Privacy Policy

vivahwala.com is an online matrimonial and matchmaking platform operated from Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. For the purposes of the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 ("DPDP Act") and related rules, vivahwala.com acts as the data fiduciary (controller) for the personal data you give us.

Contact for privacy matters: thisisbheem@gmail.com | +91 80 4567 8900 | 4th Floor, Prestige Tech Park, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560103.

We collect only what is needed to run a trustworthy matchmaking service. This includes:

• Account details: name, email address, mobile number and password (stored only as a one-way hash, never in readable form).
• Profile details you choose to add: gender, date of birth and age, height, marital status, location, education, profession, income range, diet, lifestyle, interests, about-me text, family details and partner preferences.
• Sensitive matrimonial details you choose to add: religion, community/caste, mother tongue, manglik status and horoscope details (moon sign, nakshatra and similar). These are optional and are used only for search, matching and, if enabled, Guna Milan compatibility.
• Photos and video introduction that you upload, and a photo-verification image where requested.
• Verification documents: a government ID or similar document, only if you choose to apply for Verified or Verified+ status.
• Activity on the platform: searches and saved searches, profiles you view or shortlist, interests you send, receive, accept or decline, contact-detail requests, blocks and reports.
• Messages and calls: the text messages and images you exchange with other members, and call records (who called whom, when, call type and duration). The audio and video of calls travel directly between the two members' devices and are not recorded or stored by us.
• Payment information: when you buy a plan or a profile boost, payment is handled by our payment partner Razorpay. We receive the order and payment status, amount and a payment reference; we never see or store your full card number, CVV, UPI PIN or net-banking credentials.
• Social sign-in information: if you choose "Continue with Google" or "Continue with Facebook", we receive your name, email address, profile picture and that provider's account identifier.
• Technical information: IP address, browser and device type, approximate location derived from IP, login times and login activity, and cookies or similar technologies described below.
• Communications with us: support requests, contact-form messages, newsletter subscription and referral invitations you send.

We use personal data to:

• Create and secure your account, authenticate you and, where you enable it, send email one-time codes for two-factor login.
• Build your profile, show it to other members according to your privacy settings, and let members search, shortlist, send interests, message and call each other.
• Calculate compatibility scores and, if you have provided horoscope details and the feature is on, Guna Milan matching.
• Verify profiles and prevent fraud, impersonation, harassment, spam and misuse, including reviewing reported content and photos.
• Process payments, issue invoices and refunds, apply coupons and referral rewards.
• Send service messages (interest received, match accepted, new message, security alerts, renewal reminders) by in-app notification, email, browser push and, where enabled and consented, WhatsApp.
• Send optional updates such as a weekly activity digest and newsletters, which you can switch off at any time.
• Improve performance, fix errors, understand which features are used, and keep the platform safe and reliable.
• Comply with legal obligations and respond to lawful requests from authorities.

We do not sell your personal data, and we do not use your private messages to show advertising.

We process your data on the basis of your consent, given when you register and when you add optional details, and for the performance of our contract with you (providing the matchmaking service), compliance with law, and legitimate uses such as preventing fraud and securing the platform.

You may withdraw consent at any time by changing your settings or deleting your account. Withdrawal does not affect processing already carried out, and some features (for example, showing your profile to others) cannot work without the underlying data.

A matrimonial profile is meant to be seen. What others can see depends on your choices and plan:

• Registered members can see the profile details and photos you have made visible. Guests can browse limited, non-sensitive summaries only.
• Your phone number and email are not shown on your profile. Another member can see them only after a contact-detail request that you approve or that your privacy settings and their plan allow.
• You can hide your profile, restrict photo visibility, and block or report any member. A member you block can no longer message or call you.
• Members on eligible plans can see the names of people who viewed their profile, in line with the plan features described on our Membership page.
• If you use Family Access, the family members you invite can see only the sections and actions you permit and you can revoke this at any time.
• Our authorised moderation and support staff can access account data to the extent needed to review reports, verification requests, payments and support tickets. Their access is role-based and recorded in audit logs.

We share personal data only with parties who help us run the service, and only as much as they need:

• Razorpay Software Private Limited, our payment gateway, to process payments, refunds and payment webhooks.
• Email delivery and hosting providers, to send transactional email and to store data on secure servers.
• Meta (WhatsApp Business Cloud API), only if WhatsApp notifications are enabled, and only your mobile number and the text of the notification, to deliver messages you have opted in to.
• Google and Facebook (Meta), only if you choose to sign in with them, in line with their own privacy policies.
• Browser push services (for example those run by Google, Mozilla or Apple), only if you allow push notifications.
• Real-time messaging and call-signalling infrastructure that we host ourselves; call audio and video go directly between members.
• Courts, law-enforcement and government authorities, where we are legally required to do so or where needed to protect the rights, safety and property of members, the public or vivahwala.com.
• A successor entity, in the event of a merger, acquisition or sale of the business, subject to this Policy continuing to apply.

These providers are permitted to use your data only to provide services to us. We do not permit them to use it for their own marketing.

We use a small number of technologies that are necessary for the site to work:

• A session cookie that keeps you signed in and protects forms, and a cross-site request forgery (XSRF) token cookie that protects against forged requests. These are essential and marked HttpOnly and, on secure connections, Secure.
• Browser local storage to remember your light or dark theme preference and small interface settings on your device.
• A service worker and cache for the installable web app, so pages load faster and basic screens work with a weak connection.

We do not use third-party advertising cookies. You can clear or block cookies in your browser settings, but the site will not work correctly, and you will not be able to log in, without the essential ones.

Service notifications about your account, interests, messages and security are part of the service. You can control optional channels (email, browser push, WhatsApp, weekly digest and marketing email) from Settings > Notifications. Every marketing email includes an unsubscribe link. Turning off a channel does not stop essential security or legal messages.

We keep your data for as long as your account is active and as needed to provide the service.

When you delete your account, your profile is immediately removed from search and from other members' view. We then retain limited data for a short period for fraud prevention, dispute handling and backup integrity, and delete or anonymise it afterwards. Certain records, such as payment and invoice records, are retained for the period required by tax and company law (currently up to eight years). Messages you have sent may remain visible to the other member in their conversation history.

Verification documents are used only to check your identity and are kept no longer than needed for that purpose and for legal compliance.

We use reasonable security practices and procedures as required by Indian law, including:

• Encrypted connections (HTTPS) and hashed passwords.
• Role-based access, audit logging of administrative actions and rate limiting on sensitive actions such as login, registration, password reset and interests.
• Protection against common web attacks (cross-site scripting, cross-site request forgery, SQL injection) and security headers.
• Optional two-factor login by emailed one-time code.
• Payment data handled by a PCI-DSS compliant partner rather than stored by us.

No system is completely secure. Please choose a strong unique password, never share your one-time codes, and log out on shared devices. If you suspect unauthorised access, change your password and contact us immediately. If a personal data breach affects you, we will notify you and the relevant authority as required by law.

Under applicable law you have the right to:

• Access a summary of the personal data we hold about you and how it is processed.
• Correct or update inaccurate or incomplete data. Most profile details can be edited directly from your dashboard.
• Erase your data by deleting your account from Settings, subject to the retention limits above.
• Withdraw consent for optional processing and manage notification channels.
• Nominate another person to exercise your rights in the event of your death or incapacity.
• Raise a grievance and, if unresolved, complain to the Data Protection Board of India once it is constituted and operational.

To exercise any right, use your account settings or email thisisbheem@gmail.com from your registered email address. We may need to verify your identity first, and we aim to respond within 30 days.

vivahwala.com is intended only for adults who are of legal marriageable age (currently 21 for men and 18 for women in India). We do not knowingly collect data from anyone below that age. A parent or guardian may create or manage a profile only for an adult family member with that person's knowledge and consent. If we learn that a profile belongs to an under-age person, we will remove it.

Your data is stored on servers we control or that our hosting providers operate. Some service providers listed above may process data outside India. Where this happens we rely on their contractual and security commitments and only transfer data to countries permitted under Indian law.

Our site may link to external websites, such as a member's social profile or a payment page. We do not control those sites and are not responsible for their privacy practices. Please read their policies before giving them personal information.

We may update this Policy to reflect new features, legal requirements or practices. The "Effective from" date at the top shows the latest version. For material changes we will notify you by email or an in-app notice before they take effect. Continuing to use vivahwala.com after the change means you accept the updated Policy.

In accordance with the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the rules made under it, our Grievance Officer can be contacted for any complaint about the processing of your data or about content on the platform:

Grievance Officer, vivahwala.com 4th Floor, Prestige Tech Park, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560103, India Email: thisisbheem@gmail.com Phone: +91 80 4567 8900 (Monday to Saturday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM IST)

We acknowledge complaints within 24 hours and aim to resolve them within 15 days.