Privacy Policy

Effective date: 26 June 2026 · Last updated: 26 June 2026

This Privacy Policy ("Policy") describes how TowAlert ("TowAlert," "we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, discloses, stores, and protects information in connection with the TowAlert mobile application, the towalert.in website, and related services (collectively, the "Service"). By creating an account, accessing, or using the Service in any manner, you ("you," "User") acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by this Policy. If you do not agree with this Policy, you must not access or use the Service.

This Policy is framed with reference to the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, of India, as applicable.

1. Information We Collect

We collect the following categories of information in connection with your use of the Service:

1.1 Information you provide directly

• Mobile phone number, submitted for OTP-based authentication and used as your account identifier.
• Name, email address, and profile photograph, where voluntarily provided (including via Google Sign-In).
• Vehicle registration ("number plate") details you add to your account.
• Photographs of vehicles and number plates that you capture or upload when filing a report.
• Any free-text comments, reasons, or descriptions you submit with a report or a vehicle-ownership dispute.

1.2 Information collected automatically

• Precise device location (GPS coordinates), captured at the moment you submit a vehicle report, used solely to inform the registered owner where their vehicle is located.
• Device push-notification token, used to deliver in-app alerts.
• Application usage data, including report counts, timestamps, and feature-interaction logs, used for fraud prevention, abuse detection, and service improvement.
• Standard technical data such as IP address, device model, operating system version, and app version, collected for security, diagnostics, and rate-limiting purposes.

2. Vehicle Owner Identification

A core function of the Service is to notify a vehicle's registered owner when their vehicle is reported by another User. Where a vehicle's owner has not independently registered and verified ownership within the Service, TowAlert may use other means reasonably available to it to identify a contact number associated with that vehicle, for the sole and limited purpose of delivering a notification about that specific vehicle. This processing is carried out on the basis of legitimate interest in enabling the core safety and convenience function of the Service — namely, allowing a vehicle owner to be informed without delay that their vehicle requires attention — and is limited strictly to the minimum data necessary to deliver that notification.

TowAlert does not independently verify, and is not responsible for, the accuracy of any contact information so identified. A contact number identified for this purpose is encrypted before storage and is used only for the purpose described in this Policy.

Any individual who receives a notification through the Service and does not wish to receive further notifications for a given vehicle may flag that vehicle (e.g., "I sold this," "wrong plate number") within the Service, after which TowAlert will, on any subsequent report, re-verify current ownership before sending any further notification for that vehicle.

3. How We Use Information

We use the information described above to:

• Authenticate your account and operate your use of the Service;
• Deliver vehicle-alert notifications via push notification, WhatsApp, SMS, and/or automated voice call, according to the notification channel selected;
• Display the reported location and a map link to the relevant vehicle owner;
• Detect, investigate, and prevent fraud, abuse, spam, and misuse of the Service, including rate-limiting and account suspension;
• Process payments for paid plans and alert-credit packs, where applicable;
• Provide customer support and respond to your enquiries;
• Comply with applicable law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request; and
• Improve, maintain, and develop new features of the Service.

We do not sell your personal information to any third party. We do not use vehicle-owner contact information for any marketing, advertising, or purpose unrelated to delivering the specific notification described in this Policy.

4. Disclosure to Third Parties & Service Providers

We engage carefully selected third-party service providers to operate the Service, each of which processes data strictly as necessary to perform its designated function and is bound by contractual or platform-level confidentiality obligations. The categories of such providers are as follows:

• Cloud infrastructure, authentication, database, and push-notification services.
• SMS delivery services, operating under applicable telecom-regulatory registration.
• WhatsApp-based messaging services.
• Automated voice-call ("IVR") services.
• Vehicle owner identification services.
• Geolocation and reverse-geocoding services.
• Payment-processing services, for subscription and alert-credit purchases. TowAlert does not store your card, UPI, or bank account details; such information is handled directly by our payment processor under its own applicable terms and industry-standard (PCI-DSS-compliant) security infrastructure.

The specific identity of individual service providers is not disclosed in this Policy, and may change from time to time as we update or improve the Service; any such change does not alter the categories of processing, or the safeguards, described herein. We may also disclose information where required to do so by law, in response to a valid legal request from a court, law-enforcement, or governmental authority, or where necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of TowAlert, its Users, or the public.

5. Reporter Confidentiality

The identity of the person filing a vehicle report is never disclosed to the vehicle owner. Owners receive only the report reason, the reported location, and a map link. Internally, TowAlert retains a record linking a report to the reporting account for fraud-prevention, audit, and legal-compliance purposes, but this link is not exposed to the vehicle owner through the Service under ordinary use.

6. Data Retention

We retain personal information for as long as your account remains active, and thereafter for such additional period as is reasonably necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, enforce our agreements, and maintain accurate business and audit records. Vehicle-ownership history (including prior owners' encrypted mobile numbers) is retained in limited form to support ownership-dispute resolution. You may request deletion of your account and associated personal data as described in Section 8.

7. Data Security

We implement reasonable technical and organisational security measures designed to protect information against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction, including encryption of sensitive contact identifiers, access controls on our backend infrastructure, and secure transmission protocols (TLS/HTTPS) for all data in transit. No method of electronic transmission or storage is completely secure, and while we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

8. Your Rights & Choices

Subject to applicable law, you may:

• Access, review, and update the personal information associated with your account directly within the app;
• Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you;
• Request correction of inaccurate information;
• Request deletion of your account and associated personal data, subject to our legitimate retention requirements described in Section 6;
• Withdraw consent for non-essential processing, where consent is the basis for such processing;
• Opt out of further notifications for a specific vehicle by flagging it within the Service, as described in Section 2.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at support@towalert.in. We will respond within a reasonable time and in accordance with applicable law.

9. Children's Privacy

The Service is not directed to, and is not intended for use by, individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child, we will take reasonable steps to delete such information promptly.

10. Cross-Border Data Transfer

Some of our service providers (including cloud infrastructure and messaging providers) may process or store data on servers located outside India. By using the Service, you consent to the transfer, storage, and processing of your information in jurisdictions that may have data-protection laws different from those of your home jurisdiction, where such transfer is undertaken with appropriate contractual or platform-level safeguards.

11. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, the Service, or applicable law. We will indicate the date of the most recent revision at the top of this page. Material changes will, where appropriate, be notified to you through the app or by other reasonable means. Your continued use of the Service after any such update constitutes your acceptance of the revised Policy.

12. Grievance Officer & Contact

In accordance with applicable Indian law, any grievances or concerns regarding this Policy or the handling of your personal information may be addressed to our Grievance Officer at:

Email: support@towalert.in

We will acknowledge and address grievances within the timelines prescribed under applicable law.