Legal
Privacy Policy
Last updated: 29 September 2026
Rishta ("Rishta", "we", "our", "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and how we keep it safe. It complies with the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (including the Australian Privacy Principles) and the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020.
1. Who we are
Rishta is not yet an incorporated company. It is run from Auckland by its founder, and this policy will be updated with the company details the moment it is registered. Contact: [email protected]. Your data is stored with Cloudflare, in its Oceania region.
2. Information we collect
Your email address, which is how you sign in. What you put in your profile: first name, age, gender, city and country, religion, community, languages, diet, height, education, work, marital and residency status, family details, what you are looking for and your partner preferences, and any photos you upload. What you do here: the interests and notes you send, your messages, photo requests, who you have blocked or reported, your settings, and when you were last active. Only if you choose to: identity verification (Didit handles your document and selfie; we receive only the result, never the images), a phone number for an Icebreaker call (seen only by the matchmaker hosting it and erased when the call is done), and calls, which connect browser to browser and are never recorded. If you pay: the plan, amount, date and your transfer reference; we never see or store card numbers. Your IP address is used only in hashed form, to limit sign-in attempts and stop abuse.
3. How we use your information
To run Rishta: to show your profile to the members your settings allow, and to deliver interests, messages, photo requests and calls. A person reads every profile, and looks at its photos, before it goes live. Staff can also open a member's file, photos included, to handle a report or help with their account, and every time a file is opened it is recorded against that staff member's name. To send you the emails you need: sign-in codes, and notifications about things that need you, which you can turn off in Settings. To keep members safe, through reports, blocks and limits on abuse. To meet our legal obligations. We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for advertising.
4. Decisions about you
People make the decisions here, not algorithms. A person approves every profile. Matchmakers are people. Search is ordered by simple rules you can see, such as how complete a profile is or how recently someone was active, not by a hidden score. If you think a decision about you was wrong, email us and a person will look at it.
5. Data storage and security
Your data is stored in Cloudflare D1 and your photos in Cloudflare R2, in Cloudflare's Oceania region. Everything is encrypted in transit. We do not store identity documents. We do not store a password, because there isn't one: you sign in with a code sent to your email, and we keep only a hash of that code, briefly. Photos are served only to people allowed to see them, and an enlarged photo carries the viewer's member ID. Delete your account in Settings and your profile, photos, messages and interests are deleted at once.
6. Who else handles your information
Cloudflare hosts the site, the database and your photos. Resend sends our emails, so it receives your email address and the email we send you. Didit handles identity verification, only if you choose to verify. If you hire a matchmaker, they see your profile and your file, but never your messages with other members. We share identifiable personal data with nobody else, we do not sell it, and we do not share it for marketing.
7. Your rights
Under Australian and New Zealand privacy law, you have the right to: access the personal information we hold about you; correct it; have it deleted; and object to how it is used. You can delete your account yourself in Settings at any time. For anything else, email [email protected] and we will respond within 30 days.
8. Cookies
We use one essential cookie, to keep you signed in. Preferences such as day or night mode are kept in your browser, not sent to us. We use no analytics, advertising or tracking cookies. See the Cookie Policy.
9. Children
Rishta is not intended for anyone under 18. We do not knowingly collect data from minors. If you believe a minor has created an account, contact us immediately and we will delete it.
10. Changes to this policy
We will email members before making material changes to this policy. Continued use after that constitutes acceptance.
11. Contact
Questions about this policy: [email protected]. For general enquiries: [email protected]. For complaints under the Australian Privacy Act, you may also contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au, and in New Zealand the Office of the Privacy Commissioner at privacy.org.nz.
Questions about your privacy?
Email us at [email protected] — we respond within 2 business days.