Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are (Data Controller)

Umair Javaid, trading as HalalKnot, is the data controller for the personal data processed through this website.

Controller: Umair Javaid, trading as “HalalKnot”

Trading name: “HalalKnot” — CRO business-name registration is pending

Legal form / establishment: Individual sole trader, Ireland. HalalKnot is not an incorporated or limited company.

Correspondence address: Ireland — postal address available on request (email below is the quickest way to reach us)

Email: connect.hk@outlook.com

Supervisory Authority (EU/Ireland): Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) — dataprotection.ie

Supervisory Authority (UK): Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) — ico.org.uk

UK GDPR Representative: As a business based in Ireland (EU) that offers services to users in the United Kingdom, we are subject to UK GDPR in addition to EU GDPR. We are in the process of appointing a UK representative as required under UK GDPR Article 27. In the meantime, UK users may exercise their rights by contacting us directly at connect.hk@outlook.com.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, you can contact us using the details above.

2. Who Can Use Halalknot

Halalknot is intended for adults aged 18 and over only. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18. If we become aware that an account belongs to someone under 18, we will delete it.

3. Personal Data We Collect

We collect the following categories of personal data when you create an account or use the Service:

3.1 Account & Profile Information

• Name
• Age / date of birth
• Gender
• Marital status and other matrimonial preferences
• Profile information selected from dropdown fields

HalalKnot does not collect explicit religion or sect fields — there are no religion or sect inputs in the system. However, because HalalKnot is a Muslim matrimonial service, your membership and the values-related information you provide may indicate your religious beliefs. Under GDPR Article 9 this is treated as special-category data, and we process it only on the basis of the explicit consent you give at sign-up, which you can withdraw at any time by deleting your account.

3.2 Profile Photo

• You may upload one profile photo
• You control whether your photo is visible or hidden to other users
• A blurred version of the photo may be generated for display purposes

3.3 Contact Information

• Email address (account login)
• WhatsApp number (optional — you choose whether to add this to your profile)

Your login email is not visible to other users until a proposal is mutually accepted. Once both users accept the connection, each person's login email becomes visible on the Connected tab in Proposals.

If you add a WhatsApp number, it may be shown to users with whom you have an accepted connection so they can contact you off-platform. You can leave this field blank.

When your email is shared or viewed by a connected member, we may send you an in-app notification and, where configured, an email alert to the address on your account.

3.4 Verification Data

Email verification is required to create and use an account. Additional verification steps (such as phone, photo/selfie, or identity document checks) may be introduced over time to reduce fraud and impersonation.

If we introduce third-party identity or selfie verification, that provider would process verification data on our behalf under contractual and GDPR obligations. Halalknot would receive only the verification result (and any images needed for security review), not commercial use of biometric identifiers.

See our Verification page for current requirements.

3.5 Technical & Usage Data

• IP address
• Device and browser information
• Log-in timestamps
• Approximate location derived from IP address

When you create your profile, we record a one-time approximate location (city and country level only — we do notstore your IP address for this purpose) derived from your connection at that moment. This "signed-up from" location is visible only to our administrators and is used as a safety signal to help detect fraudulent or impersonated accounts — for example, where the stated country of residence does not match the location a profile was created from. It is not displayed to other members, and it is permanently erased when you delete your account.

3.6 Cookies and Analytics

We use:

• Essential cookies (login, security) — always active, required for the Service to function
• Analytics cookies (Vercel Analytics) — only loaded after you click Accept on the cookie banner

Declining the cookie banner keeps analytics off entirely. You can withdraw consent at any time by contacting us at connect.hk@outlook.com or by clearing your browser's local storage for halalknot.com (which will cause the consent banner to reappear on your next visit).

4. Data We Do NOT Collect

We do not collect or process the following categories of data:

• Explicit religion or sect input fields (though membership itself may indicate religious belief — see §3.1)
• Political opinions
• Philosophical beliefs
• Health or medical data
• Sexual orientation or sex life data

5. How We Use Your Data

We use your personal data to:

• Provide and operate the Halalknot matrimonial service
• Create and manage your account
• Enable sending and receiving interests
• Reveal contact details upon mutual acceptance
• Verify identity and prevent fraud
• Maintain platform security and integrity
• Comply with legal and regulatory obligations

Members cannot send direct messages. Communication is limited to sending and accepting interests.

5a. Lawful Basis for Processing (GDPR Article 6)

We only process your personal data where we have a valid legal basis to do so. The basis for each category of processing is as follows:

6. Payments

HalalKnot is currently free to use, and we do not collect payment information for free accounts. We are introducing an optional paid Premium plan (a one-time payment, no auto-renewal). If you choose to buy Premium, your payment is handled by a third-party payment provider — we do not store your full card details on our systems. We will name that provider in this policy and in our sub-processor list below before Premium becomes available. You are only charged if you choose to purchase Premium.

7. Data Sharing & Sub-processors

We do not sell your personal data.

We may share data with:

• Other users (profile fields you choose to share; login email and optional WhatsApp after mutual acceptance)
• Service providers listed below
• Legal authorities where required by law

Our current sub-processors (third-party service providers who process your data on our behalf):

All sub-processors are bound by Data Processing Agreements and are required to protect your data in compliance with GDPR. Where data is transferred outside the EU, Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) are in place.

Business transfers. If HalalKnot is acquired, merges with another company, or sells substantially all of its assets, your personal data may be transferred to the successor entity as part of that transaction. This is not a sale of your data to a third party for their independent use — it is distinct from the "we do not sell your personal data" commitment above, which refers to advertisers and data brokers. Any successor would be bound by this Privacy Policy unless and until users are notified of material changes and, where required by law, asked for fresh consent.

8. Manual Review and Moderation

For safety and quality purposes:

• Profile photos may be automatically screened and manually reviewed by administrators
• Additional identity verification may be introduced in future
• Private communications are not reviewed, as direct messaging is not available

9. Data Retention

We retain personal data only as long as reasonably necessary.

Factors considered include:

• Nature and sensitivity of the data
• Risk of harm from unauthorised use
• Legal and regulatory requirements

Account Deletion

• You may delete your account at any time from Settings → Delete account
• Your public profile, photos, active private contact information, proposals and connections are removed from the active service when deletion completes
• The approximate signup location recorded for fraud prevention is removed from the active database
• A random HalalKnot profile identifier and deletion timestamp remain as a non-reusable tombstone so old shared links cannot be assigned to another person
• A one-way hash of your email is retained for 30 days to enforce the voluntary re-registration cooldown; the raw email is not retained in that record
• Complaint, moderation and anti-abuse records may be retained where necessary for legal compliance, claims, investigations, member protection or preventing ban evasion

In limited circumstances, we may retain data longer where required for:

• Legal claims or disputes
• Fraud or regulatory investigations
• Protection of users or third parties, including enforcement of restrictions on banned accounts

Backups

Database backups are retained for 30 days for disaster recovery purposes, after which they are permanently overwritten. Your data may therefore persist in encrypted backups for up to 30 days after account deletion.

10. International Data Transfers

Some service providers may process data outside the EU. Where this occurs, appropriate safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses are used.

11. Your GDPR Rights

You have the following rights under GDPR:

• Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Rectification — correct inaccurate or incomplete data
• Erasure — delete your account and data at any time from Settings, or by emailing us
• Restriction / objection — ask us to limit or stop processing your data in certain circumstances
• Withdraw consent — withdraw analytics consent at any time (see §3.6); withdrawal does not affect prior lawful processing
• Data portability — receive your personal data in a structured, machine-readable format
• Lodge a complaint — EU/Ireland users: Irish Data Protection Commission at dataprotection.ie. UK users: Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk

To exercise any right, contact us at connect.hk@outlook.com. We will respond within 30 days. For data portability requests, we will provide your profile data in JSON format.

Account deletion (the right to erasure) can be exercised immediately and self-serve via Settings → Delete account.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Significant changes will be communicated via the website.

13. Contact

For privacy-related questions:

Email: connect.hk@outlook.com