Privacy Policy

01Who we are and what this policy covers

OpenShadi ("OpenShadi", "we", "us") runs the matrimony service at openshadi.com and the OpenShadi mobile app. This policy explains what personal data we collect, why, who can see it, how long we keep it and the rights you have under India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 ("DPDP Act") and the Information Technology Act, 2000 and its rules.

For the purposes of the DPDP Act, OpenShadi is the Data Fiduciary for the personal data you give us. By creating an account you give your consent to the processing described here. Your consent is recorded with the date and time you gave it, and you can withdraw it at any time (see "Your rights").

02What we collect

• Account details: your mobile number (used to sign in with a one-time code sent on WhatsApp), your name, and optionally an e-mail address (verified with a one-time code).
• Profile details you choose to add: who the profile is for, gender, date of birth, height, marital status, religion, community/caste, mother tongue, country, state and city, education, college, profession, employer, income range, diet and habits, interests, family details, an "About me" text and your partner preferences.
• Horoscope details, if you add them: date, time and place of birth, rashi, nakshatra and Manglik status. These are used only to calculate kundli matching.
• Photos you upload, and documents you submit for verification (for example an ID, a degree certificate or a selfie for photo verification).
• Activity on the service: requests and super likes you send or receive, profiles you view, shortlist or pass, members you block or report, and your privacy settings.
• Messages, images and voice notes you send in chats, and the time, length and status of voice/video calls (the call audio and video are not recorded).
• Questions you ask the AI assistant and its replies.
• Device and technical data: device type, app version, push-notification token, IP address, and logs needed to keep the service secure and working.
• Payment records if you buy a paid plan: the plan, amount, date and the reference number from the payment provider. We do not store card or UPI PINs.

03Why we use it

• To create and run your account and sign you in securely.
• To show your profile to other members according to your settings, and to show you matches that fit your preferences (including the love score and kundli matching).
• To deliver requests, messages, calls and notifications — including alert e-mails about requests and messages if you have verified an e-mail address. You can turn alert e-mails off in Settings or with the unsubscribe link in every e-mail.
• To reply when you write to us through the contact form or by e-mail.
• To review verification documents and award badges.
• To keep members safe: detecting fake profiles, fraud, spam and abuse, and acting on reports.
• To provide paid plans and keep the records the law requires.
• To answer your questions and complaints.

We do not sell your personal data, and we do not use it for advertising by third parties.

04Who can see your information

• Other members see your profile details and photos according to your privacy settings. Members who are not yet matched with you see your first name and initial, not your full name.
• Photos: you can choose to show them to all members or only to members whose request you have accepted. Others then see a blurred preview.
• Phone number: never shown on your public profile. It can be shown only to a member whose request you accepted, and only if your settings allow it.
• Your exact birth time is never shown to anyone; other members only see the result of a kundli match.
• Verification documents are seen only by the OpenShadi team that reviews them — never by other members.
• Private chats: our team does not read your conversations. If you report a member, we may review the messages relevant to that report in order to act on it.
• Service providers who help us run OpenShadi and process data only on our instructions: our technology partner that hosts the service and sends sign-in codes through Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform; Google Firebase for push notifications; AI model providers that generate the assistant's replies (we send them only the details needed to answer); and a payment gateway when you buy a plan.
• Authorities, when we are required to by law, a court order or a lawful request from a government agency, or when it is necessary to protect someone's safety.

05How long we keep it

We keep your data while your account is active. When you delete your account, your profile, photos, preferences, horoscope details, verification documents and device tokens are deleted and your profile is removed from the service.

We keep a limited set of records for longer only where the law requires it or where it is needed for safety or legal claims — for example the record of your consent, payment and invoice records under tax law, and records of reports and enforcement action against abusive accounts. Copies in routine backups are removed as those backups expire.

06Your rights

Under the DPDP Act you have the right to:

• get a summary of the personal data we hold about you and how it is processed;
• correct, complete or update it — most of it you can edit yourself from your profile;
• have it erased, by deleting your account (see the Delete Account page) or by writing to us;
• withdraw your consent at any time — this ends your use of the service, but does not affect processing done before;
• nominate a person to exercise these rights on your behalf in case of death or incapacity;
• have your grievance addressed by us, and if you are not satisfied, complain to the Data Protection Board of India.

To use any of these rights, write to openshadiofficial@gmail.com from the e-mail address on your profile, or tell us your registered mobile number so we can verify that the request is yours.

07Security

Sign-in uses one-time codes and secure session tokens. Connections to openshadi.com and the app are encrypted (HTTPS). Access to member data inside OpenShadi is limited to the people who need it for their work. No system is perfectly secure, so please keep your phone and your sign-in codes to yourself, and tell us at once if you think your account has been misused.

08Age

OpenShadi is only for adults who are of legal age to marry in India: at least 21 years for men and 18 years for women. We do not knowingly collect data about children. If you believe a profile belongs to someone under age, please report it and we will remove it.

09Cookies

The website uses a small number of essential cookies — mainly the one that keeps you signed in. We do not use advertising cookies.

10Changes to this policy

If we change this policy in a way that matters, we will update the date at the top and tell members in the app or by notification before the change takes effect.

11Grievance Officer and contact

For any privacy question, complaint or request, write to the OpenShadi Grievance Officer at openshadiofficial@gmail.com. We acknowledge complaints within 24 hours and aim to resolve them within 15 days, as required by the IT Rules, 2021.