Help & Support

Getting Started

Create your account and set up your profile in a few simple steps.

1. Sign up

Register with your name, a unique username, your branch, and a valid email address. CampusMitra sends a 6‑digit One‑Time Password (OTP) to your inbox to confirm your email. Enter this code on the verification page to activate your account. The OTP expires quickly — check your inbox (and spam folder) promptly. You can also sign up instantly using Sign in with Google if that option is available.

2. Log in

Use your registered email and password to log in. Tick "Remember me" to stay logged in across browser sessions for up to 60 days. You can also use Google sign-in if your account is linked. If you forget your password, use Forgot Password on the login page | a reset OTP will be sent to your registered email.

3. Set up your profile

Right after signing up you'll be prompted to add a profile picture (you can skip this and do it later from your profile page). Fill in your nickname and branch so classmates can recognize you easily. A complete profile helps others find and connect with you.

Core Features

The everyday tools you'll use most on CampusMitra.

Home Feed

See posts from people you follow. Like posts, leave comments, and reply to comments by swiping a comment to reveal the reply option. You can edit or delete your own posts and comments at any time.

Search

Find any student by username or name. Visit their profile to see their posts, follow them, or send them a message | no mutual follow required.

Follow System

Follow anyone to see their posts in your feed. If an account is private, your follow will be held as a request until they approve it. There is no mutual-follow requirement to send a message.

Resource Hub

Browse and upload study materials | notes, previous year question papers (PYQs), lab manuals, and external links | organised by branch. Every upload goes through an admin moderation queue before it becomes publicly visible.

Real‑Time Chat

Message anyone directly with instant delivery, typing indicators, and read receipts. Messages are delivered live | no page refresh needed. You can edit or delete your sent messages at any time.

Notifications

Get notified for likes, comments, follow requests, and new messages. Unread counts appear as badges on the notification and chat icons so you never miss anything.

Messaging & Message Requests

Stay connected with classmates | respectfully and on your own terms.

How messaging works

You can send a direct message to anyone on CampusMitra | no follow or mutual connection is required. Open someone's profile or search for them, then tap Message.

Message request system

To protect everyone's inbox, the first message you send to someone is treated as a message request:

You can send one message to start the conversation.
Until the other person replies, the conversation is locked | you cannot send further messages. A status banner in the chat window explains this clearly.
Once they reply, the conversation opens fully and you can both message freely.
If someone has already sent you a message (i.e. they initiated first), you can reply immediately | the restriction only applies to the person who reached out first.

This prevents spam while still allowing you to reach out to anyone on the platform.

Chat features

Typing indicators | see when the other person is typing in real time.
Read receipts | double-tick marks show when your message has been seen.
Edit & delete | you can edit or delete any message you've sent.
Delete conversation | clear the entire chat history from your side at any time.
Online status | a green dot shows when someone is currently active.

Privacy & Social Controls

You are always in control of who can see your content.

Public vs. Private accounts

By default your profile is public | anyone on CampusMitra can view your posts and follow you instantly. Switch to Private from Account Settings if you'd rather approve each follower yourself. On a private account, new followers must send a follow request, which you can accept or decline from the Requests tab in the navbar.

Followers & following

Your profile shows how many people you follow and how many follow you back. Anyone can message you regardless of follow status | see the Messaging section for how message requests work.

Account settings

From Account Settings you can change your password, update your email address (verified by OTP), toggle your account privacy, and permanently delete your account. All sensitive changes require OTP confirmation to your registered email.

The Resource Vault

A shared library built by the student community, for the student community.

Browse by category | Navigate Branch → Semester → Subject, then filter by Notes, Previous Year Question Papers (PYQs), Lab Manuals, or Syllabus.
Upload & share | Contribute your own notes or useful links so others can benefit too. Accepted file types include PDF and common document formats.
Moderation queue | Every upload is reviewed by an admin before it becomes publicly visible. This keeps the hub free of spam and inappropriate content. Resources are tagged as pending, approved, or rejected.
View & download stats | Each resource tracks how many times it has been viewed and downloaded, so the most useful materials are easy to spot.

Resource Use & Legal Safety

CampusMitra works best when the community shares responsibly and lawfully.

Only upload materials you own or are authorized to share. This includes your own notes, summaries, or content you have permission to distribute.
Respect copyright and academic policies. Do not upload pirated books, paid course materials, leaked exam papers, private documents, or anything that violates a publisher or institution rule.
Do not share personal or confidential information. Avoid posting private contact details, passwords, internal documents, or data that should remain restricted.
CampusMitra may remove infringing or unsafe content. If a resource is reported or found to be unauthorized, admins can remove it and take further action if necessary.
Users remain responsible for what they share. By uploading a file or link, you confirm that your use complies with applicable law and campus rules.

If you believe a resource is unlawful, misleading, or violates your rights, please report it through the contact option below so the admin can review it promptly.

Good to Know Lesser‑known features

A few handy details that aren't always obvious at first glance.

Light / Dark Mode

Tap the moon icon in the top bar to switch between light and dark themes. Your choice is saved in your browser and remembered next time you visit.

Swipe to Reply

On mobile, swipe right on any comment to reply to it directly. The reply box will automatically reference that comment so the context is always clear.

Edit Messages

Made a typo? Hover over or long-press your sent message to reveal the edit option. Edited messages are marked so the other person knows the content was updated.

Badge Counts

The notification bell and chat icon each show a live badge with the number of unread items. Badges clear automatically once you open the relevant section.

Session Persistence

Your login session lasts for up to 60 days with the remember-me cookie. You won't be asked to log in again each visit unless you log out or clear your browser data.

Admin Dashboard

Admin accounts have access to an internal dashboard for content moderation, resource approvals, user management, and site health. This is only accessible to verified admins | your private messages are never visible to anyone but you.

Security & Data Protection

CampusMitra is built with several layers of protection so your account and content stay safe.

Passwords are never stored in plain text | they are securely hashed before being saved.
Every form submission is protected against CSRF (Cross‑Site Request Forgery) attacks.
⏱ Sensitive actions (login, registration, password reset, OTP requests) are rate‑limited to block automated abuse and brute‑force attempts.
Session cookies are HTTP‑only, same‑site protected, and transmitted over HTTPS in production, so they can't be read by scripts or stolen in transit.
Email verification uses a time‑limited OTP with a capped number of attempts, preventing guesswork.
Uploaded files are checked for type and size before being accepted.
The message request system prevents unsolicited spam — someone can only send you one message until you reply.
Private accounts and follow requests give you full control over who can view your posts.
All configuration secrets (API keys, database credentials) are stored as environment variables | never hard‑coded into the app.

Even with these protections in place, please use a strong, unique password and avoid sharing your login details with anyone.

Troubleshooting

Didn't receive your OTP? Check your spam/promotions folder, then use the Resend OTP option. Resend attempts are limited for security, so wait a minute between tries.
Forgot your password? Use Forgot Password on the login page | a reset OTP will be sent to your registered email.
Can't send a message? If you've already sent a message and the other person hasn't replied yet, the chat is locked until they respond. This is the message request system working as intended.
File upload failing? Make sure the file is under the size limit and in a supported format (PDF, image, or document).
Getting a "Too many requests" message? This is a temporary safety limit | simply wait a minute and try again.
Page not loading or showing an error? Try refreshing, clearing your browser cache, or logging out and back in. If it persists, please report it to the admin (see below).
Profile picture not updating? After uploading, do a hard refresh (Ctrl+Shift+R / Cmd+Shift+R) if the old image still appears.