Privacy Policy

Research Engage is owned and operated by Research Engage (Private) Limited. We decide how your personal data is used on the platform and are responsible for it. This policy explains what we collect, why, and the choices you have.

Information you give us

• Account details: your name, email address and password (stored only in encrypted, hashed form), or your Google account name and email if you sign in with Google.
• Profile details: such as your photo, institution, position, headline, location, bio, expertise, interests and availability.
• Projects and collaboration: projects you post, requests you send or accept, tasks, deadlines, meetings and attendance, and files shared in a project.
• Messages: chat messages and attachments you send.
• Support and complaints: what you tell us when you contact us.

Information created when you use the platform

• Payment records: the service, amount, date, status and the Safepay payment reference. We do not receive your card number or security code.
• Activity and device data: when you sign in and use the platform, your IP address, browser and device type, and, if you turn on notifications, a push subscription for that device.

We use your information only to:

• create and secure your account and keep you signed in;
• show your profile and projects to other users, as your settings allow;
• run collaboration: requests, project teams, tasks, chat, files and meetings;
• process payments, refunds and mentor or teacher payouts;
• send you emails, in-app notifications and push notifications about your activity, such as new requests, messages and task reminders;
• answer support requests and complaints;
• keep the platform safe, prevent fraud and misuse, and fix problems; and
• meet our legal, tax and accounting obligations.

We do not sell your personal data, and we do not use it for third-party advertising.

We share personal data only with the following, and only as much as they need:

• Safepay, our payment provider, to take payments and make refunds.
• Email providers, to deliver account, activity and reminder emails.
• Push notification services run by your browser or phone maker (for example Google, Apple or Mozilla), to deliver notifications you have turned on.
• Hosting, database and file-storage providers that run our servers and store data on our behalf.
• Google, only if you choose to sign in with Google.
• Other users, as the platform works: for example, your public profile in the directory, or your messages and files to the members of a project.
• Authorities, when the law requires it or to protect people from harm or fraud.

These providers may process data outside Pakistan. We use providers that protect it.

We keep this to what the platform needs to work:

• A sign-in cookie (refresh_token) that keeps you signed in securely. Without it you would need to sign in on every visit.
• Device storage for small preferences, such as a dismissed banner or notification choice.

We do not use advertising or third-party tracking cookies. Safepay may set its own cookies on its checkout page to process your payment securely.

• Account and profile data: while your account is open.
• Project content and messages: while the project or conversation exists. Messages you sent may stay visible to people who already received them.
• Payment and refund records: as long as the law requires for tax and accounting, even after an account is closed.
• Support and complaint records: as long as needed to resolve them and keep a record.

When you close your account, we delete or anonymise your personal data, except what we must keep by law.

You can ask us to:

• give you a copy of the personal data we hold about you;
• correct data that is wrong (you can also edit most of it in your profile);
• delete your account and personal data, subject to what we must keep by law;
• stop sending you non-essential emails or notifications; and
• explain how we use your data.

You can turn push notifications off at any time in your profile or your device settings. To use any other right, email info@research-engage.com. We will reply within 2 working days and complete the request as soon as we reasonably can.

We use encrypted connections (HTTPS), store passwords only in hashed form, keep files private to the people allowed to see them, limit staff access to what they need, and rely on Safepay for card processing. No system is perfectly secure, so please use a strong, unique password and tell us straight away if you notice anything unusual.

If we change this policy, we will publish the new version on this page. For important changes, we will also tell you by email or in the app before they take effect.

For any privacy question or request, email info@research-engage.com. You can also use our complaints process.