Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Welcome to Dalil ("we," "our," or "us"). Dalil is a next-generation conversational local business directory, city discovery guide, and merchant operations portal. We are strongly committed to safeguarding your privacy and ensuring your personal information is protected.

This Privacy Policy explains the types of information we collect through our website, mobile progressive web applications (PWAs), the Dalil SI conversational directory agent, and related merchant management dashboards, and how that information is handled with utmost integrity and compliance.

2. Data Controller & Operator

The Dalil platform is developed, operated, and maintained by Brandzetta Technologies. For the purposes of applicable data protection legislation, the entity responsible for your data is:

3. Information We Collect

We collect information in the following ways:

• Personal Contact Details: When you register, sign in via passwordless mobile OTP, or interact with businesses, we collect your verified mobile number and optional display name.
• Merchant Business Data: When business owners list or manage their establishment, we collect the business name, category, physical address, GPS coordinates, WhatsApp contact number, telephone number, operating hours, photos, and product/menu catalogs.
• Conversational Queries & Preferences: When you chat with Dalil SI or search the directory, we process your queries (e.g. food recommendations, service requests) to retrieve verified listings.
• Device & Time Context: To accurately answer queries like "Is this shop open now?", our client interface reads your device's local clock and timezone (e.g., Asia/Kolkata) to compare directly against business opening hours.
• Geographic Location (Optional): If you grant browser location permission, we use your device GPS coordinates solely to calculate distances and sort recommendations by proximity (e.g., "450m away").

4. How We Use Information

We process collected data to:

• Provide conversational city guide and search assistance via Dalil SI.
• Connect customers directly with local merchant endpoints via WhatsApp, Google Maps directions, and phone calling.
• Deliver customer inquiries to the business owner's portal messaging dashboard.
• Authenticate users seamlessly via mobile verification without requiring passwords.
• Maintain verified, zero-hallucination business information across the directory.
• Monitor platform stability, prevent malicious abuse, and optimize search performance.

5. Dalil SI & AI Processing

Dalil SI utilizes artificial intelligence and vector semantic retrieval to answer user inquiries naturally. We enforce strict data protection principles in our AI pipeline:

• Zero Hallucination Grounding: The AI only references verified database records from actual registered merchants. It does not invent fictitious listings.
• Ephemeral Query Processing: Chat messages submitted to Dalil SI are processed solely to formulate answers and deliver responses; they are never sold or used to train public foundational AI models.
• User Anonymity: General directory search chats can be conducted without mandatory login.

6. Cookies & Local Storage

Dalil uses essential cookies and browser LocalStorage to provide a smooth user experience:

• Authentication & Session Cookies: To keep you securely logged into your user or business dashboard.
• Local Storage Cache: To remember your selected town/location filter (e.g. Areekode) and recent chat sessions locally on your device so you don't lose context.
• Service Worker Cache: Enables Progressive Web App (PWA) capabilities, offline caching, and instant photo loading.

7. Data Sharing & Disclosure

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties or marketing brokers.

Information is only shared under the following conditions:

• Direct Merchant Inquiry: When you send a message or WhatsApp inquiry to a business, your message and chosen contact details are delivered directly to that merchant.
• Infrastructure Providers: Secure cloud hosting, vector database, and SMS/OTP gateway partners under strict confidentiality agreements.
• Legal Obligations: If required by Indian law, law enforcement, or regulatory directives.

8. Security & Data Retention

We employ modern industry-standard security protocols, including HTTPS/TLS encryption in transit, secure database authentication, salted password hashing for administrative access, and strict permission-controlled role access.

Personal data is retained only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy or until you request account deletion.

9. Your Privacy Rights

You have full control over your data on Dalil:

• Access & Correction: You can view and edit your profile or merchant listings at any time through the Business Portal.
• Data Deletion: You can request permanent deletion of your business listing, catalog items, or user account by contacting our support team.
• Location Permissions: You can revoke device GPS access at any time through your browser settings.