Privacy Policy

UniGO ("UniGO", "we", "us", "our") is a carpooling application for verified university students in Pakistan, operated by an individual based in Pakistan. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use and share it, and the choices and rights you have. By creating an account or using UniGO, you agree to this Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the app. For any questions, contact us at supportunigo@gmail.com.

1. Who can use UniGO

• UniGO is only for students of recognized Pakistani universities, verified through a valid university email address ending in .edu.pk.
• You must be at least 18 years old. UniGO is not intended for anyone under 18.

2. Information we collect

We collect the following information to operate UniGO:

Account and profile

• Your name, university email address (.edu.pk), phone number, and profile photo.
• Your age and gender. Gender is used to operate "Pink Mode" (women-only rides) and is not publicly displayed as a standalone profile detail.
• Your university name, associated with your university email.

Identity and safety verification

• Verification documents: for students, an image of your student ID card; for drivers, images of your driving license (front and back), a selfie holding your license, and a photo of your vehicle.
• Your CNIC (national identity number), collected during profile creation for identity uniqueness and fraud prevention. We do not store your raw CNIC. On our server it is converted into a one-way cryptographic hash; we retain only that hash and the last 4 digits.
• Verification images are stored privately, accessible only to you and authorized reviewers, and are never shown to other users.

Driver and vehicle information

• If you offer rides, your vehicle details (model, color, and number plate).

Ride and trip information

• Rides you publish or request, including pickup and drop-off points, your university destination, date and time, seats, route, and estimated fare in PKR.
• Trip records and receipts, which include the names and phone numbers of the matched rider and driver, pickup/drop-off locations, fare, and timestamps.

Location information

• With your permission, we access your device's precise location to show nearby rides, let you set pickup and drop-off points, and share your live location with the other participants of a ride while that ride is active.
• We only access location while the app is in use (foreground). We do not track your location in the background or when the app is closed.

Messages

• The content of in-app chats between matched users, which may include text, images, and shared-location messages, along with the read and delivery information needed to run the chat.

Device and technical information

• A push notification token (via Firebase Cloud Messaging) to deliver ride and message notifications, and basic technical information needed to operate the service securely (such as app version and data required by security checks like Firebase App Check).

UniGO contains no third-party advertising and no cross-app tracking, and we do not use behavioral analytics or advertising identifiers.

3. How we use your information

• Verify that you are an eligible student and, for drivers, that you are eligible to offer rides.
• Match riders and drivers based on route, university, time, seats, and Pink Mode preferences.
• Enable communication, pickups, and live trip tracking between matched users.
• Maintain safety, prevent fraud and abuse, and enforce our Terms.
• Send you service and safety notifications (for example, ride requests, acceptances, and messages).
• Provide customer support and respond to your requests.

We do not use your information for advertising, and we do not sell your personal data.

4. Payments

UniGO does not process payments and does not handle any financial transactions. Fares shown in the app are estimated cost-sharing amounts in Pakistani Rupees (PKR). Any payment is arranged and settled directly between the rider and driver, outside the app.

5. How we share information

With other users: To make carpooling work, some details are visible to users you are matched with: your name, profile photo, and verification status. Phone numbers are shared between a rider and driver only after a ride request is accepted, so you can coordinate pickup. During an active ride, your live location is shared with the participants of that ride.

Service providers: We rely on trusted third parties to operate UniGO: Google Firebase (authentication, database, file storage, cloud functions, and push notifications), LocationIQ and Mapbox (maps, geocoding, and routing), and an email service used to send verification codes. These providers process data on our behalf, and your information may be stored on their servers, which may be located outside Pakistan.

Verification review: Your verification documents are reviewed only by authorized personnel, for the purpose of approving your student or driver status.

Legal and safety: We may disclose information if required by law, or where we believe in good faith it is necessary to protect the safety, rights, or property of our users, the public, or UniGO, or to investigate fraud or violations of our Terms.

We do not sell your personal data to anyone.

6. Location privacy

• Location access is used only while you are using the app.
• Your live location is shared only with the participants of a ride, and only while that ride is active.
• We do not collect background location. You can stop sharing your live location by ending the ride, and you can disable location access at any time in your device settings, though some features may not work without it.

7. Identity and CNIC data

• Your raw CNIC is never stored. We keep only a one-way hash of it (used to prevent duplicate or fraudulent accounts) and the last 4 digits.
• Verification images (student ID, driving license, selfie, vehicle) are stored with restricted access, reviewed only by authorized personnel, and are never shared with other users.

8. Gender and Pink Mode

We collect your gender to operate Pink Mode, which lets female users offer or join women-only rides for added safety. Your gender is used for ride eligibility and matching and is not publicly displayed as a standalone profile detail. Misrepresenting your gender to access Pink Mode is a violation of our Terms.

9. Data security

We protect your data using encrypted connections (HTTPS/TLS), secure authentication (Firebase Auth), app-integrity checks (Firebase App Check), one-way hashing of sensitive identifiers such as your CNIC, and access-controlled storage rules that limit who can read your data. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we work to protect your information.

10. Data retention

• We keep your account and profile information for as long as your account is active.
• Live location data is removed when a ride ends.
• When you delete your account, we delete your personal data within 30 days, except where we must keep certain records to comply with the law or to prevent fraud, abuse, or safety incidents (for example, a limited record such as the CNIC hash may be retained to stop banned users from re-registering).

See our Data Deletion page for how to request deletion.

11. Your rights and choices

• You can access and update most of your profile information within the app.
• You can request a copy of your data, correction of inaccurate data, or deletion of your account and associated data.
• To exercise these rights, contact us at supportunigo@gmail.com or follow the steps on our Data Deletion page.

12. Children's privacy

UniGO is intended only for users aged 18 and above. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If we learn that we have collected data from someone under 18, we will delete it.

13. International data transfers

Some of our service providers (such as Google Firebase) may store and process data on servers located outside Pakistan. By using UniGO, you consent to such transfer and processing.

14. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make significant changes, we will notify you through the app or by email. The "Last updated" date at the top reflects the latest version.

15. Contact us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or your data, contact us at supportunigo@gmail.com.