LEGAL

Privacy Policy

Last updated: 15 November 2026

podama is run by CWIC Platform Pvt Ltd (“we”, “us”), Visakhapatnam, India. This policy explains what we collect when you use the podama app or website, who can see it, and the choices you have.

1. Information we collect

Account and profile. Your mobile number (to sign in), name, profile photo, gender, the genders you’re willing to be matched with, birth year, and email address if you add one. You confirm that you are 18 or older when you set up your profile.

Journeys. The pickup point, destination, departure time and flexibility, number of travellers and luggage for each journey you plan, and the share requests you send and accept.

Rides. For rides you join: the meeting point, the “On my way” and “I’m here” updates you send, cab details you or a co-traveller add (cab company, vehicle number, driver name and phone, estimated fare), and the group chat.

Feedback and safety. Ratings and feedback you give or receive after a ride, safety reports you make, and travellers you block.

Device. A notification token for your device, so we can send you alerts. If you allow it, your device’s current location, only at the moment you choose to use it to fill in a place. We don’t track your location in the background.

2. Who can see what

Travellers who find you in a search see your name, profile photo, age band (such as “30s”, never your birth year), rating and feedback highlights, and the approximate area of your pickup and destination, not the exact places.

Travellers in a ride with you also see the meeting point, your meetup updates, the group chat and the cab details added to the ride.

Only you and our safety team see your safety reports. The traveller you report isn’t told. Blocking is private too. Detailed feedback about what went wrong on a ride isn’t shown to other travellers.

Your mobile number and email address are never shown to other travellers.

3. How we use your information

We use it to run podama: to sign you in, find compatible travellers and respect everyone’s match preferences, coordinate rides, send notifications about requests, messages and ride updates, review safety reports, and keep the service secure and free of misuse. We don’t sell your personal information or use it for advertising.

4. Service providers

We use these providers to run podama. They process data only on our behalf:

• Amazon Web Services: hosting and storage, in the Hyderabad (India) region.
• MSG91: sending the sign-in code to your mobile number.
• Google Maps Platform: place search, maps and directions.
• Google Firebase Cloud Messaging: delivering notifications to your device.

We may also disclose information when the law requires it, or to protect the safety of our users.

5. Keeping and deleting your information

We keep your information while your account is open. You can delete your account at any time in the app (Profile → Delete account) or by emailing us; see Delete your account. When you delete it, you’re signed out on every device, you leave your upcoming rides, your open plans and share requests are cancelled, your saved places are deleted, and you stop appearing in searches and receiving notifications.

What happens next, so that deleting an account can’t be used to escape a rating or a safety report:

• For 90 days your account is deactivated but kept as it is. Signing in again with your mobile number restores it, with its ratings and history. The number can’t be used to create a new account during this time.
• After 90 days we erase your profile (name, photo, email, gender and birth year) and release your mobile number, so it can be used for a new account. Your ride history stays, but no longer shows who you are.
• After 180 days we erase the rest: your mobile number, your chat messages, the exact places in your plans, cab driver details you added, and ratings, safety reports and blocks that involve you.

If a safety report about you is still being reviewed, we keep your account and its number blocked until the review is finished, then continue with these steps. You can ask the Grievance Officer below to erase your information sooner; we’ll do so except where we need to keep it for a safety review or a legal obligation.

6. Your rights

You can see and update your profile and photo, change your match preferences, and delete your account in the app. Under India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, you can also ask us for a summary of the personal data we hold about you, ask us to correct or erase it, nominate someone to exercise these rights on your behalf, and raise a grievance with us. If we don’t resolve it, you can complain to the Data Protection Board of India.

7. Children

podama is only for people aged 18 or older. We don’t knowingly collect information from anyone younger. If you believe a minor is using podama, please tell us.

8. Security

Data is encrypted in transit and at rest, and access is limited to people who need it to run the service. No system is completely secure, so please keep your phone and sign-in code safe.

9. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy. We’ll change the date above and, for significant changes, let you know in the app before they take effect.

10. Contact and Grievance Officer

For questions about this policy, or to exercise your rights, contact our Grievance Officer:

For help with the app, write to support@podama.app.