Privacy Policy
Last updated: July 1, 2026 | Effective date: July 1, 2026
SmartVan is committed to protecting the privacy of students, parents, drivers, and school administrators who use our platform. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your information.
1. Who We Are
SmartVan is a school transport management platform developed and operated by i9Experts, based in Karachi, Pakistan. Our platform serves schools, parents, and drivers to manage student transportation safely and efficiently.
Contact: info@smartvan.pk | Website: smartvan.pk
2. Information We Collect
We collect the following types of information to provide our services:
- Student Information: Name, grade, gender, date of birth, and school enrollment details.
- Parent Information: Full name, email address, phone number, and home address.
- Driver Information: Full name, email address, phone number, CNIC/National ID number, driving licence details and expiry, vehicle registration details, profile photo, and location data during active trips.
- Location Data: Real-time GPS location of drivers during active school transport trips. Location tracking is only active during trip sessions.
- Device Information: Device type, operating system, and Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) token for push notifications.
- Usage Data: App interactions, trip history, attendance records, and payment records.
3. How We Use Your Information
- To provide real-time school transport tracking for parents and school administrators.
- To manage student pickup and drop-off operations safely.
- To send push notifications to parents about student pickup/drop-off status.
- To generate digital attendance records based on trip activity.
- To manage transport fee collection and payment records.
- To ensure the safety of students through geofencing alerts.
- To communicate important alerts and announcements to parents and drivers.
4. Location Data
The SmartVan Driver App collects real-time GPS location data from drivers during active school transport trips. This data is:
- Only collected when a trip is actively in progress.
- Shared with the school administrator and parents of students on that route.
- Used to provide live tracking, ETA calculations, and geofence alerts.
- Not collected or stored when the app is in the background and no trip is active.
5. Data Sharing
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties. We may share data with:
- School Administrators: Who manage the transport system for their school.
- Parents: Who receive information about their child's transport status.
- Service Providers: Including Google Maps (for routing), Firebase (for push notifications), and AWS S3 (for file storage).
- Legal Authorities: If required by law or to protect the safety of students.
6. Data Retention
- Trip location data is retained for 90 days for safety audit purposes.
- Attendance records are retained for the duration of the student's enrollment.
- Payment records are retained for 7 years for accounting purposes.
- Account data is retained until the account is deleted or the school's subscription ends.
7. Data Security
We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your data:
- All data is transmitted over HTTPS/TLS encrypted connections.
- Passwords are hashed using bcrypt encryption.
- JWT (JSON Web Token) authentication for all API access.
- Data is stored on MongoDB Atlas with access controls.
- Regular security audits and updates.
8. Children's Privacy
SmartVan serves school-age children as part of its core service. We are committed to protecting children's privacy:
- Student data is only collected with school authorization and parent consent.
- Children do not directly interact with our platform — only parents and school administrators do.
- We do not use student data for advertising or marketing purposes.
- Student data is never shared with unauthorized third parties.
9. Your Rights
You have the right to:
- Access the personal data we hold about you.
- Request correction of inaccurate data.
- Request deletion of your account and associated data.
- Withdraw consent for data processing where applicable.
- Request a copy of your data in a portable format.
To exercise these rights, contact us at info@smartvan.pk.
10. Account Deletion
You can request deletion of your account and all associated data by:
Upon request, we will delete your personal data within 30 days, except where retention is required by law.
11. Third-Party Services
Our app uses the following third-party services, each with their own privacy policies:
- Google Maps Platform — For route planning and navigation.
- Firebase (Google) — For push notifications and analytics.
- AWS S3 — For secure file and image storage.
- MongoDB Atlas — For database hosting.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify users of significant changes via in-app notification or email. Continued use of the app after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.