Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy

Welcome to DabbaMap. These Terms & Conditions ("Terms") together with the Privacy Policy below govern your access to and use of the website dabbamap.com and any related services (collectively, the "Service"). Please read this document carefully. By accessing, browsing, registering for, or otherwise using the Service in any manner, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by this document in its entirety. If you do not agree with any part of it, you must discontinue use of the Service immediately.

1. Acceptance of Terms

This document is a legally binding agreement between you ("you", "user") and DabbaMap ("we", "us", "our"). Your continued use of the Service signifies your ongoing acceptance of these Terms as amended from time to time. We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to modify, suspend, or discontinue the Service, in whole or in part, at any time and without prior notice. Your use of the Service following any change constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

2. Definitions

• "Provider" / "Home Cook" — any user who lists a tiffin, dabba, or home-cooking service on the Service.
• "Customer" / "Seeker" — any user who browses, searches, or contacts Providers.
• "Listing" — any profile, description, price, location, or other content submitted by a Provider.
• "Content" — any text, image, message, review, or other material submitted to, displayed on, or transmitted through the Service.
• "Personal Data" — any data about an individual who is identifiable by or in relation to such data, as defined under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.
• "Directory" — the searchable, map-based collection of Listings made available through the Service.

3. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years of age, or the age of legal majority in your jurisdiction, to register an account or list a service. By using the Service, you represent and warrant that you meet these requirements and that all information you provide is accurate, current, and complete. Minors may browse the Directory only under the supervision of a parent or legal guardian who agrees to be bound by these Terms.

4. Nature of the Service

DabbaMap is a crowdsourced discovery platform and informational directory only. We are not a food delivery service, a restaurant, a cloud kitchen, a payment processor, or a party to any transaction between Providers and Customers. We do not prepare, handle, inspect, deliver, or guarantee any food. The Service merely facilitates the discovery of, and initial communication between, independent Providers and Customers. Any arrangement, transaction, delivery, or relationship that results is solely between the Provider and the Customer, who act as independent parties at their own risk.

No endorsement. The inclusion of a Listing on the Service does not constitute an endorsement, recommendation, certification, or guarantee by DabbaMap of any Provider, food, or service.

No employment or agency relationship. Nothing in these Terms creates any employment, agency, partnership, joint venture, or franchise relationship between DabbaMap and any Provider or Customer. Providers operate independently and are solely responsible for their own business activities.

Approximate locations. Locations displayed on the map may be approximate and are provided solely for discovery purposes. DabbaMap does not guarantee the accuracy of any location information supplied by Providers.

Provider contact information. Contact information displayed or shared by Providers is supplied by the Providers themselves. DabbaMap does not verify the accuracy, availability, ownership, or responsiveness of any contact information, and is not responsible if a Provider is unreachable, unresponsive, or no longer operating.

Evaluating other users. Users are solely responsible for evaluating the legitimacy of any person they interact with through the Service. DabbaMap does not guarantee the identity, conduct, or reliability of any user, and is not responsible for any fraud, scam, or misrepresentation by users.

5. Accounts & Security

To access certain features — such as listing a dabba or sending messages — you must create an account using a valid email address and password. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activities under your account. You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorised use. We are not liable for any loss arising from your failure to safeguard your credentials. We may suspend or terminate accounts we reasonably believe to be fraudulent, abusive, or in violation of these Terms.

6. User Conduct

You agree not to use the Service to:

• Post false, misleading, fraudulent, or deceptive Listings or information;
• Impersonate any person or entity, or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity;
• Upload or transmit any content that is unlawful, defamatory, obscene, harassing, or otherwise objectionable;
• Post, publish, or share another person's personal information without their consent;
• Harvest, scrape, or collect information about other users without their consent;
• Use bots, crawlers, scripts, or other automated means to access or interact with the Service;
• Circumvent, disable, or interfere with moderation, security, or access-control features;
• Interfere with, disrupt, or attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Service or its systems;
• Use the Service for any unlawful, harmful, or unauthorised commercial purpose.

We reserve the right, but assume no obligation, to monitor, review, remove, or disable access to any Content that violates these Terms or that we find objectionable in our sole discretion.

7. Listings & Content

Providers are solely responsible for the accuracy, legality, and quality of their Listings, including descriptions, prices, availability, hygiene standards, and compliance with all applicable laws. By submitting a Listing or any Content, you grant DabbaMap a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence to host, display, reproduce, and distribute that Content for the purpose of operating and promoting the Service. You represent that you own or have the necessary rights to all Content you submit, including any photographs or images you upload. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee any Listing and accept no responsibility for its accuracy or for the conduct of any Provider or Customer.

Verification indicators. We may, now or in the future, introduce verification indicators, badges, or trust signals. Any such indicator reflects only the information verified by us at the relevant time and does not constitute a guarantee of quality, safety, hygiene, or reliability.

8. Provider Compliance & FSSAI

Providers represent and warrant that they comply with all applicable food safety, licensing, hygiene, health, labelling, and tax laws, including any registration or licensing requirements under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and the regulations made thereunder, as well as applicable local municipal and health regulations. Providers are solely responsible for obtaining and maintaining all licences, registrations, permits, and approvals required to operate their food business. DabbaMap is under no obligation to verify, inspect, or confirm any Provider's licences, registrations, or certifications unless explicitly and expressly stated for a specific Listing. The presence of a Listing on the Service does not imply any verification, endorsement, or certification by us.

9. Messaging

The Service provides a messaging facility that lets Customers send enquiries to Providers and Providers respond. Messages are stored to enable the conversation to be delivered and continued across sessions and devices. Messages are not end-to-end encrypted; you should not share sensitive financial or personal information through the messaging facility. You agree not to use messaging to send spam, solicitations, harassment, or unlawful content. You may not use any contact information obtained through the Service to send unsolicited marketing communications, spam, or to harass any person. We do not routinely monitor private messages but may access them where necessary to comply with law, enforce these Terms, or protect user safety.

10. Reviews & Ratings

If and when review or rating features are introduced, you agree that any review you submit must be truthful, based on your genuine first-hand experience, and free of defamatory, abusive, or misleading content. You may not post fake, incentivised, or competitor-sabotaging reviews. We may remove, edit, refuse to publish, or disable access to any review that violates these Terms or that we consider inappropriate, at our sole discretion.

11. Food Safety & Disclaimers

DabbaMap does not prepare, test, certify, or inspect any food, kitchen, or Provider. We make no representations or warranties regarding the safety, hygiene, quality, nutritional content, allergen status, or fitness for consumption of any food obtained through a Provider discovered on the Service. You consume food obtained from Providers entirely at your own risk. Customers are strongly encouraged to exercise their own judgement, request a trial meal, independently verify hygiene and safety standards, and confirm any allergen or dietary information directly with the Provider before placing recurring orders. The Service is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, to the maximum extent permitted by law.

12. Payments

DabbaMap does not process, hold, or facilitate any payments. All financial transactions — including meal prices, delivery charges, deposits, refunds, and subscription arrangements — are handled directly between the Provider and the Customer. We charge no commission and take no platform fee. We are not responsible for any payment dispute, non-payment, overcharge, or refund between users.

13. Intellectual Property

The Service, including its design, layout, logos, graphics, text, and software (excluding user-submitted Content), is the property of DabbaMap and is protected by applicable intellectual property laws. You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, or lease any part of the Service without our prior written consent. The "DabbaMap" name and logo may not be used without permission.

14. Copyright Complaints & Takedown

We respect intellectual property rights. If you believe Content on the Service infringes your copyright or other rights, please send a written notice to our contact address below that includes: (a) your name and contact details; (b) identification of the copyrighted work claimed to be infringed; (c) the URL or location of the allegedly infringing Content; (d) a statement that you have a good-faith belief the use is unauthorised; and (e) a statement that the information is accurate and that you are the rights-holder or authorised to act on their behalf. We will review valid notices and may remove or disable the Content. The affected user may submit a counter-notice. We may remove Content and terminate repeat infringers at our discretion.

15. Moderation & Enforcement

We reserve the right, at our sole discretion and without prior notice, to: remove or refuse any Listing or Content; suspend, restrict, or permanently ban users who violate these Terms; remove fake, fraudulent, duplicate, or misleading Listings; and verify or request verification of information. Repeat or serious offenders may be permanently banned. We are not obligated to monitor Content but may do so to protect users and the integrity of the Service.

16. Platform Availability

We do not guarantee that the Service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free. We may suspend, withdraw, or restrict access to all or part of the Service for maintenance, updates, technical issues, or other operational reasons, with or without notice. We are not liable for any unavailability of the Service.

17. Privacy Policy

Your privacy matters to us. This Privacy Policy describes the Personal Data we collect, the purposes for which it is collected, and how it is processed. We aim to process Personal Data in accordance with applicable data protection laws, including the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (the "DPDP Act"), and for specified, lawful purposes on the basis of your consent or as otherwise permitted by law. By using the Service, you consent to these practices.

17.1 Personal Data we collect and why

• Account information (name, email address, securely hashed password) — collected to create and administer your account and enable cross-device login.
• Listing information (trade name, area, pincode, food type, cuisine, prices, description, an approximate map location you choose) — collected to publish your Listing in the Directory.
• Messages (content of enquiries and replies) — collected to relay communications between Customers and Providers.
• Technical & usage data (browser type, device, approximate location, pages viewed, interactions) — collected automatically by us and our hosting/advertising partners to operate, secure, analyse, and improve the Service and to serve advertising.

17.2 How we use Personal Data

We use Personal Data only for the purposes for which it was collected, as listed above, and to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. We do not sell your Personal Data.

17.3 Sharing of information

Public Listing details are, by design, visible to all visitors of the Directory. Your email and password are never displayed publicly. We share Personal Data only with the service providers necessary to operate the Service (such as our database/authentication provider and advertising partners) and where required by law, regulation, or legal process.

18. Your Privacy Rights (DPDP Act)

Subject to applicable law, you have the right to:

• Access the Personal Data we hold about you;
• Correct or update inaccurate or incomplete Personal Data;
• Erase / delete your Personal Data, subject to legal and operational limitations;
• Withdraw consent to processing at any time (see below);
• Grievance redressal — raise a complaint regarding the processing of your Personal Data by contacting us.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us as described in Section 32 (Contact). We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request.

18.1 Consent & withdrawal

Where we rely on your consent to process Personal Data, you may withdraw that consent at any time by contacting us or deleting your account. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal, and certain data may be retained where required by law or for legitimate operational purposes. Withdrawing consent may limit your ability to use parts of the Service.

19. Data Retention

We retain Personal Data only for as long as necessary to provide the Service, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. As a guide:

• Account data — retained until you delete your account.
• Listings — retained while active; deleted listings are removed from public view promptly and purged from backups within 30 days.
• Messages — retained for up to 12 months after account deletion to handle disputes, then deleted.
• Logs — retained for up to 6 months for security and fraud-prevention.
• Analytics data — retained for up to 24 months.

Legal or regulatory obligations may require longer retention in specific cases.

20. Security & Breach Response

We implement reasonable technical and organisational measures designed to protect Personal Data, including secure authentication and encrypted transport (HTTPS). However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. In the event of a personal-data breach affecting your Personal Data, we will comply with applicable legal obligations regarding notification to affected users and the relevant authorities, and we will take reasonable steps to mitigate the breach.

21. Cookies & Advertising

The Service uses cookies and similar technologies (such as web beacons and local storage) that fall into the following categories:

• Necessary cookies — required for core functionality such as keeping you signed in. These are always active.
• Analytics cookies — help us understand how the Service is used so we can improve it.
• Advertising cookies — used by third-party advertising partners to serve and measure ads.

When you first visit, you may accept or reject non-essential (analytics and advertising) cookies via our cookie banner, and you can change your choice at any time. Most browsers also let you refuse or delete cookies through their settings, though doing so may affect certain features.

We use Google AdSense, a third-party advertising service provided by Google, to display advertisements. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies and web beacons to serve ads based on a user's prior visits to this and other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to users based on their visits to the Service and/or other sites on the Internet. You may:

• Opt out of personalised advertising via Google Ads Settings;
• Opt out of third-party vendors' use of cookies for personalised advertising at www.aboutads.info;
• Review Google's Privacy Policy and How Google uses information from sites that use its services.

We do not control the cookies or data practices of third-party advertisers and are not responsible for their privacy practices.

22. Third-Party Services & Links

The Service relies on and may link to third-party services, including map providers, our database/authentication provider, and advertising networks. These third parties operate under their own terms and privacy policies, over which we have no control. We are not responsible for the availability, content, or practices of any third-party service, and your use of them is at your own risk.

23. International Users

The Service is operated from India and intended primarily for users in India. If you access the Service from outside India, you do so on your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with your local laws. By using the Service, you consent to the processing of your information in India, which may have data-protection laws different from those of your jurisdiction.

24. Children's Privacy

The Service is not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect Personal Data from children under 18 years of age without verifiable parental or guardian consent. If we become aware that we have collected Personal Data from a child without such consent, we will take reasonable steps to delete it promptly. If you believe a child has provided us Personal Data, please contact us.

25. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, DabbaMap, its operators, and affiliates shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of profits, data, goodwill, or other intangible losses, arising out of or relating to your use of (or inability to use) the Service, any interaction or transaction with a Provider or Customer, or any food consumed. To the maximum extent permitted by law, our total aggregate liability for any claim arising out of or relating to the Service shall be limited to the greater of (a) the total amount you paid to us for use of the Service (which is currently zero), or (b) ₹1,000. Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited, including liability for fraud, wilful misconduct, or any statutory rights that cannot be waived.

26. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless DabbaMap and its operators from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including reasonable legal fees, arising out of or connected with your use of the Service, your Content, your interactions with other users, or your violation of these Terms or any applicable law.

27. Dispute Resolution

In the event of any dispute, claim, or disagreement arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service, the parties shall first attempt to resolve the matter informally and in good faith by contacting us at the address below; we will work with you to seek an amicable resolution within thirty (30) days. If the dispute cannot be resolved informally, it shall be subject to the governing law and jurisdiction described in Section 30.

28. Force Majeure

We shall not be liable for any failure or delay in performance resulting from causes beyond our reasonable control, including natural disasters, pandemics, internet or power outages, governmental actions, labour disputes, cyber-attacks, or failures of third-party service providers.

29. Termination & Account Deletion

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service at any time, with or without cause or notice, including for breach of these Terms. You may stop using the Service and request deletion of your account at any time by contacting us at the address below. Upon account deletion, we will delete or anonymise your account information and Listings within a reasonable period, except where retention is required by law, needed to resolve disputes, prevent fraud, or enforce our agreements; certain residual data may persist in backups for a limited time before being purged. Provisions that by their nature should survive termination — including intellectual property, disclaimers, limitation of liability, indemnification, and dispute resolution — shall survive.

30. Governing Law & Jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Subject to the informal dispute-resolution step in Section 27, the competent courts located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service.

31. Changes to This Document

We may revise these Terms and the Privacy Policy from time to time. The most current version will always be posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date. Material changes take effect upon posting. Your continued use of the Service after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised document.

32. Contact

For any questions about these Terms, the Privacy Policy, your data, advertising, or copyright matters, you may reach out to us through the contact options made available on the Service from time to time. We will endeavour to respond to legitimate enquiries within a reasonable time.

By continuing to use DabbaMap, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy document and agree to be bound by it. This document is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice.