Privacy policy

Who we are

Band.pk is an IELTS preparation service – the website band.pk and the Band.pk Android app – operated by Novista Solutions, Pakistan. For anything about your data, email [email protected].

What we collect

• Account details: your name, email address and password (stored only as a secure hash), and optionally your phone number, target band and test version (Academic or General Training). If you sign in with Google, Google shares your name, email address and Google account ID with us – we never see your Google password.
• Your practice: the tests you take, your answers, scores, time spent and progress, Writing responses you type, and the ratings, comments and question reports you send us. Speaking recordings stay on your device – they are not uploaded.
• Payments: for plans bought on the website, the payment method and transaction reference you submit. For Premium or AI credits bought in the app, Google Play handles the payment – we receive the purchase’s order reference and what was bought, never your card or account details.
• AI credits: your credit balance and its history – credits given, bought and used, and which AI checks used them.
• Device and security information: an identifier and name of the device you sign in on (your account can be signed in on one device at a time), the app version, and server logs with IP addresses and browser or device type, which we keep for security.

We don’t use analytics trackers. Our own cookies only keep you signed in and play protected test files. Ads (below) are served by Google.

Ads

Band.pk is free to use thanks to ads. Free accounts and visitors see a few banner ads, and can watch a short ad to open a Premium test once. Premium members never see ads. Ads are provided by Google – AdMob in the Android app, and AdSense and Google Ad Manager on the website.

• To show and measure ads and prevent ad fraud, Google may collect your device’s advertising ID (in the app), cookies or similar identifiers (on the website), your IP address and approximate location, and how you interact with ads. Google may use this to personalise ads, as described in how Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services.
• When you watch an ad to open a test, Google tells our server that the ad was watched (with your Band.pk user ID), so we can open the test for you.
• In the EEA, the UK and Switzerland we ask for your consent first with Google’s consent message, and you can change your choice at any time (in the app: Profile → Ad privacy choices). Anywhere, you can turn off personalised ads in your Google ad settings or reset or delete your advertising ID in your phone’s settings.

How we use it

• to provide your account, mark your tests and show your results and progress;
• to give you Premium access you paid for and to answer your support requests;
• to keep accounts secure and prevent abuse (for example, one signed-in device per account);
• to fix and improve our tests and features, using the feedback and reports you send.

AI Writing checks

When your Writing is checked by AI, the text of your answer and the task (including a description of its chart or picture) are sent to an AI provider to mark it and write the feedback. We send only that – not your name, email address or other account details. Your answer and the feedback are kept with your test result.

We currently use DeepSeek and Anthropic, and may also use OpenAI, Google (Gemini), Alibaba Cloud (Qwen) or xAI (Grok) – one of them marks each check. These providers may process the text outside Pakistan, including in the United States and China, under their own terms for business customers.

AI feedback is an estimate to help you learn – it isn’t an official IELTS score.

Who we share it with

We never sell your data. It is shared only with services that run Band.pk for us, and only as far as they need:

• our hosting provider (Hostinger – servers in Germany) and Cloudflare, which carries and protects traffic to band.pk;
• Google, for purchases made through Google Play, when you choose to sign in with Google, and to show ads to free accounts (see Ads);
• the AI providers named above, for AI Writing checks (the task and your answer only).

We may also disclose data when the law requires it.

How we protect it

All traffic uses HTTPS. Passwords are stored as secure hashes, test audio and images are stored encrypted, and tests downloaded in the app are kept encrypted on your phone.

How long we keep it, and deleting your account

We keep your data while you have an account. You can delete your account and data at any time on the delete account page, in the app (Profile → Delete account) or by emailing [email protected]. Deletion is permanent; copies in our encrypted server backups are overwritten as those backups are replaced.

You can see and correct your details in your profile at any time, and ask us for a copy of your data by email.

Children

Band.pk is meant for IELTS candidates and isn’t directed at children under 13. We don’t knowingly collect data from children under 13.

Changes

If we change this policy, we update the date at the top of this page, and tell you in the app or by email if the change is significant.