Privacy Policy

This Policy applies to the KAREON mobile application and any related services we provide. It is governed by the laws of India, including the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (“DPDP Act”), as applicable.

Under the DPDP Act, KAREON acts as a “Data Fiduciary” with respect to a Doctor’s own account information, and the Doctor acts as the Data Fiduciary with respect to the personal and health data of their patients that they input into the App. KAREON processes that patient data solely as a data processor acting on the Doctor’s instructions, strictly to provide the App’s functionality.

2.1 Information You Provide Directly (Doctor Account Data)

• Full name, email address, phone number
• Professional details (e.g., medical registration/license number, specialty, qualifications)
• Practice location details (clinic/hospital name, address, timings)
• Profile photograph (optional)
• Login credentials (managed securely via Firebase Authentication; we do not store your raw password)

2.2 Patient Information Entered by the Doctor

Because the App is a clinical record-keeping and appointment tool, the Doctor may input the following about their patients. This data is entered by the Doctor, on the Doctor’s own responsibility and with the Doctor’s own legal basis (e.g., patient consent obtained by the Doctor) for doing so:

• Patient name, contact details, date of birth, gender
• Appointment records, scheduling, and booking history
• Clinical entries, consultation notes, and treatment records
• Medical history
• Uploaded reports, prescriptions, and documents (including images/PDFs)

This is “sensitive personal data or information” / “special category personal data” under applicable law. See Section 6 (Sensitive Health Data) for the additional safeguards that apply to it.

2.3 Information Collected Automatically

• Device identifiers, device model, and operating system version
• Push notification tokens (Firebase Cloud Messaging) used to deliver appointment reminders and alerts
• App usage and diagnostic logs generated through normal repository/service calls, used for reliability and troubleshooting
• Locally cached data stored on-device (via Hive) to allow the App to load your profile and key data instantly without waiting on a network round-trip

2.4 Information We Do Not Collect

We do not use the App to collect precise real-time location, contacts, SMS/call logs, or browsing history from your device, and we do not sell any personal or patient data.

We use the information described above to:

• Create and authenticate your Doctor account and verify your role
• Provide core App functionality: scheduling, patient records, clinical entries, availability management, and reporting
• Send push and local notifications (e.g., new bookings, reschedules, cancellations) based on your notification preferences
• Maintain a local cache of your profile and default practice location so the App functions immediately on launch
• Generate human-readable identifiers (e.g., doctor and location codes) via internal atomic counters
• Detect, investigate, and prevent technical issues, fraud, or misuse
• Comply with applicable legal, regulatory, or professional obligations

We do not use patient clinical data for advertising, and we do not build advertising profiles from any data in the App.

Where applicable law requires a legal basis for processing:

• Doctor account data is processed based on the contract formed when you register for and use the App, and your consent given at signup.
• Patient data is processed on the Doctor’s instructions, in the Doctor’s capacity as the healthcare provider responsible for that data, and the Doctor is responsible for ensuring they have a valid basis (such as patient consent) for entering that data into the App.

• Account, appointment, and patient data are stored in Google Firebase (Cloud Firestore and Firebase Storage), operated by Google under its own security and infrastructure safeguards.
• Authentication is handled via Firebase Authentication. We never store your plaintext password.
• Uploaded files (e.g., profile photos, reports) are stored in Firebase Storage.
• A copy of your Doctor profile is cached locally on your device (via Hive) to enable immediate access on app launch; this local cache is removed when you sign out or uninstall the App.
• We apply reasonable technical and organizational security measures, including encryption in transit, access controls, and structured logging of repository operations, to guard against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction of data.
• No method of electronic storage or transmission is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, but we work to use industry-standard safeguards and to promptly address any identified vulnerabilities.

Because the App stores clinical entries, medical history, and patient reports, we treat this category of data with heightened care:

• Access restriction: Patient clinical data is only accessible to the authenticated Doctor account under which it was created (and any staff accounts the Doctor has authorized), enforced through backend access rules.
• Purpose limitation: Patient health data is used only to provide the scheduling and clinical record-keeping functionality of the App. It is not used for marketing, profiling, or shared with advertisers.
• No secondary use without authorization: We do not use identifiable patient health data for research, analytics products, or any purpose beyond operating the App, without the Doctor’s explicit authorization and, where required, patient consent obtained by the Doctor.
• Minimum necessary access: Our own personnel do not access patient health data except where necessary to provide technical support, investigate a reported issue, or comply with a legal obligation, and such access is logged.
• Retention discipline: Patient health data is retained only as long as the Doctor’s account remains active or as required by applicable medical record-retention laws, whichever is longer (see Section 8).
• Breach notification: In the event of a data breach affecting patient health data, we will notify affected Doctors without undue delay so they can meet their own notification obligations to patients and regulators, and, where required by the DPDP Act or other applicable law, notify the relevant regulatory authority.

The Doctor remains responsible, as the healthcare provider and Data Fiduciary for their patients’ records, for obtaining any consents required from patients before entering their health information into the App, and for complying with applicable medical ethics, licensing, and record-keeping obligations (e.g., Indian Medical Council/National Medical Commission regulations).

We rely on the following third-party infrastructure providers to operate the App. These providers process data on our behalf under their own security and privacy commitments:

• Google Firebase (Authentication, Cloud Firestore, Firebase Storage, Cloud Messaging / FCM, and related infrastructure) — for authentication, database, file storage, and push notifications
• Apple Push Notification service (APNs) — for delivering notifications on iOS devices

We do not sell, rent, or trade personal or patient data to third parties for their own marketing purposes. We do not share patient health data with any third party except: (a) the infrastructure providers above, strictly to operate the App; (b) where required by law, regulation, court order, or governmental request; or (c) with your explicit authorization.

• Doctor account data is retained for as long as your account remains active, and for a reasonable period afterward to comply with legal, accounting, or dispute-resolution needs.
• Patient records entered by a Doctor are retained for as long as the Doctor’s account remains active, and thereafter for the period required by applicable medical record-retention regulations, after which they are deleted or anonymized, subject to Section 9.
• Locally cached data on a device is cleared upon sign-out or app uninstallation.

Subject to applicable law (including the DPDP Act), you may have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about your Doctor account
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete account information
• Request deletion of your Doctor account and associated data, subject to our ability to retain certain records where required by law (e.g., medical record-retention requirements, which may require patient records to be retained even after a Doctor account is deleted)
• Withdraw consent for optional features (such as push notifications) at any time through the App’s settings or your device settings
• Lodge a grievance or complaint regarding our handling of your data (see Section 13)

Because patients do not hold accounts on the App, requests relating to a specific patient’s data should be directed to the treating Doctor, who controls that patient’s records; the Doctor may in turn contact us to action a deletion or export request through the App.

The App is intended for use by licensed medical professionals and is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect account data from individuals under 18. Patient records may, incidentally, relate to minors where a Doctor treats a pediatric patient; such records are treated with the same Section 6 safeguards and remain the responsibility of the treating Doctor and, where applicable, the minor’s parent/guardian.

Our infrastructure providers (see Section 7) may process and store data on servers located outside India. Where data is transferred internationally, we require our providers to maintain security and confidentiality standards consistent with this Policy and applicable law.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the App, our practices, or legal requirements. We will update the “Last Updated” date above and, for material changes, provide notice within the App. Continued use of the App after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Policy.

If you have questions, requests, or grievances regarding this Privacy Policy or how your data is handled, please contact:

Email: support@kareon.in

We will endeavor to respond to and resolve grievances in accordance with the timelines prescribed under applicable law.