ParcelDostPrivacy Policy
Last updated: 3 September 2026
ParcelDost is a community platform that connects people who want to send a parcel with verified travellers reached through friends, mutual friends and local communities. Making that safe means verifying who people are, understanding how you are connected, and keeping a record of each handover. This policy explains exactly what we collect, why we need it, who we share it with, and how you can get it deleted. We follow India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and the Information Technology Act and its rules.
1. Information we collect
Account information
Your mobile number (verified by OTP), your name, and optionally a profile photo and email address. You give us this when you register.
Identity verification information
Before your first transaction — posting a parcel, offering to carry one, or being named as a receiver — we verify who you are. This involves a scan of a government-issued identity document, a live selfie that we match against that document, and Aadhaar e-KYC completed through a licensed verification partner using an OTP sent to your Aadhaar-linked mobile number. We also check that the Aadhaar-linked SIM is present in the device running the app.
Parcel and trip information
Photos and videos of items, descriptions, category, weight and dimensions, pickup and delivery addresses, your declared contents and the declaration you sign, registered trips and saved recurring commutes, and the photos travellers take at pickup and sealing.
Location information
The addresses you save, and your device location. During an active delivery, travellers share location either continuously (Live mode) or periodically (Power-saving mode, the default) so the sender and receiver can follow the journey. With your permission we also use your last known location to notify you about parcels near you and matching your direction of travel. You can turn off location permission at any time in your device settings, though this limits matching and you cannot carry a parcel without it.
Communications
Messages exchanged in the in-app chat, and any reports, disputes or support requests you raise. Chat is kept as a record so we can resolve disputes fairly.
Payment information
Transaction amounts, bids, escrow status and payout history. Card and bank details are collected and stored by our regulated payment partner, not by ParcelDost. We receive only what we need to process a payout and keep our records.
Your ParcelDost network
The friend connections you make in the app. Both people must accept before a connection exists.
Device and usage information
Device model and operating system, app version, IP address, push notification tokens, crash reports and diagnostic logs, and how you use the app so we can improve it.
2. How we use your information
| Purpose | What we use |
|---|---|
| Creating and securing your account | Mobile number, name, device information |
| Verifying you are a real, identifiable person | ID document, selfie, Aadhaar e-KYC result, device binding |
| Matching parcels with travellers on the right route | Addresses, registered trips, location, parcel details |
| Letting you negotiate and agree a price | Chat messages, bids, ratings |
| Holding funds in escrow and paying travellers | Transaction and payout information |
| Tracking a delivery and confirming handover | Location during the trip, pickup photos, delivery code |
| Keeping the platform safe | Listing photos and text (screened automatically for prohibited items), reports, ratings, evidence trail |
| Resolving disputes | Chat logs, photos, trip data, declarations |
| Responding to lawful requests from authorities | Whatever is legally required |
| Sending you service notifications | Push token, mobile number, email |
3. What other users can see
We deliberately reveal as little as possible, as late as possible.
- Before a payment is made: other users see only your name, profile photo, rating, successful deliveries and completion rate. Your phone number and full addresses stay hidden.
- After the sender pays into escrow: the pickup address and contact number are revealed to the traveller, and the traveller's contact details are revealed to the sender. This is the minimum needed to actually complete a handover.
- After a delivery: the rating and review you leave is visible on the other person's profile.
4. Who we share information with
We do not sell your personal data. We share it only with:
- Other users in your transaction, as described in section 3.
- Identity verification partners, to run the ID, selfie and Aadhaar e-KYC checks.
- Payment and escrow partners, to hold funds and pay travellers.
- Infrastructure providers such as Google Firebase and cloud storage and mapping services, which host the app, store media and power notifications.
- Insurance partners, only if you choose to buy optional transit cover.
- Law enforcement and regulators, when we are legally required to, or when it is necessary to investigate fraud, a prohibited-item offence or a threat to someone's safety. In these cases we may provide the digital evidence trail for a transaction.
5. How long we keep it
- Account information: while your account is active.
- Verification records: while your account is active and for up to five years afterwards, because financial and identity-verification rules require it.
- Transaction, parcel and chat records: up to eight years after the transaction, to meet tax and accounting obligations and to defend against disputes.
- Trip location history: ninety days after the delivery completes, unless a dispute is open.
- Diagnostic logs: up to twelve months.
When a retention period ends, we delete the data or irreversibly anonymise it.
6. Your rights
Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 you can:
- Access a summary of the personal data we hold about you and who we have shared it with.
- Correct anything inaccurate, incomplete or out of date.
- Erase your personal data, subject to the retention periods above.
- Withdraw consent you previously gave, such as location access or marketing messages.
- Nominate someone to exercise these rights on your behalf if you die or become incapacitated.
- Complain to us, and then to the Data Protection Board of India if we do not resolve it.
Exercise any of these by writing to support@parceldost.com. We respond within thirty days.
7. Deleting your account
You can delete your account yourself, from Settings → Delete account in the app. It is permanent and removes your profile, listings and personal data, subject to the records we are legally required to retain. If you have an accepted delivery in progress you must finish or cancel it first. Full instructions, including how to delete without the app, are on the Delete your account page.
8. How we protect your data
Data is encrypted in transit with TLS and encrypted at rest. Access to production data is restricted to the small number of people who need it and is logged. Identity documents and parcel media are stored in access-controlled storage and served only through short-lived links. Aadhaar-linked device binding makes account takeover substantially harder. No system is perfectly secure, but if a breach affects your personal data we will notify you and the Data Protection Board as the law requires.
9. Children
ParcelDost is not for anyone under 18. We do not knowingly collect data from children. If we discover an underage account we will close it and delete the data.
10. Changes to this policy
If we change this policy we will update the date at the top and, where the change is significant, notify you in the app or by email before it takes effect.
11. Contact and grievances
For any privacy question, request or complaint, contact our Grievance Officer at support@parceldost.com. We acknowledge grievances within 24 hours and resolve them within 15 days, as required by Indian law. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may complain to the Data Protection Board of India.