Privacy Policy

Last updated: 23 October 2026

The short version. VRIK is free. We don't sell anything, we don't show ads, and we don't sell, rent or trade your personal information. We collect only what we need to run your account, your goals and the community, and you can ask us to delete it.

1. Who we are

This policy covers the VRIK website and the VRIK mobile app (together, "VRIK", "we", "us"). VRIK is run by HackGeniX. When this policy says "you", it means anyone who visits the website or uses the app.

2. What we collect

On the website

Messages you send us. The website has no sign-up form. If you email us, we keep your message and address only to reply and to handle your request.
Standard server data such as your IP address, browser type and the pages requested. Our hosting provider records this automatically for security and to keep the site running.
Fonts from Google. The site loads its fonts from Google Fonts, so your browser contacts Google's servers and Google receives your IP address. The site sets no cookies and uses no analytics or advertising trackers.

In the app

Account details: your username and a password (kept only as a one-way scrambled value, never in readable form), your phone number (confirmed with a one-time code when you sign up, on a new phone and when you reset your password), your name, email address (used only to send you account codes if you confirm it as a recovery email), date of birth and gender (asked when you sign up), the interests you pick, and profile information you choose to add, such as a username, headline and bio.
Your city, only if you type it in. It is used to suggest people near you. VRIK does not read your phone's location, and you can clear your city at any time.
Your goals and progress: the goals you set, check-ins, streaks and weekly recaps.
Content you create: posts, comments, reels, messages in Talk (chat), and the people and circles you follow or join.
Events: the events you mark as going or add to your wishlist, and events you host (name, time, place or link, and details).
Screen-time figures only if you enter them yourself for the screen-time goal. We do not read them from your phone automatically.
Reports you send us about posts, comments, messages, events, AI suggestions or people, including the reason you choose.
Device and sign-in information: your phone model, operating system and app version, a device identifier, your language and time zone, and the IP address and app details of each sign-in. We use it to keep your account secure, spot unusual sign-ins and fix problems.
Notification token, only if you allow notifications. It lets us send you reminders through Google's Firebase Cloud Messaging. You can turn reminders off in the app or notifications off in your phone's settings.

Some choices stay on your device only: saved posts, "not interested", muted and blocked accounts. We do not receive these. Reports are the exception, because they are sent to us for review.

VRIK never asks for permission to use your phone's location. We do not ask for access to your camera, microphone or contacts unless a future feature needs it, and we will tell you why before asking.

3. How we use it

To create your account and sign you in.
To run VRIK: show your goals, plan and progress, and build your feed and daily session.
To choose resources that match your goals. This uses simple rules, not a profile sold to anyone.
To keep the community safe: review goals for safety, handle reports, and act on content or behaviour that breaks our Terms.
To protect the service against abuse, fraud and security problems.
To contact you about your account, or to reply when you contact us.
To meet legal obligations.

We do not use your information for advertising, and we do not build advertising profiles.

4. Use of AI

VRIK does not have an always-on AI chatbot reading your messages. AI is used only for limited jobs, each off unless we switch it on: writing community posts (which are labelled as AI), a second safety check on goals, suggesting first tasks and building a goal draft from a sentence you type, and searching the public web for upcoming events. The event search uses no personal information, and our team checks every event it finds before it is listed.

When you ask for task suggestions or a goal draft, or a goal is safety checked, the text is sent to our AI provider, Anthropic, only to produce that answer. It is not used for ads or sold. AI suggestions can be wrong: you can change them before saving, and report any that look harmful.

Resources and news in the feed come only from an allowlist of trusted publishers.

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal information. We share it only in these cases:

Service providers who help us run VRIK, such as Google (Firebase) for one-time codes and notifications, Amazon (SES) for account e-mails, Anthropic for the optional AI features described above, and our hosting and database providers. They may use the information only to provide their service to us.
Moderators and administrators who review reports and safety flags.
Authorities or courts when the law requires it, or when needed to protect someone's safety or our legal rights.
A successor organisation, if VRIK is ever transferred to another organisation. We would tell you first and the same protections would continue to apply.

6. What other people can see

Posts, comments, reels and your public profile are visible to other VRIK users, so don't post anything you want to keep private. Events you host, with your name as host, are visible to other users; who is going is not shown to other members. Messages in Talk are visible to the people in that conversation, and may be reviewed by us if they are reported or if we need to act on a safety concern. Blocking someone limits what they can do with you, but cannot remove what they already saw.

7. How long we keep it

We keep your information while your account is active. When you delete your account, or ask us to, we delete or anonymise your personal information, except where we must keep something to meet a legal duty or to deal with a safety, abuse or security matter. Emails you send us are kept while we deal with your request and for as long as we need a record of it. Server logs are kept only as long as needed for security and troubleshooting.

8. Your choices and rights

Subject to applicable law (including India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, where it applies), you can ask us to:

tell you what personal information we hold about you;
correct information that is wrong or out of date;
delete your information and account (you can do it yourself in the app; see how to delete your account);
stop using your information where you have given consent, by withdrawing that consent;
deal with a complaint or grievance about how we handled your information.

To use any of these, write to us at privacy@thevrik.com (see Contact). We may need to confirm that the request really comes from you. If you are not satisfied with our reply, you may also complain to the data protection authority in your country.

9. Children

VRIK is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from a child without the consent of a parent or legal guardian. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child gave us information without your consent, contact us and we will delete it.

10. Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your information. No system is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security. Keep your phone and sign-in codes private.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as VRIK grows or the law changes. The date at the top shows the latest version. If a change is significant, we will tell you in the app or by email before it takes effect.

12. Contact

Questions, requests or complaints about privacy: privacy@thevrik.com
Grievance Officer, HackGeniX: write to the same address with "Grievance" in the subject line. We aim to acknowledge complaints within 7 days and resolve them within 30 days.