Privacy Policy
1. Who We Are
NearQo ("we", "us", "Platform") is a local-business showcase board. This policy explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, and how we protect it.
2. Data We Collect
| Category | Examples | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Account info | Name, email, phone, password (hashed) | Authentication, communication |
| ID proof | Aadhaar, PAN, passport photo/PDF | Identity verification |
| Listing data | Business name, photos, address, pricing | Displaying your listing on the board |
| Payment info | Transaction ID, amount, currency, invoice details | Order fulfilment, receipts & invoices |
| Enquiries | Name, phone or email and message sent to a business | Passing your message to that business |
| Reports | Reason and details when you report a listing (contact optional) | Keeping listings accurate and safe |
| Usage data | IP address, browser, listing views and taps on Call / WhatsApp | Showing businesses how many people saw and contacted them, fraud prevention |
| Messaging consent | Whether you agreed to WhatsApp updates, and when | Showing that we had your permission before messaging you |
We do not store credit card numbers or bank details — all payment processing is handled by Cashfree or Razorpay (India) and PayPal (international), which have their own privacy policies.
3. How We Use Your Data
- To create and manage your account and listings.
- To verify your identity before activating your account.
- To process payments and send receipts.
- To communicate important updates about your listings or account, by email and — if you have agreed to it — on WhatsApp (see section 4).
- To improve the Platform and detect fraud.
We will never sell your personal data to third parties.
4. Messages We Send You
We contact you in two ways: by email, and — only if you agree to it — on WhatsApp.
Email. We email you about your own account: verifying your address, your listing going live or needing a change, receipts and invoices, enquiries from customers, and plans about to end. These are service messages, not marketing, and we send them for as long as you have an account.
WhatsApp. Many of the businesses on NearQo rarely open email, so the same updates can also reach you on WhatsApp. This is optional. We ask when you sign up, with the box unticked — you have to tick it yourself — and we record when you agreed and which wording you agreed to, so we can show that permission was given.
If you turn it on, we send you:
- a sign-in code, when you ask for one;
- confirmation that your account has been activated;
- your listing going live, needing a change, ending soon, or having ended;
- a new customer enquiry;
- a payment receipt, and a referral reward when you earn one.
To deliver these we share your phone number with Twilio, who send the message for us, and with WhatsApp (Meta), who deliver it. Both act on our instructions and have their own privacy policies.
Turning it off. My Account → Your account → WhatsApp updates, at any time and without giving a reason. You can also reply STOP to any message, which stops WhatsApp delivering to you. Turning it off stops everything in the list above except the sign-in code, which is only ever sent because you asked for it. Your email is unaffected — the same information still reaches you there.
We do not send marketing or promotional messages on WhatsApp, and we do not use your number for anything other than the messages described here.
5. Data Sharing
What you publish in a listing (name, contact number, address or venue, photos, dates) is public — except a private invitation, which only people with its unguessable link or QR code can open. Private invitations are never shown on the board, in search results on NearQo, in our sitemap, or to search engines. Anyone you send the link to can pass it on, so share it only with people you trust.
Apart from that, we share data only when necessary:
- Payment processors (Cashfree, Razorpay, PayPal) — to complete transactions.
- Email service — to deliver transactional emails (verification, receipts).
- Messaging providers (Twilio, WhatsApp/Meta) — to deliver the phone messages in section 4, and only if you have agreed to them.
- Law enforcement — if required by law or court order.
6. Data Retention
- Account and listing data are kept while your account is active. Listings that end stay in your account, so you can renew them.
- When you delete your account (My Account → Your account → Delete account), your listings and enquiries come off NearQo immediately and your account is closed. Your details are then held for 30 days, so that signing in again within that time restores everything. After 30 days your name, email address, phone number, password and ID proof are erased for good and cannot be recovered.
- Payment records and invoices are kept for as long as tax law requires (currently up to 8 years) — including after an account is deleted.
- The count of views and taps on a listing is kept as daily totals only, without who made them.
7. Cookies
We use session cookies to keep you logged in. We do not use third-party advertising cookies. Analytics cookies (if any) are anonymised.
8. Your Rights
You have the right to:
- Access — download a copy of your data any time: My Account → Your account → Download my data.
- Correct — edit your listings in My Account, or ask us to update your account details.
- Delete — delete your account yourself: My Account → Your account → Delete account.
- Withdraw consent — turn off WhatsApp updates whenever you like: My Account → Your account → WhatsApp updates.
These rights are given under India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. For anything else, or if you can't sign in, email support@nearqo.in.
9. Security
We protect your data with HTTPS encryption, hashed passwords, and restricted server access. While we take reasonable measures, no system is 100 % secure.
10. Changes
We may update this policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top will reflect the latest revision.
11. Contact
For privacy concerns, contact us at support@nearqo.in.
The data fiduciary is NearQo, a micro enterprise registered in India, Sibsagar, Assam 785640, India.