MediaNama’s Take: The new “Loved by Friends” feature of Zomato marks a deeper shift in how the platform uses personal data. The feature, which displays dishes liked or reordered by people in a user’s contact list, turns private food preferences into visible, name-linked information. It appears to be part of Zomato’s ongoing effort to build a social discovery layer on top of its delivery service. However, the design raises questions about informed consent and purpose limitation under India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDPA).
It reflects a design-led privacy issue where consumption data collected for food orders now powers a feature that exposes personal choices to others. Furthermore, it highlights how Indian consumer platforms are rapidly expanding the use of behavioural data without providing clear consent pathways. Zomato’s new feature encourages engagement and discovery, but it may also allow contacts to view information that users never intended to make public.
What’s the News
The discussion began on Reddit, where a user claimed that Zomato’s “Loved by Friends” feature revealed his private order history to his wife. While she was browsing for food, her app displayed his name and dishes he had previously ordered under a section titled “Dishes loved by friends.” The user stated that he had never granted Zomato access to his contacts, yet his data appeared on another account.
Following these reports, MediaNama reviewed the app and confirmed that Zomato’s interface now includes a “Loved by Friends” label under certain restaurant dishes. The label lists the names of people from a user’s phone contacts who have liked or reordered those dishes. Moreover, the feature activates when users give Zomato access to their contacts, as shown under iPhone permissions. However, even users who have not synced contacts may appear on someone else’s screen if their number is saved in another person’s phonebook.
This creates a new privacy layer where one user’s visibility depends on another’s settings. In other words, a person’s dining habits can appear on another’s app even if they never opted into this visibility. Meanwhile, Zomato has not issued a public clarification on how it defines “friends,” what data is being matched, or whether users can disable the feature. MediaNama has reached out to the company seeking comment on how the system determines these links, manages consent, and offers control to users.
The Policy and Legal Context of the New Zomato Feature
Data Protection Obligations under the DPDP Act
To understand the potential implications, it is useful to look at India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, which governs how companies can collect and use personal data. Section 6 requires consent that is free, specific, informed, and unambiguous…
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