Amid the controversy surrounding Bengaluru-based startup Pronto allegedly recording videos inside customers’ homes to train AI systems, Urban Company co-founder and CEO Abhiraj Singh Bhal has distanced his company from any such practices.
In a post shared on X, Bhal said Urban Company neither engages in recording inside customers’ homes nor plans to do so in the future. “In light of recent reports regarding recordings inside customers’ homes by one of our competitors, many people have asked whether @urbancompany_UC engages in anything similar, or intends to do so in the future,” he wrote, adding, “The answer is clear and unequivocal: we do not.”
Calling customer trust and privacy “paramount”, Bhal said that the company has never done so in the past and has no plans to do so in the future.
“We are in the business of trust, and we take customer trust and privacy extremely seriously. We do not engage in any such activities, have never done so in the past, and have no plans to do so in the future. Our customers’ privacy is paramount to us, and we remain fully committed to upholding the highest standards of confidentiality, safety, and trust,” Bhal said.
Pronto privacy row
Urban Company’s remarks come in the wake of a privacy row involving Pronto, a startup offering 10-minute home services. The controversy erupted after journalist Harsh Upadhyay claimed on X that Pronto professionals were using “small outward-facing cameras during select opt-in jobs” as part of its investors’ “Physical AI vision”.
{{/usCountry}}Urban Company’s remarks come in the wake of a privacy row involving Pronto, a startup offering 10-minute home services. The controversy erupted after journalist Harsh Upadhyay claimed on X that Pronto professionals were using “small outward-facing cameras during select opt-in jobs” as part of its investors’ “Physical AI vision”.
{{/usCountry}}“Important: How Pronto is turning Indian homes into training grounds for its investors’ Physical AI vision. Did you know? Pronto professionals use small outward-facing cameras during select opt-in jobs, and customers receive the footage afterward,” Upadhyay wrote.
The post triggered a conversation on AI and privacy concerns.
(Also Read: 23-year-old behind $100M Bengaluru startup recalls sleeping on floor 9 months ago)
Pronto issues clarification
Responding to the criticism, Pronto said that no recording takes place without the customer’s explicit permission. The company clarified that cameras are only used in a limited pilot programme involving a very small percentage of users.
“Unless you have opted-in and paid for the program personally, the Pro doesn’t come to the house with a camera,” the startup said in a post on X.
“Opt in is not one time, it has to be affirmed before each booking. By default there is no camera involved, and when there is, it’s impossible to miss,” it added.
Pronto further claimed that the pilot reaches only “0.1% of customers” and that the company spent months ensuring compliance with India’s Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) norms. “And we are not the only company in the space doing this,” the company stated.
Pronto is a platform that connects users with trained domestic workers. The startup was founded by 23-year-old entrepreneur Anjali Sardana.