Privacy Policy
Effective 19 August 2026. Last updated 19 August 2026.
This explains what Backline handles, who else sees it, how long we keep it, and how to have it removed. It covers both our own customers and the visitors who chat on their websites.
The short version. Backline stores the chat conversation, any contact details the visitor chooses to share, and the page address the chat happened on. Conversation text is sent to an external language model provider so a reply can be written. We do not store visitor IP addresses, the widget sets no cookies, and we do not sell anything to anyone or use conversations for advertising.
1. Our two roles
Backline sits in two different positions depending on whose data it is.
- For our own customers, the businesses that subscribe, we are the controller. We decide what account and billing information we need in order to run the service and get paid.
- For the visitors chatting on a customer's website, we are a processor acting for that customer. The customer decides why the chat exists and what happens with the leads. We handle the conversation on their instructions.
If you are a website visitor who wants your conversation removed, the fastest route is to contact the business whose website you were on. They control it. You may also contact us and we will pass the request to them and act on their instruction.
2. What we handle
From our customers
- Business name, contact email and the password hash for the dashboard login.
- The knowledge base and assistant instructions the customer writes.
- Plan, subscription status and the date access runs until. Card details never reach us: they are handled by Polar. For payments made in USDC we record the transaction hash and the paying wallet address.
From website visitors
- The messages in the conversation, both the visitor's and the assistant's.
- Contact details the visitor chooses to give: name, email, phone, company, and what they are interested in. Nothing here is required to use the chat.
- The address of the page the chat started on, and timestamps.
- Whether a human took over, and which agent.
We do not collect or store visitor IP addresses, device fingerprints, advertising identifiers or location. We do not track visitors across websites.
3. Who else processes it
These are the only third parties involved in running the service.
| Who | What they do | What reaches them |
|---|---|---|
| Surplus Intelligence | Generates the assistant's replies | The conversation text and the knowledge base sent as context for that reply |
| Vercel | Hosts the widget and the request that calls the model | The conversation text in transit |
| Hostinger International Limited | Hosts the application and its database | Everything in section 2, at rest |
| Polar Software Inc. | Merchant of record for card payments | Customer billing details. We receive only a confirmation, a reference and an amount |
| Telegram | Internal alerts to the operator, such as a new lead or a payment | A short notice with the business name. Conversation text is not sent |
Conversation content is sent to a language model provider in order to produce a reply. We do not permit that content to be used to train models. If you require a specific model provider or a zero retention arrangement, contact us before subscribing.
We do not sell personal information, we do not share it for advertising, and we do not use conversations to build profiles.
4. How long we keep it
| What | Kept for |
|---|---|
| Conversations, including message content | Up to 180 days from the last activity, then deleted automatically. A conversation attached to a lead is kept for as long as the lead is |
| Leads and their contact details | Until the customer deletes them, or 90 days after the account closes |
| Customer account and knowledge base | For the life of the account, then 90 days |
| Payment references and transaction hashes | As long as tax and accounting law requires |
| Backups | Nightly snapshots kept 7 days, then rotated out |
A deletion request is applied to live data promptly. Backups age out on the schedule above rather than being edited, so a record can persist in a snapshot for up to 7 days after deletion.
5. Cookies and tracking
The chat widget sets no cookies and writes nothing to local storage on the visitor's device. It holds the conversation reference in memory for the length of the page visit, and that reference is gone when the tab closes. There is no analytics or advertising code in the widget.
Because of this the widget does not, by itself, require a cookie banner on your site. You remain responsible for whatever else your own site loads.
6. Legal bases
Where the UK GDPR, the EU GDPR or a similar law applies:
- Contract, for providing the service to our subscribing customers and taking payment.
- Legitimate interests, for keeping the service secure, preventing abuse, and answering support requests.
- Legal obligation, for tax and accounting records.
- For visitor conversations, the legal basis is chosen by the website owner acting as controller, and is usually their legitimate interest in answering enquiries or consent that they collect.
7. Security
- All traffic runs over HTTPS.
- The application state file is readable only by its owner account on the server, and every write is atomic so a crash cannot corrupt or truncate it.
- API keys and signing secrets are held in a permission restricted file outside the application code and are never written to logs. Log output masks any field whose name looks like a credential.
- The administrative interface refuses to run with a default or weak key.
- Backups are taken nightly and their integrity is checked with a checksum.
No system is perfectly secure. If a breach affects personal data we will notify affected customers, and any regulator we are required to notify, without undue delay.
8. Where data is held
The application and its database run on a server in Paris, France, inside the European Union, operated by Hostinger International Limited. Data at rest therefore stays in the EU.
Two things leave it. The widget and the request that calls the model run on Vercel's global edge network, and the model provider processes the conversation text in order to write a reply, which may happen outside the EU. Where personal data covered by the EU or UK GDPR leaves those areas, we rely on the standard contractual clauses or another lawful transfer mechanism offered by the processor concerned.
9. Your rights
Depending on where you live you may have the right to ask for a copy of your data, to correct it, to have it deleted, to restrict or object to how it is used, and to receive it in a portable form. You can also complain to your data protection authority.
To exercise any of these, email naijcoded@gmail.com. We respond within 30 days. We may need to confirm your identity first. There is no charge unless a request is excessive or repetitive.
Website visitors: contact the business whose site you used, since they control the conversation. We will help them act on it.
10. Children
Backline is a business service and is not intended for children. Do not deploy the assistant on a website aimed at children, and do not configure it to solicit personal details from anyone under 16. If we learn that we hold a child's information we will delete it.
11. Changes
If we change this policy we update the date above. For a change that materially affects how we handle personal data we notify subscribing customers by email at least 30 days beforehand.
12. Contact
[[FILL: legal entity name]]
[[FILL: business address]]
Email: naijcoded@gmail.com