Privacy Policy

What we collect

• Your account — your phone number and name. You sign in with a one-time code we send to your phone on WhatsApp; we store only a scrambled (hashed) copy of the code, and it expires within minutes. If you tell us who the stay is for (men, women or anyone), we use it to filter results for you; owners never see it. Accounts made before WhatsApp sign-in may also have an email address and a password, which is stored hashed.
• What you save — stays you save, searches you save, and the alerts we send you about them. If you fill in what you are looking for (the type of stay, your budget, when you move, areas and whether you study or work), we keep that too, to show it back to you; owners never see it.
• Reviews you write — your star rating, what you wrote and, if you add it, how long you stayed. Our team reads every review before it goes up. Reviews are public in the SortOut app with your first name and the first letter of your last name; never your phone number. If someone reports a review, we keep their reason and a scrambled (hashed) marker so one person counts once, never their IP address.
• Enquiries and calls — when you enquire about a stay: your name, phone number, the stay, the time, and anything else you choose to add (such as a message or move-in date). When you call an owner through SortOut: the time, length and outcome of the call.
• Your location, only if you allow it — to show stays near you. We use it for that search and do not keep a history of where you have been.
• If you list a property — your phone number, legal name, date of birth and email; the property's details, address, map location, photos, rooms and rent; the host agreements you accept (with the date and the IP address you accepted from); and whether you want tips and offers from us. Renters never see your name. Your phone number, email and the exact address are never shown publicly.
• If you play a SortOut game challenge — the leaderboard name you play under (your first name until you change it), your scores, and the timing of each tap in a game, which we use to check that a score is real. For each game we also keep a scrambled (hashed) copy of the IP address it came from, to spot one person playing as several; never the address itself. Your leaderboard name and scores are public on the challenge leaderboard; nothing else about you is. If you win, we contact you on your account's phone number about the prize.
• Technical information — your IP address, device and browser type, the pages you visit and how you got to us, and error reports when something breaks. We use these to keep the service secure (for example, to stop automated sign-up and enquiry spam), to fix problems, and to understand how SortOut is used.

How we use it

To sign you in; to show you stays that fit what you are looking for; to pass your enquiry to the owner; to connect calls; to send you the alerts you asked for; to review listings before and after they go live; to run game challenges and pay their prizes; to prevent fraud and abuse; and to understand how SortOut is used so we can improve it. We do not use your information for advertising, and we do not sell it.

Who we share it with

• The owner of a stay you enquire about. We send them your name and phone number on WhatsApp, with the stay and the time of your enquiry, so they can get back to you.
• Calls. When you call through SortOut, the call is connected through a SortOut number by our calling provider. Our calling provider keeps a record of each call (time, length and whether it connected). Calls are not recorded unless an announcement at the start of the call tells you so.
• Service providers who help us run SortOut (such as hosting, messaging, calls, email and website analytics), only for that purpose.
• When the law requires it, for example in response to a valid request from the police or a court.

Where it is stored, and for how long

Our database and servers are in Mumbai, India. Some of the providers above may process information outside India. We keep your account until you delete it. Enquiries already sent to an owner are kept as a record of the enquiry. Sign-in codes expire within minutes. We delete or anonymise other information once we no longer need it for the purposes above.

Cookies

We use cookies to keep you signed in and to remember choices like your city. We also use analytics cookies, set by our analytics provider, to count visits and see which pages and features are used, so we can improve SortOut. These are not used for advertising, and we do not link them to your SortOut account. You can block or delete them in your browser settings; the site works the same without them. We do not use advertising cookies.

Deleting your account

You can delete your account yourself, at any time, on the Delete your account page or in the SortOut app (Profile, then Delete account). Deleting removes your account and your saved stays, searches, alerts and reviews straight away, along with your game challenge name and scores. Enquiries you have already sent stay with the owner and with us as a record. For hosts, deleting also takes your live listings offline.

Your rights

Under India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, you can ask us what information we hold about you, ask us to correct or delete it, withdraw consent you have given (such as to tips and offers), and raise a complaint with us. Email hello@sortout.in from the email on your account, or tell us the phone number on it, and we will confirm it is you before acting on the request.

Children

SortOut is for people aged 18 and over. If you are under 18, please ask a parent or guardian to search and enquire for you.

Changes and contact

If we change how we handle your information, we will update this page and the date at the top. Questions or complaints about this policy? Email hello@sortout.in.