Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

Student account information

When a student creates or uses an account, we may process information such as:

• University email address
• Student name and student identifier
• Account verification and activation status
• Profile photo, if the student chooses to upload one

Patient and clinical case information

Shifa may process information relating to patient cases that is submitted through the patient intake system or made available for clinical coordination.

This information may include:

• Patient name
• Age
• General location or area
• Dental complaint or requested treatment
• Dental case category or classification
• Tooth-related information
• Relevant medical or chronic disease information voluntarily provided as part of the patient intake process
• Patient case photographs, where provided
• Phone or contact information

Patient contact information is restricted and is made available only to an authorized student after a successful patient reservation, where applicable.

Reservation and case activity

We may store information needed to operate the patient reservation and case-management system, including:

• Reserved patient cases
• Active and previous cases
• Reservation-cycle usage
• Case status and outcomes
• Relevant timestamps and activity records

Device and security information

To protect student accounts and patient information, Shifa may process security-related information such as:

• Trusted-device identifiers or derived device hashes
• Trusted session identifiers
• Device binding and security status
• App integrity and abuse-prevention signals
• Authentication and security event information

We use services such as Firebase App Check and platform integrity technologies to help identify unauthorized or modified clients and protect backend services.

Notification information

If notifications are enabled, we may process push notification tokens and related platform information so that Shifa can deliver important account, reservation, and service notifications.

2. How We Use Information

Information processed through Shifa may be used to:

• Create, verify, and manage student accounts
• Provide access to available dental patient cases
• Process patient reservations
• Manage active and completed clinical cases
• Restrict patient contact information to authorized users
• Deliver notifications and service updates
• Provide profile and account features
• Detect fraud, unauthorized access, and security violations
• Maintain and improve application reliability
• Comply with applicable legal, safety, and regulatory obligations

3. How We Share Information

We do not sell personal information.

Information may be shared only when needed to operate Shifa, provide its features, maintain security, or comply with legal obligations.

Shifa uses third-party infrastructure and service providers that may process limited information on our behalf, including:

• Google Firebase services
• Firebase Authentication
• Cloud Firestore
• Firebase Cloud Storage
• Cloud Functions
• Firebase App Check
• Notification delivery services, including Google, Apple, and Expo services where applicable

These providers process information according to their own terms, security practices, and privacy policies.

4. Patient Information Access

Shifa is designed to limit access to sensitive patient information.

Patient contact information is not generally displayed to all students. Where applicable, contact details become available only after a student successfully reserves the relevant patient case.

Students are expected to use patient information only for legitimate clinical coordination and educational purposes.

5. Security

We use technical and organizational safeguards intended to protect information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction.

Security measures may include:

• Authenticated access
• University email verification
• Administrative account activation
• Trusted-device security controls
• Firebase security rules
• App integrity verification
• Restricted access to sensitive patient information

No system can guarantee absolute security, but we continuously work to reduce unauthorized access and misuse.

6. Data Retention

We retain information for as long as reasonably necessary to provide Shifa, maintain case and reservation records, protect the service, satisfy legitimate operational requirements, or comply with applicable obligations.

Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the reason it is processed.

7. Account and Data Requests

Users may contact us to request information about their account or to request correction or deletion of eligible personal information.

Certain information may need to be retained where required for security, legitimate record keeping, dispute resolution, or legal obligations.

8. Children's Privacy

The Shifa student application is intended for eligible dental students and is not directed to children as student users.

9. Medical Disclaimer

Shifa is a platform for organizing and coordinating dental student clinical cases.

Shifa does not provide medical diagnosis, treatment advice, or emergency medical services and does not replace professional clinical judgment.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when Shifa features, practices, or applicable requirements change.

The effective date shown at the top of this page will be updated when material changes are published.