Privacy & Data Governance Policy

1. Introduction & Scope

Bharat Hunar Card ("Platform", "we", "our", or "us"), accessible via bharathunarcard.com and the Bharat Hunar Card Android Mobile Application, provides an independent, private digital skill identity verification and direct peer-to-peer discovery platform for skilled professionals in India.

We are firmly committed to safeguarding your personal information in strict compliance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act), the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011.

Non-Government Entity Legal Disclaimer

Bharat Hunar Card is an independent private enterprise. It is NOT an official Government of India agency, ministry, or statutory authority. We are not affiliated with, authorized by, sponsored by, or linked with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Aadhaar, Skill India Mission, or the Ministry of Labour and Employment. The digital card layout is a private illustrative work identity format.

2. Personal Data We Collect

We collect only the minimum necessary data to provide verified work identity and discovery services:

• Identity & Account Details: Full name, 10-digit mobile number (verified via real-time WhatsApp OTP gateway), profile photograph, and date of birth.
• Professional & Trade Information: Primary skill category (e.g., Electrician, Tailor, Plumber), sub-specializations, years of trade experience, work portfolio photographs, and service rate cards.
• Geographic Location: City, state, pincode, and optional GPS geohash coordinates for hyperlocal distance discovery. We do NOT track real-time continuous background location.
• Direct P2P Payment Credentials: Personal UPI ID (VPA) and QR code provided voluntarily by the professional to receive 100% direct customer payments with zero platform commission.
• Identity Verification Documents: Photo of Government ID (such as Voter ID, Driving Licence, or Aadhaar) submitted optionally for KYC verification.

Strict Aadhaar Masking & Redaction Invariant

Under Section 28A of the Aadhaar Act and DPDP Act guidelines, Bharat Hunar Card NEVER stores, indexes, or transmits unmasked 12-digit Aadhaar numbers. All physical documents uploaded are automatically redacted or processed to display only the last 4 digits (format: XXXX-XXXX-1234).

3. Age Consent & Prevention of Child Labour

In strict adherence to the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, the minimum legal age for registering as a professional on Bharat Hunar Card is 18 years.

Every professional must confirm their date of birth and declare age consent prior to card activation. Any account found to belong to an individual under 18 years will be immediately suspended and permanently deleted.

4. Purpose and Use of Data

• Generating your unique 8-digit Bharat Hunar Card number and public web card at bharathunarcard.com/p/:id.
• Enabling local clients to discover verified professionals within 10 km, 25 km, or 50 km radius.
• Facilitating direct phone calls and WhatsApp inquiries without intermediary call forwarding or recording.
• Authenticating your phone number via real-time WhatsApp OTP.
• Preventing spam, fake profiles, fraud, and impersonation through verification review.

Zero Sale of Data: We do NOT sell, rent, monetize, or trade your personal data with third-party advertisers or data brokers under any circumstances.

5. Your Rights Under DPDP Act 2023

As a data principal, you have statutory rights that you may exercise at any time:

• Right to Access: View all personal data held in your account in the App Settings.
• Right to Data Portability: Export your complete account and card data as a machine-readable JSON file directly from Settings → Export My Data.
• Right to Correction: Update your name, trade, rates, and contact preferences at any time in "My Card".
• Right to Privacy & Visibility: Toggle "Hide in Search" to immediately hide your profile from search results while preserving your verified card for private client sharing.
• Right to Erasure / Deletion: Permanently delete your account and all associated personal data via the App or our web deletion portal (bharathunarcard.com/deletion).

6. Data Security & Retention

All personal information is secured using industry-standard TLS 1.3 encryption in transit and AES-256 encryption at rest on Google Cloud / Firebase secure Indian data infrastructure.

Upon initiating account deletion, all public discovery data is removed instantly. In accordance with statutory audit regulations, operational metadata is purged permanently within 180 days.

7. Data Protection & Grievance Officer

In accordance with the Information Technology Act, 2000 and DPDP Act, 2023, the details of our Data Protection Grievance Officer are: