications, and other service messages.
• Device and app information: we may process information such as app version, device platform, operating system version, notification permission status, and related technical information for compatibility, troubleshooting, security, and service reliability.
• Alert and response information: when you receive or respond to an alert, we may process alert details, response type, response time, Safe/Help status, location where available, and related information needed for safety reporting.
• Feedback and DYFI responses: if you submit earthquake feedback, DYFI information, or general feedback, we may process that information for analysis, service improvement, and research or safety purposes.

All personal information that you provide should be true, complete, and accurate. You should update your information if it changes.

2. HOW DO WE USE YOUR INFORMATION?

In Short: We use your information to operate BhuDEV, send alerts, support safety reporting, improve the Service, and comply with applicable obligations.

We use the information we collect or receive:

• To create and manage your account: including OTP verification, registration, profile update, and account deletion requests.
• To send alerts and notifications: including earthquake alerts, silent alerts, false alarm notifications, mock drill messages, app update messages, and service-related notifications.
• To support location-based safety features: including early warning relevance, Safe/Help response reporting, and emergency response coordination where applicable.
• To process Safe/Help responses: including "I Am Safe" and "I Need Help" submissions, retrying queued responses when connectivity returns, and forwarding relevant information to authorized systems or personnel where appropriate.
• To improve reliability and security: including troubleshooting notification delivery, app compatibility, alert recovery, offline handling, and technical errors.
• To improve safety information: including feedback analysis, DYFI responses, instructional videos, and general service improvement.
• To comply with law and public-safety obligations: including applicable Indian law, disaster management requirements, lawful requests, or action needed to prevent misuse.

3. WILL YOUR INFORMATION BE SHARED WITH ANYONE?

In Short: We do not sell your personal information. We share information only where needed to provide the Service, support safety response, comply with law, or protect users and the public.

We may process or share your information in the following situations:

• Service providers: we use third-party technical services such as Firebase Cloud Messaging, Google Maps/map tiles, YouTube/video embeds, app store services, hosting, and related infrastructure to operate the App.
• Emergency and public-safety response: Safe/Help responses and related location or contact information may be used or shared with authorized personnel, emergency responders, or relevant institutions where reasonably necessary for disaster response, rescue coordination, public safety, or operational follow-up.
• Legal obligations: we may disclose information where required by applicable law, lawful request, public authority, court order, or to prevent misuse, fraud, unlawful conduct, or threats to safety.
• Research and improvement: we may use aggregated or anonymized information for earthquake safety research, system improvement, public-safety analysis, and service reliability. We do not use identifiable personal information for unrelated marketing without consent.

4. LOCAL STORAGE AND OFFLINE SAFE/HELP QUEUE

The App may store limited information on your device to keep the Service reliable. This may include language preference, login/session details, active alert state, latest alert information, pending Safe/Help responses, and temporary retry data.

If you submit "I Am Safe" or "I Need Help" while your device is offline or has poor connectivity, the App may temporarily store the response on your device and retry sending it for up to 24 hours. This is done to support emergency response reporting. Delivery is not guaranteed and may depend on network availability, battery restrictions, operating system behavior, and device settings.

5. HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION?

In Short: We keep information only for as long as needed for the purposes described in this notice, unless a longer period is required or permitted by law or public-safety requirements.

Account, notification, alert response, feedback, and safety-related records may be retained for operational, security, audit, research, legal, or disaster-response purposes. Temporary offline Safe/Help retry data stored on your device is intended to expire after the configured retry period. When we no longer have a legitimate need to process personal information, we will delete, anonymize, or securely retain it only as required by law or operational necessity.

6. DO WE COLLECT INFORMATION FROM MINORS?

In Short: We do not knowingly collect information from children except where use is permitted by a parent, guardian, institution, or applicable authority.

BhuDEV is a public-safety application. If a minor uses the App, it should be with appropriate permission and supervision. If we learn that personal information has been collected from a minor in a manner not permitted by law or policy, we will take reasonable steps to delete or restrict such information where appropriate. If you become aware of such data, please contact us at kamal.iitr@gmail.com.

7. WHAT ARE YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS?

In Short: You may review, update, or request deletion of your information, subject to applicable law, safety needs, and operational requirements.

You may update your profile information in the App where available. You may request deletion of your account through the App or by contacting us at kamal.iitr@gmail.com. We may need to verify your identity before acting on certain requests.

Subject to applicable law, including the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and rules as they come into force, you may have rights to access information about your personal data, request correction or erasure, and raise grievances. Some records may be retained where required for safety, security, legal compliance, audit, fraud prevention, disaster response, or legitimate operational purposes.

8. PERMISSIONS AND DEVICE SETTINGS

You can manage App permissions such as location and notifications through your device settings. If you deny or disable permissions, some features may not work properly. For example, disabling notifications may prevent alerts from appearing, and disabling location may affect location-based warning, Safe/Help reporting, or emergency coordination features.

Notification delivery may also depend on Firebase Cloud Messaging, internet connectivity, battery optimization settings, background restrictions, operating system version, device manufacturer behavior, and whether the App is installed and configured correctly.

What categories of personal information do we collect?

We may collect the following categories of information when you use the App:

9. DO WE MAKE UPDATES TO THIS NOTICE?

In Short: Yes, we may update this notice as necessary to reflect changes in the App, our practices, or applicable law.

The updated version will be indicated by an updated date and will be effective when made available. We encourage you to review this notice from time to time to understand how we protect your information.

10. HOW CAN YOU CONTACT US?

If you have questions or comments about this notice, or if you wish to review, update, or request deletion of your personal information, you may email us at kamal.iitr@gmail.com or write to:

EEWS Lab, CoEDMM, IIT Roorkee

Roorkee, Uttarakhand 247667

India