REC Connect Privacy Policy
REC Connect is an independent platform built and run by students. It is not owned, operated or endorsed by Rajalakshmi Engineering College or its administration.
Effective: Academic Year 2026-2027 · Autonomous Campus Operations
1. Data Collected & Purpose
REC Connect collects only information necessary for campus peer networking, collaboration, and safety:
- Authentication Data: Verified institutional Google account email (ending in
@rajalakshmi.edu.in), Google Subject ID, and full name. - Profile Data: Department, academic year, assigned collegiate Tamil pseudonym, chosen 3D avatar, optional interests, and optional status message.
- Coarse Campus Presence: When location sharing is actively enabled, your selected coarse campus landmark zone (e.g. REC Cafe, Library Lawn) and sharing duration.
- Communications & Safety: Direct messages, campus channel messages, gathering RSVPs, and moderation reports submitted for safety concerns.
2. Message Privacy & Security
All messages transmitted across REC Connect are encrypted in transit using industry-standard TLS (HTTPS) and stored securely in the platform database.
Honesty in Messaging: Messages are not end-to-end encrypted. REC Connect administrators do not routinely monitor private conversations, but may review relevant messages when a student submits a safety report about harassment, abusive conduct, or academic dishonesty.
3. Location Privacy & Coarse Zones
Location sharing is strictly opt-in and defaults to off. When enabled, only a coarse campus zone is recorded (never raw GPS coordinates). Location sharing automatically expires after your selected duration (30 minutes, 1 hour, or until manually turned off).
To prevent deanonymization, campus zones with fewer than 5 active students display "Few students here" rather than specific counts.
4. Account Deletion & Data Retention
Account deletion is currently unavailable while a data-retention policy is being prepared. For a privacy or data request, email recconnect@proton.me.
Existing account, session, message, gathering, and report records are retained under the current service policy.
5. Contact & Support
For privacy inquiries, data requests, or safety concerns, please contact REC Connect at recconnect@proton.me.