Does the DPDP Act prohibit advertising in community apps? The simple answer is – Advertising is not wrong. Advertising without Consent IS.
The real question the law asks is not whether advertising exists. The real question is whether people have given clear permission for their data to be used in ways that go beyond the original purpose for which it was collected.
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Why Residents Share Their Data in Community Apps
When someone moves into an apartment community, the housing society usually collects certain information from the resident. This may include the resident’s name, phone number, apartment number, vehicle details, and sometimes even visitor or delivery information.
Residents share this information for a very specific reason. They share it so that the housing society can function smoothly.
- The management committee needs a way to send maintenance bills and important community related announcements.
- Residents need to receive notices about water shutdowns, repairs, meetings, or emergencies.
- The security team needs to be able to gather approvals from the residents.
- etc.
This is the purpose for which the information is collected. In the language of the DPDP Act, this idea is known as purpose limitation. It simply means that when data is collected for a particular purpose, it should be used only for that purpose unless the person clearly agrees to something else.
A Simple Example
Imagine that you give your phone number to your child’s school.
The school collects your number so that it can send information related to homework updates, school related announcements, parent meeting reminders, or emergency notifications.
Now imagine that after some time you begin receiving messages from the school about pizza discounts, clothing brands, or new property launches!
Most parents would immediately feel uncomfortable. The obvious question would be why the school is sending these messages. After all, the phone number was shared so that the school could communicate about school matters.
This situation explains the idea of purpose limitation very clearly. If the data was collected for school communication, it should normally remain limited to that purpose.
The Role of a Consent Manager
Advertising itself is not the problem. The important question is whether residents were given a clear and genuine choice before their data was used for promotional communication.
A responsible system should first explain clearly what kind of promotional communication may be sent. It should then ask residents whether they would like to receive such communication. Each resident’s preference should be recorded individually. Just as importantly, residents should be able to withdraw their consent easily (without having to pay) at any time.
The DPDP Act is very clear about this – removing consent should be as easy as getting the consent.
Under Chapter II – Responsibility of the Data Fiduciary, Section 6(4) talks about this – “The Data Principal shall have the right to withdraw her consent at any time, with the ease of doing so being comparable to the ease with which such consent was given.”
When these principles are followed, advertising and privacy can coexist without conflict.
The Principle Is Quite Simple
If residents share their data so that the housing society can run efficiently, the first and primary use of that data should always remain society operations.
If there is any intention to use that data for additional purposes such as promotions or commercial communication, residents should first be asked clearly and given the freedom to say yes or no.
That simple principle of purpose limitation and explicit consent sits at the heart of the DPDP Act. It is also the reason why consent management is becoming an essential part of modern community platforms.
Consent Manager in ADDA
As communities begin to understand the responsibilities introduced by the DPDP Act, systems that allow residents to clearly give and withdraw consent will become increasingly important. A practical way to address this is through a Consent Manager built directly into the community
platform, where residents can decide whether they wish to receive promotional communication and can change that choice anytime.
From ADDA, recently the Consent Manager framework was launched, to help housing societies stay aligned with DPDP requirements. If you would like to understand how this works in practice, you can read about the launch of the ADDA Consent Manager here.
Further Reading on DPDP Compliance for Housing Societies
Purpose Limitation and Resident Data in Housing Societies
Highlights from the article
- Common society operations where resident data use is legitimate
- Where the DPDP Act draws the boundary for data usage
- Why explicit consent becomes necessary beyond society operations
Read the full article here:
https://www.magicbricks.com/blog/housing-societies-and-dpdp-act-purpose-limitation/146651.ht ml
Consent and Resident Choice Under the DPDP Act
Highlights from the article
- When RWAs must obtain explicit resident consent
- Why General Body Approvals Do Not Replace Consent
- Why Housing Society Apps Are Not Like Consumer Apps
- The importance of allowing residents to withdraw consent easily
Read the full article here:
https://www.outlookindia.com/brand-studio/realty-mirror/torbit-regulation-monitor-what-dpdp-act- changes-for-rwas-and-housing-societies