Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy is published by Bitdrive Technologies Pvt. Ltd., a company incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013, with its registered office at 12/A Rajaji Road, Marine Drive, Ernakulam, Kerala — 682 031. We operate the Bitdrive StarRide platform, including the mobile application, website at bitdrive.in, and all associated services.

This policy describes how we collect, use, store, share, and protect information about you when you use our platform. It also explains your rights as a data subject and how to exercise them. We encourage you to read this policy carefully and contact us at privacy@bitdrive.in if you have any questions.

We collect information you provide directly, information generated as you use our platform, and in some cases, information from third-party sources. The categories of data we collect include:

We process your personal data only when we have a lawful basis to do so. The primary purposes for which we use your information are:

1. Service Delivery: To match you with available driver partners, process bookings, display ride status, and complete your trip end-to-end.
2. Payment Processing: To calculate fares, process transactions, issue invoices, manage refunds, and prevent payment fraud.
3. Safety & Security: To verify driver and rider identities, investigate safety incidents, monitor for fraudulent activity, and share information with emergency services when necessary.
4. Customer Support: To respond to your queries, resolve disputes, and improve our support processes using interaction history.
5. Product Improvement: To understand how the platform is used, identify bugs, test new features, and improve app performance through anonymised analytics.
6. Legal Compliance: To comply with our obligations under Indian law, respond to lawful government requests, and maintain records as required by statute.
7. Communications: To send ride receipts, booking confirmations, promotional offers (where you have opted in), and important service updates.
8. Driver Partner Management: To onboard, verify, train, and manage driver performance, including rating systems and incentive programmes.

We do not sell your personal data to third parties. We share your information only in the limited circumstances described below, and only with parties who are contractually required to protect it.

Location data is fundamental to the Bitdrive service — it's how we match you with nearby drivers and calculate your route. Here is exactly how we handle it:

• Foreground location is collected while you have the app open and are booking or tracking a ride. This is required for the core service to function.
• Background location is collected from driver partners only while they are logged in and available to accept trips. Riders' location is not collected in the background unless a ride is active.
• Your precise GPS coordinates during a trip are stored temporarily to generate your ride receipt and are used to resolve any route or fare disputes.
• Historical trip routes are retained for 90 days in identifiable form, after which they are anonymised and may be retained for service improvement analytics.
• You can revoke location permissions at any time through your device settings. Note that revoking this permission will prevent you from using core ride-booking features of the app.

Our website (bitdrive.in) uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your browsing experience and analyse web traffic. Our mobile applications use SDKs and in-app analytics tools for performance monitoring and crash reporting.

You can manage cookie preferences through your browser settings or through the cookie consent banner on our website. Rejecting non-essential cookies will not impact your ability to book rides via the app.

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. The table below outlines our standard retention periods:

After the applicable retention period, your data is securely deleted or anonymised so it can no longer be associated with you. Deletion requests submitted by users are processed within 30 days, subject to any legal hold obligations.

Under the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023 and applicable Indian law, you have the following rights regarding your personal data held by Bitdrive:

1. Right to Access: You can request a copy of all personal data we hold about you at any time through the app's "My Data" section or by emailing privacy@bitdrive.in.
2. Right to Correction: You can update most personal information directly in the app. For data you cannot edit yourself, contact our support team and we will correct it within 15 days.
3. Right to Erasure: You can request deletion of your account and associated personal data. We will process this within 30 days, except where retention is required by law.
4. Right to Portability: You can request your data in a structured, machine-readable format (JSON or CSV) to transfer to another service provider.
5. Right to Object: You can object to processing of your data for direct marketing at any time by unsubscribing from communications or adjusting notification settings.
6. Right to Restrict Processing: You can request that we limit how we use your data in certain circumstances, such as while a dispute is being resolved.
7. Right to Withdraw Consent: Where processing is based on your consent (such as promotional emails), you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.

We take the security of your personal data seriously and have implemented industry-standard technical and organisational measures to protect it against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our data practices, legal requirements, or new features we introduce. When we make material changes, we will provide prominent notice through the app, by email, or by updating the effective date at the top of this page.

Your continued use of the Bitdrive platform after any changes constitutes your acknowledgment of the updated policy. If you do not agree with any changes, you may discontinue use and request account deletion.