Privacy Notice

Draft version 2026-10-16-draft · Updated 16 October 2026

What personal data Zhina handles, why, who processes it for us, how long we keep it, and how to use your rights. We do not sell your personal data.

1. Who we are

Zhina is a local services marketplace app ("Zhina", "we"). We decide why and how the personal data described here is used. You can reach us through Settings → Privacy & Data or at zhina.services@gmail.com.

2. Account information

Your mobile number, used to sign you in with a one-time code. Supabase Authentication manages the current sign-in session and the configured SMS provider delivers the code. Firebase Authentication is retained only as a controlled fallback. We never ask you to share the code with us.

Your name, profile photo, and — if you choose to add them — email, date of birth and gender. Zhina is for adults; your date of birth confirms you are 18 or older.

3. Profile, services and businesses

Your roles, skills, services, rates, service radius, working hours, availability, cover and portfolio photos, and business details such as name, category, address, hours, logo and offers. We use them to show you to people looking for what you offer.

4. Posts and listings

Job and work posts, applications, rental listings, offers and their photos, and a history of the changes you make to your own posts (to resolve disputes and stop abuse).

If you open an offer or take it (get a code), we count that. The shop or provider sees totals only — never who viewed or took their offer.

5. Location

The base location you set on your profile or business, used to show you to people nearby and to match your service radius.

Your device location, only if you allow it, read while the app is open to show what is near you. It is not tracked in the background. Service providers appear on the map at an approximate position (about 500 m), never the exact point.

If you turn on offer alerts (section 9), an approximate area (rounded to about 1 km) is saved so offers from nearby businesses can reach you. Turning offer alerts off deletes it.

6. Photos and files

Photos you upload are compressed on your phone, and the location and camera details embedded in them (EXIF/GPS) are removed before upload. They are also checked on your phone for explicit content; if a photo is flagged, that result may be recorded for review.

7. Messages, reviews and requests

Messages you send in Zhina chat are stored so the people in the conversation can read them. A reported conversation may be reviewed by our moderators.

Reviews and ratings you give and receive. To fight fake reviews, we automatically look for patterns such as many reviews in a short time or repeated text.

Posts, shops and offers you like or save. Who liked or saved something stays private; others see only how many likes a post has. Your name, photo, roles and whether you are verified are shown next to what you post.

If you join with an invite code from a friend, we record that they invited you, so they can earn free AR cards. They see only how many friends joined, never who.

Help Center and privacy requests you send: the request type, your message, an optional screenshot and contact detail, and your app version and phone platform.

8. Verification

If you choose to get verified, the ID document images and selfie you upload. Your phone checks for a face and reads the name on the document before upload. These files are kept in private storage and seen only by Zhina's verification reviewers. We do not ask for ID numbers.

9. Optional choices (your consent)

Two things are optional and stay OFF unless you turn them on in Settings → Privacy & Data: sending crash reports to Google Firebase Crashlytics, and offer alerts from nearby shops (with the approximate area in section 5).

You can turn either off at any time, as easily as you turned it on. That stops it from then on; it does not undo what was done while it was on. Saying no does not affect anything else in the app.

10. Device and notifications

A notification token so we can send you alerts about your account, messages and activity (Firebase Cloud Messaging). It is removed when you log out. You can turn notifications off in your phone settings.

Technical event logs (for example, that an upload or sign-in failed) that help us keep the service working and secure. They do not contain your messages or OTP codes.

11. What other people can see

Your public profile — name, photo, roles, skills, services, business details, approximate area, ratings, reviews, your posts and your public card code — can be seen by other users and by visitors without an account.

Your phone number is shown only to signed-in users, so they can call you; you can hide it in Settings. Your email, date of birth, exact location, verification documents and requests are never shown publicly.

12. Who processes your data for us

Supabase — our database, sign-in sessions and file storage, hosted in Mumbai, India.

Google Firebase — push notifications, the controlled fallback phone sign-in path, and (only if you opt in) crash reports. Google Maps — the maps shown in the app.

Anthropic — only if you use the AI assistant: it receives your question and a short summary such as your skills or categories, never your chats or exact location.

Cloudflare — hosts the Zhina website and admin tools.

Authorities, when the law requires it. We do not sell your personal data or share it with advertisers.

13. How long we keep it

We keep your data while your account is active. Posts you delete are hidden from everyone straight away. One-time-code request records are deleted after 7 days.

When your account is deleted, data linked to it is erased or de-identified, except records that must be kept for security, disputes, accounting or law. Final retention periods require qualified Indian legal review before launch.

14. Security

Data is encrypted in transit. Database rules limit each person to what they are allowed to see, and verification documents and request attachments are kept in private storage. No system is perfectly secure, so keep your OTP private. If a breach affects you, we will tell you as the law requires.

15. Your rights

Under India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 you can: get a summary of your data and how it is used (Settings → Privacy & Data → See or download my data); correct or update it; ask us to erase it; withdraw consent; nominate someone to act for you; and complain to us, and then to the Data Protection Board of India.

Use Settings → Privacy & Data to make any of these requests. We only ask for what we need to act on it — never your OTP, password or an ID number.

16. Deleting your account

Settings → Privacy & Data → Delete my account. After an authorised review, we delete your sign-in and data linked to the account, including profile media, listing media, resumes, messages, reviews you wrote and verification files, subject to records we must lawfully retain.

17. Children

Zhina is only for people aged 18 and over, and the app does not let anyone younger sign up. If you believe a child is using Zhina, tell us and we will remove the account.

18. Complaints and contact

Privacy questions or complaints: Settings → Privacy & Data → Privacy complaint, or email zhina.services@gmail.com. Every request gets a reference number and you can follow its status in the app.

19. Changes to this notice

If we change how we use your data in a significant way, we will tell you in the app first and, where needed, ask for your consent again. Version: 2026-10-16-draft.