Privacy Policy – matenearby.com

Your privacy matters to us. This policy explains what personal information MateNearby.Com (“we”, “us”) collects through matenearby.com (the “Service”), why we collect it, who sees it and the choices you have.

By creating an account or using the Service you agree to this policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.

1. Information we collect

Account information

Your name, email address, mobile number, password (stored only as a secure hash), account type (customer or partner), email verification status and account status.

Profile information (partners)

Profile photo, bio, languages, cities, services offered and the ratings and reviews you receive. Customers may also add basic profile details such as city.

KYC and verification documents (partners)

To protect the community we ask partners to upload identity and address documents and a selfie. The exact list can change and may include an Aadhaar or other government ID (front and back), PAN, a selfie and address proof, together with the review status and the reviewer’s remarks.

Messages and media

Connection requests, chat messages, photos and videos you send, read receipts, block and report records and the reasons you provide.

Payment information

When you buy a plan you pay through our payment gateway partners (such as Razorpay or Cashfree). Your card, UPI or bank details are entered on the gateway’s secure screen and are not stored by us. We keep the order and payment reference, plan, amount, currency, status, date and the invoice.

Communications

Emails, SMS messages and in-app notifications we send you, and messages you send us through the contact form.

Technical and activity data

IP address, browser and device information, login attempts and an activity log of important actions on your account (for example sign in, KYC upload, payment, report). These help us prevent fraud and abuse.

2. How we use your information

To create and run your account, and to show and rank partner profiles.
To verify partners and to keep the community safe.
To deliver connection requests and chat between accepted members.
To process payments, activate plans, issue invoices and send expiry reminders.
To send service messages by email, SMS and in-app notifications, including a digest of unread chat messages.
To review reports, apply warnings, suspensions or bans, and to enforce our Terms.
To detect and prevent fraud, abuse and security incidents.
To comply with legal obligations and respond to lawful requests.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use your chats for advertising.

3. What is public and what is private

Public on partner profiles: display name, photo, bio, services, cities, languages, average rating and short reviews (reviewers appear by first name only).

Never shown publicly: email address, mobile number, KYC documents, payment details and chat content.

4. KYC documents

KYC files are stored in a private location that cannot be opened by a web address. They are shown only to authorised reviewers through a secure, logged-in viewer, and only to decide whether to approve your account. We never display them to other members.

Payment gateways (Razorpay, Cashfree) to process your payment.
Email and SMS providers (for example Twilio, MSG91, Fast2SMS or an SMTP service we configure) to deliver notifications to you.
Hosting and infrastructure providers that store the Service’s data under confidentiality obligations.
Authorities and advisers when required by law, court order or to protect rights and safety.
Another member, only the information described in section 3 and the messages you choose to send them.

6. How long we keep information

We keep account and transaction records for as long as your account exists and as long as the law requires for accounting and dispute purposes. Chat messages and media are kept until you or we delete them, or until the automatic clean-up period we configure for chat history ends. Activity logs are removed after a set retention period. When you ask us to delete your account we erase or anonymise the data we are not legally required to keep.

7. Security

We use access controls, hashed passwords, nonce-protected forms, rate limiting on sign in and verified payment confirmations. Private uploads are kept outside public access. No system is perfectly secure, so please use a strong, unique password and never share OTPs or passwords with anyone.

8. Your rights and choices

Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and other applicable Indian law you may:

ask for a summary of the personal data we hold about you;
ask us to correct or update inaccurate data (you can edit most details in your dashboard);
ask us to erase your data, subject to legal retention duties;
withdraw consent for optional processing; withdrawal may stop parts of the Service from working;
nominate another person to exercise your rights in case of death or incapacity;
make a complaint to our Grievance Officer, and then to the Data Protection Board of India.

To use these rights, write to us using the details in section 12. We may verify your identity first.

9. Children

The Service is for people aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has registered, please contact us and we will remove the account.

10. Cookies

We use cookies that are needed to sign you in and keep your session secure, and small preference storage in your browser. Details are in our Cookie Policy.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the Service evolves. When we make material changes we will update the date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, notify you by email or in the app.

12. Contact and Grievance Officer

For privacy questions or complaints, contact our Grievance Officer: eshakrish5663@gmail.com.

MateNearby.Com, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Support hours: Mon–Sat, 10:00–18:00 IST.