Privacy Policy

1. Overview

This Privacy Policy explains how Ganaxmi Media ("we", "us"), operator of ScentLoop, collects, uses, shares, and protects information about users of the Platform. It is intended to be read alongside our Terms & Conditions.

2. Information we collect

Account information (private): full name, email address, mobile number, password (stored as a salted hash, never in plain text), city, state, and country provided at registration.

Profile information (public): display name, city, profile photo, member-since date, and a username used in your public profile URL. We deliberately keep this separate from your private account information: your email is not shown on your public profile. If you are a Trusted seller with a verified mobile number, logged-in users see a WhatsApp button on your listings and profile that opens a chat with that number, unless you turn it off (see section 4).

Listing content: anything you include in a listing, such as brand, perfume details, price, condition, location, photographs, and any optional details you choose to add.

Messages: the content of messages you send to other users through the Platform's messaging feature, including replies and emoji reactions. The other person in a chat can see when you are typing and when you last had that chat open (for example "Online" or "Active 5 min ago"). If you delete a message for everyone, it disappears from the chat for both of you and any photo in it is deleted straight away; we keep the text of the deleted message, never shown in the app, so that reports about the conversation can still be looked into.

Feedback: if you use the feedback form on the Platform, the message and rating you send, the page you were on, and, only if you choose to give it, your email address. If you are logged in, the feedback is linked to your account. We use it only to improve the Platform and, if you asked, to reply to you.

Verification status: whether your email and mobile number have been verified. We do not display your email address. A Trusted seller's verified mobile number is shared only with logged-in users, through the WhatsApp button described in section 4, and never with visitors who are not logged in.

Usage information: basic technical information such as IP address (used for security, audit logging, and rate-limiting), timestamps of actions such as registration, listing creation, and login, and aggregate, non-identifying product-usage events.

We do not knowingly collect payment card details, bank details, or government ID numbers, since the Platform does not process payments.

3. How we use your information

• To create and manage your account, and to authenticate you when you log in.
• To let other users find, view, and contact you about listings, in line with your chosen contact preference.
• To operate trust-and-safety features: verification badges, ratings and reviews tied to completed transactions, and the reporting and moderation system.
• To send you transactional emails (e.g. email verification, password reset, notifications about your listings, messages, or transactions) once email delivery is configured.
• To send you our newsletter with product updates and offers. Every account is subscribed at registration; you can unsubscribe at any time from your account settings, and doing so does not affect the transactional emails above, which we send regardless of your newsletter preference since they're necessary to operate the service.
• To detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and violations of our Terms.
• To comply with legal obligations, including responding to lawful requests from courts or government authorities.

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

4. Who we share information with

• Other users, limited to what your profile and listings make public (see "Profile information" above) and to messages you choose to send.
• Service providers who host our infrastructure, database, and (once configured) email delivery, solely to operate the Platform on our behalf, under confidentiality obligations.
• Legal and regulatory authorities, where required by law, a valid court order, or a government directive, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Ganaxmi Media, our users, or the public.
• Other logged-in users, if you are a Trusted seller with a verified mobile number: they see a WhatsApp button on your listings and your profile that opens a WhatsApp chat with your number. You can turn this button off at any time under Profile, "WhatsApp button". Conversations on WhatsApp happen outside the Platform and are covered by WhatsApp's own privacy policy; we do not see or keep them.
• WhatsApp (Meta Platforms), for phone verification: to verify your mobile number, you send a short code from your own WhatsApp to our WhatsApp Business number. WhatsApp and Meta process that message, including your WhatsApp phone number and the code, under their own terms and privacy policy, and pass it to us so we can confirm the number belongs to you. We use it only to verify your number and to send you a confirmation reply on WhatsApp.
• Google (advertising), which shows the ads on our public pages and receives technical information from your browser when it does (such as your IP address, device and browser details, and the page you are viewing). See "Advertising" in section 9.
• We do not share your email address with other users unless you explicitly choose to display it via your contact preference settings.

5. Data retention

We retain account and listing information for as long as your account is active, and for a reasonable period afterward to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. You may request deletion of your account at any time (see "Your rights" below); some information may be retained where required by law (for example, records relevant to an open report or legal proceeding).

6. Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your information, including password hashing, access controls, and encrypted connections. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Your rights

Subject to applicable law (including the Information Technology Act, 2000 and rules made thereunder, and, once fully in force, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023), you may have the right to access, correct, or request deletion of your personal information, and to withdraw consent to certain processing. To exercise these rights, contact us at support@scentloop.in. We will respond within a reasonable time and in accordance with applicable law.

8. Children's privacy

The Platform is not intended for individuals under 18 years of age, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18.

9. Cookies and similar technologies

The Platform uses strictly necessary cookies or similar local storage to keep you signed in and to remember basic preferences.

We also use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, to understand how visitors use the Platform, for example which pages are viewed, how visitors reach the Platform, and general device, browser and approximate location information. Google Analytics sets cookies on your device and sends this usage data to Google, which processes it on our behalf. We use this information only to measure and improve the Platform; we do not use it to identify you by name, and we do not combine it with your account details. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings, or install Google's Analytics opt-out browser add-on, and the Platform will continue to work.

Push notifications. If you turn on message notifications (in a chat or under Settings), your browser gives us a push address for that device. Your browser's push service (Google, Apple or Mozilla, depending on your browser) uses it to deliver a notification when you get a new chat message, showing the sender's display name and the start of the message. The notification is encrypted between us and your device, so the push service can't read it. We use the push address only for these notifications. It is removed when you turn notifications off, when you log out on that device, or when your browser tells us it is no longer valid.

Advertising (Google AdSense). The Platform shows ads served by Google AdSense; this is how we keep the Platform free to use. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this Platform or other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visits to this Platform and/or other sites on the Internet.

• Your choice. The first time you open a page with ads, we ask whether Google may show you personalised ads. Until you agree, and if you say no, Google shows only non-personalised ads: these are not based on your browsing history, but Google may still use cookies for limiting how often you see an ad, preventing fraud and aggregated ad reporting. You can change your choice at any time with the "Ad choices" link at the bottom of every page. Your choice is stored only in your own browser.
• Europe, the UK and Switzerland. Visitors there see Google's own consent message instead, as required by law.
• Opting out with Google. You can opt out of personalised advertising at Google's Ads Settings, and read how Google uses information from sites that use its services at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites. You can also opt out of some other vendors' use of cookies for personalised advertising at aboutads.info.
• Where ads appear. Only on public pages (home, browse, listings, seller profiles and guides), never in your account pages, messages, or while you post a listing. We do not share your account details (name, email, mobile number) or your messages with advertisers.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be reflected by a new version published on this page with an updated effective date.

11. Grievance officer and contact

For privacy-related questions or complaints, contact us at support@scentloop.in, or reach our Grievance Officer as described on the Contact & Grievance page.