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Contact details in a marriage biodata: what to share and how to stay safe

A biodata travels far beyond the family you sent it to — into WhatsApp groups, matchmakers’ phones and the galleries of people you will never meet. The contact details in a marriage biodata decide who can reach you and what they can do with that information. Here is what to include, what to keep off the page, and how to check a proposal before you trust it.

Whose number to give

In most arranged-marriage conversations, the first call is between families. A parent’s number lets them screen calls, and it keeps the candidate’s personal number private until both sides are comfortable. Choose based on your situation:

Whoever you name should know they are the contact, answer unknown numbers politely, and have the biodata on their own phone so they can answer questions.

What the contact section should look like

Keep it to three or four lines at the end of the page. Make two versions: a full one for families who show interest, and a group version for anything posted widely.

A “best time to call” line is small but useful. It saves your parents from calls at 10:30 at night, and tells the other family you are organised.

What to keep off the page

WhatsApp, email and social media

WhatsApp. The number you print is the number people will message. Before sharing, open WhatsApp Settings → Privacy and set Profile photo, About and Status to “My contacts”, so strangers who save the number from a biodata cannot see your family photos. If the number is on a group version, expect messages from people you do not know, and do not reply to anyone who will not say who they are.

Email. Optional. If you add one, create a separate address just for proposals rather than printing the email linked to your bank and office accounts.

Social media. Also optional. Families often look for a LinkedIn profile anyway, and a professional one helps them confirm your work. If you add an Instagram handle, look through it first as a stranger would. Many people choose to leave personal accounts off the biodata and share them later.

What scammers do with forwarded biodatas

Most families you hear from are exactly who they say they are. But because biodatas circulate so widely, a few patterns come up again and again, and they are worth recognising:

• The overseas profile that moves fast. A “doctor in the UK” or “engineer in Canada” talks of marriage within days, avoids video calls, then needs money — a customs fee for a gift parcel, ticket or visa money, a medical emergency or a frozen account.
• The fake matchmaker. Someone claims to represent a bureau or matrimony service and asks for a registration or “verified profile” fee paid to a personal UPI ID.
• The OTP request. A caller asks you to share a code “to verify your number”. That code can hand over your WhatsApp account, which is then used to message your contacts for money.
• Photo misuse. A photo taken from a biodata appears on a fake profile elsewhere.
• Pressure and secrecy. Requests to keep the conversation away from the parents, or to decide quickly.

How to check a proposal before going further

• Talk to the parents, not only the candidate. A family that will not come on a call together is a warning sign.
• Video call early. A person who always has a broken camera or is always “on duty” should not be taken further.
• Confirm the job. Look for a LinkedIn profile with a real history, or an official company email. For doctors, a medical council registration number can be checked.
• Ask around. A relative in their city, a community mandal, or someone from their native place can usually confirm a family.
• Search the photo. A reverse image search (for example with Google Lens) shows whether the same photo appears under other names.
• Meet with family present — at home with elders, or in a public place — before any commitments.
• Never send money, gift cards or an OTP to anyone you know only through a proposal, whatever the reason given.

If you have been cheated or threatened, report it on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal at cybercrime.gov.in or call the cyber fraud helpline 1930, and inform your local police station. Tell the group admin or bureau too, so others are warned.

Using a QR code for contact

A QR code on a printed biodata saves the other family from typing a number. It is not more private, though — anyone who scans it gets whatever it holds, so apply the same rules as for printed details. Scan it from a second phone before printing to check it opens what you expect, and leave it off the group version. Marriage Biodata Maker can add an optional QR code to the page if you want one.

For the rest of the page, see family details and sending your biodata on WhatsApp.

Last updated 27 September 2026 · Biodata for Marriage team