Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Data fiduciary / operator: Around You (trade name). Around You is currently offered as a Developer Version by an as-yet-unregistered operating entity. References to “we/us/our” mean the individual(s) presently operating Around You. This section will be updated to name the registered corporate entity, its registered office, and CIN/GSTIN once incorporation and registration are complete, and this update should be reviewed and approved by legal counsel before the public launch.

App and service: Around You mobile application (Android and iOS), the associated AI chat/discovery feature, and Around You AI at aroundyou.co.in.

Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, Around You acts as the data fiduciary for personal data processed through the app and website, except where a third party acts as an independent controller, for example when you use Google Maps directly.

Collection, use, and storage of personal data is governed by Indian law, including the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and the Information Technology Act, 2000.

2. Grievance officer

In accordance with the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, complaints and grievances relating to the Platform may be addressed to:

Support / Grievance Contact: support@aroundyou.co.in

A formally designated Grievance Officer has been appointed, the support above e-mail serves as the interim grievance contact. Grievance Officer Yashavantaraju. S, #119, 13thcross, 1st main road, Bhuvaneshwarinagar, Bangalore North – 560023

We aim to acknowledge and act on grievances within the timelines prescribed by applicable law.

For a data access, correction, deletion, or privacy grievance under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, write to the support address with enough detail for us to verify the request.

3. Information we collect

3.1 Account types

• Individual User — ordinary personal profile. Individual Users are not required to provide a phone number. Information collected may include name, email, date of birth, gender, interests, profile photo, and location.
• Organisation/Business — profile for a business, NGO, or other organisation to publish posts, offers, events and listings. May include organisation name, email, phone number, bio, location, business information, photos/media, and offer/post content.
• Blogger — profile for publishing original content such as reviews and articles. May include identity/profile information, email, profile picture, and bio.

You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration and to keep it updated.

3.2 Content and other data

• Content: any text, photo, video, post, offer, review, blog, comment, or other material submitted to the Platform.
• Location: with your permission, your device’s precise location, including latitude and longitude coordinates. The precision of the location data may vary depending on the device and location services.
• Device and security data used to operate, secure, and rate-limit the service, including IP information used for rate limiting on the website.
• Notifications: if you enable push notifications, notification titles, message bodies, and related post details may be stored.

4. Location, Travel Mode, and post visibility

4.1 Location-based discovery

Location is used to power local discovery, ranking, and notifications. Around You does not continuously track your location when location-based functionality is not being used. Location Information: With your permission, we may collect your device’s precise location, including latitude and longitude coordinates. The precision of the location data may vary depending on the device and location services. We use this information to provide location-based features, such as nearby content and local discovery.

4.2 Travel Mode

Travel Mode is a feature that, when enabled, collects location to identify relevant content and provide notifications while you are travelling. You may enable or disable Travel Mode at any time. Travel Mode location data associated with your Account is deleted when your Account is deleted, subject to lawful retention requirements.

4.3 Post visibility

• Local posts are primarily discoverable within about 10 km. They may also be seen farther away if shared through the Share button, a screenshot, or any other capture. Anyone who has the exact web address of the photo or video can open that file, including outside 10 km. The app does not show the local post outside about 10 km. Once the content or that address is shared outside Around You, further distribution is no longer controlled by Around You.
• Public Posts are visible to all Around You users, regardless of location. Organization and blogger posts are matched out to about 20 km.

You are responsible for choosing the appropriate visibility setting for your Content, particularly where it may reveal your location or the location of others.

5. How we use information

• To operate local discovery, feeds, maps, search, notifications, and AI Discovery.
• To provide, secure, moderate, and improve the Platform.
• To verify eligibility using date of birth.
• To verify organisations and bloggers, as described below.
• To investigate reports, enforce the Terms and Conditions, prevent abuse, and comply with law.

6. AI-Powered Discovery (“Around You AI”)

Around You uses OpenAI’s technology to power natural-language, AI-based local discovery. When you use AI Discovery, your query and, where necessary to return location-relevant results, your location, may be processed to generate a response. We do not knowingly send unnecessary personal information (such as date of birth or gender) to the AI feature unless genuinely required for the query.

6.1 No guarantee of accuracy

AI-generated results (including recommendations, prices, offers, and availability) are provided for convenience and may be inaccurate, incomplete, or out of date. AI results are not guarantees, endorsements, or professional advice, and you should independently verify any information (particularly prices, offers, and availability) with the relevant business before relying on it.

6.2 Query storage — first-release practice

For the first public release, Around You stores AI queries in its database to operate and improve local discovery. Each stored record is designed to contain the user’s query text together with location information, including latitude and longitude coordinates. The precision of the location data may vary depending on the device and location services. Stored records are designed not to intentionally include your name, email address, Account ID, phone number, IP address, device ID, session ID, or conversation history. Do not include passwords, financial details, or other sensitive or confidential information in an AI query.

6.3 Session cookie, chat memory, and rate limiting

The website uses a session cookie (aroundyou_sid) to maintain your chat session, retains conversation history in memory for approximately 30 minutes to support the current chat experience, and uses IP information for rate-limiting purposes. IP address is not intentionally stored as part of the AI-query database record.

AI query records may be retained for as long as reasonably necessary to operate, maintain, secure, and improve Around You’s AI service, subject to applicable law. Around You does not currently use these records to train AI models.

7. Organisation and blogger verification

Organisations may be asked to submit verification documents appropriate to their category, for example a GSTIN or other applicable registration number for a business, NGO Darpan or other applicable registration for an NGO, or a relevant licence/registration or official document for other organisation types.

Verification documents are retained for 12 months. After this period, the Organisation must submit updated documents to maintain verified status; if updated documents are not submitted, previously submitted documents will be deleted and the Organisation may lose its verified status, subject to applicable legal retention requirements.

Bloggers may be asked to provide links to their Instagram, YouTube, blog, website, or other publicly available profiles for verification. These links are used only for verification purposes and may be deleted after the verification process is completed, unless retention is required for legitimate business, security, or legal purposes.

8. Third-party service providers

Around You relies on third-party technology providers to operate the Platform, currently including:

• Google Maps Platform — maps, places, and location-related functionality;
• Firebase / Google — the specific Firebase services enabled for the Platform;
• Amazon Web Services (AWS) — hosting, infrastructure, storage, and backend services;
• OpenSearch — search, indexing, and discovery functionality;
• OpenAI — AI-powered discovery and query processing.
• Google Cloud Vision — image analysis and safety screening, including pre-screening uploaded images for potentially adult or otherwise inappropriate content.

Use of these providers is subject to their own terms and privacy practices. This Privacy Policy sets out further detail on data shared with these providers and will be kept aligned with the actual production configuration.

9. Data security, messages, and notifications

We use encryption in transit and at rest, together with access controls, authentication safeguards, and rate limiting, to protect data on the Platform. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. You are responsible for keeping your account credentials confidential and for notifying us promptly of any suspected unauthorised access.

9.1 Messaging and Notifications

Your private messages and notification-related data are protected using encryption while they are transmitted between your device and our servers, and while they are stored.

We use Firebase services, including Cloud Firestore, to store notification-related data such as notification titles, message bodies, and related post details. Data stored in Cloud Firestore is encrypted at rest by default. Connections between the app, our servers, and Firebase services are protected using encryption in transit.

To provide, secure, moderate, and operate our messaging and notification services, our systems and service providers may process relevant message and notification content. Our servers and authorised service providers may have access to this content as necessary to store, process, and deliver the relevant functionality. Access is limited to authorised personnel and systems and is subject to applicable security and access controls.

We may access or review message or notification content when reasonably necessary to investigate reports, enforce our Terms of Service, protect users and the Platform, prevent abuse, or comply with applicable legal obligations.

Standard chats and notifications are not end-to-end encrypted. The service and its authorised service providers may have controlled access to this content for the purposes described above.

10. Account deletion and retention

On a deletion request, your Account is soft-deleted immediately and your sign-in is removed. You cannot sign in. Your Account is removed from normal discovery. If your profile is opened, your name and profile photo are no longer shown. They appear as “Deleted_User”, “Deleted_Organization”, or “Deleted_Blogger”, as applicable, with no profile photo. For a user Account, the Travel Mode location linked to that Account is deleted at that time. Notification history linked to your Account is not deleted at that time. It is removed when the Account is permanently deleted. The location stored on your profile, and the profile photo file itself, remain with the Account record in our active production database and media storage until permanent deletion.

Permanent deletion follows a retention window of 30 days. After that window, a scheduled process permanently deletes the Account from our active production systems, including the account record, profile fields, profile photo and other media stored for the Account, notification history, and posts still linked to the Account. This applies to deletion requests generally. The process does not keep this information for a longer period after those 30 days. Posts you deleted yourself are hidden immediately. Posts you did not delete may remain visible during that window under the deleted-account label, without your profile photo, and are then removed from active systems. Comments you deleted are hidden immediately. Comments you did not delete may remain visible under the same label until permanent deletion.

During those 30 days, the Account record, profile media, posts you did not delete, and related records remain in our active systems. They are not kept so that the Account can continue to be used.

Encrypted automated database backups may retain copies until their normal backup cycle expires (currently up to 7 days). Those backup copies are not used to restore your Account or make your data visible again in the app. They exist only for disaster recovery and expire on that schedule.

After a photo or video is removed from our storage, a copy may remain available for up to about 24 hours to anyone who already has the exact file address. The app does not show the deleted post during that time.

Search records for an organization Account are removed when that Account is deleted. Place details drawn from a blogger’s posts remain while those posts are still in active systems. When the blogger Account is permanently deleted, those posts are removed and those place details are updated from the posts that remain.

To delete an account, use Delete Account in Settings, or write to the support address.

Support: support@aroundyou.co.in

11. Age

The Platform is for people aged 13 and above. Date of birth is collected at registration to check eligibility. Users under 13 years of age are not permitted to create or use an account.

Users aged 13 to 17 may use the Platform subject to applicable law. We recommend that users in this age group use the Platform with the knowledge and guidance of a parent or legal guardian. Parents and legal guardians are encouraged to provide appropriate guidance and supervision regarding a minor’s use of the Platform and to discuss appropriate online safety practices with them.

To the extent permitted by applicable law, a parent or legal guardian remains responsible for providing appropriate guidance and supervision regarding the minor’s use of the Platform and for ensuring that the minor uses the Platform appropriately and in accordance with these Terms.

The app is not directed at children under 13. If we become aware that someone under 13 has registered, we will take reasonable steps to restrict or delete the relevant account and personal data, subject to applicable law. A parent or legal guardian may use Delete Account or contact us at the support address with the subject “Child account deletion request.”

Support: support@aroundyou.co.in

Child Safety Standards

1. Zero-tolerance policy

Around You has zero tolerance for Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (CSAE). These standards apply to all users, profiles, posts, comments, messages, images, listings, and other content or features available through Around You.

2. Prohibited conduct

Around You strictly prohibits:

• Creating, uploading, requesting, possessing, sharing, or distributing Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM).
• Grooming, sexually soliciting, or attempting to exploit a child.
• Sexual exploitation, trafficking, sextortion, or sexual abuse involving children.
• Using user profiles, private messages, posts, listings, or other platform features to facilitate child sexual abuse or exploitation.
• Any content or behaviour that sexually exploits, abuses, or endangers a person under 18.

Violations of these standards may result in content removal, account suspension or termination, and referral to relevant authorities where required by law.

3. Reporting child safety concerns

Users can report suspected CSAE, CSAM, or other child safety concerns using the reporting or support functionality available within the Around You app.

Reports should include relevant details to help us identify and investigate the concern. Users may also contact our designated child safety point of contact using the details below.

Child safety contact: Yashavantaraju. S, Grievance Officer, Around You
Email: support@aroundyou.co.in

4. Review and enforcement

Around You will review child safety reports and take appropriate action in accordance with these standards and applicable laws. Where we obtain actual knowledge of CSAM, we will take appropriate action, including removing or restricting access to the material as required.

We may suspend or terminate accounts involved in serious or repeated violations and preserve or report relevant information when required by applicable law.

5. Child safety legal compliance

Around You is committed to complying with applicable child protection and child safety laws and regulations. We will follow applicable reporting obligations and cooperate with relevant law enforcement and child protection authorities as required by law.

6. Child safety point of contact

Our designated child safety contact is responsible for receiving child safety concerns and responding to inquiries regarding our CSAE prevention, content review, enforcement, and compliance practices.

Responsible person: Yashavantaraju. S
Role: Grievance Officer, Child Safety and Compliance Contact, Around You
Email: support@aroundyou.co.in

These standards apply to the Around You application (com.arounds.you) and its associated services.

12. Your rights

Subject to applicable law, you may ask to access your personal data, correct it, request deletion, and withdraw consent where consent is the basis for processing. Write to the support address.

Support: support@aroundyou.co.in

13. Changes

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, including to reflect changes in the Platform, applicable law, or our production data practices (such as the AI-query storage design). Material changes will be notified through the app or by other reasonable means, and continued use of the Platform after such notice constitutes acceptance of the updated policy where the law allows it.

Effective Date: 13 October 2026

14. Governing law

This Privacy Policy is governed by the laws of India. Any dispute arising out of this Privacy Policy shall first be addressed through good-faith negotiation. If unresolved within a reasonable period, the dispute shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts within the Karnataka, India.