Privacy Policy

Introduction

Heddle ("we", "us", or "our") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data. This privacy policy explains how we handle your information when you visit our website or use our platform.

This policy applies to all visitors of our website and to merchants who use Heddle to run their business.

Heddle plays two roles. For the information merchants give us about themselves (account details, billing, usage), we are the data controller. For the information a business's own customers share with that business, such as their orders, messages, and contact details, the business is the controller. Heddle processes that data on the business's behalf. If you are a customer of a business that uses Heddle, your relationship is with that business. Direct privacy requests to them first, and we will help them respond.

Information We Collect

Information You Provide

• Contact information (name, email address, phone number, business name) submitted through our contact form or during signup
• Communication records when you correspond with us via email, chat, or other channels
• Business details shared during onboarding and platform use, such as products, pricing, and opening hours

Information Processed on Behalf of Businesses

When a business uses Heddle to serve its customers, we process those customers' data on the business's instructions:

• Messages: WhatsApp and other channel messages sent to the business. We process these to power ordering, booking, replies, and the business's inbox.
• Orders and bookings: names, phone numbers, delivery addresses, and purchase details connected to a customer's orders.

Each business's customer records are kept separate. No business can see another's data.

Information Collected Automatically

• Analytics: We may use PostHog and similar tools to understand how visitors use our website: pages visited, session duration, referring sources, and approximate location.
• Technical data: IP address, browser type, operating system, and device information collected through standard server logs.

How We Use Your Information

• To operate the Heddle platform and deliver the services you request
• To process messages, orders, and bookings on behalf of businesses and their customers
• To respond to your inquiries and support questions
• To send relevant communications about Heddle, only when you've expressed interest
• To analyze website usage and improve our platform
• To detect and prevent fraud or abuse

AI Features

Parts of Heddle use artificial intelligence.

Conversational features, such as AI-assisted WhatsApp replies, are powered by an external AI service provider. Before any message content reaches that provider, personal details (names, phone numbers, addresses) are replaced with anonymous tokens. The provider never sees your customers' identifying information in readable form.

The dashboard assistant runs entirely on the business owner's own device. Business data used by this assistant is not sent to any external AI service.

Payments

Online payments are handled by payment processors: currently Stripe, PayPal, WiPay, and WAM. When you or your customers pay online, card details go directly to the processor through their secure checkout. Heddle never receives or stores full card numbers. We keep the transaction records (amounts, dates, status) needed to run the platform and meet accounting obligations. Payment processors handle your data under their own privacy policies.

Cookies and Tracking

Our website uses the following types of cookies:

• Essential cookies: Required for basic functionality such as signing in, theme, and language preferences. These cannot be disabled.
• Analytics cookies: Used to collect usage data. These are set only after you provide consent through our cookie banner.

You can manage your cookie preferences at any time through your browser settings. Disabling analytics cookies will not affect your ability to use our website.

Information Sharing

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties. We share information only with the service providers we rely on to run Heddle: cloud infrastructure and storage, database hosting, AI services (with personal details tokenized as described above), payment processors, and the gateways that deliver email, SMS, and WhatsApp messages. Each provider gets only what it needs.

Some of these providers run on infrastructure outside the Caribbean, including in the United States. Where personal data is transferred internationally, we rely on recognized safeguards such as standard contractual clauses.

We may also disclose your information if required by law or to protect our legal rights.

Data Retention

• Active accounts: Your account information and business records are retained for as long as your account is active.
• Account closure: When you close your account, your business enters a 30-day grace period during which the closure is fully reversible. After the grace period, your data is permanently deleted.
• Accounting records: Anonymized transaction records (with personal details removed) may be kept after deletion for the period required by applicable tax and accounting law.
• Analytics data: Retained according to default retention policies.

Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Request access to the personal data we hold about you, including a machine-readable export
• Request correction of inaccurate data
• Request deletion of your personal data. For merchant accounts this means closing the account, with the 30-day grace period described above.
• Withdraw consent for analytics tracking at any time
• Export your business data from Heddle at any time

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@heddleapp.com. We will respond within 30 days.

If you are a customer of a business that uses Heddle, please direct requests about your data to that business. They control it; we help them respond.

Security

We take reasonable measures to protect your personal data from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure.

Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those websites. We encourage you to read their privacy policies.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We will post the updated policy on this page with a revised date. Continued use of our website or the Heddle platform after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or our data practices, please contact us at:

Heddle
Trinidad and Tobago
privacy@heddleapp.com