This Privacy Policy explains what personal data Bento Ventures (“Bento”, “we”, “us”) collects when you use the Bento mobile app, the Bento website at createbento.in, the Bento partner dashboard and the Bento staff app (together, the “Service”), why we collect it, who we share it with, how long we keep it, and the choices you have.
We are a Data Fiduciary under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (“DPDP Act”). This policy is also published in compliance with the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the rules made under it. By creating an account you consent to the processing described here. You can withdraw consent at any time by deleting your account.
The short version
- We collect the minimum needed to run a dine-in discovery and rewards service: your phone number, a display name, the content you post, where you are when you ask for nearby places, and what you claim, book, pay and redeem.
- We never sell personal data. We never hand restaurants your phone number, your name or your visit history. Restaurants see aggregate figures and the fact that a Bento diner redeemed a specific perk.
- Payments are handled by Cashfree Payments. We never see or store your card number, UPI PIN or bank password.
- Your data is stored and processed in India.
- You can see, correct and delete your data from inside the app. Deletion takes effect within 30 days, except where the law requires us to keep a record.
- You must be at least 18 to use Bento.
1. What we collect
1.1 Information you give us
- Account. Your mobile number (verified by a one-time code, currently delivered over WhatsApp, so you need a WhatsApp account on that number to sign in), a display name or handle, and optionally a profile photo, a short bio and your food preferences.
- Content. Videos, photos, captions, restaurant tags, and comments you post. Content you post to the public feed is public.
- Commercial actions. Perks you claim, Dine Passes and experiences you buy, tables you book, group plans you join, and the offer terms locked at that moment.
- Bill verification. To release a reward we verify your visit against the restaurant's bill. This may include a photo of the bill or the bill total and time as confirmed by restaurant staff.
- Payout details (creators only). Bank account or UPI ID in your name, and PAN where tax law requires deduction at source.
- Support. Messages you send us and the details you include in them.
1.2 Information collected when you use the Service
- Location. With your permission, your approximate location to show nearby restaurants (“Near Me”, “Tonight”), and your precise location at the moment you check in at a restaurant, to confirm you are there. We do not track your location in the background. You can use most of Bento with location off; check-in may then rely on the table QR code alone.
- Camera and photo library. Only when you choose to record or upload content, scan a QR code or photograph a bill. We strip location and device metadata from every image before it is stored or shown.
- Usage events. Which reels you watch and for how long, what you skip, save, share and tap, searches, and the screens you visit. These drive the feed ranking and fraud checks.
- Device and technical data. Device model, operating system, app version, language, IP address, approximate region derived from the IP, crash reports and performance data, and a device identifier we generate to detect duplicate accounts and abuse.
- Notifications. If you enable them, a push token for your device so we can tell you when a booking is confirmed, an order is ready or a reward is released.
1.3 Information from others
- Restaurants confirm your check-in and bill through the staff app. They send us the bill amount and time, not your identity; we already know who you are because you checked in.
- Cashfree Payments tells us whether a payment succeeded, failed or was refunded, the payment method type (for example UPI or card) and a masked reference. Never the full card or account number.
- Friends who invite you share your phone number with us so we can credit the referral. We use it for nothing else until you sign up.
We do not collect your contacts list, your precise location in the background, or any biometric data. We do not read your messages.
2. How we use it
| Purpose | What we use | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Create and secure your account; sign you in | Phone number, device data | Consent; performance of our contract with you |
| Show you relevant, nearby food content | Location, usage events, preferences | Consent |
| Complete claims, passes, bookings and payments | Commercial actions, payment status | Performance of contract |
| Verify visits and release rewards | Check-in location, QR scan, bill verification | Performance of contract; legitimate use for fraud prevention |
| Pay creators and issue tax documents | Payout details, PAN, attributed transactions | Performance of contract; legal obligation |
| Prevent fraud, duplicate accounts and abuse | Device identifier, IP, usage patterns, redemption history | Legitimate use for security |
| Notify you about your bookings, orders and rewards | Push token, phone number | Performance of contract |
| Send marketing messages | Phone number, push token | Consent, withdrawable at any time in Settings |
| Fix crashes and improve the Service | Crash and performance data, aggregated usage | Legitimate use |
| Comply with law and respond to lawful requests | Whatever the request lawfully requires | Legal obligation |
We do not use your data for automated decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on you. Feed ranking is automated but affects only which reels you see first.
3. Who we share it with
3.1 Restaurants
This is the sharing people worry about most, so here is exactly what a restaurant gets:
- When you check in, staff see your display name or handle, the perk or pass you hold and its locked terms, and whether it has already been redeemed. They do not see your phone number, your other visits, or your history at other restaurants.
- In their dashboard, restaurants see aggregate figures: how many Bento diners came, what they spent in total, which reels and creators drove visits, and repeat-visit rates. Where a segment is small enough that it could identify you, it is suppressed.
- Restaurants can ask us to send you a campaign message. We send it; they do not get your number.
3.2 Creators
Creators see how many verified visits their content produced and the rewards earned. They never see who those diners were.
3.3 Other users
Your public profile (handle, photo, bio) and anything you post publicly are visible to other users. Your food diary is private unless you share an entry. Friends you have connected with can see what you choose to share with friends.
3.4 Service providers (Data Processors)
We use a small number of companies to run the Service. Each processes data only on our instructions and under contract:
| Provider | What they do | Data involved |
|---|---|---|
| Cashfree Payments India Pvt. Ltd. | Payment processing, refunds and settlements | Amount, payment method, masked reference, your phone number or email for the payment receipt |
| Mux, Inc. | Video processing and delivery | Videos you upload; playback quality statistics |
| Cloudflare, Inc. | Content delivery, DDoS protection, image and file storage | IP address, requested files, images you upload |
| Meta Platforms (WhatsApp Business) | Delivering one-time sign-in codes (the only sign-in channel at present) and transactional messages you have opted into | Phone number, message content |
| Cloud hosting provider (servers in India) | Running our servers and database | All data, encrypted at rest |
| Functional Software, Inc. (Sentry) | Crash and error reporting | Device data, app state at the time of an error; personal identifiers are scrubbed |
3.5 Legal and safety
We disclose data when the law requires it, in response to a valid order from a court or a government authority empowered to issue it, to enforce our Terms, or to protect the rights, property or safety of Bento, our users or the public. We tell you when we are allowed to.
3.6 Business transfers
If Bento is acquired or merges with another company, your data may transfer to the new owner under this policy. We will notify you in the app before that happens.
We do not sell personal data, and we do not share it with advertisers or data brokers.
4. Where and how long we keep it
Data is stored on servers located in India, encrypted at rest and in transit. Some processors listed above operate globally; where data leaves India it is protected by contract and processed only for the purpose stated.
| Data | Kept for |
|---|---|
| Account and profile | Until you delete your account, then removed within 30 days |
| Content you posted | Until you delete it or your account; copies in backups expire within 90 days |
| Transactions, payments, rewards and payouts | 8 years after the financial year of the transaction, as required by Indian tax and company law. Anonymised where possible after account deletion |
| Bill photos | Deleted 90 days after the visit is verified, or immediately if verification fails and no dispute is open |
| Precise check-in location | Reduced to “verified at venue” within 24 hours; the coordinate is discarded |
| Usage events | 13 months, then aggregated |
| Fraud and abuse records | Up to 5 years, to prevent repeat abuse |
| Support messages | 2 years after the ticket closes |
| Server logs | 90 days |
5. Your rights and choices
Under the DPDP Act you have the right to:
- Access a summary of the personal data we hold about you and how it has been processed. Request it in Settings → Privacy → Download my data, or by email.
- Correct inaccurate or incomplete data. Most fields you can edit yourself in Profile.
- Erase your data by deleting your account. See How to delete your account. We keep only what the law requires us to keep, as listed above.
- Withdraw consent for any processing that relies on it, as easily as you gave it. Turn off location, notifications or marketing in Settings, or delete your account.
- Nominate another person to exercise these rights on your behalf if you die or are incapacitated.
- Grievance redressal through our Grievance Officer (section 9), and if you are not satisfied, to complain to the Data Protection Board of India.
We respond to requests within 30 days. We may need to verify that you are the account holder before acting. We will not discriminate against you for exercising any right.
Other controls: you can block or report any user or piece of content from inside the app. You can make your profile private. You can turn off the personalised feed and see content ranked by distance and time alone.
6. Children
Bento is for adults. You must be at least 18 years old to create an account. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18. If you believe a child has an account, tell us at privacy@createbento.in and we will delete it.
7. Security
We protect data with encryption in transit (TLS) and at rest, short-lived access tokens, server-side checks on every privileged action, least-privilege access for staff, audit logs on all money and reward state, and regular security testing. Payment card and bank details are never stored on our systems. No system is perfectly secure; if we discover a breach that affects you we will notify you and the Data Protection Board as the law requires.
8. Cookies and similar technology
The website uses no analytics or advertising cookies. The app and the partner dashboard store a session token on your device so you stay signed in, and a device identifier used for security. That is all.
9. Grievance Officer and contact
- Grievance Officer
- The Proprietor, Bento Ventures
- grievance@createbento.in
- Privacy requests
- privacy@createbento.in
- Business
- Bento Ventures, Sole Proprietorship, Mysuru, Karnataka, India
- Response time
- Acknowledged within 24 hours, resolved within 15 days
10. Changes to this policy
When we change this policy we update the effective date at the top and, for material changes, notify you in the app before they take effect. Earlier versions are available on request. Continuing to use Bento after a change means you accept it; if you do not, delete your account.