Legal
Terms of Service
Last updated: 7 October 2026
These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of Rishta ("Rishta", "we"), which is run from Auckland by its founder and is not yet an incorporated company. By creating an account, you agree to these Terms. Please read them carefully.
1. Eligibility
You must be 18 years or older and legally able to enter contracts in Australia or New Zealand to use Rishta. By registering, you confirm you are single or separated and genuinely seeking a life partner. Creating a profile on behalf of another person without their explicit consent is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful.
2. Accurate information
You agree to provide true, accurate, and complete information when creating your profile and to keep it updated. Misrepresentation — including false age, profession, relationship status, location, or photos — is grounds for immediate account termination. A person looks over every new profile, and we will remove accounts that are not honest.
3. Identity verification
Everyone checks their ID before their profile goes live. Until then you cannot search and nobody can find you. Didit checks your passport or licence and a live selfie; we keep the result and the name, age and gender on the document, never its photos. A profile made by a family member goes live only when the person on it checks their own ID. A profile goes live as soon as its check passes, unless something needs a person to look first, and a person looks over every new profile the same day. If you cannot do the check, we can check you on a video call instead. We may decline or remove a profile that looks fake, duplicated, or dishonest, and we do not have to explain why.
4. Prohibited conduct
You must not: create fake, duplicate, or misleading profiles; harass, threaten, or abuse other users; use the platform for commercial solicitation; share another user's personal information without consent; attempt to circumvent our security measures; use Rishta to facilitate fraud or financial deception. Violations will result in immediate account termination and may be referred to law enforcement.
5. Messaging and interactions
You cannot send a private message to anyone until they have accepted your interest, and an interest must carry a written note of at least forty characters. Contact details are not displayed on profiles at any membership level. Rishta may review a conversation when a safety concern is reported to us. We do not read private messages proactively.
6. Matchmaking is done by people
Introductions, judgement calls and approaches on your behalf are made by people, not by an automated system. Search results are ordered by profile completeness and recent activity, never by what anyone paid. Where a profile shows how many of someone’s stated preferences you meet, that is a direct comparison of what you both wrote, not a prediction about whether a marriage would work.
7. Plans and payment
Women search, write, message and call free of charge, permanently. Men join with Search, $39 per month, or $99 for 3 months paid once: a man's profile goes live only once it is paid for and his ID is checked. Prices are in your own currency: New Zealand dollars, or Australian dollars if your mobile number is Australian. Paid by card monthly, Search renews every month until you cancel. You can cancel any time from Me, and it stays open to the end of the month you have paid for. The 3-month option is paid once and never renews; we email you a few days before it ends. Paid by bank transfer, it runs for the period you paid. Matchmaker services are by invitation and paid by whoever uses them, women and men alike: Icebreaker $39 once, Vichola $1,199 per 3 months, and Rishta Elite $1,999 per 3 months, paid by card through a link we send you, or by bank transfer. These do not renew. Prices are GST inclusive. We do not refund part of a month, but we may refund at our discretion, for example if a profile cannot go live. Your rights under the Australian Consumer Law and the New Zealand Consumer Guarantees Act are not affected.
8. Intellectual property
Rishta owns all platform content, design, and software. You retain ownership of content you create (photos, profile text). By uploading content, you grant Rishta a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to display your content to other users as part of the service. This licence ends when you delete your account.
9. Limitation of liability
Rishta is a platform that connects people — we are not responsible for the conduct of users offline. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Rishta's liability is limited to the amount you paid in the 3 months preceding any claim. Nothing in these Terms limits rights you have under Australian Consumer Law.
10. Governing law
These Terms are governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia. Disputes will be resolved in NSW courts. For NZ users, the NZ Privacy Act 2020 applies to data handling.
11. Changes
We will notify you by email 14 days before material changes to these Terms. Continued use after that period constitutes acceptance. If you do not agree to the new Terms, you may close your account.
12. Contact
Legal enquiries: [email protected]. General: [email protected].