Privacy Policy

Welcome to Bhava ("we," "us," or "our"). Bhava is a matchmaking application that uses Vedic astrology (Ashta Kuta compatibility) to help users find meaningful connections. We are committed to protecting your privacy and being transparent about how we collect, use, and share your personal information.

This Privacy Policy applies to the Bhava mobile application, the website at bhavapp.com, and all related services (collectively, the "Service"). By using our Service, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.

2.1 Information You Provide

• Account Data: Phone number (used for authentication via OTP), name, date of birth, and gender.
• Astrology Data: Exact time of birth and place of birth. This information is essential to generate your Vedic natal chart (Kundali) and calculate compatibility scores. We treat this data with heightened care as the combination of date, time, and place of birth can be uniquely identifying.
• Profile Data: Photos, bio, occupation, education, height, religion, mother tongue, community, dietary preferences, and lifestyle choices (drinking, smoking).
• Preferences: Gender preference and maximum distance preference for matching.
• Communications: Messages you send and receive through our in-app chat feature.
• Reports & Feedback: Information you provide when reporting another user or contacting support.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Device Data: Device model, operating system version, unique device identifiers, and push notification tokens.
• Usage Data: App interactions, features used, login timestamps, and activity status.
• Location Data: Approximate location (city-level) derived from your device, used to show distance between you and potential matches. We store a geohash representation of your location, not continuous GPS tracking.
• Crash & Performance Data: Crash logs and performance metrics collected through Firebase Crashlytics to help us improve app stability.

We use the information we collect to:

• Generate Astrological Charts: Calculate your Vedic natal chart (planetary positions, ascendant, Moon nakshatra, and Manglik status) from your birth data.
• Calculate Compatibility: Compute Ashta Kuta (8-factor) compatibility scores between you and other users, including dosha detection (Manglik, Nadi, and Bhakoot doshas). This is automated decision-making that directly influences which profiles you see and how they are ranked.
• Provide Matching & Recommendations: Rank potential matches using compatibility scores, distance, profile completeness, and activity recency.
• Authenticate Your Account: Verify your identity via phone number OTP.
• Enable Communication: Facilitate chat between mutually matched users.
• Send Notifications: Deliver push notifications for new matches, messages, and daily picks.
• Ensure Safety: Detect and prevent fraud, enforce our Terms of Service, and respond to reports of abuse or inappropriate behavior.
• Improve Our Service: Analyze usage patterns and crash data to fix bugs and enhance the user experience.
• Comply with Legal Obligations: Respond to valid legal requests and enforce our rights.

• With Other Users: Your profile information (name, age, photos, bio, occupation, education, lifestyle details, Moon sign, ascendant sign, and compatibility score) is visible to other users. Your exact time and place of birth are not displayed to other users.
• Service Providers: We use third-party services to operate our app (see Section 5). These providers process data on our behalf and are contractually obligated to protect your information.
• Legal Requirements: We may disclose your information if required by law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request, or to protect the rights, safety, or property of our users or the public.
• Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any such change.
• With Your Consent: We may share your information for any other purpose with your explicit consent.

We do not sell your personal information.

We use the following third-party services to operate Bhava:

• Firebase Authentication (Google LLC) — Phone number verification and account management.
• Cloud Firestore (Google LLC) — Secure storage of user profiles, messages, matches, and app data.
• Firebase Cloud Storage (Google LLC) — Storage of user-uploaded profile photos.
• Firebase Crashlytics (Google LLC) — Crash reporting and performance monitoring.
• Firebase Cloud Messaging (Google LLC) — Push notification delivery.
• Apple Push Notification service (Apple Inc.) — Push notification delivery on iOS devices.
• Apple App Store (Apple Inc.) — Payment processing for in-app purchases and subscriptions.

These providers may collect and process data in accordance with their own privacy policies. We encourage you to review Google's Privacy Policy and Apple's Privacy Policy.

We retain your personal information as follows:

• Active Accounts: Your data is retained for as long as your account remains active.
• Deleted Accounts: When you delete your account, we delete your profile, photos, messages, matches, and associated data. Some information may be retained for up to 30 days in backups before permanent deletion.
• Inactive Accounts: Accounts that have been inactive for more than 2 years may be automatically deleted.
• Legal & Safety Records: We may retain certain data (such as reports and blocked user records) for up to 5 years as necessary for safety, legal compliance, and dispute resolution.
• Transaction Records: Purchase and payment records may be retained for up to 10 years as required for tax and financial compliance.

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Correction: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Deletion: Request deletion of your personal data. You can delete your account directly from the app under Profile → Delete Account.
• Data Portability: Request a copy of your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Restrict Processing: Request that we limit how we process your data in certain circumstances.
• Withdraw Consent: Where processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw it at any time.
• Object to Automated Decision-Making: Our compatibility scoring uses automated processing. You may request human review of decisions that significantly affect you.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at privacy@bhavapp.com. We will respond within 30 days.

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information, including encryption in transit and at rest, access controls, and regular security reviews. However, no method of electronic storage or transmission is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

If you become aware of any unauthorized access to your account, please contact us immediately.

Our Service is restricted to individuals who are 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the age of 18. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a minor, we will take immediate steps to terminate their account and delete their information.

If you believe a minor is using our Service, please report it to us at safety@bhavapp.com.

California Residents (CCPA/CPRA)

If you are a California resident, you have the right to:

• Know what personal information we collect, use, and disclose about you.
• Request deletion of your personal information.
• Opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of your personal information. We do not sell your personal information.
• Not be discriminated against for exercising your privacy rights.

Categories of personal information we collect: Identifiers (name, phone number), personal characteristics (date of birth, gender), geolocation data, internet/electronic activity (usage data, device information), audio/visual information (photos), and inferences (compatibility scores, astrological data).

Sensitive personal information: Precise geolocation, religious beliefs, and ethnic origin (as optionally provided by users).

We do not respond to Do Not Track browser signals.

Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, and Other States

Residents of states with comprehensive privacy laws (including Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, and others) may have similar rights to access, correct, delete, and opt out of certain data processing. To exercise your rights, contact us at privacy@bhavapp.com.

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom, or Switzerland, the following additional provisions apply:

Legal Bases for Processing

• Contract Performance: Processing necessary to provide the Service (account creation, matching, messaging).
• Consent: Processing of sensitive data (birth details, religious information) and push notifications.
• Legitimate Interest: Safety, fraud prevention, service improvement, and analytics.
• Legal Obligation: Compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

Data Transfers

Your data may be transferred to and processed in the United States, where our servers and service providers are located. We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, including Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission.

Your Additional Rights

In addition to the rights listed in Section 7, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

Bhava does not collect biometric data. We do not use facial recognition, fingerprint scanning, or any other biometric identification technology.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will notify you through the app or by other appropriate means (such as email) before the changes take effect. The "Last Updated" date at the top of this page indicates when the policy was last revised.

Your continued use of the Service after changes become effective constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us: