Privacy Policy

Last updated November 4, 2026

Desi (the "Service") is a mobile app and website for adults 18 and over in the South Asian community to find dating, marriage, friendship and activity partners. It is operated by Vacaytrip LLC, doing business as Desi ("we", "us"), which decides how and why your personal information is used (the "controller"). This policy explains what we collect, why, who we share it with, and the choices and rights you have wherever you live.

Who can use Desi

You must be at least 18 years old. We ask for your full date of birth and do not accept anyone under 18. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If we learn that we have, we delete it.

What we collect

• Account: your email address and a password (stored only as a one-way hash).
• Profile: first name, birth date (we show your age, never your birth date), gender, who you would like to meet, what you are looking for (dating, marriage, friendship, community and activities), an optional short bio, optional answers to a few get-to-know-you questions, optional education and work details, your postal code and city, and the activities you choose. Other members see your first name, age, bio, question answers, education and work details, city, activities, photos and verification badges, plus any optional background details you choose to add (see below). They never see your email, postal code or birth date.
• Optional background details: languages you speak, the country and region your family is from, your diet, how soon you hope to marry and your family-involvement preference (both only if you choose the Marriage intent), a few quick answers (how active you are, your weekends, how close you are with family; each can be "prefer not to say", which is never shown), and, only if you choose to type them, your community and religion. Religion and community can reveal sensitive information about you. We collect them only if you enter them, and we ask for your consent when you do (typing them in is that consent). We show them on your profile only, we never use them to rank, filter or recommend people, and we never use them for advertising. You can edit or clear them at any time in My profile, and clearing a field removes it. We do not collect or allow filtering by caste.
• Profile photos (optional): photos you upload. Before they are stored, location and camera details are removed from them. Each photo is checked, automatically and sometimes by a person, to confirm it clearly shows you and is suitable. The automated check is done by a service provider (Google) that receives the photo only for that check. Other members can see a photo only after it passes. You can remove your photos at any time.
• Daily message: your birth month and day are used to greet you on your birthday and to choose your daily message. If you choose the optional daily inspiration, we also use them to find your sun sign. This is for inspiration only.
• Phone verification: your mobile number (from any country we support) is used once to text you a code. After you pass, we keep only a one-way hash of the number so one number cannot be used for many accounts.
• ID verified badge (optional): if you buy it, a photo of your government ID and a selfie are collected and checked by our verification partner, Stripe. We receive only the pass or fail result and a reference number. We do not receive or keep your ID or selfie images.
• Messages and activity: messages you send, introductions you accept or pass, groups and events you join, and reports or blocks you make. Messages are scanned automatically for scam patterns such as requests for money, so we can warn the other member.
• Family share links (optional): if you make a private link for your family, we store a one-way hash of the link, the parts of your profile you chose to show, when it expires, and how many times it was opened. Anyone who has the link can see those parts until it expires or you turn it off, with no sign-in. The page never shows your email, postal code, birth date, phone number or messages, and religion and community appear only if you tick them. The page is not indexed by search engines and is not cached.
• Video calls: if you use live video, the call itself is sent directly between you and the other member, or through a relay server that passes it along without recording it. We do not record calls. We keep a record that a call was requested, when, and its outcome.
• Purchases: the fact that you bought the ID badge or a Plus plan. Payments are handled by Apple, Google or Stripe. We do not see your card number. RevenueCat helps us confirm app-store purchases.
• Technical data: IP address, device type and app version, used for security, fraud prevention and limiting abuse.
• Website visits: when you open a page on desi.contact we record the page, the time, the country, region and city your connection appears to come from, the website or search engine that sent you, and whether the visit looks like a person or an automated crawler. We do not store your IP address or a readable copy of your browser details. To count unique visitors we keep a one-way scrambled code that changes every day and cannot be turned back into your IP address. We use this only to understand how people find Desi and to improve it, and we delete these records after 180 days.
• Waitlist: if you joined our waitlist: name, email, city, postal code, interests, optional age range, and the ad or link that brought you. If you asked to be told when the app is ready: your first name, email, and whether you use an iPhone or an Android phone.

How we use it, and our legal bases

If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or a similar region, the law requires us to tell you the basis for each use:

• To run the Service (create your profile, show you compatible members in your own city, let you chat and join activities, process purchases): needed to perform our contract with you.
• To keep members safe (verify accounts, detect scams and fake profiles, review photos and reports, act on rule violations): our legitimate interests in running a safe service, and where needed, legal obligations.
• Religion, community and other sensitive details you choose to add: your explicit consent, which you can withdraw at any time by clearing the field or deleting your account.
• Email about your account, and about launch if you joined the waitlist: your consent or our legitimate interests; you can unsubscribe at any time.
• To comply with the law and respond to legal requests: legal obligation.

We do not make decisions about you that have legal effects using solely automated processing. The automated photo check and scam-pattern scan flag items for the person involved or for human review.

Who we share it with

We do not sell your personal information and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We do not share it with advertisers or data brokers. We share it only with:

• Service providers who process data for us under agreements that limit how they can use it: hosting, Twilio (text-message codes), Stripe (ID check and web payments), RevenueCat, Apple and Google (app-store purchases and photo checks), and email delivery.
• Other members, limited to the profile details described above and the messages you send them.
• People you give a private family link to, limited to the parts you chose.
• Authorities, when the law requires it, in response to valid legal process, or to protect someone's safety.

International transfers

Desi serves members in several countries. Your information may be processed in the United States and in other countries where we or our service providers operate, which may have different data-protection laws from yours. Where the law requires, we rely on safeguards such as standard contractual clauses or the provider's transfer mechanism.

Your choices and rights

• Delete your account: in the app, open Me, then Delete my account. This permanently removes your profile, matches and messages. You can also request deletion at desi.contact/delete-account.
• Access, correct or download your information: edit your profile in the app, or email us.
• Withdraw consent for religion, community or marketing email at any time, without affecting what we did before.
• Unsubscribe from email using the link in any message.
• Depending on where you live you may also have these rights, and we honor them for every member:
  • EEA and United Kingdom (GDPR / UK GDPR): access, correction, erasure, restriction, objection to processing based on legitimate interests, portability, and the right to complain to your data protection authority (in the UK, the Information Commissioner's Office).
  • Canada (PIPEDA and provincial laws): access, correction, withdrawal of consent, and the right to complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
  • California and other US states (CCPA/CPRA and similar): know, access, correct and delete your information, limit use of sensitive personal information, and not be treated differently for exercising these rights. We do not sell or share personal information as those laws define them.
  • India (Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023): access, correction, erasure, grievance redress and nominating another person to exercise your rights. Write to the contact below and we will respond to grievances within the time the law sets.
• Email us and we will respond within 30 days (or sooner where the law requires). We may need to confirm it is really you first.

How long we keep it

We keep your account information while your account is active. When you delete your account we remove your profile, messages and matches. We may keep a limited record of safety reports, fraud signals and purchase receipts for as long as needed to protect members and meet legal obligations. Waitlist information is kept until the app opens in your city and you have had a chance to join, or until you ask us to delete it. Website visit records are deleted after 180 days.

Security

We use encryption in transit, hashed passwords and phone numbers, access limits and rate limits. No system is perfectly secure, so please use a strong, unique password. If a breach affects your information we will notify you and the authorities as the law requires.

Location

We use the postal code you enter to place you in your city. We do not track your precise location or show it to other members.

Changes

If we make material changes we will tell you in the app or by email before they take effect.

Contact

Vacaytrip LLC, doing business as Desi. Privacy questions, requests and grievances: [email protected]