Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

DesiPeeps ("we", "us", "our") respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your choices regarding your data. By using DesiPeeps, you agree to the practices described in this policy.

2. Information We Collect

Account Data

When you create an account, we collect your full name, email address, and password (stored in hashed form). You may optionally provide a phone number and date of birth.

Profile Data

Your profile may include your city, state, country, username, bio, avatar photo, and selected hobbies/interests. This information is visible to other users.

Content Data

Content you create on the platform, including events, groups, roommate listings, comments, reactions, and messages between users.

Usage Data

With your consent, we collect anonymized usage analytics such as pages visited, features used, and interaction patterns. This data is collected via PostHog and only activated if you accept analytics cookies.

Device and Technical Data

Our hosting infrastructure may automatically collect your browser type, IP address, device type, and operating system for security and performance purposes.

3. How We Collect Data

• Directly from you — when you sign up, fill out your profile, create content, or send messages.
• Automatically via cookies — essential cookies for site functionality and optional analytics cookies (with your consent).
• From third-party services — authentication data from Supabase, location data from Mapbox geocoding.

4. Cookies and Tracking

Essential Cookies

These are required for the site to function and cannot be disabled:

• sb-* — Supabase authentication session cookies
• dp_guest — Guest session data (name, city)
• dp_admin — Admin session data
• selectedCity, selectedState, selectedCountry — Your location filter preference
• dp_cookie_consent — Your cookie preference choice

Security Cookies

Set by Cloudflare Turnstile to protect against bots during login and signup:

• cf_clearance, __cf_bm — Cloudflare bot management cookies

Analytics Cookies (Optional)

These are only set if you accept analytics cookies via the cookie consent banner:

• ph_* — PostHog analytics cookies for anonymized usage tracking

You can change your cookie preferences at any time by clearing your cookies and revisiting the site.

5. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services to operate DesiPeeps:

• Supabase — Authentication and database hosting (US-based). Privacy Policy
• Mapbox — City and location lookup via geocoding API. Your IP address may be shared when searching for locations. Privacy Policy
• PostHog — Anonymous usage analytics (only active with your consent). Privacy Policy
• Cloudflare — Turnstile CAPTCHA for bot protection during login and signup. Privacy Policy
• Vercel — Application hosting. May log IP addresses and request metadata. Privacy Policy
• Resend — Transactional email delivery (verification, password reset). Privacy Policy

6. How We Use Your Data

• To provide and maintain the Service
• To personalize your experience (location-based content, hobby matching)
• To send transactional communications (email verification, password reset)
• To moderate content and enforce our community guidelines
• To improve the Service through anonymized analytics (only with your consent)

7. Data Sharing

We do not sell your personal data. We share data only in the following circumstances:

• With the third-party service providers listed above, only as necessary to operate the Service
• Your public profile information (name, city, hobbies) is visible to other authenticated users
• If required by law, regulation, or legal process
• To protect the rights, property, or safety of DesiPeeps, our users, or the public

8. Data Retention

• Account data is retained while your account is active
• If you delete your account, your data will be removed within 30 days, except where we are legally required to retain it
• Analytics data is anonymized and retained per PostHog's data retention policies
• Moderation logs may be retained for up to 1 year for abuse prevention

9. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your data:

• Access — View your data by visiting your profile page
• Correction — Update inaccurate information via profile editing
• Deletion — Delete your account and associated data
• Withdraw consent — Decline analytics cookies at any time by clearing your browser cookies
• Data portability — Request a copy of your data by contacting us

For GDPR, CCPA, or other privacy-related requests, please contact us at info@desipeeps.com.

10. Data Security

We take reasonable measures to protect your data, including:

• Password hashing via Supabase (bcrypt)
• All traffic encrypted via HTTPS/TLS
• Row-Level Security (RLS) on our database to prevent unauthorized data access
• HMAC-signed cookies for guest and admin sessions
• Cloudflare Turnstile CAPTCHA to prevent automated abuse

No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

11. Children's Privacy

The Service is not intended for children under 16 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you believe we have collected data from a child under 16, please contact us immediately so we can delete it.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date. Your continued use of the Service after any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, please contact us at info@desipeeps.com.