1. Who we are
Christian Matrimony (“we”, “our”, “us”) is operated by the entity that manages this platform. We act as the Data Fiduciary (under India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023) and Data Controller (under the GDPR for users in the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom).
This Privacy Policy applies to the website at christian-matrimony.com, our iOS and Android mobile apps, and any other services we provide that link to this policy.
Data controller contact
2. Data we collect
We collect personal data in three ways: data you provide directly, data generated by your use of the platform, and data from third parties involved in verification.
| Category | Examples | Primary purpose | Legal basis | Retention |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Account & identity | Full name, date of birth, gender, email address, mobile number, password (hashed) | Account creation, login, communication | Contract | Life of account + 3 years |
| Profile information | Height, denomination, church, diocese, education, profession, income, family type, native state, photos | Matchmaking, search, profile display | Contract · Consent (photos) | Life of account + 3 years |
| Partner preferences | Preferred age range, height range, denomination, education, native state, freetext preferences | Personalised match suggestions | Contract | Life of account + 3 years |
| Verification documents | Aadhaar / government ID (KYC), church reference letter, pastoral contact details, video selfie | Identity verification, trust level assignment | Legal obligation · Consent | 7 years after account closure |
| Communications | Messages exchanged between members, interest requests and responses, broker messages | Enabling member communication, moderation | Contract · Legitimate interests | 2 years after last message |
| Usage & device data | IP address, browser type, pages visited, click patterns, session duration, device identifiers | Security, fraud detection, platform analytics | Legitimate interests | 13 months |
| Transaction data | Subscription plan, payment reference (not card details), billing address | Subscription management, invoicing | Contract · Legal obligation | 7 years (tax and financial records) |
| Support data | Support tickets, reported profiles, fraud flags, dispute records | Customer support, safety, dispute resolution | Legitimate interests · Legal obligation | 5 years |
3. How we use your data
- Creating and displaying your profile
- Processing interest requests
- Enabling messaging between matched members
- Sending you match suggestions
- Verifying your identity (phone, email, Aadhaar, church)
- Assigning trust levels L1–L5
- Detecting and preventing fraud and fake profiles
- Processing reports and moderation actions
- Analysing usage patterns to improve features
- Running A/B tests on new functionality
- Diagnosing performance problems
- Training moderation classifiers (no personal details)
- Sending match and interest notifications
- OTP and account security emails
- Service updates and policy changes
- Broker consent and onboarding emails
- Responding to lawful requests from authorities
- Maintaining financial and transaction records
- Investigating complaints and disputes
- Enforcing our Terms of Service
- Sharing profile visibility with your appointed broker
- Notifying the broker of interests in your profile
- Recording consent for broker-registered profiles
- Broker commission tracking for successful matches
4. Legal basis for processing
We process personal data under one or more of the following legal bases. The applicable basis for each category is noted in the data table above.
Processing necessary to provide the service you have signed up for — creating your account, displaying your profile, and enabling matches.
Processing required to comply with Indian law, including the DPDP Act 2023, the Information Technology Act 2000, and financial record-keeping under the Income Tax Act.
Processing for platform safety, fraud detection, product analytics, and support — where our interest in operating a safe, reliable platform does not override your fundamental rights.
Processing of certain optional data — such as photos, optional analytics cookies, or third-party widgets. Consent can be withdrawn at any time without affecting prior lawful processing.
5. Data sharing
We do not sell your personal data. We share it only in the following limited circumstances:
Your profile (name, denomination, photos, bio, education) is visible to registered members in search results and on your profile page. Your phone number is masked until mutual interest is established.
If your profile was registered by a broker, or you have appointed one, the broker can view your full profile and receive interest notifications. You can withdraw broker access at any time.
To verify your Aadhaar / government ID (KYC) we may share your document with an accredited KYC service provider. Church references are shared with the pastor you nominate.
We use sub-processors for cloud hosting (AWS/GCP), transactional email delivery (SendGrid in production, Mailhog in development), Redis for session caching, and payment processors (Razorpay/Stripe). All processors are bound by data processing agreements.
If you consent to analytics cookies, aggregated usage data is shared with Google Analytics. Data is anonymised before processing and is never used for advertising targeting by us.
We will disclose personal data to law enforcement or regulators when required by a valid legal order, court process, or to protect the safety of users or the public.
If the platform is acquired, merged, or sold, your data may be transferred to the new owner. We will notify you before any such transfer and you will retain the right to delete your account.
6. Sensitive personal data
By its nature, a matrimony platform processes special category data — information about religion, denomination, family and caste background, and in some cases health or financial status. We handle this data with additional care and process it only on the basis of your explicit consent.
Denomination, church name, diocese, and church-reference documents. Used solely for faith-based matching and trust verification. Never shared with third parties.
Collected for L2 KYC verification only. Stored encrypted. Shared only with the KYC verification service provider. Document images are not stored after verification is complete.
An optional video clip used to assign the highest trust level. Stored securely and never published to other members. You may request deletion at any time.
Annual income range displayed on your profile for matching purposes — not the exact figure. Payment card details are never stored on our servers; they are handled entirely by the payment processor.
7. Data retention
We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purpose for which it was collected, or as required by law. The retention periods are set out in the data table in Section 2.
When you delete your account, we begin a 30-day grace period during which you can reverse the deletion. After 30 days, your profile and most personal data is permanently deleted. Exceptions include:
- !Verification records and KYC documents — retained for 7 years as required by applicable financial and identity verification regulations.
- !Transaction and billing records — retained for 7 years under the Income Tax Act 1961.
- !Fraud flags and moderation records — retained for 5 years for platform safety and legal defence purposes.
- !Aggregated, anonymised analytics data — may be retained indefinitely as it cannot be linked back to you.
8. Your rights
You have the following rights over your personal data. To exercise any of them, email dpo@christian-matrimony.com. We will respond within 30 days and will not charge a fee for reasonable requests.
Request a copy of all personal data we hold about you, in a portable machine-readable format.
Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data at any time through your profile settings or by contacting us.
Request deletion of your personal data. We will action this within 30 days, subject to legal and safety retention requirements.
Some data (e.g. verification records) must be retained for legal compliance even after account deletion.
Receive your profile and communication data in a structured, commonly-used format to transfer to another service.
Ask us to restrict processing of your data while a complaint is being investigated or where accuracy is disputed.
Object to processing based on legitimate interests, including direct marketing and profiling for matching purposes.
Where processing relies on consent (e.g. photo publication, optional analytics), withdraw it at any time — this does not affect prior lawful processing.
Lodge a complaint with India's Data Protection Board (under DPDP Act 2023) or the supervisory authority in your country of residence.
9. Security
We take the security of your data seriously. Our technical and organisational measures include:
10. Children
Our platform is intended for adults aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has registered, please contact us at privacy@christian-matrimony.com and we will delete the account promptly.
Profiles registered by a parent or sibling on behalf of an adult candidate (Registrant Type: PARENT / SIBLING) are permitted, provided the candidate has given explicit consent through our consent flow before the profile is made visible.
11. Cookies
We use cookies and similar storage technologies to keep you signed in, remember your preferences, and (with your consent) collect usage analytics. For full details of every cookie we set — including its purpose, provider, and expiry — please read our dedicated Cookie Policy.
12. International transfers
Your data is stored primarily on servers located in India. Some of our sub-processors (cloud infrastructure, analytics, email delivery) may process data in other countries. Where data is transferred outside India, we ensure adequate protections are in place through:
- Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the European Commission, for transfers to the EEA
- Data Processing Agreements conforming to the DPDP Act 2023 for all sub-processors
- Transfer impact assessments for high-risk destinations
13. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make a material change, we will notify you by email and display a notice on the platform at least 14 days before the change takes effect. The “last updated” date at the top of this page always reflects the most recent revision.
Continued use of the platform after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated policy. If you do not agree, you may close your account before the effective date.
14. Contact us & Data Protection Officer
For any privacy-related questions, subject-access requests, or complaints, contact our Data Protection Officer (DPO). We respond to all requests within 30 days.
This Privacy Policy was last updated on 25 May 2026 and is effective from 1 June 2026. It applies to all personal data processed by Christian Matrimony in connection with the services described above.