Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

We collect the following categories of information when you use AlwaysRespond ("the Service"), provided by Gradiex Consulting LLC ("AlwaysRespond," "we," "us," or "our"):

Personal Information: When you create an account or interact with the Service, we may collect your name, email address, phone number, billing address, company name, and any other information you voluntarily provide during registration or through communications with us.

Customer Data: As a platform that processes communications on behalf of businesses, we receive and store data about your customers, including their phone numbers, message content, appointment details (dates, times, service types, and notes), names, and any other information exchanged during conversations facilitated through the Service.

Technical Information: We automatically collect certain technical data when you access our website or dashboard, including your IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device identifiers, referring URLs, pages visited, time spent on pages, click patterns, and other interaction logs.

Cookies and Similar Technologies: We use cookies, web beacons, and similar tracking technologies to collect information about your browsing activity, preferences, and session data. For more details, please see our Cookie Policy.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

• To provide, operate, and maintain the Service, including sending and receiving SMS and WhatsApp messages on behalf of the businesses you use or contact
• To schedule, confirm, reschedule, and manage appointments and bookings
• To process payments, manage subscriptions, and send billing notifications
• To improve and optimize our AI assistant, algorithms, and overall service quality through analysis of anonymized usage patterns
• To personalize your experience and provide tailored features and recommendations
• To communicate with you about account updates, service changes, security alerts, and support inquiries
• To detect, prevent, and address fraud, abuse, security incidents, and technical issues
• To comply with legal obligations, enforce our Terms of Service, and protect the rights, safety, and property of AlwaysRespond, our users, and the public
• To conduct research and analytics to understand how the Service is used and identify areas for improvement

3. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for their marketing purposes. We may share your information in the following circumstances:

• With the business you contacted: If you are an end customer communicating through a business that uses our platform, your messages and related data are shared with that business as the data controller
• Service providers and subprocessors: We share data with trusted third-party providers who assist in delivering the Service, including messaging carriers (e.g., Telnyx, Twilio), cloud hosting providers, payment processors, and analytics services. These providers are bound by contractual obligations to protect your data
• Legal requirements: We may disclose your information when required by law, regulation, subpoena, court order, or other legal process, or when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others
• Business transfers: In connection with a merger, acquisition, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any such change in ownership or control
• With your consent: We may share your information for other purposes with your explicit consent

4. Data Security

We take the security of your information seriously and implement industry-standard technical and organizational measures to protect it. These measures include:

• Encryption of data in transit using TLS/SSL and encryption of data at rest
• Strict access controls and role-based permissions to limit who can access personal data
• Regular security assessments, vulnerability scans, and penetration testing
• Secure coding practices and code review processes
• Incident response procedures to detect, report, and address data breaches promptly
• Employee training on data protection and security best practices

While we strive to protect your personal information, no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, but we are committed to promptly addressing any security incidents that may occur.

5. Data Retention

We retain your personal information and customer data for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, including providing the Service, complying with legal obligations, resolving disputes, and enforcing our agreements.

Specifically, account information is retained for the duration of your active account and for a reasonable period afterward to allow for reactivation or to comply with legal requirements. Message and conversation data is retained in accordance with applicable telecommunications regulations and our data processing agreements with business customers. Billing and transaction records are retained as required by tax and financial regulations.

When data is no longer needed, we securely delete or anonymize it in accordance with our data retention policies. You may request earlier deletion of your data by contacting us, subject to any legal retention obligations.

6. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Right of access: You may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Right to rectification: You may request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal data
• Right to erasure: You may request that we delete your personal data, subject to certain legal exceptions
• Right to restrict processing: You may request that we limit how we use your personal data
• Right to data portability: You may request to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format
• Right to object: You may object to the processing of your personal data for certain purposes, including direct marketing
• Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time
• Right to opt out of messaging: You may reply STOP to any SMS or WhatsApp message to opt out at any time

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at support@alwaysrespond.com. We will respond to your request within 30 days. We may ask you to verify your identity before processing your request.

7. Third-Party Services

The Service integrates with and relies on third-party services to deliver its functionality. These include but are not limited to:

• Messaging carriers (e.g., Telnyx, Twilio) for SMS and WhatsApp message transmission
• Cloud infrastructure providers for hosting and data storage
• Payment processors (e.g., Stripe) for handling subscription billing and payments
• Analytics services for understanding usage patterns and improving the Service
• AI and machine learning providers for powering our conversational AI features

Each third-party service has its own privacy policy governing the use of your information. We encourage you to review those policies. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party services.

8. Children's Privacy

The Service is not directed to children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under 16 without parental consent, we will take steps to delete that information as quickly as possible. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a child under 16, please contact us at support@alwaysrespond.com.

9. International Data Transfers

AlwaysRespond is based in the United States. If you access the Service from outside the United States, please be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States or other countries where our service providers operate.

Where we transfer personal data internationally, we implement appropriate safeguards to ensure your data is protected in accordance with this Privacy Policy and applicable data protection laws. These safeguards may include Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission, data processing agreements, or other legally recognized transfer mechanisms.

10. Updates to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technologies, legal requirements, or other factors. When we make material changes, we will notify you by posting the updated policy on this page with a revised "Last Updated" date. For business account holders, we will also send an email notification of material changes.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we collect, use, and protect your information. Your continued use of the Service after any changes to this policy constitutes your acceptance of the updated terms.

11. California Privacy Rights (CCPA)

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) provides you with additional rights regarding your personal information.

Right to Know: You have the right to request that we disclose the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you, the categories of sources from which we collected it, the business purpose for collecting it, and the categories of third parties with whom we share it.

Right to Delete: You have the right to request that we delete your personal information, subject to certain exceptions.

Right to Opt-Out of Sale: AlwaysRespond does not sell your personal information. We do not sell, rent, or trade personal information to third parties for monetary consideration. If this practice changes in the future, we will update this policy and provide a clear opt-out mechanism.

Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA rights.

To exercise any of your California privacy rights, please contact us at privacy@alwaysrespond.com with the subject line "CCPA Request." We will verify your identity and respond within 45 days as required by law.

12. Contact Information

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:

Email: support@alwaysrespond.com

We aim to respond to all privacy-related inquiries within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.