PassHai Household Alerts – WhatsApp Privacy Policy

Last updated: 20 November 2025

This Privacy Policy explains how PassHai (“we”, “us”, “our”) collects, uses, and protects information when you interact with our PassHai WhatsApp experience (the “Service”) as a household / consumer who wants alerts when nearby vendors are in range.

This policy applies only to people using our Service via WhatsApp (for example, by scanning a QR code, messaging our WhatsApp number, or joining via a link). It does not cover the PassHai Vendor Android app or any other apps or websites we may provide.

If you have any questions, you can contact us at:
Email: [email protected]

1. What the WhatsApp Service does

The PassHai WhatsApp Service lets households:

• Opt in to receive alerts when nearby street vendors / carts are in range
• Share a location where they want to receive alerts (for example, “home” or “building gate”)
• Choose what kind of carts they care about (e.g. vegetables, fruits, household items)
• Control how often they get alerts (e.g. mute, pause, or change preferences)

To do this, the Service needs to process:

• Your WhatsApp phone number (to know who you are in the chat)
• Your location (to know where to send vendor alerts)
• Your alert preferences (what type of carts, language, timing, etc.)

2. Information we collect

2.1 WhatsApp account details

When you start a conversation with our WhatsApp number, we receive from WhatsApp and process:

• Your WhatsApp phone number
• Your display name (if provided by WhatsApp)
• Message metadata such as message IDs, timestamps, and delivery status

In our backend (for example, Firebase / Firestore), we aim to store:

• A hashed or otherwise protected version of your phone number, and
• A masked form (e.g. +91XXXXXX1234) to help us support you if needed

We do not sell your phone number or share it with unrelated third parties.

Note: WhatsApp itself (Meta) processes your data under its own terms and privacy policy, which are separate from this policy.

2.2 Location data

The Service is location-based, so we need to know where to send you vendor alerts.

When you use the WhatsApp chat, we may collect:

• Locations you send via WhatsApp’s “Send location” feature (pinned or current location)
• The coordinates (latitude, longitude) associated with that location
• A derived geohash or similar representation used in our matching system
• The time when you shared or updated that location

We use this to:

• Save one or more alert locations for your number
• Match you to nearby vendors when their carts are in range
• Decide who should get an alert when a vendor passes near your saved location

We do not constantly track your live GPS signal outside WhatsApp. We only see and store the location you choose to share with us inside the chat (and any later updates you provide).

2.3 Preferences and settings

Through menus, quick replies, and simple commands, we may store:

• Your preferred language (e.g. Hindi, English)
• Your cart categories of interest (e.g. vegetables, fruits, household items)
• Whether you currently want alerts on or off
• Optional settings such as:
  • Time windows when alerts are active (e.g. mornings / evenings)
  • Whether you are temporarily muted / paused

These preferences are stored in our backend under your user record so we can customize alerts for you.

2.4 Message content and logs

We primarily rely on structured responses (quick replies, menus, simple commands) but in some cases:

• We may log certain conversation events (e.g. “user set location”, “user changed categories”, “user paused alerts”)
• We may keep debug logs of webhook calls from WhatsApp / our provider for a limited time to resolve issues (for example, if alerts are not being delivered)

We do not use your conversations to build advertising profiles.

We strongly recommend that you do not send sensitive personal information (such as passwords, bank details, medical information, Aadhaar, etc.) in the chat. Our Service is only meant for basic vendor alerts.

2.5 Technical & diagnostic data (limited)

To keep the Service running smoothly, we may process:

• Timestamps of messages and alerts
• Delivery information from WhatsApp or our messaging provider
• Internal identifiers (for users, messages, and alerts)
• Error logs for failed deliveries or system issues

This is mainly for debugging, reliability, and security.

3. How we use your information

We use the information above to:

1. Provide the Service
   • Recognize your number as a household using PassHai
   • Store your location(s) and preferences
   • Match you with nearby vendors and send you relevant alerts over WhatsApp
2. Customize your experience
   • Send alerts only for the cart types you have opted into
   • Respect your language and basic notification preferences
   • Avoid sending alerts when you have muted / paused them
3. Operate and improve the system
   • Monitor deliverability and reliability of alerts
   • Debug situations like “I didn’t receive an alert even though a cart passed nearby”
   • Improve our matching logic (for example, how radius and movement are calculated)
4. Security, abuse prevention, and legal
   • Detect and prevent misuse or spam
   • Protect our service, vendors, and households from fraud or abuse
   • Comply with legal obligations and respond to lawful requests, where required

We do not sell your data, and we do not use your information for general advertising or tracking across other apps.

4. Legal basis (GDPR-style language, if relevant)

Although PassHai is primarily India-focused, we align with common privacy principles:

• Consent
  You choose to start a WhatsApp conversation with us and provide your location and preferences. You can stop using the Service or block our number at any time.
• Performance of a service
  We need your phone number, location, and preferences to provide the core functionality: alerts when nearby vendors are in range.
• Legitimate interests
  We process limited logs and diagnostics to keep the Service secure, reliable, and to improve it over time.

5. Third-party services

We rely on several third parties to run the Service:

1. WhatsApp / Meta
   • You interact with PassHai through WhatsApp.
   • WhatsApp processes your messages according to its own terms and privacy policy.
   • We see your messages via WhatsApp’s Business API / approved providers.
2. WhatsApp Business Solution Providers (BSPs)

   (for example, providers like 360dialog, Gupshup, Twilio, etc.)

   • They help deliver and receive WhatsApp messages on our behalf.
   • They may process your phone number, message content, and metadata to provide the messaging infrastructure.
3. Google Firebase / Google Cloud
   • Firestore for storing user profiles, locations, and alert logs
   • Cloud Functions and related services to run matching and alerts logic

We do not share your data with advertisers or unrelated third parties.

6. Data retention

We aim to keep your data only for as long as needed for the purposes described in this policy.

• Household profile (phone hash, preferences, saved locations)
  • Kept while you are actively using the Service.
  • If you stop using it for a long period or ask us to delete your data, we may deactivate or remove your record, subject to legal requirements.
• Alert logs and technical logs
  • Kept for a limited period (for example, weeks or months) to debug issues and understand basic usage patterns.
  • May be aggregated or anonymised for long-term insights (for instance, “this area gets many alerts”) without directly identifying you.

If you want your record and associated data deleted or anonymised, you can contact us via email (see Section 11).

7. Your choices and controls

As a household user, you have several options:

1. Stop alerts / opt out
   • You can usually opt out by using the stop / unsubscribe command we describe in the chat, or
   • By blocking our WhatsApp number in your WhatsApp settings.
2. Change location or preferences
   • You can update your location by sending a new location through WhatsApp.
   • You can change categories, language, and other preferences through menu options, quick replies, or simple commands (as provided in the chat flow).
3. Access, update, or delete
   • You can email us to ask what basic information we have stored about you (e.g. phone hash, saved locations & categories).
   • You can request corrections or deletion, subject to legal and operational limits.

8. Children’s privacy

PassHai’s WhatsApp Service is designed for adults managing their household purchases.

We do not knowingly target or collect personal information from children. If you believe a child is using the Service or we have collected data about a child, please contact us so we can review and, where appropriate, delete that information.

9. Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your information, including:

• Using HTTPS and secure APIs between our systems and providers
• Restricting access to data through Firebase Security Rules and internal access controls
• Storing phone numbers in hashed and/or masked form wherever practical
• Limiting who within PassHai can view dashboards and logs

However, no system can be fully secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security of your information.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy as we improve the Service, expand to new areas, or as legal requirements change.

• When we update it, we will change the “Last updated” date at the top.
• For significant changes, we may also share a brief notice in the WhatsApp chat or via another appropriate channel.

11. Contact us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests related to this Privacy Policy or your data, you can contact:

PassHai – Support (WhatsApp Consumers)
Email: [email protected]