GharKhoj Privacy Policy

GharKhoj (“GharKhoj”, “we”, “our”, or “us”) provides a digital platform that helps users discover, list, and connect regarding residential rental properties.

This Privacy Policy explains how information is collected, used, stored, shared, and protected when you access or use the GharKhoj mobile application, website, and related services (collectively, the “Services”).

By using GharKhoj, you acknowledge the data practices described in this Privacy Policy. Where consent or another specific legal basis is required under applicable law, we will process personal data accordingly.

1. Information We Collect

The information we collect depends on how you use GharKhoj.

A. Account and Profile Information

When you create or maintain an account, we may collect information such as:

• your name or display name;
• mobile phone number;
• profile photograph, if you choose to provide one;
• account identifiers;
• authentication-related information; and
• information received through supported sign-in methods.

GharKhoj currently supports Google-based authentication. When you use Google Sign-In, we may receive information made available through the authentication process, such as your name, account identifier, email address, or profile image, depending on the permissions and information provided through the sign-in service.

A mobile number provided to GharKhoj should not be considered verified merely because it has been entered into the app unless GharKhoj expressly indicates that the number has been verified through an implemented verification mechanism.

If SMS OTP verification is introduced in the future, this Privacy Policy may be updated to explain the applicable authentication provider and processing.

B. Property Listing Information

If you create a property listing, we may collect and process information including:

• property type;
• rent and related pricing information;
• city and locality;
• property description;
• property characteristics and amenities;
• water, electricity, parking, and similar property details;
• photographs uploaded by you;
• listing status and timestamps; and
• other information voluntarily included in the listing.

Information submitted as part of a public property listing may be visible to other GharKhoj users. You should not include unnecessary personal, confidential, financial, identity-document, or sensitive information in property descriptions or photographs.

C. Contact Information for Property Enquiries

Property listers may provide a mobile number so interested users can contact them. Where the feature is enabled, authenticated users may be able to initiate a telephone call to a property lister through the GharKhoj interface.

Users should understand that providing contact information for a property listing may result in that information being used by prospective tenants or other users to contact the lister regarding the property.

GharKhoj does not authorize users to use contact information obtained through the platform for spam, harassment, unsolicited marketing, scraping, resale, or unrelated purposes.

D. Chat and Communications

If you use GharKhoj’s messaging functionality, we may process:

• message content;
• sender and recipient identifiers;
• chat-room information;
• timestamps;
• message/read status; and
• related technical information necessary to provide the messaging service.

Private messages are not intended to be publicly displayed. However, information may be accessed or processed where reasonably necessary to operate the service, investigate abuse or complaints, protect users, enforce our policies, comply with law, or respond to valid legal requests.

Users should never send passwords, OTPs, banking credentials, card information, Aadhaar numbers, or other unnecessary sensitive information through GharKhoj chat.

2. Information Collected Automatically

When you use GharKhoj, certain technical and usage information may be collected automatically by GharKhoj or service providers used to operate the Services. Depending on your device and configuration, this may include:

• device and app information;
• operating system and app version;
• device or app identifiers;
• IP address or approximate network-derived information where processed by service providers;
• app interactions and usage events;
• search/filter activity;
• crash and diagnostic information;
• advertising-related information;
• notification-related identifiers or tokens; and
• performance information.

We do not currently request precise GPS location permission solely for property discovery. Property locations are primarily represented through user-selected or listing-based information such as city and locality.

3. How We Use Information

We may use information as reasonably necessary to:

• create and manage user accounts;
• authenticate users;
• provide and operate GharKhoj;
• publish and manage rental-property listings;
• allow users to search and discover properties;
• enable communication between property seekers and listers;
• enable call/contact functionality;
• save favourites and user preferences;
• deliver notifications;
• process reports and complaints;
• detect fraud, spam, abuse, fake listings, and policy violations;
• moderate content and protect the safety and integrity of the platform;
• troubleshoot technical problems;
• monitor crashes and application performance;
• understand how users interact with GharKhoj;
• improve features, usability, and performance;
• display and measure advertising;
• comply with applicable laws and lawful requests;
• enforce our Terms and policies; and
• establish, exercise, or defend legal claims where permitted by law.

We aim to limit processing to purposes that are legitimate, disclosed, and appropriate to the operation of GharKhoj.

4. Google Sign-In

GharKhoj may use Google Sign-In to authenticate users. When you choose this method, Google processes information according to its own terms and privacy practices, and GharKhoj receives authentication/account information necessary for the sign-in process.

A label such as “Signed in with Google” refers only to the authentication method used. It does not mean that Google or GharKhoj has verified:

• the user’s legal identity;
• KYC status;
• ownership of a listed property;
• authority to rent the property;
• accuracy of the listing; or
• trustworthiness of the user.

Users remain responsible for independently verifying properties, listers, documents, and rental arrangements before entering into transactions. Google describes its data practices in its own privacy policies.

5. Advertising and Google AdMob

GharKhoj may display advertisements through Google AdMob and related Google advertising services. Depending on applicable law, device settings, consent choices, and advertising configuration, advertising providers may process information such as device/app identifiers, IP-derived information, advertising interactions, diagnostic information, and other information used for purposes including: serving advertisements, measuring advertisement performance, limiting repeated advertisements, fraud and abuse prevention, reporting and analytics, and personalization.

Advertising providers process information under their own privacy policies. Google provides additional information about advertising technologies through its official resources. GharKhoj will implement applicable consent mechanisms where required.

6. Analytics

GharKhoj uses Firebase Analytics or similar technology to understand how users interact with the Services. Analytics may include events relating to city selection, searches/filters, property views, favorites, call/chat actions, and listing creation steps. We design our custom analytics events to avoid intentionally sending information such as phone numbers, private chat messages, full residential addresses, passwords, or OTPs.

7. Crash Reporting and Diagnostics

GharKhoj may use Firebase Crashlytics to identify crashes and performance problems. Crash reports contain technical information necessary to diagnose issues (e.g., stack traces, device state, internal pseudonymous identifiers). We do not intentionally send passwords, OTPs, chat contents, or phone numbers as custom Crashlytics diagnostic fields.

8. Notifications

GharKhoj may use Firebase Cloud Messaging to provide push notifications. This involves processing device push tokens. You can control notification permissions through your device settings.

9. Storage and Service Providers

GharKhoj relies on third-party infrastructure providers to operate the Services, including:

• Supabase for database, authentication, backend API, and related infrastructure.
• Cloudflare R2 for storage and delivery of property images.
• Google/Firebase for authentication integration, analytics, crash reporting, and notifications.
• Google AdMob for advertising and measurement.

Information may be processed or stored using infrastructure located outside your state or country, subject to applicable legal requirements.

10. Public Information

Certain information is intentionally made public to other users because it is necessary for a property marketplace (e.g. photos, description, rent, city/locality, and owner display name). Do not upload information that you do not want displayed publicly as part of listing your property.

11. Information Sharing

We do not sell users' personal data as a standalone product. Information may be shared in limited circumstances with service providers, other users (necessary public listings/communications), for legal/regulatory compliance, safety/moderation enforcement, or business restructuring transfers.

12. Property Images and User-Generated Content

Property photos are stored using third-party storage infrastructure. Users must upload only content they are legally permitted to use. Deleting a listing or account may initiate deletion or anonymization processes, though some copies may temporarily remain in backups/caches until they expire.

13. Data Retention

We retain information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it is processed, including providing Services, maintaining safety history, preventing fraud, and complying with legal retention requirements.

14. Account and Data Deletion

Users may request deletion of their GharKhoj account and personal data through:

• The delete account functionality within the GharKhoj mobile application.
• Our public Account & Data Deletion webpage (to comply with Google Play guidelines).

We will verify your identity before acting on requests and will never ask for your password or OTP.

15. Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational safeguards (e.g., encryption, RLS policies, access controls) to protect your data. However, no internet-based service can be guaranteed to be 100% secure.

16. Children and Minimum Age

GharKhoj is intended for users 18 years or older. We do not intentionally design accounts or collect data from children under 18. India's DPDP Act defines a child as an individual under 18 years of age.

17. User Rights and Choices

Subject to applicable law, users may have rights concerning data correction, erasure, consent withdrawal, grievance redressal, and nomination. Contact us to exercise these rights.

18. Reports, Complaints and Legal Requests

Users can report fake or incorrect listings. For safety, legal, or privacy grievances, contact us using the Support details below. Our processes are designed in alignment with Indian law (IT Rules framework).

19. Third-Party Links and Services

We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party links or services integrated into GharKhoj.

20. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time when GharKhoj introduces new features, when our data practices change, when new service providers are introduced, or when legal requirements change. We will notify you of any material changes by updating the "Last Updated" date and publishing the updated policy on our website.