Privacy Policy
The Citizens Foundation
Solar R&M Department — Engineering
Privacy Policy — TCF Solar Care
Effective date: 28 August 2026 · Last updated: 28 August 2026
1. Introduction
The Engineering Department of The Citizens Foundation ("TCF", "we", "us") operates TCF Solar Care (the "App"), a mobile and web application used by principals of TCF campuses to log weekly solar maintenance, raise complaints, track inverter repairs, and communicate with the Solar R&M team.
This policy explains what the App collects, why, how it is stored and shared, and the choices available to you. It applies to the Android application distributed through Google Play and to the web application at tcf-solar-app.vercel.app.
2. Who This Policy Applies To
The App is an internal organizational tool intended exclusively for TCF campus principals, designated maintenance staff, and Solar R&M Department personnel. It is not directed at the general public and is not directed at children. Access requires a Campus ID and PIN issued by the Solar R&M Department; there is no public sign-up.
3. Information We Collect
Account and identification
- Campus ID and PIN — issued by TCF. The PIN authenticates the campus, not an individual person.
- Campus record — campus name, region, principal name, contact phone number, and installed solar system details. This is supplied by TCF, not entered by you.
Maintenance records
- Photographs — images of solar panels, the inverter, the battery bank, and the earthing pit, captured through the App's camera.
- Precise location (GPS) — the geographic coordinates recorded at the moment each photograph is captured.
- Log details — the week and month covered, which tasks were completed, the name of the person who performed the cleaning, and any remarks you enter.
Complaints, repairs and messages
- Complaint category, description, priority, and any attached photograph.
- Inverter repair details including model and serial number.
- Messages you send to the Solar R&M team through the in-app chat.
- Confirmation that you have acknowledged an announcement, together with the time of acknowledgement.
Technical information
- Session token — stored on your device to keep you signed in.
- Local preferences — language, theme, and dismissed prompts, stored on your device only.
- Push notification identifier — a device token, only if you enable notifications.
We do not collect financial or payment information, health information, government identity documents, contacts, calendar data, call or SMS logs, installed application lists, browsing history, or biometric data. The App contains no advertising and no third-party analytics or tracking SDKs. We do not sell personal information, and we do not use your data for advertising or marketing.
4. Why We Collect It — and Why Camera and Location Are Required
Google Play requires us to explain sensitive permissions plainly.
| Permission | Why it is needed |
|---|---|
| Camera | Weekly maintenance must be evidenced with photographs taken at the campus. The App captures images directly through the camera rather than accepting images from your gallery, so that a maintenance record reflects work genuinely carried out. The camera is used only while you are creating a maintenance log or attaching a photo to a complaint. |
| Precise location | Each maintenance photograph is stamped with the coordinates at the moment of capture, so that head office can confirm the work was performed at the campus it is reported against. Location is read only at the moment a photograph is taken. The App does not track your location in the background and does not record your movements. |
| Notifications | Optional. Used to alert you to announcements from the Solar R&M team and replies to your complaints. You may decline, and the App remains fully usable. |
Collected information is used solely to:
- record and verify weekly preventive maintenance at each campus;
- generate the Solar Maintenance Certificate (SMC) for your campus;
- manage complaints and inverter repairs through to resolution;
- plan and prioritise maintenance and allocate engineering resources;
- produce internal compliance reporting at campus, regional and organisational level.
5. How Information Is Stored
Data submitted through the App is stored in Google Workspace services operated under TCF's organisational account: records in Google Sheets, photographs in Google Drive, and application logic in Google Apps Script. Access is restricted to authorised Solar R&M Department personnel and relevant line management.
6. Data Sharing
We do not sell or rent personal information, and we do not share it with third parties for their own purposes. Data is shared only as follows:
- Within TCF — with authorised Engineering Department personnel and relevant line management. Aggregated or anonymised figures may appear in internal reports across departments.
- Service providers — Google (Workspace, Drive, Sheets, Apps Script) hosts the data; Vercel Inc. serves the web application; OneSignal delivers push notifications if you enable them. These providers process data on our behalf.
- Legal obligation — where disclosure is required by applicable law or to protect the rights and safety of TCF, its staff, or its students.
Data handled by these providers is also governed by their own policies: Google Privacy Policy, Vercel Privacy Policy, OneSignal Privacy Policy.
7. Data Retention
Maintenance logs, photographs, complaints and repair records are retained for as long as required for infrastructure management, compliance reporting and TCF's internal record-keeping obligations. Chat messages and announcement receipts are retained while operationally relevant. Data no longer required is securely deleted or anonymised. Session tokens expire automatically; preferences stored on your device are removed when you sign out or uninstall the App.
8. Data Security
Access requires a Campus ID and PIN, sessions expire automatically, and repeated failed sign-in attempts are locked out temporarily. Traffic between the App and our servers is encrypted in transit using HTTPS. Access to stored records is limited to authorised personnel. No system can be guaranteed absolutely secure, and we rely in part on the security of the third-party platforms named above.
9. Your Rights and Choices
- Access — request a copy of the records submitted from your campus.
- Correction — request correction of inaccurate records.
- Deletion — request deletion of your campus account and its associated records, subject to TCF's record-keeping obligations.
- Withdraw permissions — camera, location and notification permissions can be revoked at any time in your device settings. Revoking camera or location will prevent new maintenance logs from being submitted, as photographic evidence is a requirement of the process.
To exercise any of these rights, contact the Solar R&M Department using the details in section 12. We will respond within a reasonable period.
10. Children's Privacy
The App is a workplace tool for adult TCF staff. It is not designed for, marketed to, or intended to be used by children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. Photographs submitted through the App are of solar equipment and infrastructure; principals are instructed not to include students in maintenance photographs.
11. Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The effective date above will be revised, and material changes will be communicated through official TCF channels and in-app announcements. Continued use of the App after a change takes effect constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
12. Contact
Sharjeel Anees — Solar R&M, Engineering Department
The Citizens Foundation, Head Office, Karachi, Pakistan
Email: sharjeel.anees@tcf.org.pk
Phone: 0335-3602111
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