Your Privacy Matters

Privacy Policy

We collect only what we need, use it only to serve you, and never sell it to anyone. This policy explains exactly what that means in plain English.

Effective: 1 January 2024  ·  Last updated: December 2024

Data We Collect
Name, phone, ID, and booking details — only what's needed to serve you.
Never Sold
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data to third parties. Period.
Your Rights
Access, correct, or delete your data at any time. Just email us.
Secure Storage
We use industry-standard security practices to keep your data safe.

Who We Are

This Privacy Policy applies to Royal Goa Ride, a self-drive car rental service based in Goa, India.

Business name: Royal Goa Ride
Address: Near Madgao Railway Station, Margao, Goa 403601, India
Phone: +91 99753 56697
Email: bookingsroyalgoa@gmail.com

When we say "we", "us", or "Royal Goa Ride" in this policy, we mean the business above. When we say "you", we mean anyone who visits our website, contacts us, or books a vehicle with us.

What Data We Collect

We collect only the information required to process your booking, deliver your vehicle, and provide customer support. Here's a complete picture:

Data Type What We Collect Why We Need It
Identity Full name, date of birth, nationality Booking records and legal compliance
Contact Phone number, WhatsApp number, email address Booking confirmation and support
Government ID Aadhaar card, passport, driving licence number Identity verification (required by law)
Booking Pickup/drop dates, vehicle choice, pickup location Fulfilling your rental
Payment Payment method, UPI reference (no card numbers stored) Billing and refund processing
Stay details Hotel name and address Vehicle delivery coordination
Communications WhatsApp messages, email threads Support history and dispute resolution
Website usage Pages visited, browser type, approximate location (via IP) Improving our website (analytics only)
We do NOT collect: Credit or debit card numbers, bank account details, passwords, biometric data, or any information about your health or political views.

How We Collect Your Data

We collect data through the following channels:

  • WhatsApp: When you message us to book, enquire, or get support.
  • Phone calls: When you call us directly at +91 99753 56697.
  • Email: When you email bookingsroyalgoa@gmail.com.
  • In person: At vehicle pickup, when you provide identity documents for verification.
  • Our website: When you browse royalgoaride.com. Our website may use basic analytics (page views, browser type) to understand how visitors use the site. We do not use invasive tracking or advertising cookies.

We do not buy data from third parties, scrape social media, or use marketing data brokers.

How We Use Your Data

We use your personal data only for the following purposes:

  • Processing your booking — confirming availability, vehicle assignment, and pickup scheduling.
  • Delivering your vehicle — coordinating the correct time and location for pickup or hotel delivery.
  • Customer support — responding to questions, handling extensions, and resolving issues during your rental.
  • Payment processing — recording advance payments, deposits, and issuing refunds.
  • Legal compliance — maintaining rental records as required under Indian Motor Vehicles Act and GST regulations.
  • Safety and security — verifying driver identity, documenting vehicle condition, and filing reports in the event of accidents or theft.
  • Service improvement — analysing anonymous website usage data to make our site easier to use.

We do not use your data for unsolicited marketing, profiling, automated decision-making, or targeted advertising.

Who We Share Your Data With

We do not sell or rent your personal data. We may share limited data only in these specific circumstances:

  • Legal authorities: If required by Indian law (e.g. police investigation following an accident or theft report), we will share the minimum data legally required.
  • Insurance providers: In the event of a vehicle accident or damage claim, we share relevant booking and incident details with our insurance partner.
  • Payment processors: UPI payment references are processed by the respective payment platform (PhonePe, GPay, Paytm). We do not control their data practices. Please review their privacy policies.
  • WhatsApp / Google: Our primary communication channels (WhatsApp Business) and analytics (Google Analytics, if enabled) process data under their own privacy terms. We recommend reviewing Meta's and Google's privacy policies for those services.

In all cases, we share only the minimum data necessary for that specific purpose.

Cookies & Tracking

Our website uses minimal cookies to function correctly and to understand basic usage patterns. We do not use advertising cookies, cross-site tracking, or third-party marketing pixels.

Cookie Type Purpose Can You Opt Out?
Essential Page load preferences, navigation state No — required for the site to work
Analytics Anonymous page view counts (Google Analytics) Yes — use a browser-level ad/tracker blocker
Advertising Not used N/A

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Most modern browsers allow you to block all third-party cookies without affecting essential site functionality.

How Long We Keep Your Data

We retain your data only as long as necessary for the purpose it was collected, or as required by Indian law.

  • Booking records and ID documents: 3 years from the rental end date (required under GST and Motor Vehicles regulations).
  • WhatsApp and email communications: 1 year from last contact, then deleted.
  • Accident and incident records: 5 years, as required by insurance and legal regulations.
  • Website analytics: Anonymised data only; retained indefinitely in aggregate form. Raw session data deleted after 14 months (Google Analytics default).

After these periods, data is deleted or anonymised so it can no longer identify you.

How We Protect Your Data

We take reasonable precautions to protect your personal data from unauthorised access, loss, or misuse:

  • Physical booking records are stored in a locked, access-restricted location at our Margao office.
  • Digital communications (WhatsApp, email) are secured with the platform's own end-to-end encryption where available.
  • We do not store full ID document copies digitally — only the reference number required for our records.
  • Staff with access to customer data are trained to handle it confidentially.

No system is 100% secure. If we ever discover a data breach that affects you, we will notify you as quickly as possible with details of what happened and what steps to take.

Your Rights

Under Indian data protection law (the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023) and broadly in line with international best practice, you have the following rights:

Right to Access
Ask us what personal data we hold about you. We will respond within 30 days with a clear summary.
Right to Correction
If any data we hold about you is inaccurate, you can ask us to correct it.
Right to Deletion
Ask us to delete your personal data. We will do so unless we're legally required to retain it (e.g. tax records).
Right to Object
Object to our processing of your data for purposes beyond your booking. We will stop processing unless we have a compelling legal reason.
Right to Portability
Request a copy of your booking data in a readable format (CSV or PDF) so you can transfer it elsewhere.
Right to Complain
If you feel we've mishandled your data, you can raise a complaint with us first, or directly with India's Data Protection Board.
How to exercise your rights: Email bookingsroyalgoa@gmail.com with the subject line "Privacy Request — [Your Name]" and we will respond within 30 days. There is no charge for any of these requests.

Children's Privacy

Our service is not directed at children under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data from minors. The minimum rental age is 21 years, so we do not anticipate receiving data from minors in the normal course of business.

If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us at bookingsroyalgoa@gmail.com and we will delete it promptly.

Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to external websites (e.g. Google Maps, travel guides, tourism boards). This Privacy Policy applies only to royalgoaride.com. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of any external websites.

We recommend reviewing the privacy policy of any external site before sharing personal data with it.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time — for example, if Indian data protection law changes or we introduce new features on our website. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page.

For significant changes, we will notify customers who have active bookings via WhatsApp or email. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

Continued use of our service after a policy update constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.

Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests about your personal data or this Privacy Policy, please contact us:

Email: bookingsroyalgoa@gmail.com
WhatsApp: +91 99753 56697
Phone: +91 99753 56697
Address: Near Madgao Railway Station, Margao, Goa 403601, India

We aim to respond to all privacy-related enquiries within 5 business days.