Legal
Privacy Policy
1.Introduction
This Privacy Policy describes how Dhyay ("we," "us," or "our"), accessible at https://dhyay.app and operated by Uplift Ventures, collects, uses, stores, shares, and protects information when you use our platform, mobile application, and related services (collectively, the "Service").
Dhyay is a platform that connects seekers with verified Vedic astrologers through asynchronous consultations. We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information with transparency and care.
By accessing or using the Service, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.
2.Information We Collect
2.1Information You Provide Directly
When you register, create a profile, book consultations, or interact with our platform, we may collect:
- Account information: phone number, name, gender
- Birth details: date of birth, time of birth, place of birth (required for astrological consultations)
- Family profile information: relationship details for family consultations (if you choose to add them)
- Consultation content: audio recordings of questions, text messages, and follow-up queries submitted during consultations
- Payment information: transaction records processed through our third-party payment gateway (we do not store credit card or bank account details directly)
- Communication data: messages, feedback, and correspondence with our support team
2.2Information Collected Automatically
When you use the Service, we automatically collect certain technical information:
- Device information: device type, operating system, browser type and version
- Usage data: pages visited, features used, consultation history, timestamps
- Log data: IP address, access times, referring URLs
- Cookies and similar technologies: session identifiers and preferences (see Section 8 for details)
2.3Information from Third-Party Services
We may receive information from third-party services in the following circumstances:
- Payment providers: transaction confirmation and status (no financial account details)
- YouTube API Services: publicly available channel data for astrologer verification and display of astrologer YouTube videos on the platform (see Section 5 for complete details)
- WhatsApp (via MSG91): message delivery status for notification purposes
3.How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect for the following purposes:
- To provide and operate the Service, including facilitating consultations between seekers and astrologers
- To verify and onboard astrologers by validating their YouTube channel credentials and content authenticity
- To display astrologer YouTube videos on their platform profiles, enabling seekers to evaluate an astrologer's expertise and teaching style before booking a consultation
- To process payments and maintain accurate financial records
- To send transactional notifications via WhatsApp and SMS (consultation updates, payment confirmations, status changes)
- To improve, personalise, and develop the Service based on usage patterns and user needs
- To respond to your requests, queries, and support needs
- To detect, prevent, and address fraud, abuse, security issues, and technical problems
- To comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms and Conditions
We do not sell your personal information to third parties. We do not use your data for serving advertisements, retargeting, personalised advertising, or interest-based advertising.
4.Astrologer-Specific Information
If you register as an astrologer on Dhyay, we additionally collect:
- Professional credentials: educational qualifications, years of experience, areas of expertise
- YouTube channel URL and publicly available channel metadata (subscriber count, video history, content categories)
- Profile content: photographs, audio/video introductions, service descriptions and pricing
- Consultation response content: audio and text responses provided to seekers
- Earnings and payout information: consultation earnings, payout history, bank account details for disbursement
Astrologer profiles, including name, photo, expertise areas, service offerings, and YouTube videos, are displayed publicly on the platform to enable seekers to discover, evaluate, and select astrologers.
5.Use of YouTube API Services
Dhyay uses YouTube API Services for two core platform features: (a) verifying astrologer credentials during the onboarding process, and (b) displaying astrologer YouTube videos on their platform profiles to help seekers evaluate expertise before booking consultations. This section describes our use of YouTube API Services in detail to comply with the YouTube API Services Terms of Service and the Google API Services User Data Policy.
5.1What YouTube Data We Access
We access only publicly available YouTube channel and video data, specifically:
- Channel name, URL, and description
- Subscriber count and channel content categories
- Public video metadata: video titles, descriptions, publish dates, view counts, video IDs, and thumbnail URLs
- Video embed references for displaying YouTube videos on astrologer profiles using YouTube's official embedded player
We do not access private YouTube data, user authentication tokens, private or unlisted videos, YouTube Analytics data, viewer data, or any data that requires a YouTube user to grant OAuth consent.
5.2Purpose of YouTube Data Access
YouTube data is used exclusively for the following user-facing features:
- Astrologer Verification: verifying that an astrologer applicant has an authentic YouTube presence with genuine astrological content, confirming minimum channel thresholds for quality assurance, and displaying a "Verified YouTuber" badge on the astrologer's Dhyay profile
- Video Display on Profiles: displaying an astrologer's public YouTube videos on their Dhyay profile page using YouTube's official embedded player, so that seekers can watch the astrologer's content directly within the platform and make informed decisions before booking a consultation
- Content Discovery: using publicly available video metadata (titles, descriptions, categories) to help seekers discover astrologers whose content and expertise align with their needs
5.3YouTube Data Storage and Retention
Channel verification data (channel URL, subscriber count at time of verification, verification status) is stored for the duration of the astrologer's active account on Dhyay. Video metadata (video IDs, titles, thumbnail URLs) is stored to enable the video display feature on astrologer profiles. If an astrologer deactivates their account or requests data deletion, all YouTube-derived data is deleted within 30 days.
We do not download, cache, copy, or host YouTube video content on our servers. Videos displayed on astrologer profiles are rendered using YouTube's official embedded player (iframe embed), which streams content directly from YouTube's servers. We store only the video metadata necessary to render the embedded player (primarily video IDs).
5.4YouTube Data Sharing
We do not sell, transfer, or share YouTube-derived data with any third party. YouTube data is used only within the Dhyay platform for the astrologer verification and video display features described above. Publicly available video content is displayed to platform users (seekers) solely through YouTube's official embedded player, which is governed by YouTube's own Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
5.5Limited Use Compliance
Our use of data obtained through YouTube API Services complies with the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. Specifically:
- We limit use of YouTube data to providing and improving user-facing features that are prominent in our application, namely: astrologer verification (including the Verified YouTuber badge) and displaying astrologer YouTube videos on their platform profiles
- We do not transfer YouTube data to third parties except as necessary to comply with applicable laws or as part of a merger or acquisition with prior user consent
- We do not use YouTube data for serving advertisements, determining creditworthiness, or any purpose unrelated to the astrologer verification and video display features described in this policy
- We do not allow humans to read raw YouTube API data except as necessary for the verification process, security investigations, or legal compliance
5.6Revoking YouTube Data Access
Astrologers may request removal of their YouTube-derived data at any time by contacting us at support@dhyay.app. Upon such a request, we will delete all YouTube-derived data within 30 days. Astrologers may also manage their Google account permissions at https://security.google.com/settings/security/permissions.
For reference, Google's Privacy Policy is available at https://policies.google.com/privacy and the YouTube Terms of Service at https://www.youtube.com/t/terms.
5.7YouTube Embedded Player
YouTube videos displayed on astrologer profiles are rendered using YouTube's official IFrame Player API in accordance with YouTube's Terms of Service and Embedded Player requirements. We do not modify, overlay, or obstruct the YouTube player or its controls. We do not enable autoplay of YouTube videos without user interaction. The embedded player streams video content directly from YouTube, and YouTube's own privacy and data collection practices apply to the playback experience. Users interacting with embedded YouTube videos are subject to YouTube's Terms of Service (https://www.youtube.com/t/terms) and Google's Privacy Policy (https://policies.google.com/privacy).
6.Data Sharing and Disclosure
We share your information only in the following circumstances:
6.1Between Seekers and Astrologers
When a seeker books a consultation, relevant information (name, birth details, consultation query) is shared with the selected astrologer to enable the consultation. Similarly, the astrologer's response is shared with the seeker.
6.2Service Providers
We engage trusted third-party service providers who process data on our behalf, including:
- Payment gateway providers for transaction processing
- MSG91 for WhatsApp and SMS notification delivery
- Cloud hosting providers for data storage and platform infrastructure
These providers are contractually obligated to protect your data and may only use it to perform services on our behalf.
6.3Legal Requirements
We may disclose your information if required to do so by law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request, or if we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others.
6.4Business Transfers
In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, your information may be transferred as part of the transaction. We will notify you via prominent notice on the Service and provide you an opportunity to opt out before your information is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.
7.Data Storage and Security
We implement reasonable and appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include:
- Encryption of data in transit using TLS/SSL protocols
- Access controls limiting employee and contractor access to personal data on a need-to-know basis
- Regular security reviews and updates to our infrastructure
- Secure payment processing through PCI-DSS compliant third-party providers
While we strive to protect your data, no method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.
7.1Data Retention
We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you the Service. Specific retention periods:
- Account data: retained for the lifetime of the active account, deleted within 30 days of account deletion request
- Consultation records: retained for 12 months after consultation completion for reference purposes, then archived
- Payment records: retained as required by applicable tax and financial regulations (typically 7 years under Indian law)
- YouTube verification data: retained while the astrologer account is active, deleted within 30 days of account deactivation or deletion request
- Server logs: automatically purged after 90 days
9.Your Rights
Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:
- Access: request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
- Correction: request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information
- Deletion: request deletion of your personal information, subject to legal retention requirements
- Data portability: request a copy of your data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format
- Withdrawal of consent: withdraw consent for processing where consent is the legal basis
- Objection: object to processing of your personal information in certain circumstances
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at support@dhyay.app. We will respond to your request within 30 days.
9.1Account Deletion
You may delete your account at any time by contacting us at support@dhyay.app. Upon account deletion, we will delete your personal information within 30 days, except for data we are required to retain by law (such as financial transaction records).
10.Children's Privacy
The Service is not directed at children under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child under 18, we will take steps to delete such information promptly. If you believe a child under 18 has provided us with personal information, please contact us at support@dhyay.app.
11.International Data Transfers
Dhyay is operated from India. If you access the Service from outside India, your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in India. By using the Service, you consent to the transfer of your information to India, where data protection laws may differ from those in your jurisdiction.
12.Compliance with Indian Law
This Privacy Policy is designed to comply with the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, as applicable. We designate a Grievance Officer to address your concerns (see Section 15).
13.Third-Party Links and Services
The Service may contain links to third-party websites, services, or applications that are not operated by us, including YouTube, WhatsApp, and payment providers. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third parties. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party service you access through the Service.
14.Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will notify you by posting a prominent notice on the Service and updating the "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy. Your continued use of the Service after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.
15.Contact Us
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:
Dhyay (Uplift Ventures)
Email: support@dhyay.app
Website: https://dhyay.app
We will acknowledge receipt of your query within 48 hours and endeavour to resolve it within 30 days.