Privacy Policy

This Is Business ("TIB", "we", "our") operates the platform at https://thisisbusiness.in — a professional network connecting startup founders, investors, and facilitators across India.

For questions about this policy, contact us at hello@thisisbusiness.in.

Account information: Name, email address, and password (hashed) when you sign up.

Profile information: Bio, photo, company name, industry, location, role (founder / investor / facilitator), and any other details you add to your profile.

Verification data:

• Phone number — collected when you verify via OTP. Stored in hashed form during verification; only the verified number is saved.
• LinkedIn profile — name and headline fetched via LinkedIn OAuth when you connect your account. We do not store your LinkedIn password or access token beyond the OAuth flow.
• Location (approximate) — city and state derived from your browser's geolocation. Stored as text (e.g., "Bengaluru, Karnataka"). Precise coordinates are not retained.
• Live selfie — a single photograph captured from your webcam to confirm you are a real person. This is stored privately on our servers and is never shown on your public profile or shared with anyone.

Usage data: Pages visited, features used, and device/browser information collected automatically via standard server logs and analytics.

Communications: Messages, posts, comments, and endorsements you create on the platform.

• To create and manage your account and profile.
• To verify your identity and build trust within the community.
• To show your public profile to other members of the platform.
• To send you transactional emails (OTP codes, email verification, password reset).
• To send optional weekly digest emails (you can unsubscribe at any time).
• To detect and prevent fraudulent or abusive accounts.
• To improve our platform, features, and user experience.
• To comply with legal obligations.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to any third party.

We share data only in these limited circumstances:

• Other TIB members — your public profile (name, bio, photo, company, role, trust badges) is visible to logged-in members. Sensitive fields (phone number, exact location coordinates, selfie) are never public.
• Service providers — we use third-party services to operate the platform (e.g., Neon for database hosting, MSG91 for SMS delivery, LinkedIn for OAuth). These providers process data only as necessary to provide their services.
• Legal requirements — if required by law, court order, or to protect the rights and safety of our users.
• Paid session payments (UPI) — When you initiate a booking for a paid session, the Host's UPI ID is shared with you for the sole purpose of enabling direct peer-to-peer payment. This UPI ID is not displayed on the Host's public profile; it is only revealed within the booking flow to confirmed requesters. If you are a Host, you acknowledge that your UPI ID will be shared in this limited context with members who book your paid sessions.

We retain your personal data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we permanently delete your profile, posts, messages, and verification data within 30 days, except where retention is required by law.

Session and payment records — Booking records, UTR numbers submitted by Takers, fee amounts, approval/rejection timestamps, and auto-rejection records are retained for a minimum of 2 years from the session date, regardless of account deletion, to enable payment dispute resolution as described in our Terms of Service (Section 15.6). After 2 years, these records are permanently deleted unless required to be retained longer by law.

You have the right to:

• Access — request a copy of your personal data.
• Correction — update or correct your information at any time via your profile settings.
• Deletion — delete your account and all associated data from your dashboard.
• Portability — request an export of your data.
• Objection — opt out of non-essential communications.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at hello@thisisbusiness.in.

We use strictly necessary cookies to maintain your login session. We do not use advertising cookies or third-party tracking cookies.

We use industry-standard measures to protect your data, including HTTPS encryption, hashed passwords (Argon2), signed session tokens (HMAC-SHA256), and HttpOnly cookies. No system is perfectly secure; if you discover a vulnerability, please disclose it responsibly to hello@thisisbusiness.in.

This Is Business is intended for users aged 18 and above. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has registered, contact us and we will delete the account.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify registered users of material changes via email or an in-app notice. Continued use of the platform after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Certain features on This Is Business are powered by Claude, an AI model provided by Anthropic, PBC ("Anthropic"). These features include, but are not limited to: Pitch Deck Analysis, Investor Fit Score, Intelligence Brief, Meeting Prep, Deal Flow Insights, and Scheme Match.

What data is sent to Anthropic:

• When you use an AI feature, relevant parts of your own profile data — such as your company name, industry, stage, funding ask, and aggregated metrics — are included in the request sent to Anthropic's API to generate the analysis.
• AI features that summarise platform-wide activity (e.g., Intelligence Brief) use aggregated, company-level data (company name, sector, stage, metrics). Personal names of other members are not sent to Anthropic.
• Free-text context you optionally provide within an AI feature (e.g., "Additional context" fields) is included verbatim in the request.

How Anthropic handles this data:

• Anthropic does not use API request data to train its models by default. Data submitted via the API is processed transiently to generate a response.
• Anthropic may retain request logs for a limited period (typically up to 30 days) for safety monitoring and abuse detection purposes only.
• Anthropic's data handling is governed by their Privacy Policy and Usage Policy.

By using AI-powered features on this platform, you acknowledge and consent to the relevant portions of your profile data being sent to Anthropic's API for the sole purpose of generating the requested analysis or insight. You may choose not to use AI features at any time — all AI features are opt-in and clearly labelled on the platform.

If you have questions about how your data is used in AI features, contact us at hello@thisisbusiness.in.

When you enable "Open to Meet", the following information becomes visible to all registered members on the platform:

• Your availability status (open / not available)
• Your meeting mode (online, in-person, or either)
• Your meeting format (1:1 or group), duration, and preferred online platform
• Your general offline area only (e.g., "Indiranagar, Bengaluru") — your exact address or venue is never shown publicly and must only be shared through the platform chat after a request is accepted
• Your available time windows (e.g., weekday evenings)
• Your stated topics of interest (e.g., Fundraising, Mentorship)
• Your short note (up to 120 characters)
• Your availability expiry date

What we do NOT share: Your personal phone number, email address, home address, or precise location are never shared as part of this feature. All contact details remain locked unless you explicitly approve a contact request through the separate contact request system.

Meet request data: When someone sends you a meet request, their message, stated intent, and preferred time window are stored in our database and visible only to you and the requester. Accepted requests create a private chat thread between the two parties. This thread, the request history, and any ratings submitted via the post-meeting prompt are stored permanently for platform safety and quality signals.

Meet ratings: After a completed meeting, both parties may submit a 1–5 star rating. Ratings are stored internally and are never shown publicly to any member, including the person rated. They are used only as internal platform quality signals.

Offline meeting disclaimer: If you choose to meet someone in person as a result of using this feature, that meeting takes place entirely outside This Is Business's platform. We have no visibility into, and no responsibility for, anything that occurs at or after an in-person meeting. Please review our full meeting safety guidelines in our Terms of Service.

Your "Open to Meet" status is temporary and auto-expires at the window you select. You can turn it off at any time from the Open to Meet page. Upon disabling, your availability details are no longer shown to other members. Historical request data is retained for safety record-keeping.

If you experience harassment, uncomfortable contact, or safety concerns through this feature, report immediately using the report button on any request or message, or email us at hello@thisisbusiness.in.

The Sessions feature allows members to create session offerings, schedule slots, and receive or send booking requests — including paid bookings via UPI. The following data is collected and used as part of this feature.

Data collected from Hosts (session givers):

• Session offering details (title, description, topics, prep requirements) — visible to all logged-in members on your profile.
• Session slot times and availability — visible to all logged-in members on your profile.
• UPI ID — collected only if you set a session fee. Shared only with Takers who initiate a booking for your paid slot; never shown on your public profile.
• Session fee amounts — visible on your profile's offering cards so Takers know before requesting.
• Booking decisions (approved, rejected, reason for rejection) — stored internally; shared with the affected Taker only.

Data collected from Takers (session requesters):

• Topic and message submitted with the booking request — shared with the Host.
• UTR number (UPI Transaction Reference ID) — submitted as proof of payment for paid bookings. Stored in the booking record and shared with the Host for verification. Retained for 2 years (see Section 5).
• Payment amount — stored as part of the booking record.

Session room data:

• Sessions held on the TIB platform use Daily.co for video infrastructure. By joining a session room, you agree to Daily.co's data processing as a sub-processor.
• Host-written session notes are stored privately and visible only to both parties in the session.
• Session room open and end timestamps are recorded for dispute and record purposes.

For full details on payment liability, refund obligations, and dispute handling, see our Terms of Service (Section 15).

By creating an account on This Is Business — whether via email/password or a social login (Google, LinkedIn) — you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to our Terms of Service and this Privacy Policy. This consent is recorded at the time of account creation and is required to use the platform.

If you do not agree to these policies, you must not register or continue using the platform. You may withdraw your consent at any time by deleting your account from your dashboard settings.

This Is Business
Email: hello@thisisbusiness.in
Website: https://thisisbusiness.in