Privacy Policy
The Garden is a personal safety app. It lets you ask the people closest to you for help, and lets you help them. This policy says what the app collects, why, who can see it, how long it is kept and how you can delete it. We follow India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.
Location, in one sentence. The Garden collects location data to share your live location with your circle during Watch me, Check on me and SOS, and to find who in your circle is nearest when one of them asks for help, even when the app is closed or not in use.
What we collect, and why
| What | Why |
|---|---|
| Your phone number | It is your login. One account per number, no password. Your circle can call or text you on it. |
| Your first name, and who the phone is for | So the people in your circle know who is asking for help. We never ask your gender or your age. |
| What helpers should know, if you choose to say (for example "can't hear well", or a short note) | So help reaches you in a way that works for you. Shown only to a helper who has accepted your request, and only while it is open. |
| Your circle: the name and mobile number of each person you invite | To invite them and to alert them when you ask for help. When you pick someone from your phone's contacts, the app reads only the one contact you choose. The rest of your contacts are not read or uploaded. |
| Your precise location | See "Location" below. |
| Where you are going on a Watch me trip, and the route | So the people who follow your trip can see where you are heading, the way you planned to take, and when you should arrive. |
| Home, Work and recent places you save | So you can start a trip quickly. Stored for you alone. Nobody in your circle can read them. |
| Audio during an SOS | While an SOS is live the app records audio in short pieces and uploads them, including when the app is in the background, so a record exists if your phone is taken. Only you can listen to them. |
| A record of each request: when it started and ended, who was alerted, who accepted, and every time someone viewed your location | So you, and we if you ask us, can see what happened and who looked. |
| A notification token for your phone | So alerts can reach it. |
We do not collect your contacts list, your photos, your messages or your browsing. We do not show ads, we do not sell your data, and we do not share it with data brokers.
Location
- When you ask for help (Watch me, Check on me or SOS), your phone sends its live location until you say you are safe. It keeps sending when the app is in the background or the screen is off, and a notification shows the whole time. Only the people in your circle who accept your request can see it.
- When someone in your circle asks for help, your phone reports where it is once, in the background, even if the app is closed or not in use. We use it only to work out who is nearest, so the nearest person is alerted first. The person who asked sees how far away you are, never where you are. That reading is deleted when their request ends.
- The rest of the time, the app does not collect your location, and we keep no history of where you have been.
The app asks for location on a screen that explains this, before Android asks you. You can say no, and you can turn location off later in your phone's settings. Without it your circle cannot see where you are during an SOS, and you may not be asked first when someone needs you.
Who can see what
- The people in your circle are told when you ask for help. Once they accept, they see your live location, your first name, what you chose to tell helpers, and for a trip where you are going. Their access ends the moment you say you are safe. Every time one of them views your location it is logged.
- Nobody else. There is no map of users, no public profile and no feed.
- Emergency services. The app does not send your data to 112. It opens your phone's dialler with 112 filled in, and you make the call.
Companies that process data for us
- Google Firebase (Google LLC): sign-in by SMS code, the database, file storage for SOS audio, and notifications. The data is stored on Google servers in the United States. Google processes it on our instructions and does not use it for its own purposes.
- Map services built on OpenStreetMap: OpenFreeMap (the map itself), Photon by Komoot (place search) and the OSRM servers run by FOSSGIS e.V. (routes). They receive the area of map on screen, what you type into search, and the two ends of a route. They do not receive your name, your number or your account.
By using the app you agree to your data being stored and processed outside India as described here.
How long we keep it
- Live location: deleted when the request ends.
- The record of a request (timeline, who viewed your location, SOS audio): deleted automatically 90 days after the request ends.
- Your account (number, name, circle, saved places, what helpers should know): kept until you delete your account.
- Invites you sent: kept, with their outcome, until your account is deleted.
Your choices and rights
- Remove anyone from your circle, or change what helpers should know, at any time in the app.
- Turn off location, the microphone, contacts or notifications in your phone's settings. Some features stop working without them.
- Delete your account in the app under You → Delete account. Everything listed above is deleted at once: your profile, your circle links, your saved places, your recordings and the record of your requests. You can also ask us to do it: see silentgarden.in/delete-account.
- Ask for a copy of your data, ask us to correct it, or withdraw your consent, by writing to support@silentgarden.in. We answer within 30 days.
Children
The Garden is for adults aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect data from children. If you believe a child has created an account, write to us and we will delete it.
Security
Data is encrypted in transit and at rest. Access is limited by security rules that we test automatically: for example, nobody can read a location unless they have accepted a request that is still open, and what you tell helpers cannot be read outside such a request.
Changes
If this policy changes in a way that matters, we will tell you in the app before the change takes effect, and update the date at the top.
Contact
Silent Garden
Questions, requests and complaints: support@silentgarden.in
If you are not satisfied with our answer, you can complain to the Data Protection Board of India.