Privacy Policy

Effective Date: February 2026

Sevya ("we," "our," or "us") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use the Sevya mobile application and related services.

1. Information We Collect

a) Account & Profile Information

When you register and use Sevya, we collect:

Phone number (for SMS OTP authentication)
Email address (if you choose email sign-in)
Display name or full name (chosen by you)
Profile photo (uploaded by you)
Gender identity (optional, self-reported)
Short bio (optional)

b) Location Information Permission required

Sevya uses your approximate or precise location to:

Set your home city and active city for community feed scoping
Surface events and gatherings in your area

Location is used at the city level only. We do not continuously track or store precise GPS coordinates. You may manually select your city without granting location permission.

c) Contacts Permission required

With your permission, Sevya accesses your device contacts to:

Help you find people you know who are already on Sevya
Invite contacts to join Sevya or to a specific gathering (Rendezvous)

Contact data is used only for matching and invitations. We do not upload your full contact list to our servers. Contact names and numbers used for matching are hashed and discarded after matching.

d) Photos & Media Permission required

Sevya requests access to your device's photos and media to allow you to:

Upload a profile photo
Attach images to posts and moments
Share photos as part of event recaps

Photos are only accessed when you explicitly choose to select or upload them. We do not scan or access your media library without your action.

e) Audio Permission required

Sevya may request microphone access for:

Scheduled call coordination features (confirming attendance or participation)

Audio is not recorded or stored without explicit user action. This permission is only requested when you engage with audio-enabled features.

f) User-Generated Content

Content you create on Sevya, including:

Posts, moments, and captions
Event/Rendezvous details (title, time, place, description)
RSVP responses (Yes, Maybe, No)
Comments and reactions
Kizuna (friend) connections and requests

g) Wellness & Activity Data (Tej) User-controlled

Sevya's Tej feature lets you voluntarily log and track personal growth across nine dimensions:

Social, Civic, Kindness, Learning, Teaching, Health, Meditation, Innovation, and Balance

This data is self-reported by you. You control which dimensions are tracked and which are shared publicly. Tej data is not shared with third parties and is not used for health diagnostics.

h) Technical & Device Information

Device type and operating system version
App version
Anonymous usage and crash analytics
Push notification tokens (for in-app notifications)

2. How We Use Your Information

Authenticate your account securely via OTP or email
Enable you to create and RSVP to events (Rendezvous)
Power the community feed (Ma) — showing events from friends, your city, and the world
Help you find and connect with Kizunas (friends)
Show your Tej (inner light / personal growth) summary
Send push notifications for invites, RSVPs, and Kizuna requests
Provide contact-based friend suggestions and invitations (with your permission)
Improve app performance, stability, and user experience
Enforce community guidelines and platform safety

We do not sell your personal data. We do not serve personalized advertisements.

3. Data Sharing

We do not sell or rent your personal information to third parties.

We may share limited data with:

Firebase (Google LLC) — authentication, database, storage, and crash reporting
Expo / EAS — app build and update delivery
SMS gateway providers — for OTP delivery only

These providers process data solely to operate Sevya services and are bound by their own privacy policies. We do not share your data with advertisers.

We may disclose information if required by law or to protect the rights, safety, and integrity of our users and platform.

4. Advertising

Sevya does not display advertisements. We do not use advertising identifiers (GAID/IDFA) for any tracking or monetization purpose.

5. Data Retention & Account Deletion

We retain your data while your account is active. You may delete your account at any time directly from within the App (Settings → Delete Account).

Upon deletion:

Your profile, posts, Kizuna connections, Tej data, and all associated content are permanently removed from our systems.
Content you shared publicly (e.g. event posts) is removed from other users' views.
Deletion is irreversible.

6. Data Security

We implement industry-standard security measures including encrypted data transit (HTTPS/TLS), Firebase Security Rules for database access control, and OTP-based authentication. No system is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. User Safety — Blocking & Reporting

Sevya provides tools to control your experience:

Block users: Blocked users cannot see your content or interact with you.
Report content: You can report posts or users that violate our community guidelines. Reports are reviewed and appropriate action is taken.

Blocking and reporting data is stored securely and used solely for enforcing community safety.

8. Children's Privacy

Sevya is intended for users aged 18 and older and is not directed to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13. If we discover that we have inadvertently collected such data, we will delete it promptly.

9. Your Rights

Depending on your region, you may have the right to:

Access a copy of your personal data
Request correction of inaccurate data
Delete your account and all associated data (available in-app)
Withdraw consent for optional permissions (location, contacts, camera) via your device settings
Object to processing or request restriction (contact us)

To exercise additional rights, contact: support@sevyaone.com

10. Third-Party Services

The app uses the following third-party services, each with their own privacy practices:

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated via in-app notice or email. Continued use of the app after changes constitutes acceptance.

12. Contact Us

Sevya
Email: support@sevyaone.com
Website: sevyaone.com