Who this covers
This policy is for shop owners who sign up, people who call a shop we answer for, and anyone who visits AnswerVan.com. If you are a homeowner who just called a plumber, electrician, or HVAC tech, we handle your number and what you said because that shop asked us to pick up.
What we collect from shops
- Cell number, shop name, your name, optional email.
- Trade (plumbing, electrical, HVAC), shop size, hours, timezone, service area.
- How you catch calls (missed vs always-answer) and the forwarding number we issued.
- Sign-in codes (stored hashed, they expire).
- Answered-minute totals and billing events we record for the month.
What we collect on a call
- Caller ID, the number they called, and how long we were on the phone.
- The ticket: name, callback, address, issue, urgency, access notes, language.
- A recording and transcript of the call, used to capture the job and to review quality.
- Whether we texted you and whether we texted them.
The greeting says the call may be recorded. If you use us, you are asking us to record and transcribe so the ticket is accurate.
Texts
We text shops: sign-in codes, the job ticket, forwarding instructions, and usage warnings. We text callers: a short hold message after a qualified job so they stop dialing the next van. Message frequency follows actual calls. See the SMS terms.
Cookies and sign-in
We set an httpOnly session cookie after you enter the code, so the inbox stays yours on this browser. Sales desk uses a separate pin cookie. We do not run ad pixels or a third-party analytics tag on the marketing pages.
Who we share with
We do not sell personal information. We use processors to run the product:
- The voice and SMS carrier (today: Telnyx) — numbers, the live call, recordings, outbound texts.
- The database host (MongoDB Atlas) — shop records, tickets, codes, billing events.
- The company that hosts this website.
We may share information if the law requires it, or to protect someone from an emergency the call itself described (for example a carbon monoxide alarm — we already tell them to call 911).
How long we keep it
Shop accounts and tickets stay while the account is open and for a reasonable period after, so you can see old jobs and so we can finish a bill. Sign-in codes die in minutes. You can ask us to delete an account. We may keep a thin record of the number and the bill if we still have to show it happened.
Your rights
Email privacy@answervan.com to see what we have on you, correct it, or delete it. If you are in California or another place with a privacy statute, that includes the right to know, delete, and opt out of sale — we do not sell. We will not discriminate against you for asking.
Kids
This is a business product. We do not aim it at children under 13, and we do not want their data.
Changes
We will update this page when the product changes. The date at the top is the current version. Questions: privacy@answervan.com.