Overview
ShareChat and Moj (its short-video platform competing with Instagram Reels) serve India’s vernacular internet users — primarily Tier 2/3 cities in regional languages. The content users create and consume reveals regional identity (language), religious affinity (devotional content), political views (political content engagement), caste indicators, and cultural practices. The Moj platform adds facial/visual data through video creation.
DPDP Readiness: Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 6 — Consent & Notice 🔴
ShareChat/Moj consent covers all data under standard terms. Unique concerns:
- Language selection: Reveals regional and potentially ethnic identity
- Content engagement: What religious/political content a user interacts with = belief profiling
- Video creation on Moj: Face filters process facial geometry data
- User-generated content: Text posts and images containing personal information
Section 9 — DPDP Children’s Data 🔴
Moj’s short-video platform attracts significant minor users. Under DPDP Section 9:
- No verified parental consent
- Behavioral monitoring through feed algorithms
- Facial filter data from minors
- No time limits or child safety provisions
Section 11 — Rights of Data Principal 🔴
- Can users delete cultural/religious profiling inferences?
- Video content deletion — are copies retained?
- No data portability
- No nomination rights
Risk Assessment
| Category | Risk Level | Potential Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Cultural/religious profiling | Critical | Content engagement reveals protected characteristics |
| Facial data (Moj) | Critical | Video filters process biometric-adjacent data |
| Minor users | Critical | Large young user base without Section 9 compliance |
| Content data | High | User-generated content = personal information |
| Data retention | High | Cultural profiles retained indefinitely |
Recommendations
- Implement cultural data protections — Don’t use language/content engagement to build religious or political profiles for advertising
- Define Moj facial data handling — “Face filter processing: on-device only, never stored on servers”
- Deploy Section 9 compliance — Age verification and parental consent for Moj’s minor users
- Add content ownership clarity — Clear under DPDP who controls user-generated content data
- Build cultural profile transparency — Let users see and control cultural/religious interest categorizations
How Does Your Policy Compare?
Analysis conducted by DPDP Consulting, a Meridian Bridge Strategy initiative. For a comprehensive compliance roadmap, book a free consultation.