Data Access for Recruitment: The Reality Behind Naukri.com

Your private information has a considerable value. It is priced at Rs 2,500 for a month or Rs 9,000 for six months. For this amount, individuals such as real estate agents, loan DSAs, car salespeople, or others can gain potential access to contact information, 60 to 300 complete professional profiles, as well as personal data from millions of Indians who uploaded their resumes while searching for jobs. For founders, CXOs, or senior executives, unsolicited calls from individuals they never interacted with are common. Most consider these calls as spam, while only a few question how these callers have access to their phone numbers, salary details, home addresses, and professional histories.

Startup Superb’s Investigation

Startup Superb’s investigation identified one potential source, leading directly to one of India’s highly regarded job platforms.

The Salesman Who Came to Sell Data, Not Jobs

The inquiry did not start with a sting operation or reveal but from a walk-in. A sales executive from Naukri.com visited the building where Startup Superb’s office is located for a meeting with another firm. He entered the office, introduced himself, displayed his company identification, and began promoting Naukri’s recruiter subscription. What he was essentially offering was access to data.

His presentation was clear and comprehensive. He stated that Naukri’s database encompasses personal information from millions of Indian professionals, including CXOs, senior executives, and employees across various sectors. With the subscription, users could access phone numbers, emails, residential addresses, salary details, and complete professional profiles.

Startup Superb conveyed its objective directly. They expressed the need for CXO data to support business development and sales rather than recruitment. The response they received was enlightening. The sales representative neither questioned their intention nor rejected the request. Instead, he opened the product, provided a live demonstration, and agreed to sell the subscription, aware that there was no hiring need.

Startup Superb has an audio recording of the conversation, including the executive’s name, position, and company identification.

The Subscription: What Rs 2,500 Actually Buys

To comprehend the offering, it is essential to review Naukri’s own recruiter subscription plans. A one-month plan priced at Rs 2,500 includes two job postings for SMBs, unlimited applications with instant CV recommendations, 60 CV views, and 250 NVites, enabling direct access to 250 candidates’ personal contact data. The six-month plan, priced at Rs 9,000, increases this to 300 CV views and 1,250 NVites. Every plan also assures unlimited applications with available contact details. However, there is no independent verification to determine if a job posting is authentic or if the subscriber genuinely has hiring needs.

Additionally, there is a critical aspect not highlighted on the subscription page. Once access is granted to a recruiter, candidate profiles can be downloaded and exported into Excel files. This means that phone numbers, emails, and other personal details may leave the platform entirely, beyond Naukri’s control, with little insight into their destination or future usage.

The Demo: Accessing High-Profile Information

The following demonstration was far from a standard sales pitch. It showcased how effortlessly professional data could be accessed. The executive searched for VP and Director-level employees at Zomato and OYO, retrieving complete profiles, contact information, and both professional and personal details within moments. Startup Superb cross-verified several profiles with previously possessed contact details, and they matched perfectly.

When asked about filtering candidates who had been active in the last two months, a feature meant to highlight recent job seekers, he suggested removing the filter entirely. Given they had already communicated that their intent was solely to collect CXO data for business development, eliminating the filter would simply yield more profiles and contacts. This was not an executive questioning their stated objective; instead, he was illustrating how to maximise access despite knowing there was no recruitment focus.

The Enterprise Rate Card and Data Usage Concerns

The enterprise rate card further emphasized the extent of access: Rs 2,000 for 50 credits, Rs 1.2 lakh for 5,000, Rs 1.7 lakh for 10,000, and Rs 2.5 lakh for 25,000. Each credit unlocked one complete professional profile, which included phone numbers, email addresses, salary, employment history, and residential addresses. There is currently no way to track how data is being used or by whom.

During their dialogue, the sales executive acknowledged that while the database was intended for hiring, companies utilize it in various ways, and there is no mechanism to track data usage effectively. He mentioned that a leading telecom company had acquired a recruiter subscription worth Rs 1.5 crore, while a significant used-car retailer had spent Rs 25 lakh. Startup Superb could not independently verify these claims but treated them as part of the sales executive’s pitch, rather than confirmed facts. This contrasted sharply with Naukri’s official response, which emphasized KYC checks, access controls, monitoring, and legal ramifications for data misuse.

Moreover, when Startup Superb inquired about what to say if a candidate questioned how their contact data was obtained, the representative indicated there was no way for anyone to trace the information back to Naukri and suggested claiming someone had referred them—positioning it as a practical solution during the sales dialogue.

A Sales Target Unveiled

Naukri maintained that recruiter access is strictly for hiring purposes, that subscribers must use the data solely for recruitment, and that any misuse would breach the terms and conditions. Nonetheless, the sales executive presented a significantly different scenario. When asked if sales like this were common, he stated candidly that they had been selling this from the beginning, but such sales were increasing. He shared that he had a quarterly sales target of Rs 10 lakh, with 70% to 80% of his earnings fixed and the remainder linked to meeting the target.

Initially, when Startup Superb expressed interest in an individual subscription rather than a corporate one, the salesperson mentioned that those plans had been discontinued. However, moments later, he sought to arrange one anyway. He also claimed that Naukri holds a 70% to 80% market share, asserting that every company employee would certainly create a profile on Naukri.

These remarks prompt a fundamental inquiry: If access to millions of resumes is being sold against revenue targets, where does recruitment end and data monetisation begin?

Real Estate Companies Already Benefiting

The investigation continued beyond Naukri’s sales executive. The founder of a Gurugram-based real estate firm, who chose to remain anonymous, explained to Startup Superb that for Rs 2,500, they gain access to verified contacts of high net worth individuals. No other real estate lead platform provides this quality of data at this price point. The real estate founder clarified that the subscription was not employed for hiring but was instead used to target professionals for residential and commercial property sales through verified mobile numbers, emails, salary ranges, and designations. Startup Superb found that such companies actively maintained Naukri subscriptions despite having no recruitment needs, potentially explaining the unsolicited real estate calls many Indian professionals receive and why the callers often seem to possess an unusual amount of information about them.

The Revenue Questions Unfold

In an engagement, Naukri informed Startup Superb that…

Recruitment Revenue Insights from Info Edge

Recruitment revenue is predominantly generated by recruitment consultants and enterprises, with individual subscriptions playing a marginal role. However, this figure fails to differentiate between enterprises employing the platform for recruitment purposes and those leveraging it for alternative uses.

Revenue Generated from Recruitment Business

Info Edge’s recruitment division reported earnings of approximately Rs 650 crore in Q4 FY26, confirming its status as the company’s primary business segment. During their investigation, Startup Superb discovered that certain real estate firms maintained active recruiter subscriptions without any actual hiring initiatives. Meanwhile, Naukri’s sales personnel continued engaging with these companies after being informed that the subscriptions would be utilised for business development instead of recruitment.

Concerns About Subscriber Base

If regulators or the board at Info Edge demands more robust verification of hiring intent or limits recruiter access to validated employers, the overall subscriber base could face repercussions. An executive remarked that sales of recruiter subscriptions are becoming increasingly driven by the need to meet quarterly sales goals. These findings prompt a critical query for shareholders and analysts: how much of the recruitment revenue hinges on subscriptions aimed at purposes other than hiring, and what implications would stricter data protection regulations have for future expansion?

Accountability of a Listed Company

Info Edge does not operate as a startup in a regulatory grey area. As a listed entity, it bears the obligation for all personal data shared with parties beyond the recruiter. Globally, listed companies are anticipated to maintain effective controls over employee behaviour and the handling of client data.

Implications on Data Handling and Conduct

The sales representative that Startup Superb interacted with was utilising the official product, price list, and sales protocols while attempting to meet sales objectives. This raises wider questions regarding the adequacy of the oversight systems and incentives linked to the product.

Understanding the DPDP Act: Key Provisions

The Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023 in India aligns closely with the findings from Startup Superb. It mandates that personal data is processed solely for the specific purpose consented to by the user. Job seekers upload their resumes on Naukri with the expectation that genuine recruiters will access them, not for unrelated commercial usage. The Act also emphasises data minimisation, allowing only the necessary amount of personal information relevant to the stated objective.

Responsibilities of the Data Fiduciary

Importantly, the responsibility falls on the data fiduciary, not the subscriber. Naukri, as the data fiduciary, must ensure lawful data processing and cannot merely rely on user declarations. According to Vasundhara Shankar, Managing Partner at Verum Legal, permitting data gathered for recruitment to be accessed for unrelated ventures without obtaining fresh, specific consent could contradict the Act’s purpose limitation principle, placing the onus on the data fiduciary.

Naukri’s Compliance Measures

In an email reply to Startup Superb, Naukri expressed its commitment to achieving full alignment with the DPDP Act prior to the May 2027 deadline. However, the transition window is meant to assist companies in establishing compliance frameworks, rather than to lessen the Act’s core principles. When constituted, the Data Protection Board of India will have the authority to impose penalties of up to Rs 250 crore for significant violations, making data governance crucial for listed firms.

Unanswered Questions in Naukri’s Response

Naukri’s written replies outline a structure of contractual limitations, access governance, oversight, and dispute resolution. Yet, many of these safeguards appear difficult to reconcile with the issues documented by Startup Superb during interactions with the sales representative.

The Debate on MSME Access and Verification

Naukri posits that recruitment mechanisms extend beyond large corporations, asserting that MSMEs, startups, and local businesses also require affordable recruitment solutions. While this viewpoint is valid, assisting genuine hiring among small businesses differs from providing recruiter access without appropriate verification of hiring intent. Startup Superb’s investigation revealed that access was granted even after it was clearly stated that there was no hiring need.

Irreversibility of Data Access

The nature of data privacy breaches presents an irreversible dilemma. Once a phone number has been seen or salary data downloaded into an Excel sheet, that information cannot be rendered private again. The real damage materialises at the moment access is granted, not when a report is filed.

Global Data Protection Standards

In leading digital economies, using personal data beyond its intended purpose incurs severe regulatory repercussions. For instance, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) allows consumers insights into their data usage and the option to opt-out of sales, with violations leading to substantial penalties. Similarly, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU considers purpose limitation as foundational, imposing fines up to 4% of a company’s global annual turnover for lapses. These jurisdictions place accountability firmly on the data-collecting organisation, aligning with the principles of the DPDP Act in India.

Recommendations for Data Governance

Every founder, CXO, and professional who has pondered how their personal information fell into strangers’ hands may find insight in this investigation. For Naukri, the pressing concern remains clear: if, as indicated by its sales representative, there’s no mechanism to monitor data usage, can the current safeguards sufficiently protect personal information?

Naukri’s Official Stance

Prior to publishing the findings, Startup Superb delivered a detailed questionnaire to Naukri addressing issues of recruiter verification, privacy safeguards, misuse prevention, and compliance with the DPDP Act. A meeting with the company’s senior management also took place to discuss the findings extensively.

Commitment to Data Security

Naukri stated that the trust of job seekers is paramount to its platform. The company ensured that candidate details are only accessible within a controlled recruiter environment, solely for legitimate hiring purposes. It reiterated that recruiters are contractually obligated to list authentic job openings and utilise candidate data exclusively for recruitment in compliance with relevant laws. Naukri added that KYC checks, subscription access limitations, system oversight, and grievance channels serve to prevent misuse, and confirmed violations could result in suspension, termination, or legal action.

Naukri mentioned that it has denied subscriptions where non-recruitment intentions were evident, reaffirming its dedication to full compliance with the DPDP Act by the planned implementation deadline.