BashaBondhu (বাসাবন্ধু) - Privacy Policy

Welcome to BashaBondhu (বাসাবন্ধু). We are committed to protecting your personal information and your right to privacy. This Privacy Policy governs the manner in which BashaBondhu collects, uses, maintains, and discloses information collected from users of the BashaBondhu mobile application and related web services.

This policy has been prepared in strict compliance with the Google Play Developer Program Policies, including the Google Play Data Safety requirements and applicable privacy laws.

1. Information We Collect

We collect information to provide and improve our services. The types of personal information we collect include:

• Account & Identity Data: Your name, phone number, and OTP (One-Time Password) verification records used to authenticate and secure your account.
• Property Listing Data: Rental property details submitted by landlords, including property title, address, monthly rent, advance deposit, room/seat types, amenity features, and user-uploaded photos.
• Mess Management & Expense Data: Meal tracking counts, daily market (bazar) expenditures, member lists, assigned roles, and shared utility bill allocations.
• Device & Usage Data: Limited technical data including device model, operating system version, app crash logs, and performance metrics, used strictly for system stability, troubleshooting, and fraud prevention.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information for specific, legitimate operational purposes:

• To verify identity and provide secure phone-based OTP login.
• To facilitate direct communication between rental seekers and landlords or mess managers.
• To provide the "Notify Me" (খালি হলে জানান) alert service, sending alerts when rentals matching user preferences become available.
• To calculate automated mess summaries, including daily meal rates, border balances, and utility bill sharing.
• To maintain application security, debug system issues, and provide responsive customer support.

3. Data Sharing & Third-Party Disclosure

We strictly protect your personal information against unauthorized disclosure:

• Public Listing Visibility: When you post a To-Let advertisement, your specified contact phone number and property photos are displayed to potential tenants who browse the listing.
• Mess Transparency: Within an active mess community, meal counts and shared expenses are visible only to fellow members of that specific mess for transparency.
• No Commercial Sale: We never sell, lease, or distribute your phone number or personal details to telemarketers or third-party advertisers.
• Legal Obligations: We will only disclose personal information if required by applicable law, court order, or official governmental request.

4. Device Permissions

The BashaBondhu mobile app requests only the permissions strictly necessary for its features:

• Camera & Photo Gallery: Required solely to capture and upload rental property photographs for To-Let listings.
• Internet Access: Required to communicate securely with our cloud servers for live data synchronization.
• Notifications: Used to deliver timely alerts regarding rental availability and mess updates.

5. Data Security & Encryption

We implement robust technical and organizational security measures to protect your personal data:

• All communication between the mobile app and our servers is secured using modern TLS/SSL (HTTPS) encryption.
• Sensitive account credentials and authentication tokens are encrypted and protected against unauthorized access.

6. Data Retention & Account Deletion Rights

In full compliance with Google Play Store User Data Policies, users retain full ownership and control over their data:

• Post Removal: You can delete or edit your property advertisements at any time directly through the "My Posts" section in the app.
• Leaving a Mess: Mess members can withdraw from a mess at any time via the "Leave Mess" action, which unlinks their active seat.
• Permanent Account & Data Deletion: You may request the permanent deletion of your account and all associated personal data at any time via our web deletion portal at https://varatia.store/delete-account or by emailing our support team at support@varatia.store.
• Upon receiving a deletion request, your account and associated identifying data will be permanently purged from our primary database within 7 business days.

7. Children's Privacy

Our services are intended for individuals who are at least 13 years old (or the legal age to enter into rental agreements). We do not knowingly collect personal identifiable information from children under the age of 13. If we discover that a child has provided us with personal information, we immediately remove such data.

8. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect operational, legal, or regulatory changes. Any updates will be posted on this page with an updated "Last Updated" date. Continued use of our application after any modifications constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.