Privacy Policy — Tribal Hearts
Operator: Gariba IT Services ("we", "us", "our"). Product: Tribal Hearts mobile application ("the App") and the related website at https://merming.garibaitservices.com. Effective date: 26 August 2026. Last updated: 10 May 2026.
This document is a plain-language privacy notice. It is also the formal privacy policy required by Google Play, India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 ("DPDP Act"), and the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules 2011. If anything in this document is unclear, write to admin@garibaitservices.com and we will reply within 7 working days.
1. Who we are
Tribal Hearts is a matrimonial mobile app made for members of India's
Scheduled Tribe communities. We are a small team based in India and we
operate as Gariba IT Services (the "Data Fiduciary" under the DPDP
Act). The app is published on Google Play under the package
garibaitservices.com.merming_frontend_prod.
2. What information we collect
| Category | What | Why we collect it | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Account identity | Mobile number, name, date of birth, gender, profile_for (self / parent / sibling) | Account creation, age-gate, basic matchmaking | You |
| Email (optional) | Email address | Account recovery | You |
| Cultural identity | Tribe, sub-tribe, language, state, district | Core matchmaking signal | You |
| Education / work | Education level, occupation, employer name (optional) | Profile + match filters | You |
| Photos & media | Profile photos, voice notes, in-chat media | Profile + chat features | You |
| Verification documents | Government-ID images (Aadhaar / driving licence / voter ID) | One-time verification | You |
| Partner preferences | Tribe(s), age range, height range, education preferences | Match filters | You |
| Location | District / state (declared) + one-time location share inside a chat thread (only when you tap "Share location") | Declared location used as a match filter; chat location is a single map message | You |
| Communication | Chat messages, voice notes, call signaling metadata | Conversation features | You |
| Device + diagnostics | FCM push token, device model + OS, crash reports, IP address | Notification delivery, debugging, abuse prevention | Device |
| Account activity | Login events, sessions, blocks, reports | Security and safety | Device |
| Payment metadata | Order IDs, plan codes, premium status, payment timestamps | Subscription management | Razorpay redirect |
We do NOT collect: card or UPI numbers (Razorpay handles checkout on its own pages — we never see them), continuous background location, contact lists, SMS contents, browsing history outside the app, or your phone-call logs.
3. Sensitive personal data
Under the DPDP Act and the IT Rules 2011, the following items count as sensitive personal data when stored by us:
- Government-ID images.
- Photographs and voice / video recordings.
- Caste / tribe / community membership.
We treat these with extra care:
- Verification documents are visible only to our trained reviewers during the manual verification process. They are never shown to other users, never used in matchmaking, and never sold to third parties.
- Documents are stored on encrypted Backblaze B2 buckets with short-lived
signed URLs (60 seconds). They are deleted after the retention window
enforced by
cleanup_verification_document_retention(typically 90 days from the close of the verification case, or sooner if you ask). - Tribal identity (tribe / sub-tribe / language) is shown in your public profile only because that is the entire purpose of the product. You can choose to mark your tribe as "Prefer not to say" — your account still works, but match quality will be lower.
4. How we use your information
- Match-making: filter, rank, and surface profiles that match each user's stated partner preferences.
- Verification: review government-ID + selfie liveness before letting a profile be discoverable.
- Communication: deliver and store chat messages, voice notes, and call signaling between matched users.
- Safety and moderation: process block + report actions; investigate abuse and respond to law-enforcement requests (only with valid legal process).
- Push notifications: deliver alerts for new messages, calls, matches, verification status updates.
- Diagnostics: monitor crashes via Firebase Crashlytics so we can fix bugs quickly. Crash reports contain device metadata and a stack trace, not your chat content.
- Service operations: bill payment processors (Razorpay) when you buy a premium plan.
We do not use your data for advertising, profiling for marketing, or sale to third parties. We do not run any in-app ads.
5. Whom we share your information with
| Category | Why |
|---|---|
| Other Tribal Hearts users | The parts you put in your public profile. You control what is visible via Privacy Settings. |
| Backblaze B2 (USA) | Object storage for photos and documents |
| Twilio Verify (USA) | Sending SMS OTPs |
| Firebase / Google (Cloud Messaging + Crashlytics) | Push delivery + crash reports |
| LiveKit Cloud (USA) | Voice / video call routing |
| Razorpay (India) | Payment processing |
| Indian government authorities | Only with valid legal process |
| Our manual reviewers | Verification documents during the active review only |
We are not in the business of selling personal data. If we ever expand this list, we will update this page and notify in-app.
6. Where your data is stored
- Primary application database: Postgres on our VPS in India.
- Object storage (photos, documents): Backblaze B2 (us-east-005, United States).
- Email transactional: Gmail / Google SMTP.
- Sub-processor data flows: enumerated in Section 5.
By using Tribal Hearts you consent to the cross-border transfer of the data items above to the United States and any other location where the named processors operate. We will switch to India-resident storage for all categories within twelve months of the DPDP Act's data-localisation rules taking effect.
7. How long we keep your data
| Data | Retention |
|---|---|
| Active account profile + chats | While the account is active |
| Deactivated account | Hidden from matchmaking. Data retained 30 days while you can reactivate, then permanently deleted. |
| Deletion request | 30-day cooling-off window, then permanent deletion of profile, photos, chats, and payment history. |
| Verification documents | 90 days after the verification case closes, or sooner on request. |
| Crash logs | 90 days (Firebase default). |
| Audit logs of security events | 365 days. |
| Backups | 30 days rolling. |
8. Your rights
You can do all of the following from inside the app at Settings → Account Security:
- Access: see the data we hold about you via your profile screen.
- Correct: edit any profile field at any time.
- Pause: deactivate your account temporarily.
- Delete: request permanent deletion. We honor it within 30 days.
- Portability: write to admin@garibaitservices.com and we will send you a machine-readable export of your data within 30 days.
- Withdraw consent: stop using the app at any time. Specific consents (e.g. location share in chat) can be revoked from system settings.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Board of India once it is constituted under the DPDP Act.
9. Children
Tribal Hearts is not intended for users under 18. The app rejects account creation if the entered date of birth puts the user under 18. If you believe a minor has created an account, please email admin@garibaitservices.com with the profile ID and we will investigate and remove it within 24 hours.
10. Security
- All API and WebSocket traffic uses HTTPS / WSS.
- Passwords and OTP secrets are never logged.
- Refresh tokens are bound to a server-side session and rotated on use.
- Government-ID documents sit behind 60-second signed URLs and are visible only to authenticated reviewers.
- Photographs use 5-minute signed URLs.
- We run a defence-in-depth program: rate-limited APIs, daily SMS caps, CORS lockdown, structured logs, automated crash alerts.
No system is perfectly secure. If you suspect your account is compromised, change your sign-in mobile number (via support) and use Logout all devices under Settings → Security.
11. Grievance Officer (mandatory under IT Rules 2021)
In compliance with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021:
- Name: Vansh Bahadhur Dhurve
- Email: vansh.d@garibaitservices.com (role mailbox: admin@garibaitservices.com)
- Phone: +91 91711 79201 (Mon–Sat, 10:00–18:00 IST)
- Postal address: Gariba IT Services Private Limited, C/O Shiv Kumar Dhurve, Pindrai Kalan, Barghat, Seoni, Madhya Pradesh, 480667, India
- Acknowledgement window: 24 hours.
- Resolution window: 15 days.
You can reach the Grievance Officer for any complaint about content, account treatment, or this Policy.
12. Changes to this policy
We will update this page when we change how data is handled. Material changes will trigger an in-app notice the next time you open the app. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page is the authoritative version.
13. Contact
- General support: admin@garibaitservices.com
- Privacy questions: admin@garibaitservices.com
- Grievance Officer: admin@garibaitservices.com
You can also write to us inside the app under Settings → Help & Support. We aim to reply within 3 working days.