Who we are
Project North Star is a venture of Méraki People Private Limited, No 5, Gateway House, Egattur, OMR, Chennai 600130. We decide how the personal information described here is used, and we are responsible for looking after it. We follow India’s data protection law, and we are preparing now for the further duties under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, as they come into force.
What we collect
When you request the free Direction Report. Your name, email and WhatsApp number. Your child’s first name if you give it, their grade, curriculum, subjects and interests, the countries you are considering, and your questions.
When you work with us. What you and your child share with us in sessions and documents: school reports, test scores, activities, essay drafts and our correspondence. We also keep what we need to invoice you. We do not store card or bank account numbers; payments are made by bank transfer.
When you visit this website. Basic technical information, such as your device and the pages you view, collected by our website host and by Google Analytics, which uses cookies to show us how the site is used. You can block these cookies in your browser. Our videos play through YouTube, which sets its own cookies under Google’s privacy policy.
Students on the Peer Advice panel. Their name, contact details, university and course, referees, and the details we need to pay them.
Why we use it
To prepare your Direction Report. To provide the services you choose. To contact you about your report or those services, and on WhatsApp only if you have agreed. To invoice you and keep our accounts. To meet our legal obligations.
We do not sell your information. We do not use what you share with us for advertising, and we do not add you to a mailing list without asking first.
Your child’s information
We collect information about a child only from a parent or guardian, or from the child while we are working with the family. We use it only to advise that family.
We do not contact a child under 18 without a parent knowing. Your child’s essays and documents remain their own; we never publish them or reuse them for anyone else. We do not name the families we work with, and we do not publish their results.
Who else sees it
Our team. Only the people at North Star who work with your family.
Peer Advice students. When you book a session, we share only what the student needs to help, such as your child’s first name, grade and question, and only with your agreement. Every student agrees in writing to keep it confidential.
Service providers. Companies that host our website, store our files and carry our messages: Google Workspace, WhatsApp and Google Analytics. They handle it only to provide their services to us. Some of them store information outside India.
Authorities. Only where the law requires us to.
How long we keep it
Direction Report requests. If you do not go on to work with us, we delete your information 12 months after we send your report.
Families we work with. We keep your information for the length of our work together and two years after it ends, then delete it. Invoices are kept for as long as tax law requires.
If you would like a copy of anything before then, just ask.
How we protect it
Access is limited to the people who need it, and our accounts are protected with two-step sign-in. If a breach ever affects your information, we will tell you promptly, explain what happened and what we are doing about it, and report it as the law requires.
Your rights
You can ask us what information we hold about you and your child, and how we use it. You can ask us to correct it or delete it, and you can withdraw your consent at any time, whether for WhatsApp messages or for everything. You can also name someone to act for you.
We aim to reply within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our answer, you may complain to the Data Protection Board of India.
Contact us
Please write to our grievance officer, Vimal Abraham, at privacy@projectnorthstar.in, or by post to Méraki People Private Limited at the address above.
Changes to this policy
When we change this policy, we will update the date at the top. If a change affects how we use information you have already given us, we will tell you before it takes effect.