Privacy Policy

Who we are

AnswerDeck is an AI-powered answering service for local service businesses. We handle inbound calls, book appointments, send SMS notifications, and provide call transcripts — so business owners never miss a job. This policy explains what data we collect, why, and how long we keep it.

References to "we", "us", or "AnswerDeck" mean the company operating this service. If you have questions, email hello@answerdeck.com.

What we collect

From business owners (our subscribers):

• Name and email address at signup
• Payment information — processed by Stripe; we never see your full card number
• Business name, phone number(s), and service configuration you provide during setup

From inbound callers (your customers):

• Phone number (caller ID)
• Audio recording of the call
• Transcript of the conversation generated by our AI
• Appointment details if a booking is made (name, service requested, preferred time)

From website visitors:

• Anonymous page view data via our analytics beacon (no cookies, no cross-site tracking)
• Browser type and approximate location (country/region) inferred from IP; we do not store raw IP addresses

Call recording disclosure

AnswerDeck records every inbound call handled by the AI agent. Recordings are used to generate transcripts, improve AI accuracy, and resolve disputes.

SMS and text messages

AnswerDeck may send an automated text message to a caller after a missed or completed call (for example, "Thanks for calling ABC Plumbing — we'll follow up shortly"). This message is sent on behalf of your business using your AnswerDeck number.

Consent basis: A caller who dials your business phone number has initiated contact and consents to receive a single follow-up text related to that call. This follows standard TCPA guidance for return-contact SMS.

Every SMS includes a STOP instruction. Any number that sends STOP is immediately removed from future outbound messages.

We do not use caller phone numbers for marketing or sell them to third parties.

HIPAA and healthcare customers

AnswerDeck serves dental offices, med spas, and other health-related businesses. Calls to these businesses may involve protected health information (PHI) as defined under HIPAA.

AnswerDeck is not a covered entity and does not make treatment, payment, or healthcare operations decisions. We act as a business associate when processing calls for healthcare subscribers.

Healthcare subscribers are responsible for configuring their AnswerDeck account in a manner consistent with their HIPAA obligations, including limiting PHI shared over the phone with the AI agent.

Cookies and analytics

Our website uses a lightweight analytics beacon to count page views. It does not set cookies, does not track you across websites, and does not build advertising profiles. The beacon records only a random anonymous visitor ID stored in your browser's local storage.

We do not use Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, or any advertising network tracking on this site.

How we use your data

• Operate the AnswerDeck service (handle calls, send SMS, generate transcripts)
• Process your subscription payment via Stripe
• Send transactional emails (welcome, billing receipts, service alerts)
• Improve AI accuracy and conversation quality using anonymized call data
• Comply with legal obligations and respond to lawful requests

We do not sell personal data. We do not use your business's call data to train models deployed for other businesses without aggregation and anonymization.

Subprocessors

We share data with the following third-party services to operate AnswerDeck:

• Stripe — Payment processing. Handles all card data. (stripe.com/privacy)
• Postmark / email proxy — Transactional email delivery (welcome, billing).
• Twilio — Phone call routing and SMS delivery. May process caller phone numbers and audio. (twilio.com/legal/privacy)
• OpenAI / Anthropic — Powers the AI voice agent that handles calls. Audio and transcripts may be sent to these services for processing. We do not share subscriber business data for model training under default agreements.
• Render / Neon — Cloud hosting and managed database. Data is stored in the United States.

Data retention

• Call audio recordings — Retained for 90 days, then deleted automatically.
• Call transcripts — Retained for 12 months from the date of the call.
• Subscriber account data — Retained while your account is active. Deleted within 30 days of a verified deletion request after account closure.
• Appointment records — Retained for 12 months, or until deletion is requested.

To request deletion of your data or a caller's data, email hello@answerdeck.com with the subject line "Data Deletion Request". We will process requests within 30 days.

Your rights

Depending on where you're located, you may have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Correct inaccurate data
• Request deletion of your data
• Object to or restrict certain processing
• Data portability (receive your data in a machine-readable format)

To exercise any of these rights, email hello@answerdeck.com. We will respond within 30 days.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the service evolves. We will update the "Last updated" date at the top and, for material changes, notify active subscribers by email at least 14 days before the change takes effect.