NEW DELHI: When Aditi ordered a personal massager from Blinkit, the package arrived unsealed. The 36-year-old Delhi resident took photos and requested a return. But the delivery driver's actions left her shocked.
"He took the massager out of the box, sniffed it and gave me a sly smile. He then asked me if I wanted a replacement," she recalls. "I was disgusted and terrified. I told him to leave."
Aditi couldn't forget the incident. The rider continued to smirk at her whenever their paths crossed in the neighborhood. Her private order became an open secret.
Last week, Pooja Joshi, a Faridabad-based media strategist, recounted a similar chilling encounter. She had ordered a vibrator from Blinkit's sexual wellness section. The rider asked her what she bought. When she refused to answer, he left. Seconds later, he called her and allegedly said, "Why are you using a vibrator? Use me instead."
Pooja realized the rider had not marked the delivery as completed to retain access to her phone number. "I was so scared," she told TOI. "This stranger who told me I should have sex with him knew exactly where I lived."
After Pooja filed a complaint, Blinkit informed her it had dismissed the rider. This made her more afraid: "I got him fired. Thanks to the delivery, he had my address."
When she posted about her experience on LinkedIn, some commenters asked why she didn't order from a "safer place" like Amazon. "That is not the point," she told TOI. "If such products are available on a quick commerce website, it is the company's responsibility to protect the customer's privacy."
Protocol vs. Reality
A former executive at a quick commerce platform explained that there is a separate protocol for handling sexual wellness, medicine, intimate care, and reproductive health products. These are marked under the 'personal use items' category and packed to hide contents from delivery personnel. However, in practice, this often fails.
Noida resident Sweta (30) bought a pack of condoms from Zepto that arrived open. "Along with each grocery item, the delivery person handed me the condoms as well. He gave me a judgemental look," she says.
Thane resident Divya (40) said a Blinkit rider delivered handcuffs, a vibrator, and adult games for a bachelorette party in a regular open bag. "The products were not wrapped. This much older gentleman asked me twice in disbelief, 'madam, is this your order?'," she recalls. "I just wanted to bury my head somewhere."
Koyel (28) from Chennai lied and returned handcuffs and an intimate card game ordered on Swiggy Instamart because the rider's "strange look" made her uncomfortable. "The thought that this man now knew what I did in private made me so uncomfortable," she says.
Root Cause: Speed Over Privacy
The former executive said quick commerce platforms promise fast delivery, leading to operational pressure. "Once the order flashes on the screen of a dark store, staffers have to pack items in 2-4 minutes. In this hurry, they sometimes miss or skip the packaging protocol for 'personal use' products," he explained.
Blinkit, Zepto, and Instamart did not respond to requests for comment.
Lawyers are seeing a new kind of complaint. Sonam Chandwani, managing partner at KS Legal and Associates, told TOI, "While complaints regarding defective products, delayed deliveries, and refund disputes are common, we are also getting grievances where customers felt embarrassed, exposed, or humiliated because items of a highly personal nature were not packed discreetly."
She added, "The legal significance lies in the fact that privacy is no longer viewed as a mere expectation. Following the recognition of privacy as a fundamental right by the Supreme Court, businesses that collect, process, and fulfil orders involving personal information are expected to respect the dignity and confidentiality of consumers."
Supreme Court lawyer Meera Kaura Patel said that while the Consumer Protection Act has no specific provisions about privacy, online platforms promise discreet delivery. "If, despite the promise, goods are not properly sealed or their description is mentioned on the packaging, it would run contrary to their own advertisement," she said. This could amount to misleading ads.
"Revealing intimate or sexual preferences to a third person may also be qualified as disclosing sensitive personal information and could amount to an unfair trade practice," she added.
Consumer rights lawyers say if companies do not put protections in place, such incidents are likely to continue.
(Names of women who shared their experiences have been changed on request)
