Privacy Policy

MealAdda (“MealAdda”, “we”, “us”) provides software that hostel messes use to run meal subscriptions, verify attendance at the serving counter with a QR code, publish menus, and record counter sales. MealAdda is available as a mobile app for iOS and Android and on the web at mealadda.in.

The hostel or mess that registered you (“your mess”) decides what information it records about its students and staff and what it is used for. We store and process that information on your mess’s behalf and on its instructions. This policy explains what the software collects and how we handle it; your mess may have its own policies as well.

This policy applies to the MealAdda app, the web console and this website. By using MealAdda you acknowledge this policy and our Terms & Conditions.

Accounts are created by your mess — you cannot sign up by yourself. The information below comes from your mess, from you, or is recorded when you use the app.

What we do not collect

MealAdda does not collect your precise or approximate location, your contacts, photos from your gallery that you have not chosen to attach, your browsing history, information from other apps, advertising identifiers, or any health or biometric data. We do not use analytics or crash-reporting tools that send your activity to third parties.

• Camera. The app asks for camera access only so counter staff can scan students’ meal codes. Camera images are processed on the device to read the code and are not stored or uploaded. You can revoke this permission in your phone’s settings at any time.
• Secure storage. Your sign-in session is kept in your phone’s secure keystore (Keychain on iOS, Keystore on Android) so you stay signed in.
• Local preferences. Small settings, such as light or dark theme, are stored on your device. On a staff device, scans made while the connection drops are held briefly on the device and sent as soon as it reconnects.
• Screen brightness. The app raises screen brightness while your QR code is displayed so the scanner can read it, and restores it afterwards.
• Cookies. The website uses only essential cookies to keep you signed in, and local storage for your theme choice. It does not use advertising or analytics cookies.

• To sign you in and keep your account secure.
• To confirm, at the counter, that you have a valid plan for the meal being served, and to record that you were served.
• To let your mess plan meals and cook the right quantity from a live headcount.
• To apply absences, pauses and plan changes according to your mess’s rules.
• To keep an accurate record of plans, payments and meals, so questions about what was paid and served can be answered.
• To show you menus and announcements from your mess, and to pass your meal feedback to your mess.
• To prevent misuse, such as shared or copied QR codes, and to investigate errors.
• To comply with the law and respond to lawful requests.

We process this information to provide the service your mess has arranged for you, on the basis of the consent given to your mess when you were registered. We do not use it for any unrelated purpose, and we do not use it to profile you.

Only your own mess. Each mess’s data is separated at the database level: staff and administrators of one mess cannot see another mess’s records. Within your mess:

• Counter staff see your name, photo, roll number and whether you may be served for the current meal.
• Administrators additionally see your contact details, plan, payments, absences, feedback and meal history.
• You see your own plan, QR code, menu, absences and history.

A small number of MealAdda personnel can access data when it is needed to support your mess, fix a problem or keep the service secure — including, when a mess asks for help, viewing the app as a particular student sees it. Every such session is recorded in your mess’s audit log.

We do not sell, rent or trade personal data, and we do not share it with advertisers or data brokers. We disclose information only to the service providers below, where required by law, to protect someone’s safety, or as part of a merger or transfer of the business under the same protections described here.

We use a small number of providers who process data on our instructions and nothing more:

These providers may store and process data on servers outside India. Where they do, the data stays protected by encryption and contractual safeguards, and we transfer it only as applicable law permits.

Some messes serve students who are under 18. MealAdda is not directed at children, and accounts are created only by a mess, never by a child signing up. Where a mess registers a student under 18, the mess is responsible for obtaining consent from that student’s parent or guardian as required by law, including India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.

We do not track students, build behavioural profiles, or show them targeted advertising. Because the app cannot know any individual student’s age, these protections apply to every user without exception. A parent or guardian can ask for a child’s information to be reviewed, corrected or deleted by writing to support@mealadda.in.

MealAdda does not show advertising and does not track you across other companies’ apps or websites. It does not use an advertising identifier.

If we ever introduce advertising, it will be requested as child-directed and non-personalised for every user, and we will update this policy and tell you in the app before it starts.

• Data is encrypted in transit (HTTPS) and at rest.
• Access rules are enforced by the database itself, not only by the app, so a fault in one layer does not expose another mess’s records.
• Photographs are held in private storage and served only to signed-in members of the same mess.
• QR codes are signed by our server and expire within seconds, so they cannot be forged, copied or reused.
• Passwords are stored only as secure hashes; nobody, including us, can read them.
• Sensitive staff and administrator actions are recorded in an audit log.

No system is perfectly secure. If a breach affecting your personal data occurs, we will notify your mess, the relevant authorities and, where required, you, as the law requires.

We keep your account information while you are a member of your mess. After that, records are kept only as long as your mess needs them to answer questions about what it served and what was paid, or as long as the law requires (for example, for accounting). Attendance and payment records are the mess’s account of what it provided, so they may be kept after a plan ends.

When a record no longer needs to be kept, it is deleted or anonymised so it can no longer be linked to you. Server logs are kept by our hosting providers for a limited period and then deleted.

Subject to applicable law, you have the right to:

• Access — see your plan, absences and meal history in the app, and ask for a copy of the personal data held about you.
• Correction — ask for your name, number, photograph or other details to be corrected or updated.
• Deletion — ask for your account and personal data to be erased. See how to delete your account.
• Withdraw consent — your account can then no longer be used to collect meals, and it will be closed.
• Grievance redressal — raise a complaint with us and get a response, and, if it is not resolved, escalate to the Data Protection Board of India.
• Nominate — name someone to exercise these rights for you in the event of death or incapacity.

Your mess administers your account, so it can usually act fastest — speak to your mess office first. If they cannot help, or you would rather contact us directly, write to support@mealadda.in. We verify the request with your mess and respond within 30 days.

We may update this policy as the service changes. The effective date at the top of this page shows when it last changed. If a change materially affects what we collect or how it is used, we will tell you in the app before it takes effect.

Questions about your own records are best answered by your mess office, which holds them. For anything about MealAdda, privacy requests, or to raise a grievance, contact our Grievance Officer at support@mealadda.in. Please include your name, your mess, and the mobile number or email you sign in with.