Last Updated: May 18, 2026 | Version 4.0 | Effective Immediately
Your privacy is our foundation. Read our comprehensive policy to understand how we protect your data.
Welcome to Chheila ("Chheila", "we", "us", "our", "the Platform"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our social community platform, including our website, mobile applications (iOS and Android), and any associated services (collectively, the "Services"). Chheila is a global social community that enables users to share thoughts, connect with communities, post content, interact via messaging, share short videos, write blogs, and engage in meaningful discussions across various interest-based groups.
We are committed to protecting your personal data and respecting your privacy. This policy is designed to be transparent, comprehensive, and easy to understand. It reflects our core values: user empowerment, data minimization, security by design, and full compliance with international privacy laws including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), Brazil's LGPD, and other applicable frameworks. By accessing or using Chheila, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy. If you disagree with any part of this policy, you must discontinue using our Services immediately.
This Privacy Policy applies to all users of the Chheila Platform, including visitors, registered users, content creators, community moderators, and any individuals who interact with our Services. It covers information we collect:
This policy does not apply to third-party websites, services, or applications that may be linked from Chheila, even if accessed through our Platform. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any external services you interact with. Additionally, this policy does not apply to information collected offline or through any other means not explicitly associated with Chheila's core Services.
We collect several categories of information to provide, maintain, and improve our Services, ensure safety and security, and comply with legal obligations.
When you create a Chheila account, you provide us with: Required username, email address, date of birth (to verify age eligibility), and password. Optional profile photo, bio/description, phone number, location (city/country), links to other social media profiles, and preferred language. You may also provide gender identity and interests to help us personalize content recommendations. All account information is stored securely and used to identify you within the Platform.
We collect and store all content you create, upload, post, send, or display on Chheila. This includes but is not limited to: text posts, comments, replies, blog articles, short videos (Chheila Shorts), images, audio clips, live streams, stickers, GIFs, polls, community descriptions, and any other media you share. Private messages (direct messages) are also collected and stored, though they are subject to end-to-end encryption where indicated. Public content is visible to all users and may be indexed by search engines. You retain ownership of your content, but grant us a license to operate the Platform as described in our Terms.
When you access Chheila, we automatically collect technical data about your device and connection: IP address, device type, operating system version, browser type and version, unique device identifiers (such as IDFA for iOS or AAID for Android), mobile network carrier, time zone settings, language preferences, and screen resolution. This information helps us optimize the Platform for your device, diagnose technical issues, and prevent fraudulent activity.
We collect detailed information about how you interact with Chheila: pages and features you view, time spent on each screen, search queries, posts you like or share, communities you join, frequency of posting, comments you receive, who you follow or block, reactions you send, video viewing duration, scroll depth, click patterns, feature usage (e.g., how often you use messaging vs. communities), and referral source (how you arrived at Chheila). This data is aggregated and analyzed to improve user experience, personalize content feeds, and detect unusual activity patterns.
We collect approximate location data derived from your IP address (city/region level). If you grant explicit permission, we may collect precise GPS location to enable location-based features such as "Nearby Communities" or local event discovery. You can disable location permissions at any time through your device settings. We do not store precise location history unless you actively use location-tagged features.
When you contact our customer support team, participate in surveys, provide feedback, or report violations, we collect the information you provide: email correspondence, chat transcripts, bug reports, screenshots, and any supporting documents. These communications are retained for quality assurance, legal compliance, and improving our support services.
If Chheila introduces premium features, subscriptions, or digital purchases, we may collect payment information such as credit card details, billing address, and transaction history. Payment processing is handled by secure third-party payment processors (e.g., Stripe, PayPal). We do not store full payment card numbers on our servers; we only retain transaction references and last four digits for customer service purposes.
We use the information we collect for legitimate business purposes, as permitted by law. Below is a detailed breakdown of our use cases:
We use your account information and content to: create and manage your account, authenticate your identity, display your profile and posts, enable messaging and community interactions, deliver notifications, process your requests, and ensure the Platform functions correctly across different devices and networks.
We analyze your usage patterns, interests, and interactions to personalize your experience: curating your content feed (algorithmic ranking), suggesting relevant communities, recommending potential friends or followers, tailoring advertisements (where applicable), and adjusting the order of search results. You can adjust personalization settings within the app preferences.
We use automated systems and manual review to: detect and prevent spam, harassment, hate speech, and other prohibited content; identify compromised accounts; prevent fraudulent activity (e.g., fake engagement, bot networks); enforce age restrictions; respond to legal requests (e.g., court orders); investigate violations of our Community Guidelines; and protect the rights, property, or safety of Chheila, our users, and the public. Machine learning models may analyze content patterns to flag potential abuse without human review of every piece of content.
We analyze aggregated, anonymized data to: understand user behavior trends, identify feature adoption patterns, conduct A/B testing, improve algorithm performance, develop new features, measure community health, and produce internal reports. Research is conducted with privacy safeguards; personally identifiable information is removed whenever possible.
We process information as necessary to comply with applicable laws, regulations, legal processes, or government requests. This includes responding to subpoenas, preserving evidence for investigations, cooperating with law enforcement, and fulfilling data retention obligations under financial or consumer protection laws.
We use your contact information to send: service announcements (e.g., scheduled maintenance, policy updates), account security alerts (e.g., login from new device), responses to support inquiries, moderation notices (e.g., content removal), and, with your consent, promotional communications about new features or events. You can opt out of marketing emails but cannot opt out of essential service communications.
Chheila currently operates with minimal advertising. If we introduce ads, we may use non-sensitive data (e.g., broad interests, age range, general location) to show relevant advertisements. We do not use sensitive personal data for ad targeting. We never sell your personal information to advertisers. You will have controls to customize ad preferences.
We do not sell your personal information. We share data only under specific circumstances and with appropriate safeguards:
We engage trusted third-party companies to perform functions on our behalf: cloud hosting (Amazon Web Services), content delivery networks (Cloudflare), push notification providers (Firebase Cloud Messaging), analytics services (Mixpanel, Google Analytics), customer support platforms (Zendesk), email delivery services (SendGrid), and security monitoring (Sift, reCAPTCHA). These providers have access to your information only to perform specific tasks and are contractually bound to maintain confidentiality and security. They are prohibited from using your data for any other purpose.
We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g., subpoenas, court orders, search warrants, government investigations). We evaluate each request for legal validity and may push back against overbroad or inappropriate demands. Where permitted, we will notify you of such requests before disclosure unless prohibited by law (e.g., gag order).
We may share information when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to: enforce our Terms & Conditions and Community Guidelines; investigate potential violations; detect, prevent, or address fraud, security, or technical issues; protect the rights, property, or safety of Chheila, our users, or the public from harm (e.g., preventing imminent violence or child exploitation).
In the event of a merger, acquisition, reorganization, sale of assets, or bankruptcy, your information may be transferred as part of the business transaction. We will provide notice before your personal information becomes subject to a different privacy policy, and you will have the option to delete your account prior to transfer.
We may share your information for other purposes with your explicit consent. For example, if you choose to link your Chheila account to another social network or participate in a co-branded promotion, we will inform you about the data sharing involved.
We may share aggregated, de-identified information that does not reasonably identify you. This includes statistical reports about user demographics, feature usage trends, and platform growth metrics. Such data may be shared with researchers, partners, or the public (e.g., transparency reports).
We use cookies, web beacons, local storage, and similar tracking technologies to enhance your experience, analyze usage, and secure the Platform. Cookies are small text files stored on your device. Types of cookies we use:
You can manage cookie preferences through your browser settings (blocking third-party cookies) or our Cookie Consent tool (accessible via footer). Disabling essential cookies may prevent the Platform from functioning correctly. We do not currently use cross-site tracking for advertising purposes.
Do Not Track (DNT): Some browsers transmit "Do Not Track" signals. Chheila does not change its tracking practices in response to DNT signals because we do not track users across third-party websites. Our tracking is limited to internal analytics on our own Platform.
Protecting your information is a top priority. We implement industry-standard security measures:
We retain personal information only as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. Specific retention periods:
When data is no longer needed, we securely delete or anonymize it. Anonymized data may be retained indefinitely for research and statistical purposes.
Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data. We are committed to facilitating these rights without discrimination or excessive delay.
You have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you. This includes account data, content history, and usage metadata. We will provide this information in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format (e.g., JSON or CSV).
You can correct inaccurate or incomplete information by editing your profile directly in the app. For data that cannot be edited directly (e.g., logs), you may request correction by contacting support.
You may request deletion of your account and associated personal data. We will honor such requests unless we have a legitimate legal basis to retain the data (e.g., unresolved disputes, legal obligations, fraud prevention).
You may ask us to temporarily stop processing your data if you contest its accuracy, believe processing is unlawful, or you need the data for legal claims. Restricted data will be stored but not actively used.
You have the right to receive your data in a portable format and transmit it to another service provider. This applies to data you provided based on consent or contract.
You may object to processing based on legitimate interests (e.g., direct marketing, profiling for personalization). We will cease processing unless we demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds. To object to marketing, use the "unsubscribe" link in emails or adjust notification settings.
If processing is based on your consent (e.g., precise location sharing, marketing emails), you may withdraw consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.
If you believe we have violated your privacy rights, you may file a complaint with your local supervisory authority (e.g., ICO in the UK, CNIL in France, or your state Attorney General). We would appreciate the opportunity to resolve your concerns first, so please contact us before escalating.
Chheila is a global platform. Your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in countries other than your country of residence, including the United States where our primary servers are located. Data protection laws in these countries may differ from those in your jurisdiction. For users in the European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland, or the United Kingdom, we ensure appropriate safeguards for international transfers:
By using Chheila, you acknowledge that your information may be transferred to countries with different data protection standards. We take steps to ensure that any such transfers are lawful and your data remains protected.
Chheila is not directed to children under the age of 13 (or under 16 in certain countries such as South Korea and Brazil). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the applicable minimum age. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data without parental consent, please contact us immediately. Upon verification, we will delete the information promptly. For users between 13-18, we recommend parental supervision and encourage privacy-safe settings. Accounts that appear to be operated by underage users may be restricted from certain features (e.g., direct messaging with strangers) until age verification is completed.
Our Platform may contain links to external websites, services, or applications that are not operated by Chheila (e.g., shared YouTube videos, embedded tweets, links to news articles). If you click on a third-party link, you will be directed to that third party's site or service. We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party sites or services. We strongly advise you to review the privacy policy of every site you visit. This Privacy Policy applies exclusively to information collected by Chheila.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or operational needs. The "Last Updated" date at the top of this page indicates when the latest changes were made. For material changes (e.g., new categories of data collection, expanded sharing, new purposes for processing), we will provide prominent notice within the Platform or via email to registered users at least 30 days before the changes take effect. Your continued use of Chheila after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with the changes, you may delete your account before the changes become effective. We maintain an archive of previous versions of this policy; please contact us if you need access.
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact our Privacy Team:
We aim to respond to all inquiries within 5 business days. For urgent security issues, please use the subject line "URGENT SECURITY" and encrypt sensitive information using our PGP key (available upon request).
If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland, or the United Kingdom, the following additional rights and information apply under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and UK GDPR:
If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) grants you additional rights:
To make a CCPA request, email privacy@chheila.com with "CCPA Request" in the subject line. Authorized agents may submit requests on your behalf with written permission. We will verify your identity using information associated with your account.