Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

KeralaAuto is a free public directory that connects auto-rickshaw drivers in Kerala with passengers looking for a local ride. The platform is operated by an independent team based in Kerala, India. We are not a transport company.

2. Information we collect

From drivers (when you register)

• Full name — shown publicly on your driver card
• Phone number — shown publicly so passengers can call you
• Vehicle registration number — shown publicly on your card
• Primary auto stand / location — used to calculate distance to passengers and shown on your card
• Years of experience — shown publicly
• Profile photo — shown publicly on your driver card
• Auto verification photo (auto + number plate) — not shown publicly. Only reviewed by our admin to confirm you actually own the vehicle
• 4-digit PIN — never shown to anyone. Only used to authenticate edits to your own profile
• Geographic coordinates (lat/lng of your stand) — derived from your stand location, not shown publicly. Used only for distance sorting

From passengers (when you search for an auto)

• The pickup location you type — sent to the OpenStreetMap-based geocoder (Photon) to find coordinates. Not stored on our servers
• Your device location — only if you tap "Use Current Location". Used once for that search and not stored
• Browser-side preferences (language, theme, last search) — stored only on your own device in localStorage. Never sent to us

3. How we use this information

• To list drivers publicly so passengers can find and call them
• To rank drivers by distance from a passenger's pickup point
• To verify driver identity via the admin-only verification photo before awarding the verified badge
• To let drivers self-service edit their own profile (vehicle + PIN check)
• To improve the service (aggregate, non-identifying usage patterns)

We do not use your information for advertising, profiling, or any purpose unrelated to running this directory.

4. Who sees what

Public to everyone who visits the site: driver name, phone, vehicle number, primary stand, profile photo, rating, experience years.

Visible only to the admin team: verification photo (auto + plate), PIN.

Never shared with anyone, including the admin: passenger searches, passenger geolocation, passenger device data.

We do not sell, rent, or share personal information with third parties for marketing.

5. Third-party services we use

• Supabase (database + storage host) — encrypts data at rest and in transit. Supabase privacy policy
• Photon / OpenStreetMap (geocoding service) — receives only the typed place name. Komoot privacy policy
• Vercel (web hosting) — serves the website files. May collect anonymised access logs (IP, browser type) for security. Vercel privacy policy
• ui-avatars.com (fallback avatar) — used only if a driver doesn't upload a profile photo. Only the driver's initials are sent
• Google Analytics 4 (usage analytics) — measures anonymised, aggregate usage (page views, searches, calls, registrations) so we can see whether the service is useful. IP addresses are anonymised. Google privacy policy
• Microsoft Clarity (usability analytics) — captures anonymised session replays and heatmaps to help us find and fix usability problems. Sensitive fields such as your phone number and PIN are masked and never recorded. Microsoft privacy statement

6. Cookies, analytics and local storage

We use two privacy-respecting analytics tools to understand, only in aggregate, how the site is used so we can improve it. These may set cookies or local identifiers in your browser:

• Google Analytics 4 — counts page views and anonymous interactions (such as a search, a driver call, or a registration). IP addresses are anonymised. We do not use it for advertising.
• Microsoft Clarity — records anonymised session replays and heatmaps. Your phone number and PIN are masked and never captured.

We do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies, and we never sell this data.

Separately, these preferences are stored only on your own device (localStorage / sessionStorage) and never sent to us:

• Your selected language (English / Malayalam)
• Your selected theme (light / dark)
• The last pickup / drop location you typed (so the form is pre-filled when you return)

You can clear all of this — including analytics cookies — any time via your browser's site-data settings, or by using your browser's "Do Not Track" / private-browsing mode.

7. Your rights as a driver

• Edit your data — use the Edit Profile page with your vehicle number + PIN
• Request deletion — WhatsApp or email us with your vehicle number. We delete your row + uploaded photos within 7 days of verifying your identity
• Forgot your PIN — contact us and we'll reset it after verifying you're the registered driver
• Report a problem driver — send us the vehicle number and we'll review within 24 hours

8. Data retention

Driver data stays in our system as long as the driver is registered. If you delete your account or stop using the service, we keep no obligation to retain your data and will delete it on request. Inactive accounts (no admin verification + no activity for 12 months) may be removed automatically.

9. Children

KeralaAuto is not intended for users under 18. Driver registration requires you to be a licensed auto-rickshaw operator, which already implies adulthood under Indian law.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes (anything that affects what we collect or share) will be announced via a banner on the homepage for at least 7 days before taking effect. The "Last updated" date at the top reflects the most recent revision.

11. Contact us about privacy

If you have any questions about this policy or want to exercise your rights, reach us:

• WhatsApp: +91 80867 31057
• Email: appsvibedot@gmail.com