Data Protection & Privacy

1. What we collect

• Account: name, email, mobile number, password (stored only as a secure hash).
• Profile: date of birth, bio, profile photo, travel preferences, and vehicle details.
• Address: the postal address you choose to add.
• KYC (Aadhaar): if you verify, we store only the last 4 digits of your Aadhaar plus a one-way hash, and your document photos — never the full number in plain text.
• Activity: rides you publish or book, messages, ratings, and wallet/coin transactions.
• Technical: basic device and usage information needed to keep the service secure.

2. How we use it

• To run the service — matching rides, showing trips on the map, and enabling bookings.
• To keep the community safe — verification, trust badges, and preventing fraud or abuse.
• To operate the coins & rewards wallet, including payouts and gift-card redemptions.
• To contact you about trips, messages, and important account or security notices.

3. How we handle Aadhaar

Aadhaar is sensitive. We store only the last 4 digits (for display) and a hash, and your uploaded document images are kept in private, access-controlled storage — they are never shown publicly and are used solely to verify your identity. We do not sell or share Aadhaar data. You can ask us to delete it at any time.

4. Who we share it with

• Other members: a limited public profile (name, photo, verification, ratings, and rides) so people can decide who to travel with. We never show your email, phone, or exact address publicly.
• Service providers: trusted partners that help us operate — for example email delivery and maps — under confidentiality obligations.
• Legal: where required by law or to protect members' safety.

We do not sell your personal data.

5. Storage & security

Data is stored on secured cloud infrastructure. Passwords are hashed, sensitive documents are kept private and access-controlled, and we limit who can access personal data. No system is perfectly secure, so please protect your login details too.

6. Your rights

Under the DPDP Act you can:

• Access and correct your personal data (most of it directly from your Profile).
• Request deletion of your data or close your account.
• Withdraw consent for optional processing, such as KYC.
• Raise a grievance and get a timely response.

7. Retention

We keep your data while your account is active and for as long as needed to provide the service, meet legal obligations, and resolve disputes. When it is no longer needed, we delete or anonymise it.

8. Children

SideSeat is only for people aged 18 and above.