Privacy, in plain words.

1. Introduction and applicable service

GarbaMate is a Navratri companion app that helps adults discover Garba events, find people attending the same nights, join Circles and agree on a public meeting point. This Privacy Policy covers the GarbaMate web app, its installable app and the public pages on this site.

It describes what the product actually does today. Where a legal detail — such as the company name, a support contact or a formal retention period — is still being confirmed, we say so instead of filling the gap with a promise we cannot keep.

2. Information we collect

We collect only what the features need. We do not collect email addresses, Google account details, advertising identifiers or any card, UPI or bank details.

3. Why we collect it

• To create and protect your account, and to confirm you control the number you signed up with.
• To run discovery, connection requests, Circles, plans, check-ins and chat.
• To respect your choices: who you accept, who you block, and who can see a check-in.
• To review profile photos and reports, and to keep the community safe.
• To send you the account messages and notifications you expect.
• To keep the service secure and fix things when they break.

We use Google Analytics for basic usage measurement — which pages and features are used — so we can fix and improve them. We do not use your data for advertising, we do not sell it, and there are no advertising trackers in the current build.

4. Authentication and account verification

You sign in with a one-time code sent to your mobile number. Depending on your region, that code is sent by SMS through Google’s sign-in service, through WhatsApp, or by a clearly marked test flow in local builds. The code confirms you control the number; it is not an identity, age or background check.

• We store your mobile number, and — when SMS sign-in is used — the account ID issued by Google.
• Sign-in codes are short-lived, limited in attempts, and removed once you verify successfully.
• Your browser holds a private login cookie; the matching session record lives on our servers.
• Your number is never shown to other members.

5. Profile and discovery visibility

GarbaMate has no public people directory. Discovery requires a signed-in account, and only lists members whose profile passed review, who declared they are adults, and whose discovery setting is on. A block removes both people from each other’s discovery.

Other members can see your display name, your city, whether your profile is in good standing for discovery, and a community trust mark where our team has set one. They cannot see your phone number or the profile photo you submit for review.

6. Location and venue check-ins

Location is optional and used in two places only: placing you in a city, and the voluntary venue check-in.

• City placement: you can share device location once, or choose your city from a list. Choosing a city stores that city’s centre point. Sharing device location stores the location point your browser returns.
• Venue check-in (“I’m Here”): records the venue, never a precise position inside it. It expires at the earlier of one hour or the end of the event, and is visible only to members with whom you have an accepted plan and connection.
• You can stop a check-in at any time, and you can decline the location prompt entirely.

GarbaMate does not stream your live location, does not track you in the background, and has no public people map.

7. Messages and user interactions

Requests, notes, messages, plans and Circle membership are stored so the features work and so safety issues can be reviewed. Messages are visible to the people in the conversation.

• A one-to-one chat exists only after a request is accepted, and it closes if either person blocks the other.
• Circle chat includes the host and members whose join requests were accepted.
• When live chat is switched on, messages pass through our chat delivery service; otherwise they travel through our own servers.
• Messages are not end-to-end encrypted. Our servers can access message content to run and protect the service.
• Please do not send sensitive information in chat, such as financial details, passwords or identity documents.

8. Contact information and WhatsApp handoff

GarbaMate does not offer contact sharing or a WhatsApp handoff between members. Your phone number is used to verify your account and to send you account messages.

If WhatsApp delivery is enabled in your region, GarbaMate may use WhatsApp to send your one-time code to the number you entered. That message comes from GarbaMate, not from another member.

There is no paid contact unlock. If a consent-based contact share is introduced in future, it will require the other member’s explicit permission, it will be described on this page, and payment will never override that permission.

9. Payment processing

The current build does not process real payments. Order records may be created to demonstrate the flow, and accepting a connection does not require a real payment. No card, UPI, bank or wallet details are collected, and no payment provider is connected.

10. Cookies and other technical data

• One login cookie keeps you signed in. It expires after seven days by default.
• We use Google Analytics for basic usage measurement. It sets first-party analytics cookies (the cookie name starts with _ga) and receives your IP address, browser and device details, and the pages you visit.
• We do not use advertising cookies, and there are no advertising tracking pixels.
• Our servers keep basic records to prevent misuse and to understand failures — for example, how many requests came from one account in an hour, and which request failed.
• If you turn on notifications, we store a device ID so we can send them to you.
• The installable app keeps only public files and icons available offline on your device. Private content is never stored that way.

11. Where your data is stored

Here is a simple map of where your information lives. We do not sell personal data, and we do not share it with advertisers or data brokers.

Each provider only receives what it needs for its job. Which providers are active depends on how the service is configured for your region and launch stage.

12. How we protect your data

• Data is stored in a managed cloud database with access controls.
• You sign in with one-time codes, so there is no password to steal.
• Your browser holds a private login cookie that scripts on the page cannot read.
• Your review photo is private to you and our review team.
• Every request checks server-side that your account is allowed to see or change the data.

13. Data retention

Some records disappear automatically: sign-in codes after a few minutes, a login after seven days, and a venue check-in after at most an hour.

Account details, profile data, connections, messages, plans and safety records are currently kept while the service runs. We do not yet have a formal retention schedule or an automatic cleanup for those records.

14. Account and personal-data deletion

The current build does not include a self-serve delete-my-account button. Signing out ends your session and clears private data from the browser, but it does not delete your account, and uninstalling the app does not either.

Once the privacy contact below is published, verified deletion requests will be handled through it. A deletion would cover your profile, private photo, account records, connections, messages, plans, check-ins, notifications and notification device IDs — except where a record must be kept to handle a safety report or meet a legal obligation.

15. Your privacy choices and requests

• Decline the location prompt, or choose your city manually.
• Control notifications from Profile: permission is asked only after you tap, and you can turn it off.
• Withdraw a request you sent, or stop a venue check-in that is active.
• Sign out, which ends the session and clears private browser state.
• Ask a question, or request access, correction or deletion through the privacy contact.
• Block or report through the in-app controls when they ship; a block is enforced by our servers wherever it exists.

Applicable Indian data-protection law gives you rights of access, correction and erasure. We will honour verified requests through the published contact once legal review is complete.

16. Children and age eligibility

GarbaMate is for adults aged 18 and over. The current build records an adult self-declaration during setup; it does not collect a date of birth and does not verify age with an identity document.

We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18. If we learn that an underage person has created an account, we will remove the account and its data.

17. Policy changes

We version this policy and show the last-updated date at the top of the page. Significant changes will be announced on this site and, where appropriate, in the app before they take effect. Continuing to use GarbaMate after a change means you accept the updated policy.

This is a pre-launch policy and will be reviewed by qualified counsel before GarbaMate treats it as a final binding document.

18. Privacy contact and grievance mechanism

Questions, access requests, corrections and deletion requests can be sent to the privacy contact once it is published. A grievance officer will be named here as required by applicable Indian law.

If you are in immediate danger, do not wait for a reply from GarbaMate. Contact emergency services directly. See our Safety page for national helpline numbers.