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Am I covered?

Data breaches and leaks: your rights and how to complain

Plain-language help for ordinary people. General information, not legal advice. Helplines, portals and screen names were checked against official Government and regulator pages on 1 November 2026. Portals change: if a screen looks different, follow the words on the screen and the official guide linked in each step.

What data they hold

  • Anything the company held: login details, phone, address, ID numbers, health or financial data.

Your rights under current law

  • CERT-In takes cyber security incident reports, including data breaches and leaks, from anyone, including individuals.
  • Until 13 May 2027, section 43A of the IT Act lets a person claim compensation from a company that was negligent with sensitive personal data. Section 44(2) of the DPDP Act removes section 43A from that date.
  • If the leak led to fraud, report it on 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in.

Your DPDP rights once in force

Sections 11 to 14 of the DPDP Act (your rights) and the duties of companies in sections 4 to 10 start on 13 May 2027 (G.S.R. 843(E)). Until then, use the sector rules on this page. After that date you can use both.

From 13 May 2027 the company must protect your data (section 8(5)) and tell you about a breach without delay (section 8(6) and rule 7), with what happened, the likely effects, what it is doing, what you should do, and a contact person. The Board can fine a company up to Rs 250 crore for failing to protect data and up to Rs 200 crore for failing to report a breach. Penalties go to the Government, not to you.

  • Access: a summary of your data and who it was shared with (section 11).
  • Correction, completion, updating and erasure (section 12).
  • Grievance redressal by the company, before going to the Board (section 13).
  • Nominate someone to act after your death or incapacity (section 14).
  • Withdraw consent, as easily as you gave it (section 6(4)).

Common problems

  • An email or SMS saying your data was in a breach.
  • Fraud calls that quote your details soon after a known breach.
  • Your password found in a leak.

Evidence to keep

  • The breach notice, email or SMS, with date.
  • Any news or official notice about the breach.
  • Records of fraud attempts after the breach.
  • Your letters to the company and its replies.

See the full evidence checklist.

How to approach, step by step

Go in this order. Start with the company. Move to the next step only when the time limit has passed or the reply is not good enough. If money was lost or you were threatened, go to 1930 or the police first.

Report a breach or leak to CERT-In

CERT-In is India's national agency for cyber security incidents. Its incident form has a box for individuals and lists data breach and data leak as incident types. Filling the form is optional; you can just write the details in an email.

Keep this ready before you start:

  • Name of the company or website.
  • What leaked and where you saw it (for example a link).
  • When it happened and when you found out.
  1. Email the details to [email protected], or call the toll free number 1800-11-4949.
  2. You can attach CERT-In's incident reporting form (certinirform.pdf on cert-in.org.in). It is not mandatory.
  3. Say whether you are the affected person or reporting for someone else.
  4. Keep a copy of your email.

Checked on 1 November 2026 against: CERT-In: contact and incident reporting.

File a complaint on cybercrime.gov.in

The National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal takes complaints about online fraud, hacking, fake profiles, harassment and more. Your complaint goes to the police of your State or Union Territory. The screen names below come from the portal's FAQ and the Ministry of Home Affairs citizen manual. The portal can change. If a screen looks different, follow the words on the screen.

Keep this ready before you start:

  • Date and time of the incident.
  • Incident details in your own words. The portal checklist asks for at least 200 characters and no special characters such as # $ @ ^ * ` ~ | !
  • A photo or scan of a national ID (Voter ID, Driving Licence, Passport, PAN or Aadhaar) in .jpg, .jpeg or .png, not more than 5 MB.
  • For money fraud: bank or wallet name, 12 digit transaction ID or UTR, date and amount.
  • Evidence files such as screenshots, not more than 10 MB each.
  • If known: the other person's mobile number, email, bank account, website link or social media handle.
  1. Open cybercrime.gov.in in a browser.
  2. Click File a complaint.
  3. Read the message. Tick I Accept.
  4. Click Report Other Cyber Crime. (For sexual content involving women or children, use the women and child section instead.)
  5. Type your name in User Name. Type your mobile number.
  6. Click Get OTP. Type the OTP you receive. It is valid for 30 minutes.
  7. Fill the security answer. Click Submit.
  8. In Incident details, choose the Category of complaint. For money loss choose Online Financial Fraud. For fake profiles or harassment choose Online and Social Media Related Crime.
  9. Choose the Sub-Category that fits best.
  10. Enter the approximate date and time. If you are late, fill Reason for delay in reporting.
  11. Choose Where did the incident occur? (for example a phone call, SMS, WhatsApp, a website or an app).
  12. Upload your evidence files.
  13. Write what happened in the details box. Say who contacted you, from which number, what they said, what you shared or paid, and when.
  14. Click Save and Next.
  15. Add suspect details if you have them: name, mobile number, bank account, UPI ID or website. Click Save & Next.
  16. Fill your own details and address. Choose your State, District and Police Station.
  17. Upload your ID proof. Click Save & Preview.
  18. Check everything. Tick I Agree. Click Confirm & Submit.
  19. Write down the Complaint ID shown on screen. You also get it by SMS and email. It is a complaint number, not an FIR number.
  20. Click Download PDF and save the file in a safe folder.
  21. To check progress later, log in the same way and click Check Status.
  22. If you get no action, or are not happy with what the police did, contact the cyber crime grievance officer of your State or Union Territory listed on the portal. You can also visit your local police station with the PDF and ask for an FIR.

Checked on 1 November 2026 against: National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal: FAQ, National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal: checklist before filing, I4C (Ministry of Home Affairs): National Cybercrime Reporting Portal and 1930.

Use your DPDP rights (from 13 May 2027)

The rights in sections 11 to 14 of the DPDP Act, and the duties of companies that go with them, start on 13 May 2027 (G.S.R. 843(E)). Until then you can still write to a company and ask. Many will answer. But they are not yet bound by these sections.

Keep this ready before you start:

  • The company's published method for rights requests. Rule 14 says companies must show it on their website or app.
  • The identifier they ask for, such as your username, customer ID or registered mobile number.
  1. Find the company's rights or grievance page, or its Data Protection Officer contact.
  2. Send a written request using the method they publish. Use our request letter template.
  3. Ask for what you need: a summary of your data and how it is used, and the names of everyone it was shared with (section 11); correction, completion, updating or erasure (section 12); or a fix for a grievance (section 13). You can also nominate someone to act for you after death or incapacity (section 14), and withdraw consent (section 6(4)).
  4. Save the acknowledgement or ticket number.
  5. Wait for the time they publish. Rule 14(3) says it cannot be more than 90 days.
  6. If they refuse or do not answer, you can complain to the Data Protection Board of India. You must use the company's grievance route first (section 13(3)).
  7. The Board works as a digital office. Use the method it publishes on its website and app (rule 19). We will add the link when the Board publishes it.

Checked on 1 November 2026 against: Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (MeitY copy of the Gazette), Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025 (G.S.R. 846(E)), G.S.R. 843(E): start dates for the Act.

Ready-to-use complaint

Copy, fill the brackets, and send it through the company's official channel. Keep a copy.

To: Grievance Officer / Data Protection Officer, [company]
Subject: Questions about the data breach affecting my account [ID]

I received your notice dated [date] / I learned of a breach on [date]. Please tell me: what data of mine was affected; when it happened; what you are doing about it; what I should do; and who I can contact. Please also confirm the steps you took to stop further misuse.

[Name], [mobile], [date]

Time limits

  • Report fraud to 1930 at once.
  • DPDP breach duties: from 13 May 2027.
  • Section 43A IT Act claims: available until 13 May 2027.

If this happened to you

Official sources

On this page
  1. What they hold
  2. Current rights
  3. DPDP rights
  4. Common problems
  5. Evidence
  6. Step by step
  7. Template
  8. Time limits
  9. Scenarios
  10. Sources