Privacy policy
PhoneGateway turns an Android phone a business owns into a texting line it can use from a web dashboard and an API. This policy explains what we collect to do that, what we do with it, and the choices you have. It covers the website at phonegateway.app, the dashboard, the API and the PhoneGateway Android app.
The short version. We store the texts sent and received through a connected phone so the business can see and answer them. We don't sell data, we don't show ads, and the app doesn't read your contacts, photos, old messages or other apps. A phone can be disconnected at any time, and an account and its data can be deleted on request.
Who this is about
- Account owners: the business that signs up, connects a phone and uses the dashboard or API.
- Phone users: whoever installs the app on the connected phone (usually the same business).
- Recipients: the people a business texts, and who text it back. We hold their messages on the business's behalf.
What we collect
Account
Your email address and a business name. Sign-in is by a link we email you, so we never store a password. We keep a record of your sessions (a random id, when it was made, the browser's user-agent string).
Connected phones
When the app is connected, it reports the phone's SIM phone number, carrier, SIM country, Android version, app version, battery level, whether it is charging and its network status, and checks in every few seconds so the dashboard can show the phone is online. It gets a random device key when connected; the key is stored hashed.
Messages
For every text sent through PhoneGateway: the recipient's number, the text, your reference and when it was queued, sent, delivered or failed. For every text the connected phone receives while it is connected: the sender's number, the text and when it arrived. We also keep your STOP list (numbers that opted out and why) so those numbers are never texted again by your account.
Integrations
API keys (stored hashed, with a label, creation and last-use time), webhook URLs and their signing secrets, and a log of each webhook delivery (event, attempts, your server's HTTP status).
Technical
Our hosting provider keeps standard request logs (IP address, time, path, user agent) for a short period to run and secure the service. We don't use analytics or advertising trackers on the site or in the app.
The Android app's permissions
The app asks for two permissions, and uses them for exactly one job: to be the business's texting line.
- Send SMS lets the app send the texts your account has queued, from the phone's own SIM. It sends nothing you or your software didn't ask for, except the automatic STOP and HELP replies described in your settings.
- Receive SMS lets the app see texts that arrive on the phone while it is connected, so replies show up in your inbox, STOP requests are honored, and your webhooks are called. The app does not read messages that arrived before it was connected, and it does not read your contacts, call log, photos, location or other apps.
The app connects only to our servers (phonegateway.app). A pair link that names any other server is refused.
How we use it
- To provide the service: queue texts, send them from your phone, show you the inbox, call your webhooks, enforce your STOP list and limits.
- To sign you in and tell you about your account (sign-in links, security notices). We don't send marketing email to account owners who haven't asked for it.
- To keep the service and phone numbers healthy: rate limits, quiet hours, pausing a phone that gets several opt-outs, and preventing abuse.
- To fix problems, when you ask for help or when something fails.
We don't sell personal information, don't use message content to build profiles or train models, and don't show ads.
Who else sees it
- Cloudflare hosts the service (servers, database, email delivery for sign-in links). Data is processed in the United States.
- Your carrier carries the texts, as it does for any text sent from the phone.
- Your integrations: the webhook URLs you set up receive the events you asked for. What they do with them is up to the business running them.
- Law: we disclose information if the law requires it or to protect people from harm.
How long we keep it
- Messages, phones, keys, webhooks and settings: as long as the account exists.
- Sign-in links: 15 minutes. Sessions: 30 days, or until you sign out.
- Webhook delivery logs: about 30 days.
- After an account is deleted, its data is removed from our systems within 30 days, apart from backups that expire on their own schedule.
Your choices
- Disconnect a phone in the dashboard; its key stops working immediately and nothing more is read from it. Uninstalling the app has the same effect on that phone.
- Revoke an API key or remove a webhook at any time in the dashboard.
- Export or delete your account by emailing hello at phonegateway.app from the account's email address. We confirm within a few days and finish within 30.
- If you received a text from a business using PhoneGateway and don't want more, reply STOP. That number is blocked for that business. For questions about how a business uses your information, contact the business; it decides what to send and to whom. You can also write to us and we will help.
Security
Traffic is encrypted in transit. API keys, device keys, sign-in tokens and session secrets are stored as salted hashes, so we can check them but not read them back. Each business's data is separated by account, and a STOP list belongs to one account. No system is perfectly secure; if we learn of a breach affecting your data we will tell you.
Children
PhoneGateway is a business tool for adults. We don't knowingly collect information from anyone under 18, and the app is not directed at children.
Changes
If this policy changes in a way that matters, we'll note the new date here and email account owners before it takes effect.
Contact
Cannappy LLC · Sacramento, California · hello at phonegateway.app