Privacy Policy

Effective Date: 15th May, 2026

This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) applies to the use of the Hike Messenger application and the web version of the application, Hike Cinema application and associate web-version and any other services or platforms activated by Hike (and to which this Policy is made applicable by reference) from time to time (collectively: “Platform”) available on:

•Android: [Insert Links]

Each Platform is operated by Hike Messenger Ltd and its affiliates, (hereinafter collectively referred to as “Hike” and where the context requires, individually to Hike Messenger Ltd or the relevant affiliate). For the purpose of this Policy, wherever the context so requires, “you”, “your”, “yourself”, or “user” shall mean any person who uses the Platform. Through the Platform, Hike provides an internet-based communication service that enables users to exchange messages, make voice and video calls, send images, audio, videos, documents, and contacts, show status and profile picture, and share their location with others when they choose to, and other services we may introduce from time to time (ii) an online video-based curated content service offering videos and content series accessible on demand, and (iii) other services as activated from time of time (collectively "Services")

This Policy reflects Hike’s commitment towards protecting the privacy and Personal Information (as defined herein) provided by users of the Platform. We are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy in accordance with the applicable data protection laws in India, including:

•The Information Technology Act, 2000;

•The Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011; and

•The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

Terms not defined herein will have the meaning ascribed to them in the Terms and Conditions for the relevant Platform, as available on that Platform and incorporated by reference.

By using our Services, you agree to this Policy.

1. Information Gathered

1.1 To access our Platform, you may be required to register and create an account on the Platform (“Account”). You may be required to provide certain information that can be used to identify you or in relation to which information you are identifiable (“Personal Information”) at the time of the registration, which may include:

(a)name;

(b)phone number; and

(c)profile picture.

1.2 Depending on your interaction with the Platform, we may collect (“Demographic Information”):

(a)device information (e.g., operating system, IP address, access times, contacts);

(b)platform of access (e.g., mobile phone app access, mobile-webpage access, website access);

(c)geography of access;

(d)IMSI, ICCID or other identifier of your mobile phone SIM-card;

(e)platform activity logs; and

(f)cookies (subject to consent) for improving experience.

1.3 We may, with your prior consent, access your device’s camera and photo gallery to enable you to capture photos or videos and to upload, share, or send such media through the Platform. With your prior consent, we may access your phone contacts to help you connect with people in your address book who are also Hike users. With your prior consent, we may access your device’s location information to provide you with geographically relevant and co-located recommendations.

1.4 Should any Personal Information submitted by you or Demographic Information accessed pursuant to your usage of the Services include the Personal Information of any other person, as between you and Hike, you shall be responsible for securing the necessary consent of such other person for the incidental storage and usage of such information by Hike in the normal course of providing access to the Services and responding to your requests for Services through the Platform.

2. Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies

2.1 Our Platform may also utilize “cookies” and other tracking technologies. A “cookie” is a small text file that may be used, for example, to collect information about your activity on our Platform. Some cookies and other technologies may serve to recall Personal Information previously indicated by you. Most browsers or devices allow you to control cookies, including whether to accept them and how to remove them. You may set most browsers or devices to notify you if you receive a cookie, or you may choose to block cookies with your browser or device, but please note that if you choose to erase or block your cookies, you may need to re-enter your Personal Information to gain access to certain parts of our Platform. You can follow the instructions provided by your browser or device (usually located under "Settings" or "Preferences") to modify your cookie settings.

2.2 Tracking technologies may automatically record information such as Internet domain and host names, other information about your geographic location, IP addresses, browser software and operating system types, CPU type, your manner of connecting to the Internet (e.g., connection speed through narrowband or broadband access), click paths, and dates and times that our Platform is accessed.

2.3 Our use of cookies and other tracking technologies allows us to improve our Platform, and consequently your Platform experience. For example, we use cookies to support access to our web and desktop Platforms, store your preferences, such as language settings, and help provide a safer and more customized experience. We may also analyze information that does not include Personal Information for trends and statistics.

3. How we collect Personal Information

3.1 We may collect Personal Information from you when you register on any Platform through the creation of an Account or otherwise voluntarily provide such information for availing our Services or when you contact for support or communicate with Hike. If you wish to subscribe to our marketing materials, we will use your name and email address to send the materials to you. Certain information is collected automatically when you use the Platform, through technologies such as device and app identifiers, IP addresses, log files, cookies (for web access), crash reports, diagnostic data, and usage patterns generated during your use of the Platform.

4. Uses of Personal Information

4.1 We process your Personal Information for the following purposes:

(a)with your consent, where required under applicable law or where you have chosen to provide specific information or enable certain permissions (such as access to contacts, camera, location, microphone, gallery or other features of your phones as are accessible) for the purpose of providing the Services requested by you (for example, we may require access to your contact list to identify and enable peer-to-peer messaging with your contact upon your request);

(b)for purposes that you acknowledge are necessary for us to provide the Platform and for which you voluntarily provide your Personal Information, including providing and operating the messaging services, including delivering messages, enabling voice and video calls, sharing media, syncing contacts, managing your Account, verifying your age, providing content or service recommendations to you, providing localized content recommendations;

(c)improving, personalising, and optimising your experience on the Platform, including in-app features, content recommendations, settings, and recommendations;

(d)where you provide your consent for custom marketing, for analysing your interests and providing tailored advertisements, content recommendations, and promotions aligned with your interests or location;

(e)conducting analytics, troubleshooting, and research to understand usage patterns and enhance performance;

(f)processing transactions (if applicable), facilitating in-app purchases, and communicating with you about your Account or service-related matters;

(g)providing customer support and resolving technical issues or user queries;

(h)complying with legal, regulatory, and law-enforcement requirements, including responding to lawful requests;

(i)protecting the safety and security of the Platform, including preventing fraud, spam, abuse, harmful content, unauthorised access, and security threats;

(j)operating the Platform and, where permitted, providing you with relevant communications, updates, and promotional content relating to our products or Services;

(k)sharing your Personal Information with authorised third-party service providers who assist in delivering, hosting, analysing, or improving the Platform; and

(l)verifying your identity, device, and Account information, and ensuring the integrity of your login credentials and connected devices.

4.2 In certain circumstances, we may share aggregated non-personal information with third parties. When we use third parties to assist us in processing your Personal Information, we require that they comply with this Policy and any other appropriate confidentiality and security measures. We may also share such information with third parties in limited circumstances, including when complying with legal process, preventing fraud or imminent harm, and ensuring the security of our network and Services.

4.3 Hike may integrate, transfer, share, collate and process Personal Information collected through one Platform into or through another Platform operated by another Hike entity for the purposes of account synchronisation, single sign-on authentication, and consistency of user experience across Platforms. Such integration shall be carried out only to the extent necessary for the foregoing purposes, and Personal Information so integrated shall remain subject to the terms set out in this Privacy Policy.

4.4 Where we propose to use your Personal Information for any other uses, we will ensure that we notify you first. You will also be given the opportunity to withhold or withdraw your consent for your use other than as listed above.

4.5 In connection with your use of the Natasha Artificial Intelligence messaging assistant ("Natasha") integrated within Hike Messenger, Hike collects and processes data generated through your interactions with Natasha, including message inputs submitted to Natasha, conversation history with Natasha, smart reply selections, feedback on Natasha's responses, and usage patterns. By opting for and using Natasha, you consent to Hike storing, processing, and analysing such data for the purposes of delivering personalised in-app messaging assistance upon your request, improving the accuracy and quality of Natasha's responses, and optimising or training Natasha's underlying generative artificial intelligence model.

4.6 Such data may be aggregated, de-identified, or pseudonymised where feasible prior to being used for model improvement or shared with service providers or partners engaged for these purposes, and in no case will individually identifiable outputs be linked back to any specific User when used for model training or improvement. All Personal Information processed in connection with Natasha shall remain subject to the retention periods, security standards, and covenants as set out in this Policy.

5. Withdrawal of consent

5.1 You are entitled to withdraw consent for processing of your Personal Information by emailing a specific request at the following email address <care@hikeapp.com>. Withdrawal of consent with respect to all or any part of your Personal Information may result in immediate withdrawal of your eligibility to avail the Services provided by us on the Platform or limit your access to the Services provided by us on the Platform. Your withdrawal of consent shall not operate to cause us to cease any processing of Personal Information that is necessary for compliance with applicable law or the order of a court/executive authority, or purposes for which we may continue to store and use your Personal Information as per applicable law.

5.2 You may withdraw your consent to cross-platform integration at any time by contacting Hike at care@hikeapp.com or through the account settings on the relevant Platform, following which Hike will endeavour to de-link your accounts across Platforms. You acknowledge that certain features, including single sign-on functionality, may cease to be available to you upon such withdrawal and your user experience across platforms will be affected by such withdrawal.

6. Confidentiality and Security

6.1 We will keep confidential and protect your Personal Information except where disclosure is required or permitted by law.

6.2 We follow generally accepted industry standards to protect the Personal Information submitted to us, both during transmission and, once we receive it, for storage and disposal. All information we gather is securely stored within databases controlled by us. The databases are stored on servers secured behind a firewall; access to the servers is password-protected and is strictly limited. No method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure, however. Therefore, while we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your Personal Information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

6.3 We limit access to Personal Information to employees who we believe reasonably need to come into contact with that information to provide Services to you or in order to do their jobs.

6.4 Third parties provide certain Services available on our Platforms on our behalf. We may provide information, including Personal Information, to third-party service providers to help us deliver our products, information, and Services efficiently and effectively. Service providers are also an important means by which we maintain our Platforms. We will take reasonable steps to ensure that these third-party service providers are obligated to protect Personal Information on our behalf through confidentiality agreements and otherwise. We do not intend to transfer Personal Information without your consent to third parties who are not bound to act on our behalf unless such transfer is legally required or is undertaken in the course of Platform operations, such as data processors engaged by Hike for data storage, analytics and similar purposes. Similarly, it is against our policy to sell Personal Information collected online without consent.

6.5 The Platform may use encryption technologies to protect your communications. Where supported, certain messages, calls, and media shared between users may be encrypted, which means that only the intended recipients can view or access the content. In other cases, we may use encryption in transit to safeguard information while it is being transmitted over networks. Please note that encryption may not apply to all features or Services on the Platform.

6.6 To facilitate the delivery of messages, media, and other content, we may temporarily store encrypted copies of such data on our secure servers.

6.7 We may process certain metadata, diagnostic data, and device information to detect spam, fraud, harmful activity, unauthorised access, and other security threats. This processing enables us to protect the integrity of the Platform, maintain reliable service, and ensure user safety. For the same purposes, we may use automated systems or algorithms that help identify suspicious patterns or misuse.

6.8 If you choose to provide us with your Personal Information, we may transfer that Personal Information from your country or jurisdiction to other countries or jurisdictions around the world. Your Personal Information may be collected and stored on servers located in the territory of India and such other countries as we may disclose from time to time.

7. Third Party Platforms

7.1 If you click on a link to a third-party site or otherwise leave the Platform, you will go to a Platform that is outside the purview of our control. Because we cannot control the activities of third parties, we cannot accept responsibility for any use of your Personal Information by such third parties, and we cannot guarantee that they will adhere to the same privacy and security practices as we do. The use of Personal Information by such Platforms shall be governed by the privacy policies provided therein. Therefore, if you visit a third party Platform that is linked to our Platform, you should consult that Platform’s privacy policy before providing any Personal Information.

8. Contacting You

8.1 We may contact you using the Personal Information you have given us:

(a)in relation to the functioning of any service you have signed up for in order to ensure that we can deliver the Services to you;

(b)where you have opted to receive further correspondence;

(c)to invite you to participate in surveys, opinion polls, etc., about our Services or otherwise (participation is always voluntary); and

(d)to provide you information about our new products and Services, where you have specifically agreed to receive this.

9. Change of Control

9.1 In the event that ownership or control of Hike was to change, your Personal Information may be transferred. If such a transfer results in a material change in the use of your Personal Information, Hike will provide notice about the choices you have to decline to permit such a transfer.

10. Accuracy

10.1 To the extent that you do provide us with Personal Information, we wish to maintain accurate and current Personal Information. Where we collect Personal Information from you on our Platforms, should you need to update or correct that Personal Information, please contact us and we will make reasonable efforts to incorporate the changes in your Personal Information that we hold as soon as practicable. You can obtain the information we currently hold on you by contacting us through the Contact Us section of the Platform available at https://hikeapp.com/contact. We will use our best efforts to send you the information within 14 (fourteen) days of receipt of your email.

11. Consent and Amendments

11.1 By using our Platforms, you consent to the terms of this Policy and to our use and management of Personal Information for the purposes and in the manner herein provided. Should this Policy change, we intend to take every reasonable step to ensure that these changes are brought to your attention by posting all changes prominently on our Platforms for a reasonable period of time, and update the “Effective Date” at the top of this Privacy Policy. Please review our Privacy Policy from time to time.

11.2 Your visit and any dispute over privacy are subject to this Policy.

12. Grievance Redressal

12.1 In the event you have any complaints or grievances in respect of our processing of your Personal Information or concerning any dispute or disagreement arising out of this Privacy Policy, such complaints or grievances can be sent to our Grievance Officer at grievance@hikeapp.com.

12.2 Any complaint or grievance raised by you must include the following information:

(a)marked as “Personal Information Grievance”;

(b)your name and contact details: name, address, contact number and email address;

(c)description of the complaint or grievance in relation to which such complaint or grievance is made;

(d)a statement under penalty of perjury that the information provided in the complaint or grievance is accurate; and

12.3 We will endeavor to acknowledge each request and respond to your request within twenty-four hours and resolve such complaint within a period of fifteen (15) days from the date of its receipt, or such other timeline provided by applicable law.

13. Applicable Law

13.1 This Policy and information contained herein, shall be governed by the laws of India and the courts of New Delhi shall retain exclusive jurisdiction to entertain any proceedings in relation to any disputes arising out of the same.

14. Limitation of Liability

14.1 This Policy is only a description of our operation regarding your Personal Information.

WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT OUR PLATFORM, ITS SERVERS, OR EMAILS SENT BY IT OR ON ITS BEHALF ARE VIRUS FREE.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OF ANY KIND ARISING FROM THE USE OF ITS PLATFORM, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO COMPENSATORY, DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY AND CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, LOSS OF DATA, GOODWILL, BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY, INCOME OR PROFIT, LOSS OF OR DAMAGE TO PROPERTY AND CLAIMS OF THIRD PARTIES.

IN THE EVENT OF ANY PERSONAL INFORMATION BREACH, WE SHALL INFORM THE AFFECTED USERS IN THE MANNER PRESCRIBED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW