Privacy Policy
Who we are
Vaaqchat is operated by SVATAS SERVICES LLP, India. Contact: connect@vaaqchat.com. Grievance Officer (India): reachable at connect@vaaqchat.com; officer details will be published here at launch.
Who can use Vaaqchat
You must be 18 years or older to use Vaaqchat. You confirm this when you create your account, and we keep a record of that confirmation. There is no parental-consent mechanism because the service is not offered to minors.
What we collect
You give us: your phone number (to create your account and sign in), your display name, and optionally a profile photo, status, and email.
You create in the app: messages, photos, videos, voice messages, and files you send; questions you ask our AI study assistant; your location, only when you choose to share it.
From your device, with your permission: your contacts' phone numbers, used only to show you which of your contacts already use Vaaqchat — we match them and do not store your full address book. A notification token, so we can send you message alerts.
Calls: call audio and video travel directly between your device and the other person's wherever possible (or through a relay server when a direct connection fails) — we do not record or store call content. When a call ends, is declined, or is missed, an entry (who called, voice or video, missed/declined/duration) is saved as a message in that chat, where it follows the same rules as any other message: you can delete it, and it is removed with the chat or your account.
We do not collect: your gender, date of birth, background location, browsing history, or payment details. We never show when you were last online — there is no "last seen".
How we use it
To deliver your messages and calls; to sign you in; to answer your study questions; to keep the app safe; to show you which contacts use Vaaqchat; to send notifications; and to show ads.
What other users can see
Your display name, profile photo and status are visible to other users. Your phone number is your identity on Vaaqchat (there are no usernames): it is visible to people you chat with 1:1 and to fellow members of any group you join — groups can have up to 1000 members, and open groups can be joined by anyone, so join groups you trust. Read receipts ("seen") can be turned off in Settings.
Important things you should know
Two kinds of chats. Standard chats are encrypted in transit, and our servers can access them — this is what lets the AI assistant answer questions and lets us run safety checks. Private chats are end-to-end encrypted — our servers can't read them. Private-chat messages are stored on your devices; our servers hold only encrypted copies for delivery, deleted after 30 days. The AI assistant does not work in private chats, and group chats are never end-to-end encrypted.
We store and reuse AI answers. When you ask our study assistant a question, we save the question and answer so that we can give faster answers to the same question later — including to other users. Do not include personal details in questions you ask the assistant.
We scan images automatically. Every image uploaded is checked automatically before it is delivered, including checks for child sexual abuse material. Where the law requires it, we report such material to the relevant authorities and preserve related evidence.
We show ads. Ads appear only in the "Vaaq Offers" feed, occasionally when you open the app, and inside the AI study-assistant chat. Ads never appear in your personal 1:1 or group conversations.
Saving contacts and inviting friends stay on your phone. If you tap "Add to contacts", the name and number are saved into your phone's own address book by your device — nothing extra is sent to us. If you invite a friend, the app opens your SMS app with a pre-written message that you choose to send; we never message your contacts ourselves.
Who we share it with
We use these service providers, who process data on our behalf:
- Twilio — sends your login code (receives your phone number)
- Google (Gemini) — generates study answers (receives your question, and the photo if you ask a photo question)
- Arachnid Shield (Canadian Centre for Child Protection) — and, when enabled, Microsoft PhotoDNA — safety scanning of images
- Cloud object storage (Cloudflare R2, and/or CloudPe in India) — stores your photos, videos and voice messages
- Google Maps — renders the map image when you share a location
- Expo — delivers notifications
- Cloudflare — relays call audio/video when a direct connection fails (relay only; calls are not recorded)
We also disclose information where required by law, and to protect children. We do not sell your personal data.
Where your data is stored
Our servers are hosted in Mumbai, India. Media files are stored with the cloud storage providers named above.
How long we keep it
Messages — including call entries — stay until you delete them or delete your account. Private-chat encrypted copies are deleted from our servers after 30 days. Live location shares expire automatically (after 1 or 3 hours), and the record is purged within 24 hours after expiry. Game sessions are deleted a day after the last move. AI questions and answers are kept in our answer cache and may be reused for other users.
When you delete your account, your account, profile, messages and your uploaded media files (photos, videos, voice notes) are deleted from our storage. When you delete a single message, its media file is deleted from storage as well (unless a forwarded copy still uses it).
Your choices and rights
- Delete your account any time in Settings → Delete account.
- Delete any message you sent for everyone, at any time.
- Turn off read receipts in Settings.
- Block and report any user from the chat screen.
- Control permissions (contacts, camera, microphone, location) in your device settings.
- Clear the local media cache in Settings → Storage.
Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, or export your data, or to object to certain processing. Contact us at connect@vaaqchat.com.
Security
We protect your data with encryption in transit, access controls, and a restricted database. No service can promise perfect security, but we work to keep your information safe.
Changes
We'll update this page and change the "Last updated" date. Significant changes will be notified in the app.