Privacy Policy

Habitiq is a shared living platform built for flats, PGs, and co-living spaces in India. It covers flat management (tasks, expenses, bills) and Discover, where people list rooms and find flatmates. This policy covers the Habitiq Android app, the website (habitiq.app), and the web app.

This policy explains what personal data we collect, why, who can see it, and what rights you have over it. We try to say this plainly — not in a way designed to confuse you. It complies with India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act) and the DPDP Rules, 2025.

1. Who We Are

Habitiq is operated by its founders, Venkata Sai Jaswanth E and Upputuri Bhanu Kalyan, based in India. We are the Data Fiduciary under the DPDP Act — the people responsible for how your data is handled.

Contact us at: hello@habitiq.app

2. What Data We Collect

Account data

• Email address
• Display name
• Profile photo URL (if you sign in with Google)

We do not ask for your phone number, date of birth, government ID, or any payment information.

Flat and activity data

• Flat name and invite code
• Task names, frequencies, and completion records
• Swap requests between members
• Activity log entries (who did what and when)
• Member roles (admin or member) and out-of-station status
• NPS survey responses (if you choose to submit one)

Expense and financial data

• Expense descriptions, amounts, and who paid
• How an expense is split among members
• Settlement records between members
• Recurring bill configurations and payment status

We do not process any actual payments. Habitiq records that a settlement happened (e.g., "Rahul paid ₹2,000 via UPI") but no money moves through our platform.

Discover data (only if you use Discover)

• Seeker profile: display name, photo, city and areas you are looking in, budget, bio, gender (optional), lifestyle tags, and optional commute places such as your workplace or college (saved only as an approximate area, about 1 km — never the exact building)
• Room listing (published by a flat admin): flat name, city and area, rent, deposit, beds and room type, availability date, preferred gender, lifestyle tags, description, and photos you upload
• Connections and messages: connection requests (with the note you send), their status, and the messages you exchange with other users
• Safety records: reports you submit (who or what you reported, the reason, and when) and the list of users you have blocked

Location data

When you choose a place on the map (for example a listing area or your workplace), we store that place's name and its map coordinates. The Android app does not ask for, read or track your device's location; places come only from what you type or pick on the map.

Device, usage, and diagnostic data

• Website: basic, aggregated page analytics through Vercel Analytics
• Android app: app-usage events and device information (model, OS version, app version) through Firebase Analytics, and crash reports through Firebase Crashlytics
• A device token, if you allow push notifications

App-lock (fingerprint or face) is handled entirely by your phone. We never receive your biometric data.

3. Why We Collect It

Advertising and selling data

• We do not sell your personal data, and we never will.
• We do not show ads or build advertising profiles today.
• If we ever offer sponsored listings or offers based on Discover activity (for example the areas or budget you search), we will ask for your separate, opt-in consent first, use only grouped data that cannot identify you, and never give advertisers your name, contact details, or messages.

4. Who Can See Your Information

• Flat data (tasks, expenses, activity) is visible only to members of that flat.
• Your seeker profile and published room listings are visible to every signed-in user of Discover. Don't put your phone number, exact address, or ID details in them.
• Exact addresses are never shown on Discover. Listings show city and area only; your invite code is never shown.
• Flat signals on a listing: when an admin publishes a room, the listing can show summary signals about how the flat runs (for example whether tasks and expenses are kept up to date) and members' nicknames and roles — never individual amounts or task logs.
• Messages are visible only to you and the person you are talking to. Our team may read a conversation only when it is reported to us, to investigate it.
• Reports are confidential. We do not tell the reported user who reported them.
• Trust labels: any trust or verification label is based only on activity on Habitiq. It is not a background check. Before we use your task or payment history for a personal trust label, we will ask for your separate consent, and you can turn it off.
• Authorities: we share data with police or other authorities only when required by Indian law, or when needed to protect someone from serious harm.

5. Third-Party Services We Use

We use a small number of trusted services to run the platform. These act as Data Processors on our behalf.

The Habitiq assistant. The mic is on only while the assistant screen is open and you tap to talk, and it turns off when you leave the app. Before a request is sent to Gemini, flatmates and tasks are replaced with short codes: no emails, phone numbers, photos or account IDs are included. Nothing the assistant suggests is saved until you confirm it. If you prefer, you can type instead of talking, and the app works without the assistant.

Some Google servers are located outside India. Your data may be processed there under Google's security and privacy commitments, as permitted by the DPDP Act.

6. How Long We Keep Your Data

• Active account: Data is retained as long as your account exists.
• After leaving all flats: Your account data (email, name) is retained until you explicitly delete your account. Flat activity records (task logs, expenses) remain as part of the flat's history for other members.
• Seeker profiles and listings: Removed from Discover as soon as you unpublish or delete them.
• Messages: Kept while both accounts exist so the conversation history stays available to both people.
• Reports: Kept for up to 2 years after review, so we can act on repeat abuse and respond to legal requests.
• After account deletion: Your personal data — including your seeker profile, photos, connections, and messages you sent — is removed within 30 days. Anonymised references in flat logs (e.g., "a member completed Kitchen") may be retained for data integrity, and we may keep records we are required to keep by law.

How to delete your Habitiq account

7. Your Rights Under the DPDP Act, 2023

As a data principal under the DPDP Act, you have the following rights:

• Right to access: Know what personal data we hold about you.
• Right to correction: Request that inaccurate or incomplete data be corrected — including any trust label you think is wrong.
• Right to erasure: Request deletion of your personal data, subject to legal obligations. See Deleting your account.
• Right to withdraw consent: As easily as you gave it — for example by unpublishing your Discover profile, turning off notifications, or deleting your account.
• Right to grievance redressal: Raise a complaint and receive a response within a reasonable time.
• Right to nominate: Nominate someone to exercise your rights in the event of your incapacity or death.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at hello@habitiq.app with the subject "Data Request". We will respond within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may complain to the Data Protection Board of India.

8. Security

We take security seriously. The app has undergone three internal security audits. We use Firebase's role-based security rules so members can only access data from flats they belong to, and messages only between the two people in a conversation. Sensitive operations (task deletion, expense editing, member removal) are validated at the database level — not just the UI. Data is encrypted in transit.

If we become aware of a personal data breach that affects you, we will inform you and the Data Protection Board of India as required by the DPDP Rules.

No security system is perfect. If you discover a vulnerability, please report it to hello@habitiq.app before disclosing it publicly.

9. Children

Habitiq is not intended for use by anyone under 18. We do not knowingly collect data from minors. If you believe a minor has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.

10. Changes to This Policy

If we make material changes to this policy, we will notify active users within the app and update the date above. If a change needs new consent (for example a new purpose), we will ask for it rather than assume it.

11. Grievance Officer

As required under the DPDP Act, our designated grievance contact is:

Safety concerns on Discover can go to the same address — see our Safety Tips.