Privacy Policy

1. About This Policy

GospelWed (“we”, “our”, or “us”) operates a Christian matrimonial service for adults in India. GospelWed acts as the Data Fiduciary under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act) and is committed to protecting the privacy, dignity, and safety of every Data Principal who uses the mobile application and marketing website (together, the “Services”). This Privacy Policy explains how GospelWed collects, uses, disclose, retain, and secure personal data, the choices available to you, and the rights you can exercise under the DPDP Act and other applicable laws.

2. Scope & Key Definitions

This policy covers all GospelWed branded experiences, including discovery, interest, match, and trust & safety workflows.

• Data Principal: An identified or identifiable individual using GospelWed, including members and guardians acting with consent.
• Personal Data: Any data about a Data Principal such as name, age, location, photos, religious affiliation, or preferences.
• Sensitive Personal Data: Faith affiliation, denominational details, matrimonial intent, and photos submitted to the platform.

3. Data We Collect

4. Purposes & Lawful Bases

GospelWed processes personal data only for lawful purposes and in alignment with the DPDP Act:

• Account creation & authentication: Verify your identity via MSG91 OTP and maintain secure sessions. (Consent)
• Discovery & matchmaking: Generate recommendations, surface relevant profiles, and manage private photo access post-match. (Consent)
• Trust & safety: Investigate reports, enforce community standards, and protect against fraud. (Legitimate use / compliance)
• Service improvement: Analyse aggregated trends, address bugs, and enhance performance. (Legitimate use)
• Communication: Provide policy updates, feature announcements, or respond to support enquiries. (Consent or legitimate use depending on message type)
• Legal obligations: Meet requirements under Indian law, respond to lawful requests, and maintain audit logs. (Compliance)

5. Consent Management & Withdrawal

When you sign up, complete your profile, or upload photos, you consent to GospelWed processing your personal data for the stated purposes. You may withdraw consent or restrict specific activities by:

By creating a GospelWed account, accessing the GospelWed mobile application, admin portal, or marketing site, or otherwise using any GospelWed Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service (“Terms”).

• Editing or deleting information in the profile and photo management screens.
• Using the in-app account deletion feature to remove your profile and associated data.
• Using the in-app account deletion feature to remove your profile and associated data.
• Contacting support@gospelwed.com to request withdrawal or targeted restrictions.

Withdrawing consent may affect matching outcomes or access to features. We will explain the consequences before completing your request.

6. Sharing & Disclosure

GospelWed never sells personal data. GospelWed shares information only with trusted processors to deliver the Services:

• MSG91: Sends OTP messages to authenticate accounts.
• Private Server (VPS) in India: Hosts our API and database (containing identity and profile text data) within secure data centers in India.
• Cloud Storage (APAC / Singapore): Stores profile photos outside India to facilitate optimized hosting and faster content delivery.
• Firebase (planned): Crash reporting and push notifications will follow separate notice and consent before activation.
• Trust & safety partners: External advisors or legal counsel engaged for investigations, only when necessary and under confidentiality.

GospelWed may disclose data when required by law, regulatory request, or to protect the rights and safety of users.

7. Data Retention & Deletion

Retention aligns with the data inventory matrix in our implementation plan.

• Active account data remains available while you use GospelWed.
• Upon account deletion, we remove profile data, photos, interests, and matches within 30 days and revoke signed photo URLs immediately.
• Reports, blocks, and audit logs may be retained for up to 24 months to comply with legal obligations and protect community safety.
• System logs rotate on a 90-day schedule, with IP addresses anonymised where feasible.

8. Security Safeguards

• Encryption in transit (HTTPS/TLS) for all API and admin traffic.
• Access controls, role-based permissions, and audit trails for staff actions.
• Segregated storage for public and private photos with secure signed URL access.
• Continuous monitoring and incident response runbooks to detect and resolve security events.

If a breach risks your rights or interests, GospelWed will notify you and regulators as required by the DPDP Act.

9. Data Principal Rights

You can exercise the following rights under the DPDP Act:

• Access: View or request a copy of your personal data.
• Correction & Completion: Update inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Erasure: Delete your account and associated data, subject to legal exceptions.
• Portability: Receive a structured export of key profile fields and contact history.
• Grievance Redressal: Escalate unresolved concerns to our Grievance Officer.

Submit requests through the in-app privacy controls or email. We acknowledge within 7 days and aim to resolve within 30 days.

10. Children & Age Restrictions

GospelWed is strictly for individuals aged 18 or older. We do not knowingly collect data from children. If we learn that data from a minor has been submitted, we will delete it promptly.

11. International Transfers

Most of the personal data collected by GospelWed is stored on servers located within India. However, profile photos are stored in the APAC / Singapore region. This international transfer is strictly limited to image data and is undertaken for the purposes of hosting efficiency and content delivery (CDN). We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place for these transfers.

12. Grievance Officer & Contact

Grievance Officer: GospelWed Trust & Safety Lead
Email: support@gospelwed.com
Response timeline: acknowledgement within 7 days; resolution within 30 days.

For additional escalation, you may contact the Data Protection Board of India once internal remedies are exhausted.

13. Updates to This Policy

GospelWed revises this policy when launching new features, onboarding new processors, or updating legal obligations. Updated versions will be posted here with a new effective date, and significant changes will be communicated via in-app notice and email where available.