1. Introduction

This Privacy Policy explains how Debater, a service operated by VIPARYANA TECHNOLOGY ("we", "our", "us"), collects, uses, discloses, and retains information when you use the Debater mobile app and the related website debaterr.com (together, the "Service"). Debater is a platform for open, real-time discussions and live audio debates.

By using the Service, you agree to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.

2. Information We Collect

We collect information you provide directly to us, information we obtain automatically, and content you create while using the Service.

• Account Information: When you create an account, we collect your email address and a password (stored securely in hashed form). You may optionally provide a username, profile description, and profile photo. If you sign in with Google, we receive the name, email address, and Google account identifier you authorize us to access.
• Device Information: We collect a unique device identifier, your operating system version, and app version to register your device, deliver push notifications, and maintain the Service.
• Push Notification Token: When you enable notifications, we receive a Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) token from Google that we use to deliver push notifications to your device.
• Content You Create: Posts, photos, chat messages, reactions, up/down-votes, rooms you join, and comments you make during debates. This includes text and audio content you share on the platform.
• Usage Information: We may collect information on how you interact with the platform, such as the debates you follow and features you use, to improve performance and user experience.
• IP Address: We process IP addresses for network communication, security, rate-limiting, and bot protection. Your public IP address may be visible to Google STUN servers used to establish real-time audio connections.
• Gender Preference (Optional): When creating an account, you may optionally indicate a gender preference. This is used only to suggest a username and is not stored on our servers.

3. How We Use Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Create and manage your account, authenticate your identity, and provide the Service.
• Deliver push notifications (for example, when a debate you follow starts) and communicate with you via email (account verification, OTP codes, password resets, and service notifications).
• Facilitate live audio debates and room moderation features.
• Process your posts, uploads, and other content so they appear in feeds and to other users.
• Suggest topics and eco-chambers that may be relevant to your content. AI-generated topic and eco-chamber suggestions are clearly labeled as such within the app.
• Moderate content, review reports, enforce our Terms and conditions, and ensure safety and security of the platform, including the prevention of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). When you report content or another user, we collect the reported content, related metadata, and the reported user's details so our moderation team can review the report and enforce our safety guidelines.
• Improve the Service, diagnose problems, and measure performance.

You can report inappropriate content and block other users directly within the app. Blocking prevents the blocked user from interacting with you, and information about blocked users is retained only as needed to enforce the block.

4. Push Notifications & Firebase Cloud Messaging

We use Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM), a service provided by Google, to deliver push notifications through Google Play services. To do so, we receive a device token from Google. Data transmitted to Google for the purpose of delivering notifications is subject to Google's privacy policy. Additionally, Google Play services may process device and usage information in connection with these notifications.

You can stop receiving push notifications at any time from your device settings or in-app notification preferences.

5. Third-Party Services

We share the minimum amount of information required with the following third parties to operate the Service:

• Google: For Google Sign-In (your name, email address, and Google account identifier), Firebase Cloud Messaging (push notification tokens), and STUN servers used to establish real-time audio connections. Your public IP address is only transmitted to STUN servers transiently and ephemerally as an inherent requirement of the WebRTC protocol; it is not shared with Google for tracking or advertising purposes.
• Cloudflare (service provider): We store uploaded images (R2) and use Turnstile for bot protection. Your IP address and browsing signals are processed by Cloudflare on our behalf for security verification.
• Amazon Web Services (service provider): We use Simple Email Service (SES) to send transactional emails such as account verification codes and password resets. AWS processes email data strictly on our behalf.
• DeepSeek AI: When you create a post, we may send the post title and content to DeepSeek to suggest relevant eco-chambers and topics. This content is used to generate suggestions and is not used to build an advertising profile. Under DeepSeek's applicable terms, submitted content may be retained and used to train or improve their AI models. By posting content, you acknowledge that your post title and content may be processed by DeepSeek in this manner. If you have concerns, you may contact us at sagar.rajak@debaterr.com.

Cloudflare and AWS act strictly as service providers that process data on our behalf, and we do not authorize them to use your information for their own independent purposes. We do not sell your personal information. We do not use advertising SDKs or share your data with advertising partners.

6. Audio & Live Debates

Debater enables live audio debates. To participate in live rooms, the app requests microphone (RECORD_AUDIO) access on your device. The microphone is accessed only while you are actively participating in a live debate, and is never accessed in the background without your knowledge.

Audio is streamed in real time to other participants through our servers so that debate rooms can function. In addition, live debate audio may be recorded and stored by us for quality audit, moderation, and safety review purposes. Participants are informed within the app before joining a room that the debate may be recorded.

Recordings are used only for quality audit, content moderation, and safety enforcement (including reviewing user reports and preventing abuse and CSAM). Audio is never sold and is never used for advertising or profiling. Recordings are retained until you delete them or delete your account, as further described in Section 7.

7. Data Retention

We retain your information only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy, subject to the following:

• Device records: Device identifiers and push notification tokens are retained only as long as needed to deliver notifications. Stale device records (devices not seen within 30 days) are periodically purged.
• Codes: Verification OTP codes and password reset codes expire after a short period for security reasons.
• Temporary caches: Cached profile and room data is stored in Redis with short time-to-live values (from minutes to days).
• Content: Your posts, messages, and other content are retained until you delete them or delete your account. When you delete a post, we archive a copy in a limited internal record for audit and safety purposes.
• Audio recordings: Audio recorded from live debates is retained for quality audit, moderation, and safety review until you delete the recordings or delete your account.
• Account deletion audit: When you delete your account, we retain a minimal internal record containing the email address used and the deletion time for audit, safety, and fraud-prevention purposes. This record is retained in a restricted-access audit log for a maximum of 180 days, after which it is permanently destroyed.

8. Account Deletion

You may delete your account from within the app at any time. We also provide a web-based deletion option that does not require you to install the app: https://debaterr.com/delete-account.

You can also delete individual pieces of content — such as a specific post, comment, chat message, or your profile photo — directly within the app without deleting your entire account.

When you request account deletion, we remove your account information, profile data, device records, and OAuth connections from our servers. Your profile is anonymized (shown as "[deleted]"). Content you created — such as posts, chat messages, comments, and reactions — may remain on the platform under the anonymized "[deleted]" identity so that ongoing debates and conversations continue to make sense. Anonymization replaces your identity, but it does not remove personal information that may appear inside the text of your content. We recommend deleting individual posts that contain personal information before deleting your account, or you may email us at sagar.rajak@debaterr.com to request hard deletion of specific content. We retain a minimal internal audit record for safety and compliance purposes as described in Section 7.

9. Children's Privacy

The Service is not directed at children. You must be at least 16 years old to use Debater. If you are between 16 and the age of majority in your jurisdiction, you must have permission from a parent or legal guardian. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you believe a child under 16 has provided us with personal information, please contact us so we can delete it.

Age-gating mechanisms are enforced at registration, and users under 16 are not permitted to enter unrestricted live voice rooms. Debater does not permit anonymous or unverified audio interactions between minors and adults, and we take measures to prevent minors from joining live rooms without appropriate safeguards.

We maintain a zero-tolerance policy toward Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) and the exploitation of minors. See our Child Safety Policy for details.

Do you collect information from kids under the age of 13?

No. You must be at least 16 years old to use the Service. We do not knowingly collect, store, or process personal information from children under the age of 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

10. Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information, including secure (hashed) storage of passwords, encrypted transmission of data, and restricted access to user data. All data transmitted between the Debater mobile app, website, and our backend servers is encrypted in transit using industry-standard Transport Layer Security (TLS/HTTPS) and Secure WebSockets (WSS). No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, notify users within the Service. Continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

12. Contact Us

How can users contact you with questions about this Privacy Policy?

You can contact us with any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices at:

• Company: VIPARYANA TECHNOLOGY
• Email: sagar.rajak@debaterr.com

We will respond to privacy-related requests within a reasonable time, generally within 30 days.

13. GDPR Notice (Users in the EEA & UK)

Controller. If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA) or the United Kingdom, VIPARYANA TECHNOLOGY (operating as Debater) is the data controller responsible for your personal information. You can reach us at sagar.rajak@debaterr.com.

Legal bases for processing. We process your personal information on the following legal bases under the GDPR:

• Performance of a contract: to provide the Service, manage your account, and deliver the features you request.
• Legitimate interests: to operate, secure, and improve the Service, prevent fraud and abuse, enforce our Terms, and record debate audio for quality audit and safety purposes, where such interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms.
• Consent: where we rely on your consent, such as for push notifications where required, you may withdraw consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.
• Legal obligations: to comply with applicable laws, such as safety, record-keeping, and regulatory obligations.

Your rights. Subject to applicable law, you have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you.
• Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Request erasure of your personal information ("right to be forgotten").
• Request restriction of processing in certain circumstances.
• Receive your personal information in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and transmit it to another controller (data portability).
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• Withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent.
• Lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority if you believe your rights have been violated.

Retention. We retain your personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes described in Section 7 of this Privacy Policy.

International transfers. Your personal information may be processed in India and other countries where we or our service providers operate, including countries outside the EEA and the UK (for example, post content sent to DeepSeek AI may be processed on servers outside the EEA or UK). Where we transfer personal information outside the EEA or the UK, we rely on appropriate safeguards as required by the GDPR.

14. California Residents (CCPA & CPRA)

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) provide you with specific rights regarding your personal information.

Categories of personal information we collect. We have collected the following categories of personal information in the preceding 12 months:

• Identifiers: email address, username, and device identifiers.
• Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statute: name (when you sign in with Google).
• Internet or other electronic network activity: IP address, usage data, app version, and interaction with the Service.
• Audio and visual information: photos you upload, and audio from live debates, which is streamed in real time and may be recorded for quality audit, moderation, and safety purposes (retained until deletion as described in Section 7).

No sale or sharing. We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising, as those terms are defined under the CCPA and CPRA. We do not engage in targeted advertising.

Your rights. Subject to applicable exceptions, California residents have the right to:

• Request disclosure (know) of the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you.
• Request deletion of your personal information.
• Request correction of inaccurate personal information.
• Opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information (we do not sell or share your personal information).
• Limit the use and disclosure of sensitive personal information (we do not collect or use sensitive personal information for purposes other than those permitted).
• Not receive discriminatory treatment for exercising any of these rights.

How to exercise your rights. You may submit a request by emailing us at sagar.rajak@debaterr.com. To protect your privacy, we will take reasonable steps to verify your identity before responding. If you use an authorized agent to submit a request, we may require proof that the agent is authorized to act on your behalf.

15. Notice to Users in India (DPDP Act)

In accordance with the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) framework in India, Indian residents may direct data protection inquiries, consent withdrawals, data erasure requests, or other grievances to our designated Grievance Officer:

• Grievance Officer: sagar.rajak@debaterr.com

Requests will be acknowledged and addressed within the timelines prescribed under applicable Indian law. You may withdraw consent previously given at any time, subject to applicable law, without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.