Privacy Policy
Last updated: 24 August 2026
Kerala Property Finder ("we", "us", "our") operates www.keralapropertyfinder.com (the "Site"), a free property listing platform for Kerala. This policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, and what choices you have.
1. Information We Collect
Account Information
- Name, email address, and password (stored as a one-way cryptographic hash โ we never store or can see your plain-text password)
- Phone number and WhatsApp number, each with country code (WhatsApp number is optional if different from your phone number)
- If you sign in with Google, we receive your name, email address, and whether Google has verified that email. We do not receive your Google password.
Property Listing Information
When you list a property, we collect the property details you provide (type, price, location, description, specifications) and the photos you upload, along with the contact name, phone, and WhatsApp number you choose to display for that listing.
Automatically Collected Information
- IP address and login activity โ we log the IP address, timestamp, and outcome (success/failure) of every login attempt, for both regular accounts and administrator accounts, for security and fraud-prevention purposes.
- Property view counts โ we count unique visits to each listing (deduplicated by browser session) so listers can see interest in their property. This does not identify who viewed a listing.
- Browser type and device information sent automatically by your browser (user agent string).
2. How We Use Your Information
- To create and manage your account, including sending OTP verification codes and password reset links
- To display your property listings to other users once approved by our admin team
- To let other registered users contact you about a property, either directly (if you choose to show your number) or via our email relay (see below)
- To detect and prevent fraud, spam, and abuse, including maintaining an IP blacklist for repeat offenders
- To send you service-related emails (OTP codes, password resets, listing approval/rejection notices)
- To improve the Site and diagnose technical issues
We do not sell your personal information to third parties, and we do not use your data for third-party advertising.
3. How We Share Your Information
- Public listing display: Your property listings, along with any contact details you choose to display, are visible to visitors of the Site once approved. You can choose to hide your phone/WhatsApp number from public view in the listing form โ in that case it is only ever shown to your account.
- Contact-owner email relay: If a visitor uses the "Contact Owner via Email" feature on a listing where you've hidden your number, we forward their message to your registered email address, including their name and email so you can reply. We do not display either party's email address publicly on the Site.
- Service providers: We share information with third-party services strictly necessary to operate the Site โ see Third-Party Services below.
- Legal requirements: We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or governmental request, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Kerala Property Finder, our users, or the public.
4. Property Photos
Photos you upload are automatically cropped to a standard 4:5 frame, compressed, watermarked with our site name, and converted to WebP format for consistent display and faster loading. This re-encoding process strips embedded metadata (such as GPS location data your camera or phone may have recorded) from the stored copy. You can delete or replace your photos at any time from your listing's edit page, except that a listing must always retain at least one photo while it remains published.
5. Cookies & Session Data
We use a single essential session cookie to keep you logged in and to protect forms against cross-site request forgery (CSRF). We do not use third-party advertising or tracking cookies. Some embedded third-party services (Google Sign-In, Google reCAPTCHA, Google Fonts) may set their own cookies when their scripts load โ see Third-Party Services.
6. Data Security
- Passwords are hashed using industry-standard one-way hashing (bcrypt) and are never stored or transmitted in plain text
- All forms are protected against cross-site request forgery (CSRF) and validated with Google reCAPTCHA to deter automated abuse
- Uploaded files are validated by actual file content, not just file extension, before being accepted
- We recommend you use a strong, unique password and never share your login credentials
No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security, but we take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information.
7. Your Rights & Choices
- Access & correction: You can view and update your account details, and edit or delete your property listings, at any time from your dashboard.
- Hide your contact number: You can hide your phone/WhatsApp number from public view on any listing while still allowing contact via our email relay.
- Account deletion: To request deletion of your account and associated data, contact us using the details below. We will process such requests in accordance with applicable law, though we may retain limited records where required for legal, security, or fraud-prevention purposes.
- Marketing communications: We currently only send service-related emails (OTP, password resets, listing status). We do not send marketing newsletters.
8. Data Retention
We retain account and listing information for as long as your account is active. Login activity logs and IP address records are retained for security and audit purposes. If you request account deletion, we will remove your personal information except where retention is necessary for legal compliance, dispute resolution, or fraud prevention.
9. Children's Privacy
Kerala Property Finder is intended for users who are at least 18 years old. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has provided us with personal information, please contact us so we can remove it.
10. Third-Party Services
We use the following third-party services, each with their own privacy practices:
- Google Sign-In โ for optional one-click account login. Google Privacy Policy
- Google reCAPTCHA โ to protect our forms from automated abuse. Google Privacy Policy
- Google Fonts โ to display our site typography. Google Privacy Policy
- Brevo (email delivery) โ used to send OTP codes, password resets, and listing notifications. Brevo Privacy Policy
11. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be reflected by updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Continued use of the Site after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
12. Grievance Officer & Contact
In accordance with the Information Technology Act, 2000 and rules made thereunder, the contact details of the Grievance Officer are provided below for any complaints or concerns regarding this policy or content on the Site:
- Email: hello@keralapropertyfinder.com
- Website: www.keralapropertyfinder.com
We aim to acknowledge and address privacy-related complaints within a reasonable timeframe as required by applicable law.