ParkHikesPrivacy Policy
Last updated 7 October 2026
- No ads, and no advertising or analytics trackers
- We never sell or rent your data
- Your number is never printed on the sticker or shown to other users
- Delete your account and data anytime from Profile
What we collect
Account details
What: Your name, email address, mobile number and password, plus your app settings and when you accepted the chat safety notice.
How: You enter them when you sign up or edit your profile.
Why: To create and secure your account, help you recover it if you forget your email or password, and so drivers can reach you about your car.
Who sees it: Only you see your full profile. Your mobile number is never shown to other users: people who scan your car reach you through in-app messages and calls. Anyone who enters your mobile number in “Find your account” sees a partly hidden version of your email (like ra•••••@gmail.com).
Car details
What: Number plate, make/model and colour, plus a random tag ID for the QR code.
How: You add them when you register a car.
Why: So people who scan your tag can check it’s the right car.
Who sees it: Anyone with the app who scans your car’s QR tag.
Messages & photos
What: Chat messages, photos you choose to send (up to 5 at a time), when they were sent, and when each person last received and read the chat (shown as ticks).
How: Created when you message another driver. A copy is also kept on your phone, in encrypted app storage, so chats open quickly; photos are kept in the app’s private storage. Signing out deletes these copies from the phone.
Why: To deliver your messages.
Who sees it: Only the two people in that chat. Photos have no public links: they can only be downloaded by the people in the chat, signed in.
Scans
What: When you scan someone’s tag: your first name, the time, and how many times you’ve scanned it.
How: Recorded automatically when you open a car’s tag in the app.
Why: So Premium owners can see who scanned their car.
Who sees it: The owner of the car you scanned, if they have Premium.
Premium settings
What: A backup person’s name and number, the hours you don’t want calls, your auto-reply message, notes on your car tags, and whether private mode is on.
How: You add them in your profile or on your car’s tag page.
Why: So your car can still be moved when you can’t reply, you aren’t called at night, and people who scan your car know what to do.
Who sees it: People who scan your car see your tag note, get your auto-reply when they first message you, and may be offered your backup contact’s number if you don’t reply within 5 minutes (only add someone who agrees). With private mode on, they see “Car owner” instead of your name.
Reports
What: If you report a chat: the reason, anything you write, and a copy of the chat’s recent messages and photo links.
How: Sent when you tap Report chat.
Why: So our team can review it, act against misuse, and keep drivers safe.
Who sees it: Only the ParkHikes team. The person you report isn’t told who reported them.
People you block
What: Who you’ve blocked, the name they had in your chat, and when.
How: Saved when you tap Block in a chat; removed when you unblock them.
Why: To stop chats, messages, calls and scan alerts between you and them.
Who sees it: Only you. The person you block isn’t told.
Number plate scans
What: When you scan a number plate: the photo you take and the plate read from it.
How: Taken when you use “Number plate” on the scan screen, or type a plate to find a car.
Why: To find the car’s owner on ParkHikes when it has no QR sticker.
Who sees it: The photo is sent to Google Cloud Vision to read the text, then discarded: it isn’t stored. Nobody else sees what you looked up.
Invites
What: Your invite code, the code you signed up with, who joined through your invite, and the rewards you earned and claimed.
How: Created when you share or use an invite code.
Why: To give you invite rewards, and to stop them being misused.
Who sees it: Only you see your rewards. The person who invited you can see your first name in the reward notification.
Voice calls
What: When you call or are called in the app: who called whom, which car it was about, when, how long it lasted, and whether it was answered.
How: Recorded when a call starts and ends. The call’s sound goes directly between the two phones, encrypted, and is never recorded or stored.
Why: To connect the call, show it in your chat (like “Missed voice call”), and notify you of missed calls.
Who sees it: Only the two people in the call.
Device & notifications
What: A notification token that identifies the app on your phone.
How: Created when you allow notifications.
Why: To alert you about new messages and scans.
Who sees it: Our notification provider (Expo) and Google/Apple, who deliver the alerts.
Payments (Premium)
What: Your subscription status, plan dates and Razorpay subscription ID.
How: Sent to us by Razorpay when you subscribe, renew or cancel.
Why: To unlock Premium features.
Who sees it: Razorpay handles your UPI/card details. We never see or store them.
Security signals
What: Your IP address and sign-in times, used to count attempts; and when you last sent a message or started a call.
How: Checked automatically when you sign up, sign in, send messages or photos, or call.
Why: To block bots, spam and attacks on accounts (for example, one message per second at most).
Who sees it: Only our systems. We keep a scrambled (hashed) form, deleted automatically within a few days.
Phone permissions
- Camera: To scan QR tags and take photos you choose to send in a chat.
- Photos: Only the photos you pick to send in a chat.
- Microphone: Only during in-app voice calls you make or answer.
- Notifications: To tell you about new messages and scans.
ParkHikes never accesses your location, contacts, call or sms logs.
1. Who we are
ParkHikes (“we”, “us”) is run by Syshikes Solutions (www.syshikes.com). ParkHikes helps drivers reach a car’s owner by scanning a QR tag on the car, for example when it’s blocking the way.
This policy explains what personal data we collect, why, who can see it, and the choices you have. It covers the ParkHikes mobile app and its related services. We are the Data Fiduciary for your data under India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.
2. Information we collect
Information you give us: your name, email address, mobile number and password when you sign up; car details (number plate, make/model, colour); chat messages and photos you send; and, with Premium, a backup contact’s name and number and your quiet hours (with your time zone).
Information created as you use the app: a random tag ID for each car; records of tags you scan (your first name, the time and a count); message times; a notification token for your device; and your subscription status and dates.
Information from partners: when you subscribe, Razorpay tells us your subscription ID and status. Your UPI or card details go straight to Razorpay. We never receive or store them.
Security information: when you sign up or sign in, we check your IP address and sign-in times to stop automated abuse. Our rate limiter stores only a hashed (scrambled) form, which is deleted automatically.
If sign-up is paused and you ask to be notified, we keep your email address only to tell you when sign-up reopens.
We don’t collect your location, contacts, call logs or SMS, we never record calls, and the app has no advertising or analytics trackers.
3. How we use your information
To run the service: create and secure your account, help you recover it (password reset, and finding your email from your mobile number), show your car’s details to people who scan its tag, place calls through your phone’s dialer, deliver messages and photos, and send notifications.
To run Premium (₹99/month): manage your free trial and subscription, and provide scan alerts, scan history, backup contact and quiet hours.
To keep ParkHikes safe: prevent spam, fraud, bots and misuse, enforce our limits, and look into reported problems.
To comply with the law: respond to valid legal requests and meet our legal obligations.
We don’t use your data for advertising, and we never sell or rent it.
4. Who can see your information
People who scan your car’s tag: your number plate, car make/model and colour, your first name (or “Car owner” with Premium private mode), any note you’ve added to the tag, and whether you accept calls. If they tap Call, it’s an in-app voice call over the internet: your phone number is never shown. Turn off “Allow calls” in your profile to accept messages only.
With Premium and a backup contact set, people who scan your car may be offered a call to that person if you haven’t replied within 5 minutes.
The other person in a chat sees the messages and photos you send them, your first name, which car it’s about, and ticks showing when their messages reached your phone and when you read them.
Car owners with Premium can see that you scanned their car, with your first name and the time.
Account recovery: anyone who enters your mobile number in “Find your account” is shown a partly hidden version of the email address on your account (for example ra•••••@gmail.com), so you can find which email you signed up with. This is limited to a few tries per hour.
Reports: if someone in a chat with you reports it, the ParkHikes team can see that chat’s recent messages and photos to review it.
We don’t share your data with anyone else, except our service providers (below) or where the law requires it.
5. Service providers we use
Google Firebase / Google Cloud: sign-in, database, storage for chat photos, and server functions. During in-app calls, Google’s public connection servers (STUN) help the two phones find each other and see your internet (IP) address, not the call itself. Google Cloud Vision reads the text in number plate photos; the photos aren’t stored.
Expo (650 Industries): delivers push notifications, together with Firebase Cloud Messaging and Apple Push Notification service. Notifications include the sender’s first name, the car’s plate and the message text.
Razorpay: processes subscription payments (UPI Autopay and cards) under its own privacy policy.
These providers process data only to provide their service to us, under their contractual and security commitments.
6. Where your data is stored
Your data is stored on Google Cloud servers, mainly in India (Delhi). Some services, such as file storage and notification delivery, may process data in other countries, including the United States. We rely on our providers’ safeguards for these transfers.
7. How long we keep it
We keep your account, cars, chats and photos while your account exists. When you delete your account, we delete your profile, cars, scan records, invite records, calls, chats you were in (with their photos) and your subscription record, usually within minutes. As India’s IT Rules 2021 require, we keep the basic details you registered with (name, email, mobile number and dates) for 180 days after deletion, where only our systems can access them, and then delete them.
Other time limits: call history (who called whom, when and for how long) 12 months; the network details used to connect a call are deleted as soon as it ends; reports and the chat messages copied into them 2 years; “notify me when sign-up opens” emails 12 months; security rate-limit records about a day; number plate photos aren’t stored at all. Razorpay keeps payment records as financial regulations require, and our cloud providers keep limited system logs on their own schedules.
8. Your rights and choices
Access and correction: see and edit your name, number, car details and Premium settings in the app at any time.
Erasure: delete your account from Profile → Delete account. This permanently removes your data as described above.
Withdraw consent: turn off calls, notifications, camera or photo access at any time, or delete your account. Some features won’t work without them.
Other requests: to get a summary of your data, raise a complaint, or nominate someone to act for you if you can’t, email info@syshikes.com. We reply within 30 days. If you’re not satisfied, you can complain to the Data Protection Board of India.
9. Security
Our cloud providers encrypt data in transit and at rest. Strict security rules control access: for example, only the two people in a chat can read it, and only our servers can change subscription status. Payment secrets live in a secure secret store, never in the app. No system is perfectly secure, so use a strong password and keep your phone locked.
10. Children
ParkHikes is for adults (18 or older). We don’t knowingly collect data from children. If you think a child has created an account, email us and we’ll delete it.
11. Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we’ll update the date below. For significant changes, we’ll tell you in the app before they take effect.
12. Contact us
Questions, requests or complaints: Mansij Parsai, Grievance Officer, Syshikes Solutions, info@syshikes.com. Address: Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh.
Website: www.syshikes.com
To delete your account, see Delete your account.