Privacy policy

The short version

• We store your account, the contacts you add, the texts you write and approve, and information about your sending phone, because PigeonText can't draft or send your texts without them.
• Your texts are sent by your own phone, from your own number, through your mobile carrier.
• We never sell your data or your contacts' data, and we don't use it for advertising.
• PigeonText never reads the texts you receive.
• You can ask us to delete everything at any time by emailing support@pigeontext.app.

Who we are

PigeonText is run by Jacob Lammers, an individual based in Michigan, USA ("we", "us"). This policy covers the website pigeontext.app, the web app at app.pigeontext.app, the PigeonText Android app and the PigeonText Sender shortcut for iPhone. You can reach us atsupport@pigeontext.app.

What we store

Your account

Your email address and name, and how you sign in (Google or email and password). Passwords are handled by Google's Firebase Authentication; we never see them. Your time zone and the settings you choose, including "my fields" like your name or signature for messages.

Your application

When you apply for access: your name, mobile number, organization and role, what you plan to use PigeonText for, where your contacts come from, how many texts you expect to send, how you heard about us, and which version of our terms and this policy you agreed to. We use this to decide on your application, and we may keep a short note about that decision. We email you at your account's email address when your application is approved or declined.

Your contacts

The people you add, by typing, importing a spreadsheet or choosing them from your phone's contacts: names, phone numbers, email addresses, notes, tags, how well you know them, any custom fields you create, and whether you've marked them "Don't text". When you import from your phone, only the contacts you pick are uploaded.

Your messages

Your message templates, the personal draft for each person, which drafts you approved, when each text is scheduled, and what happened to it (sent, failed, skipped or needs attention), with the time and any error your phone reported.

Your sending phone

The phone's model, the app version, a notification token that lets us wake the app when it's time to send, whether the permissions PigeonText needs are turned on, when the app last checked in, and when it last sent a text.

If you send from an iPhone: when your shortcut URL was made (we keep only a scrambled fingerprint of its secret token, never the token itself), when your iPhone last checked in and last sent a text, and the result of the setup test. Because an iPhone can't show PigeonText alerts, we email you instead when a campaign pauses or finishes, when a text needs a look, or when your iPhone misses a check-in. These emails name the campaign and give counts; they never include the text of your messages or anyone's phone number.

Error and crash reports

If the Android app crashes or a text fails to send, the app sends a report to Google's Firebase Crashlytics: the phone model, Android and app versions, and what went wrong (an error code). If the web app runs into an error, it sends us a similar report. These reports never include the text of your messages or anyone's phone number.

Messages you send us

When you email us, or send feedback with "Send feedback" (a Google Form), we keep what you send so we can answer it and improve PigeonText. The form is filled in with your app version and device; Google stores the answers for us.

Technical logs

Our hosting and servers (Google Cloud) keep standard logs, such as IP addresses and request times, which we use to keep the service secure and find problems. Our own server logs record counts and error codes, not your messages or contacts.

What we don't collect

• The texts you receive, or any of your other conversations. The app doesn't have permission to read them.
• Your call history, location, photos or anything else on your phone.
• Advertising or tracking cookies. This website uses no cookies at all.
• Payment information. PigeonText is free during the beta. If we start taking payments, we'll update this policy first.

How your texts are sent

PigeonText does not send texts through its own servers or phone numbers. On Android, when a text is due, our servers wake your sending phone, and your phone sends that one text through your mobile carrier, on your plan, from your number. On an iPhone, the PigeonText Sender shortcut checks in at set times, asks our servers for the texts due then, and sends each one with your iPhone's Messages app. Your carrier (or Apple, if Messages sends it as an iMessage) handles it under its own privacy policy, as with any text you send. Sent texts usually also appear in your phone's messaging app.

How we use it

• To run PigeonText: write each person's draft, check your approvals, plan sending times, tell your phone what to send and show you what happened.
• To keep it safe: enforce the sending limits, stop texts to anyone marked "Don't text", and detect misuse.
• To help you when you contact us, and to tell you about important changes to the service.
• To find and fix problems, and to understand in total numbers (like how many texts were sent) how PigeonText is used.

We don't currently send your contacts or messages to any AI service. If we add a feature that would, we'll explain it first and it will be your choice to use it.

Who can see it

Your data is visible to you when you're signed in. We never sell or rent it. We share it only with:

• Service providers that run PigeonText for us: Google (Firebase Authentication, Cloud Firestore, Cloud Functions, Firebase Cloud Messaging, Firebase Crashlytics and Firebase Hosting), which stores and processes the data on our behalf, and our email provider, Zoho Mail, which sends PigeonText's emails to you (such as application decisions and iPhone alerts) and receives the emails you send us.
• When the law requires it, for example a valid court order, or to protect people from serious harm.
• If PigeonText changes hands: if PigeonText is sold, merged or transferred, your data may move to the new owner, who will have to keep following this policy. We'll tell you before that happens.

The people who run PigeonText can technically see stored data through Google Cloud's tools. We look only when you ask for help, to fix a problem with your account, to look into misuse, or when the law requires it.

Where it's stored

In Google Cloud data centers in the United States. Data is encrypted while it travels and while it's stored, and our security rules let each account read only its own data.

Your contacts' information

The people in your contact list didn't sign up for PigeonText, so please add only people you have a reason to text and who would expect to hear from you. If someone asks you to stop, mark them "Don't text".

If someone writes to us asking that a PigeonText user stop texting them, or about their information in someone's account, we'll mark them "Don't text" in that account, let the account owner know, and remove their other details where we can. We keep their phone number marked "Don't text" so they aren't texted again by mistake.

How long we keep it

As long as your account is open. When you ask us to delete your account, we delete your account, contacts, messages and phone information within 30 days. Copies in system logs and any backups expire within a further 35 days. We keep a brief record of your application decision and of your deletion request for up to two years, to show we handled it and to help prevent misuse.

Your choices and rights

Wherever you live, you can:

• See and correct: everything about your contacts and messages is on screen in the web app, and you can edit it there.
• Download: each campaign's page lets you download a log of every text. You can also ask us for a copy of everything we hold about you.
• Delete: you can delete contacts yourself. To delete your whole account, emailsupport@pigeontext.app from the address you sign in with. We'll confirm when it's done.

We answer requests within 45 days, and we won't treat you differently for making one. Some U.S. states, such as California, give their residents these rights by law. We don't sell personal information or share it for targeted advertising.

Children

PigeonText is for adults. It isn't meant for anyone under 18, and we don't knowingly collect children's information.

Changes

If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top and, for important changes, tell you by email or in the app before they take effect.

Contact

Questions or requests: support@pigeontext.app.