Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are and Scope

Aqd ("we", "us", "our") operates the Aqd matrimonial website and mobile applications and is the data controller responsible for your personal data. We are based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. This Policy applies to all users of our website, apps, APIs, and related services (the "Services") and covers data processed in the course of providing them. We are committed to processing personal data lawfully, fairly, and transparently.

2. Definitions

• Personal data — information that identifies or relates to an identifiable person.
• Sensitive data — data such as religious beliefs and practice, photographs, and the facial data produced by our verification check, which we process to provide matrimonial matching and to confirm members are real.
• Processing — any operation performed on personal data (collection, storage, use, sharing, deletion, etc.).
• Managed Profile — a profile a parent, sibling, or relative administers on behalf of an eligible candidate with their consent.

3. Information We Collect

We collect the following categories of data:

• Identity & profile: name, gender, date of birth, marital status, height, profile photos.
• Contact: email address, phone number, region/location and home district.
• Sensitive matrimonial data: religion, religious practice and faith practices, dietary preferences, and lifestyle information you choose to share.
• Background & preferences: education, career, income range, family details, personality traits, assets, and partner preferences.
• Account & authentication: credentials, verification status, and login/authentication metadata.
• Face verification data: when you complete the optional verification check, the app records a short sequence of camera frames while you turn your head, and uploads them with a verification selfie. Our server measures facial geometry from those images and from your profile photos to confirm they show the same person. The measurements themselves are used for the comparison and are not kept. The selfie, the captured frames, and the result of the check (whether it passed, how close the match was, and which photo it was compared against) are stored on your account. This is biometric data, and we process it only with your explicit consent, only to verify identity, and never to advertise or profile you.
• Communications: messages, message requests, photos and files you attach to a chat or a support request, and interaction metadata on the platform.
• Calls: voice calls placed inside the app are carried by our calling provider. We do not record call audio. We store a record of each call: who called whom, when it started and ended, how long it lasted, how it ended, and the identifier of the call session.
• Notifications: a push notification token for each device you sign in on, and the platform that device runs.
• Technical: IP address, device and app information, approximate location, and diagnostic logs.
• Trust & safety: verification, reports, and moderation-related information.

4. Lawful Basis and Purpose

We process personal data to:

• Provide account functionality and matchmaking services (performance of a contract).
• Enable profile discovery, interactions, and secure communication.
• Operate AI-assisted compatibility and trust features.
• Prevent fraud, abuse, policy violations, and security incidents (legitimate interests).
• Comply with legal obligations and respond to lawful requests.
• Improve product reliability, safety, and user experience.

Sensitive data (religious practice, photos, and the facial data from the verification check) is processed on the basis of your explicit consent, given when you provide it for the purpose of matrimonial matching. You may withdraw consent at any time (Section 11), though doing so may limit or end your ability to use the Services.

5. Profile Visibility and Other Users

Aqd is inherently social: the profile information you provide is shown to other Users to enable matchmaking. You control aspects of visibility through in-app privacy settings. Please share only what you are comfortable making visible to potential matches, and remember that other Users may retain information you have shared with them (for example, in chats) outside our control.

6. AI and Automated Processing

We use AI and automated systems to rank compatibility, detect suspicious behaviour, and prioritise safer interactions. These systems are monitored and supplemented by human review where appropriate. Automated outcomes are not guaranteed and may be revised through moderation workflows. We do not make solely automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects on you without a means of human review.

7. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Our website sets only strictly necessary cookies. When you sign in with Google we set two short-lived cookies to protect that exchange against request forgery; they are not readable by scripts and are cleared once sign-in completes. Your session itself is held in your browser's local storage rather than in a cookie. We do not use advertising cookies, and we do not run any third-party analytics or tracking on the website or in the apps. Our mobile apps use device storage to keep you signed in and to remember your preferences.

8. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We may share data with:

• Service providers / processors, bound by confidentiality and security obligations and permitted to use data only on our instructions. These are, and are limited to:
  • BulkSMSBD (Bangladesh) — sends your one-time sign-in code by SMS. Receives your phone number and the code.
  • Resend (United States) — sends your one-time sign-in code by email. Receives your email address and the code.
  • Meta Platforms (United States) — delivers the sign-in code over WhatsApp for numbers outside Bangladesh. Receives your phone number and the code.
  • Expo (United States) — delivers push notifications. Receives your device push token and the notification text.
  • DigitalOcean (Singapore) — stores your photos, chat attachments and verification images.
  • LiveKit (United States) — carries in-app voice calls. Receives the live audio for the duration of the call and the session identifiers; it does not receive your phone number.
  • Google and Apple (United States) — only if you choose to sign in with them, and only to confirm your identity with that provider.
• Other Users, as part of matchmaking and the visibility settings described above.
• Trust and safety partners for fraud prevention and abuse control.
• Regulatory, law enforcement, or judicial authorities where required by law.
• Corporate successors in a merger, acquisition, or restructuring.

We do not sell your personal data.

9. International Processing

Some of the providers listed in Section 8 process data outside Bangladesh: your photos and verification images are stored in Singapore, and email delivery, WhatsApp delivery, push notifications, voice calling and social sign-in are handled in the United States. Where this happens, we take reasonable contractual, technical, and organisational safeguards to maintain an equivalent standard of protection for your data.

10. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to provide the Services and to meet legal, compliance, security, and dispute-resolution needs.

When you ask us to delete your account, your profile is hidden from other members straight away and we begin a grace period of about three months. Signing in during that period cancels the deletion and restores your profile. If you do not sign in, the grace period ends and your account and its content are erased: your profile, your photos, your verification images, your messages and their attachments, your matches and call records. We keep a minimal record of the deletion itself, and anything we are required by law to retain or need to resolve an open dispute. Backups are overwritten on a rolling cycle and the deleted data ages out of them within a further three months.

Some data expires on its own before then. Sign-in codes are discarded within minutes of being used or expiring. The images from a verification check are kept while your account is open so we can re-examine a disputed result, and are deleted with the rest of your account.

11. Your Rights and Choices

Subject to applicable law, you may request to:

• Access your personal data and receive a copy.
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Delete your data, subject to lawful retention requirements.
• Restrict or object to certain processing activities.
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.
• Deactivate or delete your account directly in the app's settings.

To exercise these rights, use the in-app controls or contact us (Section 14). We aim to respond within 30 days and may need to verify your identity before acting on a request.

12. Security and Breach Notification

We employ layered technical and organisational controls, including encryption in transit, access governance, monitoring, and incident-response processes. No platform is absolutely secure, but we work continuously to reduce risk. In the event of a personal-data breach likely to affect you, we will notify affected users and relevant authorities without undue delay and in accordance with applicable law.

13. Children and Minors

Aqd is intended only for adults who are legally eligible to marry (18+). It is not directed at children. Accounts identified as belonging to minors or otherwise ineligible persons may be suspended or terminated, and associated data removed subject to legal obligations.

14. Contact and Data Protection Requests

For privacy requests, complaints, or data-protection inquiries, contact our Data Protection contact:
Aqd Privacy Office
Email: privacy@aqd.bd
Grievance: grievance@aqd.bd
Address: Dhaka, Bangladesh

15. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. Material changes will be notified through in-app notices, website publication, or email where appropriate. Continued use after updates take effect constitutes acknowledgment of the revised Policy.