Privacy Policy
Qatra (قطرہ) Last updated: 19 July 2026
1. Who we are
Qatra ("Qatra", "we", "us") is a free, non-profit service that connects people who urgently need blood with nearby voluntary blood donors in Pakistan. Qatra is operated by Qatra, an independent non-commercial volunteer project, not yet incorporated, based in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
Qatra is provided fee sabilillah — free, forever, for everyone. We never charge donors or patients, we never sell your data, and we never facilitate payment for blood.
Privacy contact: privacy@qatras.app
2. Important: what Qatra is and is not
Qatra is not a medical device and does not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition. Qatra does not collect, test, store, or supply blood. We only help people find each other. All blood donation, screening and transfusion happens at licensed hospitals and blood banks, which are responsible for all clinical decisions and for mandatory testing (HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, syphilis and malaria).
Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
3. What data we collect
We collect only what is needed to match a patient with a donor safely.
3.1 Information you give us
| Data | Why we need it | Required? |
|---|---|---|
| Phone number | To create and secure your account, and to verify you are a real person | Required |
| Name | So the person you are matched with knows who to expect | Required |
| Blood group | The core matching field — this is health information | Required for donors |
| Date of birth | To check donation eligibility (age 17–65) and to prevent under-age use | Required for donors |
| Weight | To check donation eligibility (minimum 50 kg) — this is health information | Required for donors |
| Gender | So patients can request a same-gender donor where they prefer | Optional |
| Chat messages | So you can coordinate the donation | Only if you use chat |
| Blood requisition slip / medical documents you upload | To prove a blood request is genuine — this is health information | Optional |
3.2 Information collected automatically
| Data | Why |
|---|---|
| Precise location | To find donors and patients near you and to rank hospitals by distance. We only collect this while you are using the app — never in the background. |
| Device notification token | To send you alerts when someone nearby needs your blood type |
| Device identifier (hashed) | Only to prevent banned users from evading a ban — see §7 |
| Basic technical/usage logs | Security, abuse prevention and keeping the service working |
3.3 Voice calls
Qatra offers in-app voice calls. We do not record, store, or listen to your calls. Call audio travels directly between the two devices (or via a relay server that cannot read it) and is never saved by us.
4. How we use your data
We use your data only to:
- Create and secure your account;
- Match patients with compatible, eligible, nearby donors;
- Alert you when someone near you needs your blood type;
- Let matched people contact each other (in-app chat and calls);
- Show you licensed blood centres near you;
- Keep the service safe — detect fraud, abuse, fake requests, and enforce bans;
- Comply with the law.
We do not use your data for advertising, we do not profile you for marketing, and we never use your health data to determine employment or insurance eligibility.
5. What we share, and with whom
We do not sell your personal data. Ever.
| Who | What they see | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A donor you are matched with (or the patient you accepted) | Your name, blood group, approximate distance, and any requisition slip attached to the request | So you can coordinate the donation |
| Service providers who run our infrastructure on our instructions (hosting, database, push notifications, call relay) | Only what is technically necessary | To operate the service |
| Authorities | Only where required by law, or to prevent serious harm | Legal obligation |
Your phone number is masked by default. It is only revealed to the other person after a match, and in-app calling is offered first so you can talk without sharing your number.
6. Where your data is stored, and how we protect it
Your data is stored on secured servers in secure data centres, with access restricted to authorised personnel. We protect it by:
- Encryption in transit (HTTPS/TLS) for all communication between the app and our servers;
- Access control — medical documents and chat can only be read by the two people in a match;
- Hashing — phone-verification codes and any device identifiers are stored hashed, never in plain text;
- Integrity checking — uploaded documents are fingerprinted (SHA-256) so we can tell if a file was altered;
- Least privilege — staff access is limited and audited.
No system is perfectly secure. If a breach affects your personal data, we will notify you and the relevant authority as required by law.
7. Blocked and banned users
To protect patients and donors from fraud, harassment and people who ask for money for blood, we may block an account and record a hashed phone number and device identifier so that a banned person cannot simply re-register. We store these as one-way hashes, we use them only for safety and fraud prevention, and we never use them to track you, build a profile, or infer anything about you.
8. How long we keep your data
| Data | Retention |
|---|---|
| Account and donor profile | While your account is active |
| Chat messages and match records | 24 months after the donation, as a safety record in case of a dispute or report |
| Uploaded medical documents (requisition slips) | 12 months, then permanently deleted |
| Safety/ban records | Kept as long as needed to prevent repeat abuse |
| Technical logs | 90 days |
When you delete your account we delete your personal data (see §9). We may retain limited information where we are legally required to, or where it is necessary for security and fraud prevention — for example a ban record — as permitted by Google Play's policies.
9. Your rights and choices
You can, at any time:
- Access the data we hold about you — email privacy@qatras.app
- Correct your profile in the app
- Delete your account and data — in the app: Profile → Settings → Delete account, or online at https://qatras.app/delete-account (no reinstall needed)
- Withdraw permissions — turn off location or notifications in your phone's settings at any time. Qatra will keep working, but we will not be able to match you with people nearby.
- Pause — turn off "Available to donate" to stop receiving requests without deleting anything
- Complain — contact us first at privacy@qatras.app; you may also complain to the relevant data protection authority in Pakistan.
10. Children
Qatra is not intended for children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their data. If we learn that we hold data from a child under 13, we delete it. Blood donation has legal minimum ages; donors must be at least 17 and meet the eligibility criteria applied by the licensed centre.
11. Changes to this policy
If we change this policy we will update the date above and, for significant changes, notify you in the app before the change takes effect.
12. Contact
Qatra Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan 📧 privacy@qatras.app
Qatra is a non-profit public service. Blood is a gift — it is never bought or sold on this platform.