Trust crisis: Pronto privacy row puts Urban Company, Snabbit and home-services sector under the spotlight
Publish Date: 2026-05-25 23:01:00
Source Domain: www.storyboard18.com
India’s rapidly expanding home-services industry, built on the promise of convenience, speed, and digitally managed domestic labour, is facing growing backlash after allegations emerged that one startup, Pronto, had been using AI-assisted recordings inside customers’ homes.
The controversy, which has amplified across social media, has triggered wider concerns over privacy, surveillance, and consumer rights in one of India’s fastest-growing service sectors. Rival firms have rushed to distance themselves from the practice, while industry experts warn that the episode could undermine consumer trust in businesses whose success depends almost entirely on access to private domestic spaces.
Pronto defended its practices, stating that any recording technology was deployed only with explicit customer consent and as part of a limited pilot program aimed at training robotics systems.
“Unless you have opted in and paid for the program personally, the Pro doesn’t come to the house with a camera,” Pronto said in a statement.
“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”.
The company added that the pilot involved only “0.1% of customers” and that it had spent months ensuring compliance with India’s Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) framework. “We are not the only company in the space doing this,” it added.
However, competitors were quick to reject any association with similar practices.
Snabbit founder Aayush Agrawal said that, “No customer’s home has ever been recorded by us, in any way”.
Agrawal acknowledged that the company studied the technology after being approached by external players, but ultimately decided against deploying them. “We have not done the partnership with anyone in this regard, and have no intention of changing that,” he added.
Since this morning, people have reached out asking whether @just_snabbit does anything similar to the recent reports about a…
