Privacy policy

Ishkzen is a conversation-first affiliation network for adults who want intentional connection - not endless swiping. We operate the Ishkzen website and related services from India.

For privacy questions, data requests, or account concerns, email ishkzen.app@gmail.com.

• Account data: email address, password (stored hashed), phone number if you provide one, verification status, and account role.
• Profile data: name, age, city, photos, bio, education, work, and other fields you choose to add on your profile.
• Verification documents: optional selfie and government or student ID uploads when you choose to pursue identity verification from your profile hub.
• Affinity data: connection preferences, biodata fields, weekly match history, connection requests, and profile actions such as pass or report.
• Messages: chat content between you and other members, plus conversations with Dost (our AI companions, including Ishkzen Buddy).
• Form assist sessions: if you use AI-assisted profile or preference filling, we store the questions and answers from that session to help you complete your forms.
• Technical data: device type, browser, IP address, cookies, push notification tokens, and server logs used for security, debugging, and reliability.
• Support & safety: reports you submit about other profiles, feedback you send from Settings, and emails you write to us.

• Create and manage your account, including email verification.
• Show your profile to other approved members and power weekly concordance introductioning.
• Deliver chat, notifications, connection requests, and Dost features.
• Run Ishkzen Buddy and form assist, including sending relevant text to AI providers when you use those features.
• Review verification documents and reports; enforce community rules; keep the platform safe.
• Improve Ishkzen, fix bugs, and understand how features are used in aggregate.
• Send service emails such as verification codes, security alerts, and important product updates.
• Meet legal obligations and respond to valid requests from authorities.

When you upload a selfie or government/student ID for identity verification, those files are stored in protected upload paths accessible only to authorised administrators for review. They are not displayed on your public profile or shared with other members. A verified badge appears only after our team confirms both a verified selfie and a verified KYC document.

Ishkzen is built for connection, so parts of your profile are visible to other approved members according to how the product works - for example your photos, bio, and public profile fields. Private biodata notes marked as personal are not shared with matches. Chat messages are visible to you and the people you chat with. Identity-reveal controls determine when your full identity is shown to a specific person.

Dost, Ishkzen Buddy, and form assist may send parts of your messages or form answers to third-party AI providers (such as Groq) to generate responses or suggestions. We use those providers only to deliver the feature you asked for.

We also rely on infrastructure partners for hosting, email delivery, and push notifications. They process data on our behalf and only as needed to run Ishkzen.

We do not sell your personal information. We may share data only when necessary:

• With other members as part of normal app use (for example, your public profile or a chat you send).
• With service providers who help us operate Ishkzen, under confidentiality obligations.
• When required by law, to protect someone's safety, or to defend our legal rights.
• If Ishkzen is involved in a merger or acquisition, with notice where the law requires it.

We keep your account, profile, and chat data while your account is active. If you delete your account or ask us to remove data, we will delete or anonymise it within a reasonable time, except where we must keep certain records for safety, fraud prevention, backups, or legal compliance.

• Update your profile, preferences, and notification settings in the app.
• Turn off push notifications in Settings or on your device.
• Report profiles or behaviour you are concerned about from the app or via Report & safety.
• Under India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, request access, correction, erasure, or grievance redressal by emailing ishkzen.app@gmail.com from the email address on your account.

We use cookies and similar technologies for authentication, session management, and security. You can limit cookies in your browser settings; some features may not work without essential cookies.

We use measures such as HTTPS encryption, hashed passwords, access controls on protected uploads, and monitoring to protect your data. No online service can guarantee perfect security - please use a strong, unique password and contact us if you notice anything suspicious.

Ishkzen is for adults 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18.

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will change the date at the top of this page and, for important changes, notify you in the app or by email where appropriate.