Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

PakFiler (Pvt) Ltd ("PakFiler", "we", "our", or "us") operates an online tax preparation and filing platform delivered through both the website pakfiler.com and the PakFiler Mobile Application for Android (Google Play Store) (collectively, the "Platform" or "Services"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, retain, and safeguard your personal, financial, and tax-related information across both the website and the Mobile App, and applies uniformly to all users of either channel.

2. Definitions

• Platform / Services - the PakFiler website (pakfiler.com) and the PakFiler Mobile Application, together with all related features.
• Mobile App - the PakFiler application distributed via the Google Play Store.
• User - any individual or business that accesses or uses the Platform.
• FBR - the Federal Board of Revenue of Pakistan.

3. Information We Collect

The categories below apply to both the website and the Mobile App, except where a category is expressly limited to one channel.

3.1 Personal Information

• Full name, CNIC number, date of birth, and occupation
• Email address, mobile phone number, and postal address
• NTN (National Tax Number) and employment details
• Bank account information used for refund processing

3.2 Tax & Financial Information

• Income from salary, business, property, capital gains, and other sources
• Tax deductions, exemptions, withholdings, and credits
• Financial documents, invoices, and supporting receipts you upload
• Previously filed tax returns and wealth statements
• FBR / IRIS credentials (PIN, password, NTN) - stored encrypted at rest using PostgreSQL pgcrypto

3.3 Mobile Application Data (Google Play Data Safety Disclosure)

The PakFiler Mobile App requests only the INTERNET permission. It collects the minimum data necessary to deliver the Services:

• Push notification token - issued by Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) only after you explicitly grant notification permission. Used solely to deliver transactional updates about your tax filings.
• Google Sign-In profile - if you choose to sign in with Google, we receive your name, email address, and profile picture from Google.
• User-uploaded documents - files you select via the system file picker (no storage / media permission is requested by the app).
• Deep-link payload - data passed back to the app via the pakfiler:// URL scheme after a payment-gateway callback.

3.4 Server-Side Technical Data

• IP address and basic user-agent string, captured by our authentication backend (Supabase) for security, rate-limiting, abuse prevention, and audit-log purposes.
• Account activity timestamps (sign-in, document submission, payment events) maintained in tamper-resistant audit logs.

3.5 Data We Do NOT Collect

For full transparency with Google Play reviewers, we expressly confirm that the PakFiler Mobile App does not collect, access, or transmit any of the following:

• No advertising identifier (AdId) and no advertising or marketing tracking
• No precise or approximate device location
• No third-party crash-reporting SDK (no Firebase Crashlytics) and no third-party analytics SDK (no Firebase / Google Analytics)
• No access to contacts, SMS messages, call logs, calendar, microphone, or camera roll
• No background data collection - the app only transmits data while you are actively using it
• No reading of installed apps, device identifiers (IMEI, MAC, Android ID), or hardware sensors

4. How We Use Your Information

• Prepare, calculate, and submit your tax returns to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) through both the website and the Mobile App
• Provide tax calculation, wealth-statement reconciliation, and optimization features
• Deliver transactional push notifications, emails, and in-app messages about your filings and applications
• Process payments through authorized third-party gateways
• Comply with Pakistani tax laws, FBR regulations, and anti-fraud obligations
• Maintain, secure, debug, and improve the Platform

5. Data Security

We apply bank-grade security uniformly across the website and the Mobile App:

• 256-bit SSL/TLS encryption for all data in transit between your device, the Platform, and our payment / FBR partners
• Encryption at rest of sensitive FBR/IRIS credentials using PostgreSQL pgcrypto
• Row-level security (RLS) policies isolating each user's data at the database layer
• Role-based access control with multi-factor authentication for staff
• Regular security audits, dependency scanning, and vulnerability remediation
• Tamper-resistant audit logs of all sensitive actions

6. Information Sharing

We share information only in the following limited circumstances:

• FBR submission: Required tax data is transmitted to the Federal Board of Revenue to file your return.
• Authorized payment gateways: Payments are processed exclusively through secure, authorized third-party payment processors such as Abipay and other authorized payment networks. PakFiler does not store full card numbers or banking credentials used for payment authorization.
• Legal compliance: Where required by Pakistani law, court order, or regulatory authority.
• With your explicit consent: For any disclosure outside the scope of this policy.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to any third party for marketing purposes.

7. Account Deletion (Google Play Requirement)

In compliance with the Google Play Developer Program Policies, you may request deletion of your PakFiler account through any of the following channels:

• From inside the Mobile App: open the Mobile App, go to Dashboard → My Profile → Delete Account, type DELETE to confirm, and submit the request.
• From a public web form (no sign-in required): visit https://pakfiler.com/account-deletion and submit your request using the email address registered to your account.
• By email: write to privacy@pakfiler.com from your registered email address.

When you submit a deletion request, your account is immediately scheduled for deletion and you are signed out. For a 7-day grace period you may sign in again to cancel the request and fully reactivate your account. After the grace period ends, sign-in is permanently disabled, push tokens are revoked, and non-essential personal data is purged from active systems.

8. Data Retention & Legal Conflict Resolution

PakFiler operates a regulated tax-filing service. Pakistani tax law imposes record-keeping obligations that take precedence over voluntary deletion requests. We resolve this conflict as follows:

• Deleted upon request: non-essential personal data such as your profile (name, mobile, address, occupation, date of birth, profile picture), FBR/IRIS credentials, draft filings, uploaded draft documents, push-notification tokens, and chat history.
• Retained for a mandatory period of five (5) years: core tax data - including CNIC, NTN, submitted tax returns, filed financial documents, payment records, and FBR correspondence - as required by the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 and FBR regulations. After the statutory five-year period expires, this data is permanently purged from our systems.
• Indefinitely retained (anonymized): anonymized audit logs required for fraud prevention and security investigations.

Retained records are not used to identify you personally beyond what the legal obligation requires.

9. Your Rights

Subject to applicable law and the retention rules in Section 8, you have the right to:

• Access and review the personal information we hold about you
• Request corrections to inaccurate or incomplete information
• Request deletion of your account and non-essential data
• Withdraw consent for any non-essential processing
• Receive a portable copy of your account data
• Lodge a complaint with us at privacy@pakfiler.com

10. Children's Privacy

The Platform is intended for users 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect information from children. If we learn that we have inadvertently collected information from a minor, we will delete it promptly.

11. International Data Transfers

PakFiler primarily processes and stores data on infrastructure that may be hosted outside Pakistan. All such transfers are protected by 256-bit SSL/TLS in transit and by encryption at rest, and are limited to vendors bound by appropriate contractual data-protection commitments.

12. Updates to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Significant changes will be communicated via email and through the website and Mobile App. Continued use of the Platform after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised Policy.

13. Contact Information

For privacy-related inquiries or to exercise your rights, please contact: