Privacy policy

Last updated 29 September 2026.

This policy covers the Ambiful Abroad app for iPhone, iPad and Android and the website abroad.ambiful.com. It says what personal data we collect, why, who else handles it, how long we keep it and what you can do about it. We process personal data under India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and we have written this in plain English so that you can actually read it.

Who is responsible

Ambiful Solutions Pvt. Ltd., India, decides how your data is used (the "data fiduciary" in the Act's words). For any question, request or complaint about your data, write to our grievance contact at support@ambiful.com.

Without an account

You can use the app without signing in. Your plan, applications and any documents you attach then stay only on your phone; nothing is sent to us. If you sign in later, the app moves them into your account once.

What we store when you sign in

• Your email address, used to sign you in with a one-time code and to reach you about your account.
• Your name, if you enter one in your profile, used to greet you in the app and as the first name on a family link.
• Your profile answers: study level, qualification, marks and the pass mark at your university, language tests, your German goal, course pace, Goethe-Institut centre, finished courses and booked exam date, expected graduation month, field, intake, budget, city preference, and, if you enter them, the date you move into your flat and the date your visa ends. These exist only so the app can work out your route, costs, dates and checks. If you tell us another country you are considering, we store that too, to decide which country the app covers next.
• Your checklist progress: which items you have ticked, and when.
• Your applications: the universities and programmes you add, their deadlines, status and any notes you write.
• People you ask for a recommendation letter, if you use that Pro tool: the name and position you enter, which applications the letter is for, where the request stands, and the notes you write about your work with them. We do not store their email address or phone number; you send the request from your own mail app.
• Family links, if you make them (Pro): the name you give each link, when you made it and when it was last opened. We store only a scrambled (hashed) form of the link, never the link itself. Anyone who has a link can see a read-only summary of your plan: your first name, route, intake dates, checklist progress and next steps, the cost estimate, and your applications with their status and deadline. Never your email, marks, test scores, documents, letters, notes or referees. Switching a link off in the app deletes it and it stops working at once.
• Documents you choose to attach, such as your passport, marksheets, certificates, CV or admission letter, with the details you enter for them (expiry date, whether certified or translated). Images and PDFs only, up to 15 MB each.
• Your Pro pass, if you buy one: when it starts and ends and the store's transaction reference. Pro tools you tapped "Notify me" on, if you did.
• A count of AI use: how many tokens each letter review, tailoring, interview-practice or referee-email request used. Not your text.

On the website, an email you leave on the waitlist is stored for one launch announcement, with the other country you are considering if you choose one.

Collected automatically

• Sign-in and server records: when you sign in or the app talks to our server, our providers record the time, your IP address and the app or browser making the request. We use these only to keep the service running and secure, for example to stop someone guessing sign-in codes.
• We use no advertising identifiers, no analytics or tracking tools and no crash-reporting service, in the app or on the website. The website sets no cookies.
• We do not track you across other companies' apps or websites.

Why we use it

We use your data only to give you the service you asked for: to work out your route, costs, dates and checks, keep your plan and documents in your account, send your sign-in codes, run the Pro tools you use, confirm your Pro pass and answer you when you write to us. You give it to us by entering it, and we rely on that consent. You can withdraw it at any time by deleting the item in the app or deleting your account; this does not affect what we did before. We never use your data for advertising and never to decide anything about you: the app gives no verdict on your admission, and the AI tools only write the text you asked for.

Where it lives and who can see it

• Your data and documents are stored with Supabase in the Mumbai (ap-south-1) region, and our API runs on Vercel in Mumbai. Your rows are protected by row-level security, so a request can only ever read the data of the account it is signed in as.
• Documents sit in a private storage area, in a folder only your account can reach. The app uploads and opens them through links that our server issues for your account and that expire within minutes (uploads within two hours). They have no public address. When you share a document pack, the app downloads those files to your phone, puts them in one ZIP there, and hands it to your phone’s share sheet. You choose where it goes; we do not send it anywhere or keep a copy.

Services that handle some of it for us

• Resend sends the sign-in code to your email address.
• OpenAI processes the text you submit to the letter and CV coach, letter tailoring, visa interview practice and recommendation-letter emails, only to write the feedback or draft you asked for. With letter tailoring and interview practice we also send the facts it needs: the programme's catalogue details and, for interview practice, your profile answers and our official cost figures; for a recommendation-letter email, your referee's position, your notes about them and the applications the letter is for. We do not send your name or email, or your referee's name.
• Apple (App Store) or Google (Play) take the payment when you buy a Pro pass; we never see your card or payment details. RevenueCat confirms the purchase for us. It knows your purchase and a random account number, not your name or email.

Outside India

Your account data and documents stay in Mumbai. Resend, OpenAI and RevenueCat, and Apple or Google for payments, may process the parts described above outside India, mainly in the United States, under their own security and privacy commitments. We send each of them only what its job needs.

On your phone

• The app opens your camera or photos only when you choose to attach a document, and uses only the picture you pick.
• Reminders are scheduled on your phone; we do not send push messages.
• We do not read your contacts or location.

How long we keep it

• Your account data and documents: for as long as you have an account. Deleting an item in the app deletes it straight away.
• After you delete your account: nothing, apart from database backups, which are overwritten within 30 days.
• A waitlist email from the website: until we send the launch announcement it was left for, then deleted.
• Sign-in and server records: only as long as our providers need them for security and fault-finding.
• Purchase records: Apple, Google and RevenueCat keep their own, as payment and tax rules require.

Your rights

• See your data: everything we hold about you is on the app's screens; ask us and we will send you a summary.
• Correct it: edit your profile, applications and documents in the app, or ask us.
• Delete it: delete any item, or your whole account, in the app, or ask us.
• Nominate someone to exercise these rights for you if you die or cannot do so yourself: tell us who by email.
• Complain: write to support@ambiful.com and we will reply within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our answer, you can complain to the Data Protection Board of India.

Write from the email address on your account, so that we know the request is yours.

Keeping it safe

Everything travels over encrypted connections (HTTPS). Row-level security, private document storage, links that expire within minutes and hashed family links are described above; only the people who run the service can reach the database, and only to keep it working. No system is perfectly safe: if a breach affects your data, we will tell you and the Data Protection Board of India as the law requires.

Children

Ambiful Abroad is meant for people aged 18 and over who are planning their studies. If you are under 18, use it only with your parent's or guardian's agreement. A parent or guardian who did not agree can write to us, and we will delete the account.

What we do not do

• We do not sell or share your data with universities, agents or advertisers.
• We do not use your answers to recommend a partner unless you ask for one, and partners are always labelled.

Deleting your data

Delete your account from inside the app (profile icon at the top right → Profile → Delete account). That removes your login, profile, checklist, applications, referees, family links, documents and Pro pass records at once. We keep no copy beyond routine database backups, which are overwritten within 30 days. Apple, Google and RevenueCat keep their own record of a purchase, as payment rules require. See how to delete your account. If you cannot get into the app, email support@ambiful.com from the address you signed up with.

Changes to this policy

When we change what we collect or how we use it, we update this page and the date at the top. For a change that matters, we also email you before it applies to data you have already given us.