Last updated: [Insert date before publishing]

This Privacy Policy explains how A Bit of Life Clinic (“the Clinic,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, stores, and protects information when you visit abitoflife.co.in (the “Site”) or use any feature on it, including the AI Intake Assistant.

We are a gastroenterology and metabolic health practice. Some of the information we handle is health-related, and we treat it with corresponding care. This policy is written to be read by patients and visitors, not just lawyers — if anything is unclear, please contact us using the details at the end.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information you give us directly

• Contact form submissions — name, email address, phone number (optional), reason for contacting us, and your message.
• Newsletter sign-up — name, email address, and WhatsApp number (optional), if you choose to subscribe.
• AI Intake Assistant conversations — if you use this feature and give consent, the symptoms and information you type are processed to generate a response and, at the end of the conversation, emailed to clinic staff (see Section 4).
• Appointment or referral requests — any clinical or personal details you choose to include when contacting us.

1.2 Information collected automatically

• Standard web server logs (IP address, browser type, pages visited, time of visit), collected by our hosting provider for security and performance purposes.
• If analytics or advertising tools are enabled on the Site (for example, Google Analytics), those tools may collect information about your visit using cookies or similar technologies. We will update this section and our cookie notice if and when such tools are added. You can control cookies through your browser settings at any time.

1.3 Information we do not collect through the Site

We do not use the Site to collect payment card details directly — if online payment for services is introduced, this will be handled by a third-party payment processor, and this policy will be updated to name that processor and describe how it handles your data.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Respond to enquiries, referrals, and appointment requests
• Provide the AI Intake Assistant’s triage function and route you to the right service
• Send you newsletter updates, only if you have subscribed
• Maintain the security and proper functioning of the Site
• Comply with our legal and regulatory obligations as a healthcare practice

We do not sell your personal information to anyone, for any reason.

3. The AI Intake Assistant

If you choose to use the AI Intake Assistant chat feature, please read this section carefully — it explains exactly how that feature handles what you type.

• It is not a substitute for medical advice. The assistant is an AI tool, not a doctor, and does not diagnose, prescribe, or make clinical decisions. See our [Terms of Use] for the full disclaimer.
• Consent is required before any conversation begins. You must actively agree to the consent notice shown in the chat widget before you can send a message. If you do not consent, the feature will not process or send any information you type.
• What happens to your conversation. If you consent, your conversation is sent to our AI provider (Anthropic) to generate a response, and — once the conversation reaches a natural end, is flagged as urgent, or you leave the page mid-conversation — the transcript is emailed once to a clinic staff member for review, so the right follow-up can be arranged.
• We do not store your conversation in our website’s database. The transcript exists only as an email sent to clinic staff. It is not written to any database table on the Site. The only copy is that email, which is handled by clinic staff under the same confidentiality standards as any other patient correspondence.
• Please don’t share more than necessary. We ask that you avoid volunteering highly sensitive details (for example, related to sexual history, mental health, or HIV status) in the chat itself beyond what’s needed to describe your symptoms — if these are relevant, our team will discuss them with you directly and confidentially during a consultation.
• Red-flag symptoms. If you describe symptoms the assistant recognises as urgent, it will stop asking further questions and direct you to call the Clinic or seek emergency care immediately.
• Third-party processing. Anthropic processes the text of your conversation, under contract, solely to generate the assistant’s responses. Anthropic does not use this content to train its models to improve its foundation models unless the current usage terms in effect for the API say otherwise, and does not use it for any purpose beyond providing the service to us. You can read Anthropic’s own privacy practices at https://www.anthropic.com/legal/privacy.

4. Who We Share Information With

We share information only in the following circumstances:

• Clinic staff and clinicians involved in your care or enquiry.
• Service providers who help us run the Site, such as our hosting provider and email delivery service, under obligations to protect your information.
• Our AI provider (Anthropic), only for messages you send through the AI Intake Assistant, and only after you consent.
• Legal or regulatory authorities, if required by applicable law, court order, or to protect the safety of a patient or the public.

We do not share your information with advertisers or data brokers.

5. Data Retention

• Contact form and newsletter submissions are retained for as long as needed to respond to your enquiry or maintain your subscription, and are deleted or anonymised when no longer needed.
• AI Intake Assistant conversations are not stored in our Site’s database at all. The only record is the one-time email sent to clinic staff, which is retained according to the Clinic’s ordinary patient-correspondence retention practices — the same standard applied to any other email, referral letter, or enquiry.
• You may ask us to delete personal information we hold about you, subject to any legal or clinical record-keeping obligations that require us to retain certain information for a defined period.

6. Your Rights

Depending on applicable law, including India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, you may have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate information
• Request deletion of your information, subject to our legal and clinical obligations
• Withdraw consent for optional features (such as the AI Intake Assistant or newsletter) at any time
• Lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection authority

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in Section 9.

7. Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect the information we hold, including:

• Encrypting sensitive credentials (such as API keys) at rest
• Using nonces, rate-limiting, and other safeguards on forms and interactive features to prevent abuse
• Restricting access to patient information to authorised staff

No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If you believe your information has been compromised, please contact us immediately.

8. Children’s Privacy

The Site and its features, including the AI Intake Assistant, are intended for use by adults or with the involvement of a parent or guardian on behalf of a minor patient. We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children without appropriate parental or guardian involvement.

9. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your information, please contact us:

• Email: care@abitoflife.co.in
• Phone: +91 8756117600
• Address: 4/22, Varadaraja Puram, Ambattur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600053

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, particularly as Site features change. The “Last updated” date at the top will reflect the most recent revision. We encourage you to review this page periodically.