Privacy Policy

Welcome to Search2Service ("we", "us", "our", or the "Platform"), owned and operated in India. Search2Service operates a multi-sided hyperlocal marketplace and service discovery ecosystem connecting customers seeking verified local services with independent service providers, freelance professionals, job seekers, employers, and authorized digital service / Jan Seva Kendra facilitation centers.

This comprehensive Privacy Policy ("Policy") governs how Search2Service collects, processes, stores, shares, transfers, and safeguards the personal data and sensitive personal information of all visitors, registered customers, service providers, job applicants, recruiters, and administrative users across our website (search2service.com), mobile-optimized web applications, interactive chat modules, communication APIs, and customer support channels.

We are committed to maintaining the highest standards of data confidentiality, integrity, and user sovereignty in strict conformity with applicable statutory frameworks, including:

• The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act, 2023) and the rules notified thereunder;
• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act), as amended from time to time;
• The Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011 (SPDI Rules);
• The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021; and
• The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020.

By accessing the Platform, creating an account, publishing a business listing, submitting a job application, or initiating a service booking, you explicitly declare that you have read, comprehended, and unequivocally agreed to the data collection and processing practices articulated in this Privacy Policy.

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, the following terms shall carry the definitions specified below:

To deliver a safe, reliable, and personalized marketplace experience, Search2Service collects personal data under several distinct categories depending upon how you interact with our Platform:

A. Information You Voluntarily Provide

• Account Registration Data: When registering as a Customer, Provider, or Job Seeker, we collect your full legal name, active email address, primary mobile phone number, profile photograph, and account credentials. Passwords are never saved in plain text; they are irreversibly hashed using secure cryptographic algorithms.
• Customer Service & Booking Data: When requesting or scheduling a service, customers provide service addresses, landmarks, city, PIN code, preferred service timings, specific problem descriptions, and any special instructions needed by the service professional.
• Service Provider & Business Listing Data: When establishing a professional listing, providers supply their business trade name, owner name, enterprise type, primary services offered, pricing schedules, operational hours, business address, service coverage radius, and shop/portfolio photographs.
• Identity & KYC Verification Records: To protect marketplace integrity and maintain consumer safety, Service Providers and Job Seekers may voluntarily submit government-issued credentials (e.g., Aadhaar card, Permanent Account Number [PAN], Voter ID, Driving License, Trade License, or GSTIN certificate). Such documents are collected strictly for authentication and fraud prevention.
• Job Seeker Credentials & Resumes: Candidates creating employment profiles supply curriculum vitae (CVs) in PDF or DOCX formats, educational backgrounds, employment histories, certifications, skill tags, expected compensation brackets, current locations, and external portfolio links (e.g., LinkedIn, GitHub, or personal websites).
• Communications & Reviews: In-app chat messages exchanged between users, customer support tickets, rating scores, detailed service reviews, dispute statements, and feedback submissions.

B. Information Collected Automatically

• Technical & Device Identifiers: We log Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, device hardware models, operating systems (e.g., Windows, macOS, Android, iOS), browser types and versions, preferred display languages, internet service providers (ISPs), and HTTP referral headers.
• Usage & Telemetry Data: Data pertaining to pages viewed, search queries entered, category filters applied, provider listings viewed, click-through rates, session lengths, error reports, and bounce patterns.
• Precise & Approximate Geolocation: To connect you with service professionals in your immediate locality, we collect approximate location data via IP address or PIN code. With your express device or browser consent, we capture precise GPS coordinates to show nearby providers and compute transit distances.

C. Information from Third Parties

We may receive confirmation logs and webhook notifications from our authorized payment gateway partner (Razorpay) confirming payment completion, as well as delivery verification receipts from transactional SMS and OTP delivery gateways.

Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, Search2Service processes your personal data strictly for lawful purposes for which you have provided informed consent or for specific legitimate uses established by law:

Because Search2Service caters to distinct participant types, we implement tailored data handling protocols:

When you purchase a Provider Premium subscription, featured listing slot, or platform upgrade, all payment transactions are routed securely through our authorized payment aggregator, Razorpay Software Private Limited ("Razorpay").

Search2Service utilizes cookies, session tokens, pixel tags, and local browser storage to provide a fluid, responsive user experience.

Categories of Cookies We Employ:

• Strictly Necessary / Authentication Cookies: Essential for platform security, user session authentication, Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) mitigation, and retaining your logged-in state across page transitions.
• Preference & Functional Cookies: Remembering your localized settings, selected district/city, filter presets, language preferences, and interface display modes.
• Performance & Analytics Cookies: Aggregating anonymized metrics regarding page loading latencies, error states, and navigational flow to evaluate and elevate system stability.

Managing Your Cookies: You can configure your internet browser (e.g., Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Microsoft Edge) to refuse cookies or notify you whenever a cookie is set. Please be advised that disabling essential authentication cookies will impede your ability to sign in to your dashboard or execute bookings.

We uphold an uncompromising commitment to user confidentiality. Search2Service does not sell, rent, commercialize, or barter your personal information to third-party marketing brokers or advertising networks under any circumstances.

We share personal information strictly within the narrow parameters outlined below:

All primary customer databases, service provider repositories, job applicant archives, and system log data are hosted on secure enterprise-grade cloud servers located physically within the territory of India or compliant global cloud availability zones conforming to recognized international security benchmarks (such as ISO/IEC 27001 and SOC 2 Type II).

In the event that any data processing requires cross-border transmission (for instance, through internationally distributed Content Delivery Networks or global communication APIs), such transfers will strictly adhere to the cross-border transfer requirements notified under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, ensuring equivalent levels of data protection.

Search2Service retains personal data only for as long as is necessary to accomplish the operational purposes described in this Privacy Policy, or as mandated by statutory Indian legal, tax, and regulatory requirements:

• Active User Profiles: We retain account credentials, profile details, service listings, and job seeker resumes throughout the active tenure of your account.
• Financial Invoices & Payment Logs: Transaction records, GST invoices, and settlement logs are preserved for a statutory period of 7 (seven) years from the date of the transaction to comply with the Indian Goods and Services Tax Act, Income Tax Act, and the Companies Act.
• Inactive Accounts: Where an account exhibits total inactivity for a continuous duration exceeding 24 months, Search2Service reserves the right to archive or permanently delete the personal data associated with the dormant profile after sending prior advisory notice.
• Account Deletion Requests: Upon receipt of a valid account termination request, personal profile data is permanently eradicated or irreversibly anonymized from our live production databases within 30 calendar days. Complete removal from automated disaster-recovery backup repositories occurs in accordance with our standard 90-day cyclic backup overwrite schedule.

Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and the Information Technology SPDI Rules, 2011, you are endowed with distinct, enforceable rights regarding your digital personal data:

How to Exercise These Rights: You may submit an inquiry from your registered email account to search2service@gmail.com. We will verify your identity before processing the request and provide a comprehensive resolution within 15 to 30 business days.

Search2Service has implemented rigorous technical, administrative, and physical security measures designed to prevent unauthorized access, accidental destruction, alteration, unlawful disclosure, or loss of personal data:

• End-to-End In-Transit Encryption: All communications between your client device and our servers are encrypted using modern Transport Layer Security (HTTPS / TLS 1.3).
• Cryptographic Hashing: User account passwords are stored using salted cryptographic hashing (bcrypt/argon2). Plaintext passwords are never visible, retrievable, or accessible by staff.
• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Operational access to administrative databases is restricted strictly to authorized personnel who require access to discharge customer support duties, subject to multi-factor authentication and continuous audit logging.
• Application-Level Protections: Our systems utilize automated protection against SQL injection, Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), request forgery, and brute-force authentication attacks.
• Network Firewalls & Monitoring: Real-time intrusion detection, rate-limiting, and server monitoring mechanisms detect and deflect malicious activity or anomalous traffic spikes.

Search2Service is strictly oriented towards adults and is not intended for use by minors. In accordance with the Indian Contract Act, 1872 and Section 9 of the DPDP Act, 2023, individuals below 18 years of age are prohibited from establishing independent accounts, publishing business profiles, or entering into commercial service agreements without verifiable parental or guardian consent.

We do not knowingly collect, process, or track personal data from individuals under 18 years of age. If a parent or legal guardian discovers that their minor ward has furnished personal data without authorization, please notify us immediately at search2service@gmail.com. We will take prompt measures to verify and erase such data from our systems.

The Platform may feature hyperlinks directing you to third-party portals, including social media pages, provider portfolio websites, external review directories, or official government portals (e.g., UIDAI, Income Tax Department, Parivahan).

Search2Service does not exercise ownership, control, or supervision over the privacy protocols, data security standards, or content of third-party websites. When navigating away from Search2Service, we advise you to independently examine the individual privacy notices of each external website you visit.

This Privacy Policy, along with all matters concerning the collection, processing, or preservation of personal data, shall be governed by, interpreted, and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of India.

In the event of any conflict, dispute, or grievance arising between you and Search2Service concerning data privacy, the parties shall endeavor to resolve the grievance through good-faith mutual negotiations. If a dispute remains unresolved, it shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts located in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India (or the competent High Court of Judicature).

In full compliance with Rule 5(9) of the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011 and Section 12 of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, Search2Service has designated an official Grievance Redressal Officer to address inquiries and resolve privacy grievances:

Turnaround Commitment: The Grievance Officer shall acknowledge your communication within 24 to 48 hours of formal receipt and shall endeavor to redress the grievance expeditiously, in no event exceeding 15 to 30 days from the date of submission.

Search2Service reserves the right to revise, modify, or update this Privacy Policy at any time to reflect advancements in our technology, shifts in industry norms, expansion of service categories, or updates to applicable statutory frameworks.

Whenever amendments are enacted, the revised version will be published on this page with an updated "Last updated" date at the header. For material modifications that substantially alter your privacy rights or how we handle personal data, we will provide conspicuous advance notice through platform banners or direct email communication to your registered address.

Your continued engagement with the Platform following the publication of an updated Privacy Policy shall constitute your binding acknowledgment and acceptance of the revised terms.

If you have questions, feedback, or require clarification regarding this Privacy Policy or our operational handling of your personal data, please connect with our team through any of the following channels:

You may also submit inquiries directly via our Contact Us page.