Privacy policy
VAA is an app that lists treks, camps and weekend trips across India, run by the organizers who offer them. This page says what VAA collects about you, why, who sees it, and how you can have it erased. “We” means VAA.
What we collect
| Your Google account | Your name, email address, profile photo and Google account ID, when you choose “Continue with Google”. |
|---|---|
| Phone number | The number you add to your profile. You confirm it with a six-digit code we send you on WhatsApp. |
| Gender | Asked once, to decide who can see and join women-only (“For Her”) trips. |
| Booking requests and callbacks | The trip, dates, group size and any note you write. Your name and phone number go with the request to the organizer. |
| Reviews and saved trips | Your rating and review text, shown with your name on the trip. The trips you save. |
| Notifications | A device token, so we can tell you when an organizer answers. Only if you allow notifications. |
| Approximate location | Only if you turn on “Use my location”. Your phone sends a position rounded to about 11 km to sort trips by distance. We don’t store it, log it or keep it. |
| Security records | The time, your IP address and your device’s app string for sign-ins and account changes, in server logs and a security log. |
We don’t run ads, don’t use analytics or tracking tools, and don’t sell your information.
Why we use it
- To sign you in and keep your account.
- To send your booking requests and callback requests to organizers, and show you their answers.
- To confirm that a phone number is yours, so organizers can reach you.
- To show women-only trips to the people they are for.
- To keep VAA safe: stopping abuse and investigating problems.
We use your information with your consent, which you give by signing in and by using these features. You can withdraw it by deleting your account.
Who sees it
- The organizer of a trip you ask about. Your name, phone number, dates, group size and note, for that request only.
- Other travelers. Your name and review text, on trips you review.
- Google signs you in (Firebase Authentication) and delivers notifications (Firebase Cloud Messaging).
- WhatsApp carries the confirmation code. We send it from VAA’s own WhatsApp number to the number you entered.
- Our hosting provider, Oracle Cloud, stores the data on servers in Hyderabad, India.
- Authorities, when the law requires it.
How long we keep it
- Your account details stay until you delete your account.
- Confirmation codes are erased after one day.
- After you delete your account, our security log keeps its entries about you, including your name, email address, phone number, booking notes and the IP addresses of earlier sign-ins and changes, to answer disputes and prevent abuse. Nothing in the app shows them, and the people who run VAA can see them.
- Booking records stay with the organizer who ran the trip, without your name or phone number.
Your choices
- Change your details in the app, under Profile.
- Delete your account in the app: Profile, then Delete account. What that does.
- Turn location or notifications off in the app or in your phone’s settings, at any time.
- Ask us to show, correct or erase what we hold about you, or to raise a complaint, at the address below. We answer within 30 days.
Children
VAA is for people aged 18 and over. We don’t knowingly collect information from anyone younger. If you think we have, write to us and we will erase it.
Security
Everything travels over HTTPS. Access to the servers and the data is limited to the people who run VAA. No system is perfectly secure, so we can’t promise it.
Changes
If this policy changes in a way that matters, we will say so in the app before it takes effect. The date at the top shows the latest version.
Contact and grievances
Privacy questions, requests and complaints: vaakerala@gmail.com. You can also write to the India Data Protection Board if we don’t resolve a complaint.