Privacy Policy

Welcome to Connecting Hearts ("we," "our," or "us"). Connecting Hearts is an enterprise-grade, trust-first matrimonial and matchmaking platform dedicated to helping individuals and families find compatible life partners in a safe, secure, and respectful environment.

We understand the deeply sensitive and personal nature of matrimonial profiles, horoscope details, background records, and communication logs. Your privacy, trust, and data security are our core foundation. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, process, store, share, and protect your personal information when you use the Connecting Hearts mobile application (iOS/Android), web applications, API endpoints, and associated services (collectively, the "Platform").

This Privacy Policy is designed to adhere to stringent global and statutory data protection laws:

• The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act, India): Governs lawful processing, consent architecture, and data principal rights.
• Information Technology Act, 2000: Section 43A and IT (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011.
• General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR - EU/UK): Protecting Non-Resident Indian (NRI) and global international users.
• California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA): Granting privacy rights and data transparency for California residents.

To deliver customized matchmaking, identity trust badges, astrological compatibility scoring (Panchang / Porutham), and vendor recommendations, we collect the following categories of data:

3.1 Personal & Profile Information Provided Directly by You

• Identity & Demographics: Full name, gender, date of birth, age, marital status (Never Married, Divorced, Widowed), mother tongue, languages spoken.
• Cultural & Astrological Details: Religion, caste, sub-caste, gothram, star / rasi, horoscope charts, Sevvai Dosha status, Dasa Sandhi.
• Physical Attributes & Lifestyle: Height, weight, complexions, dietary choices (Veg/Non-Veg), smoking/drinking habits.
• Education & Career: Highest qualification, institution, degree, occupation, employer name, work location, annual income range.
• Family Background: Family type (Joint/Nuclear), family status, parents' occupations, sibling counts, native origin.
• Partner Preferences: Desired age range, height boundaries, religion/caste choices, educational qualifications, location preferences.
• Bio & Media Content: Profile bio text, gallery photographs, audio introductions, avatar selections.

3.2 Contact & Account Credentials

Mobile phone numbers (verified via OTP), email addresses, cryptographic password hashes (bcrypt/Argon2), and OAuth tokens for Google/Apple sign-in.

3.3 Identity Trust Verification Data

To achieve higher Trust Badges (Gold/Diamond Level 3 & 4), members may voluntarily submit government identity documents (Aadhaar, Passport, PAN, Driving License) or complete live photo verification. Document scans are processed strictly for verification and stored with AES-256 encryption.

We process your personal information strictly for legitimate operational purposes:

1. Matrimonial Matchmaking: Algorithmically scoring compatibility (0-100%), calculating 10-Porutham horoscope alignments, and suggesting curated candidate profiles.
2. Account Authentication & Security: Dispatching OTP codes via SMS/Firebase and validating secure JSON Web Token (JWT) sessions.
3. Trust & Identity Verification: Granting official "Verified" badges to prevent impersonation, fraudulent profiles, or catfish accounts.
4. Facilitating Communication: Enabling Express Interest requests, contact view approvals, and real-time Socket.IO chat messaging between mutually connected members.
5. Wedding Vendor Marketplace: Connecting users with verified wedding service vendors (catering, photography, mandapams, decorators) upon explicit user inquiry.
6. Notifications & Alerts: Dispatching push notifications and emails regarding match alerts, chat messages, interest updates, and system announcements.

Your data is shared exclusively in the following controlled scenarios:

• Visibility to Other Registered Members: Public fields (Name, Age, Height, Profession, Education, About Me) are visible to members. Sensitive contact details (Phone Number, Email, Address) remain strictly hidden by default until explicit connection consent is granted.
• Verified Wedding Vendors: If you explicitly submit an inquiry to a vendor in our marketplace, your name and phone number are shared with that vendor to fulfill your quote request.
• Third-Party Infrastructure Providers: AWS/GCP (Cloud Hosting), Razorpay/Stripe (Payment Gateways), Firebase/Expo (Push Notifications), and Sentry (Error Logging). All vendors are bound by strict Data Processing Agreements (DPAs).
• Legal & Regulatory Authorities: In compliance with law enforcement subpoenas, court orders, or statutory reporting obligations.

You maintain full control over your privacy settings directly within the app under Settings > Privacy & Security:

• Photo Privacy Shielding: Toggle photos between "Visible to All Members" and "Visible to Accepted Connections Only".
• Phone Number Masking: Hide your phone number even from accepted connections unless requested via explicit contact permission.
• Profile Visibility Toggle: Temporarily pause or hide your profile from search results while preserving your match history.
• Block & Report Controls: Instantly block unwanted members from contacting or viewing your profile.

We retain your personal data for as long as your registered account remains active. Upon requesting account termination:

• Your profile is instantly hidden from search results and match recommendations.
• Personal details, photos, chat threads, and preferences are permanently purged from active production databases within 30 days.
• Financial transaction receipts are retained for statutory tax audit purposes in accordance with Indian financial record laws.

Connecting Hearts employs military-grade security architecture to shield your information:

• Encryption in Transit: All HTTP API traffic is encrypted using TLS 1.2 / TLS 1.3 with high-strength cipher suites.
• Encryption at Rest: Database backups and verification records are stored using AES-256 bit encryption.
• Password Security: Passwords are hashed using one-way cryptographic algorithms with salt (bcrypt/Argon2). Raw passwords are never stored.
• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Administrative access to user data is strictly restricted to authenticated compliance staff on a need-to-know basis.

Connecting Hearts is exclusively designed for legal adults eligible for marriage under applicable laws:

• Users must be at least 18 years of age (or legal marriageable age in their jurisdiction).
• We do not knowingly collect or solicit data from minors under 18.
• If an account is discovered to belong to a minor, it will be immediately closed and erased.

Under the DPDP Act 2023 and GDPR, you have guaranteed statutory data rights:

• Right to Access: Request a digital export of your stored personal profile data.
• Right to Correction / Rectification: Edit or update inaccurate personal, educational, or astrological records.
• Right to Withdraw Consent: Revoke consent for optional data processing or marketing notifications.
• Right to Grievance Redressal: Direct privacy queries to our designated Grievance Officer.

Connecting Hearts operates global infrastructure supporting Non-Resident Indian (NRI) users across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East. Data transfers outside your home country are conducted under standard contractual clauses (SCCs) and robust data protection frameworks guaranteeing equivalent levels of data safety.

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect legal modifications or product enhancements. When changes are made, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this document.

In accordance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and IT Act, 2000, Connecting Hearts has appointed a dedicated Data Protection & Grievance Officer: