ChatSMS — Legal

Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

ChatSMS (“the Service”), is a service provided by Volani Limited, a company registered in England & Wales with number 12103390.
By accessing our software and services, you agree to these Terms. If you are under legal age, please use the Service only with parental permission.

2. Service Description

ChatSMS enables you to send SMS to an AI assistant powered by the OpenAI API. Messages are processed in real-time and delivered back via SMS. A pay-as-you-go credit system applies; new accounts receive £1.20 welcome credit, equivalent to 10 messages.

3. Use Restrictions

You must not:

• Use ChatSMS for unlawful or fraudulent activity.
• Attempt to resell or redistribute the Service.
• Attempt to reverse-engineer any part of the Service.

4. Payments & Credit

• Messages are billed at 12p each. We reserve the right to change this pricing at our discretion.
• Credit can be added anytime using our secure payment website.
• No subscriptions — credit must be topped up manually.

5. Disclaimer & Liability

ChatSMS is provided “as-is.” We are not liable for damages, including SMS charges from your carrier or delays due to network conditions. Use at your own risk.
Furthermore, you agree that ChatSMS nor Volani Limited shall be held liable for any damages incurred whilst using our services. You agree, at your own expense, to indemnify ChatSMS, its parent, Volani Limited, and any affiliated persons, in any way related to your breach of these Terms, your use of our services, or any of your other acts.

6. Changes to Terms

We may update these Terms occasionally. Continued use of the Service means you accept the updated Terms and we will notify you via SMS prior to any changes coming into effect.

7. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of England & Wales.

Privacy Policy

1. Overview

This Privacy Policy explains how Volani Limited, t/a ChatSMS (“we”, “our”, or “us”) handles your information.
We're registered with the UK data protection authority (the Information Commissioner’s Office) under number ZB581020.

2. Information We Collect

• Messages you send: Forwaded to the OpenAI API to generate replies and retained in your account so you can view your conversation history later. OpenAI stores messages to provide conversation context for up to 30 days only.
• Your telephone number: Stored so we can reply to you.
• Your email address: Stored when you top up your account, to manage billing and resolve issues.
• Usage data: Aggregate statistics (e.g., number of messages sent, top-ups) only, to improve the Service.
• Support inquiries: Retained so we can assist you best.

3. Why We Collect Data (Legal Bases)

• Messages & account data: Necessary to perform our contract with you and to provide your chat history. OpenAI does not train its models on your data.
• Billing records: Necessary for contract and to comply with legal obligations such as tax law.
• Usage statistics: Our legitimate interest in improving the Service.
• Support: Necessary for contract and our legitimate interest in resolving any issues you have.

4. Retention of Data

• Messages: Retained so you can view and manage your conversation history. You may delete individual chats at any time, or delete your account to remove all of your chats from our systems. OpenAI does not store your chats longer than 30 days.
• Billing records: Retained for 6 years in line with UK accounting requirements.
• Support records: Up to 12 months after resolution.
• Usage statistics: Retained in aggregate only (non-identifiable).

5. Deleting Your Data

When you delete a chat or close your account, we remove all associated personal data we hold about you from our systems (including your messages, phone number, and account details), except where retention is required by law (e.g., billing records). Deleted items are removed from our active systems promptly and from backups in the normal course of our backup rotation.

6. Who Sees the Data

• OpenAI: Processes messages via their API. In accordance with their privacy policy, messages are not used to train their models and are retained for up to 30 days for abuse monitoring.
• Payment Processor (Stripe): Receives only necessary payment details you provide, in accordance with their privacy policy.
• Internal team: Access limited to support and maintenance purposes.

7. International Transfers

Your data may be transferred outside the UK/EU (e.g., to OpenAI in the US or Firestore data centres). Where this occurs, we rely on UK adequacy regulations or UK-approved Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) to protect your data.

8. Data Security

We use Firestore with encryption at rest and TLS in transit. Access is limited to authorised personnel only. While no system is 100% secure, we follow industry-standard practices to safeguard data.

9. Your Rights

If you are in the UK/EU you have the right to:

• Access your data
• Request correction or deletion
• Request restriction of processing
• Object to processing (e.g., statistics/legitimate interest)
• Request data portability
• Withdraw consent (where processing is based on consent)
• Lodge a complaint with the ICO (ico.org.uk)

You can exercise your rights by contacting us at help@chatsms.uk.

10. Children’s Data

Our Service is not directed at children under 13. If you are under 13 (or 16 in some regions), you must have parental/guardian consent to use ChatSMS.

11. Cookies

We do not use cookies for tracking or advertising. If this changes, we will update this Policy and (where required) seek your consent.

12. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you via email or SMS. The latest version is always available on this page.

13. Contact

You can reach us via the “Contact Us” button on the ChatSMS website or email help@chatsms.uk.