Privacy Policy — FMW

FMW ("FMW", "Platform", "we", "our", or "us") is owned and operated by SuZi Associates, a partnership firm registered in India, with its principal place of business in Pune, Maharashtra, India ("SuZi Associates", the "Data Fiduciary").

This Privacy Policy is published in compliance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 ("DPDP Act"), the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011 ("SPDI Rules"). It serves as the notice required under Section 5 of the DPDP Act and explains what personal data we collect, the purposes for which it is processed, how it is shared, how long it is retained, and the rights available to you.

By creating an account or using the Platform, you provide your free, specific, informed, unconditional, and unambiguous consent to the processing of your personal data as described in this Policy. You may withdraw your consent at any time as described in Section 9 below.

1. Eligibility — 18+ Only

FMW is strictly for adults. You must be at least 18 years old to create an account, post work, apply for jobs, or communicate with other users. We do not knowingly collect personal data from individuals under 18 years of age. If we become aware that a user is under 18, we will suspend the account and erase associated personal data, subject to legal retention requirements.

2. Personal Data We Collect and Why

We collect only the personal data necessary for the purposes stated below:

Personal Data	Purpose of Processing
Mobile phone number	OTP-based login, account creation, account security, service-related communication
Location data (GPS coordinates, city, state)	Location-aware job matching and discovery of nearby opportunities
Profile details (name, role, skills, company name, photograph)	Creating your public profile, enabling Workers and Contractors to discover and evaluate each other
Messages and chat content exchanged on the Platform	Enabling communication between users, platform safety, and abuse prevention
Device and technical information (device type, operating system, app version, crash logs, usage analytics)	Operating, securing, debugging, and improving the Platform

We do not collect personal data beyond what is required for these purposes.

3. Identity Verification (Aadhaar) — Planned Feature

In a future version of the Platform, we may offer optional identity verification of users. If introduced:

• Verification will be performed only with your explicit consent, through lawful, consent-based verification methods.
• We will not collect, store, or retain your Aadhaar number or a copy of your Aadhaar. Only the outcome of verification (e.g., a "verified" status) will be recorded against your profile.
• This Policy will be updated with full details before any such feature goes live, and fresh consent will be obtained at that time.

4. How We Use Data

We process personal data to:

• Authenticate users and secure accounts
• Match Workers with relevant Contractors and jobs
• Enable communication between users
• Improve platform safety and prevent fraud and abuse
• Operate, maintain, and improve core application features
• Comply with legal obligations

We do not use your personal data for behavioural advertising, and we do not sell personal data.

5. How Data Is Shared

Limited information is shared only as needed for platform functionality:

• With other users: Your profile details (name, role, skills, company name, photograph) and approximate location are visible to other users for Worker–Contractor discovery, job applications, and direct communication. Your phone number is not publicly displayed unless you choose to share it.
• With service providers: We use trusted third-party providers for authentication (OTP delivery), messaging, cloud hosting, analytics, and platform functionality. These providers act as data processors and may process personal data only on our instructions and only as necessary to provide their services.
• AI translation of job posts: The title and description of a job you post are sent to an AI service provider (Anthropic) to translate them into English, Hindi and Marathi for other users. No other account details (such as your name, phone number or location) are sent with them. Please do not include personal details such as phone numbers in job descriptions.
• With authorities: We may disclose personal data where required by law, court order, or a lawful direction of a government authority.

6. Storage, Security, and Data Location

Personal data is stored on secure cloud infrastructure located in India (Google Cloud, Mumbai region). Certain service providers (such as analytics or OTP delivery providers) may process limited data in other jurisdictions as necessary to provide their services; any such transfer will comply with the DPDP Act and applicable restrictions notified by the Central Government. Job titles and descriptions are also processed by our AI translation provider (Anthropic), which may process them outside India, including in the United States, only to provide the translation.

We implement reasonable security safeguards as required under the DPDP Act and the SPDI Rules, including encrypted transmission, controlled access, and secure storage practices. However, no system can be guaranteed to be 100% secure.

7. Personal Data Breach

In the event of a personal data breach affecting your personal data, we will notify the Data Protection Board of India and affected users in the form and manner prescribed under the DPDP Act and rules made thereunder.

8. Data Retention and Erasure

• We retain personal data only as long as necessary for the purposes stated in this Policy.
• Active accounts: data is retained while your account remains active.
• Deleted accounts: upon account deletion, personal data is erased within 90 days, except where retention is required for compliance with law, fraud prevention, resolution of ongoing disputes, security, or enforcement of legal rights, in which case it is retained only for the period required and then erased.
• Chat content is retained in line with the above and may be retained longer where required by law applicable to intermediaries.

9. Your Rights

As a Data Principal under the DPDP Act, you have the right to:

1. Access — obtain a summary of your personal data being processed and the processing activities.
2. Correction and updating — correct inaccurate or incomplete personal data via app settings or by contacting us.
3. Erasure — request deletion of your personal data, subject to legal retention requirements.
4. Withdraw consent — withdraw your consent at any time via app settings or by writing to the Grievance Officer. Withdrawal is as easy as giving consent. Upon withdrawal, we will stop processing your personal data (and note that certain Platform features, such as job matching, may become unavailable). Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing done before withdrawal.
5. Grievance redressal — raise a complaint with our Grievance Officer (Section 11).
6. Nomination — nominate another individual to exercise your rights in the event of your death or incapacity, by writing to the Grievance Officer.
7. Complain to the Data Protection Board of India — if your grievance is not resolved satisfactorily, you may approach the Data Protection Board of India in the manner prescribed under the DPDP Act.

To exercise any right, use the in-app settings or contact the Grievance Officer with your registered phone number for identity verification.

10. Account and Data Deletion Process

You may delete your account from the app settings or by contacting support@suziassociates.com. Deletion requests are processed as described in Section 8. Certain information may be retained where required for legal compliance, fraud prevention, dispute resolution, security purposes, or enforcement of platform policies, and only for as long as legally required.

11. Grievance Officer

In accordance with the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, and the DPDP Act, the contact details of the Grievance Officer are:

Address: SuZi Associates, Santosh Nagar, Thergaon, PCMC, Pune, Maharashtra, India 411033

The Grievance Officer will acknowledge your complaint within 24 hours and resolve it within 15 days of receipt.

12. Policy Changes

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be notified through the Platform (in-app notice) before they take effect, and the updated version will be posted on the Platform and website with a revised "Last Updated" date. Where required by law, we will seek fresh consent for new purposes of processing.

13. Contact

FMW, operated by SuZi Associates (a partnership firm) Address: Santosh Nagar, Thergaon, PCMC, Pune, Maharashtra, India 411033 Email: support@suziassociates.com Website: www.suziassociates.com Country: India