At Mara Vakil, your privacy is a top priority. This Privacy Policy explains in plain language how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information when you use our legal marketplace. By using the platform, you agree to the practices described below.
1. Information We Collect
We collect information only to the extent necessary to deliver our services. This includes:
- Identity data — name, mobile number, email, profile picture, Bar Council enrolment number (for advocates), Aadhaar last-4 digits (for verification).
- Case data — case description, documents you upload, communications with advocates, court details, hearing dates.
- Payment data — transaction details, escrow records, refund history. We do not store full card numbers or UPI PINs.
- Technical data — device type, IP address, browser, session logs, cookies for fraud prevention and login persistence.
2. How We Use Your Information
Your data is used strictly to operate the platform and protect users. Specifically:
- Matching you with appropriate verified advocates based on case type, language, city and budget.
- Processing escrow payments, milestone releases and refunds.
- Sending case-related notifications, hearing reminders and platform updates.
- Verifying advocate credentials with the Bar Council of India and state councils.
- Detecting and preventing fraud, fake profiles, off-platform bypass attempts and harassment.
- Improving our matching algorithms and platform features (using anonymised, aggregated data only).
3. Phone Number & Communication Privacy
We take communication privacy seriously. Phone numbers are masked by default — calls between clients and advocates route through a privacy layer so neither party sees the other's raw number until a case is confirmed and both parties consent. In-app chat is end-to-end encrypted with backups available only to authorised platform safety teams when disputes arise.
4. Data Sharing
We do NOT sell your personal data. We share information only with:
- The advocate you engage (case-relevant details only, never your full account history).
- Payment processors and banks to complete escrow transactions.
- Verification partners (Bar Council databases, KYC providers) for advocate authentication.
- Law enforcement, when legally compelled by a valid court order or summons.
- Internal moderators investigating fraud, disputes or platform-safety violations.
5. Data Retention
Case data is retained for the duration of the engagement plus 7 years (to meet Indian legal/tax record requirements). Inactive accounts may be archived after 24 months of inactivity. You may request deletion of personal data at any time via help@maravakil.in — note that some records (financial, dispute-related) must be retained even after deletion requests, per applicable law.
6. Your Rights
You have the right to:
- Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Correct — update or fix incorrect information in your profile.
- Delete — request deletion of your account and personal data (subject to legal retention).
- Withdraw consent — opt out of marketing emails, SMS or non-essential notifications.
- Port — request your data in a machine-readable format to move to another service.
7. Cookies & Tracking
We use cookies only for: keeping you logged in, remembering filter preferences, fraud detection, and platform analytics. We do not use third-party advertising cookies. You can disable cookies in your browser, but some features (login, escrow) will not work.
8. Security
All data is encrypted in transit (HTTPS / TLS 1.2+) and at rest (AES-256). Passwords are hashed with bcrypt. Escrow funds sit in a regulated nodal account, not on our servers. We undergo regular security audits and maintain ISO-style access controls — staff access user data only on a need-to-know basis.
9. Children
Mara Vakil is not intended for users under 18. We do not knowingly collect data from minors. If a guardian needs legal assistance involving a minor, the guardian must register the case in their own name.
10. Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy as our platform evolves. Material changes will be notified via email and in-app banner at least 14 days before they take effect. Continued use of the platform after that constitutes acceptance.
11. Contact Us
For any privacy concerns, data access requests or grievances, write to:
📧 help@maravakil.in (general)
📧 legal@maravakil.in (privacy / data requests)
Grievance Officer: Mr. R. Kumar, registered office: Mara Vakil Technologies Pvt Ltd, India. Response within 7 working days as per IT (Reasonable Security Practices) Rules, 2011.