Privacy policy

Overview

Talkwish gives you a US or Canada phone number that you can use to call and text over the internet. To do that, we have to handle some personal information, such as who you call, the texts you send and how you pay. This policy explains what we collect, why we collect it, who we share it with, and the choices you have.

It applies to our website (talkwish.com), the Talkwish web app, our mobile and desktop apps, and the texts and emails we send you. Talkwish is run by Nactus Technologies Pvt Ltd, which provides the service and is responsible for your information. In this policy, "Talkwish," "we," "us" and "our" mean Nactus Technologies Pvt Ltd, and "you" means anyone who visits our website or uses our service.

The short version:

• We don't sell your personal information, and we don't use the content of your calls, texts, voicemails or recordings for advertising.
• Our website uses no advertising or analytics cookies and no third-party trackers.
• We share information only with the service providers that help us run Talkwish, when the law requires it, or to protect people from harm.
• You can delete messages, voicemails and recordings at any time, and you can ask us to access, correct, download or delete your information.

Information we collect

We collect information you give us, information created when you use the service, and some technical information from your device.

Account information

When you sign up, we collect details such as your name, email address, password and account settings. If emergency calling is offered on your account, we also collect the address you register for it.

Phone numbers

We keep a record of the Talkwish numbers assigned to you and any other phone numbers you give us, such as a number for verifying your account or for forwarding calls. We also keep the list of numbers you choose to block.

Call and message records

When you make or receive calls and texts, records of them are created: the phone numbers involved, the date and time, how long a call lasted, whether a call was answered, missed or sent to voicemail, and whether a message was delivered. These records power your call history and billing, and help us keep the service free of spam and fraud.

Message content and picture messages

We store the texts (SMS) and picture messages (MMS) you send and receive, including photos and other attachments, so you can see your conversations on all your devices.

Voicemails, transcripts and call recordings

We store voicemails people leave for you, and transcripts of them if your plan includes transcription. If you choose to record a call, we store the recording. We don't record your calls unless you start a recording.

Some US states and Canadian law require everyone on a call to agree before it's recorded. If you record a call, it's your responsibility to tell the other people and get their consent where the law requires it. See call recording and consent in our terms. Recordings stay in your account until you delete them or close your account; see data retention.

Information about the people you talk to

When someone calls you, texts you or leaves you a voicemail, we receive their phone number and whatever they send. We use it only to provide the service to you.

Payment information

Payments are handled by Stripe. You enter your card details into Stripe's secure payment form, and we never see or store your full card number. Stripe shares limited details with us, such as the card brand, the last four digits and the expiration date. We keep your plan, prepaid credit balance and payment history.

Device and app information

When you use our website or apps, we receive technical information such as your IP address, browser and device type, operating system and app version, along with basic connection and error logs that help us keep the service working. Our mobile apps also give us a push notification token so we can alert you to incoming calls and messages.

Support emails

If you email us, we keep your message, our reply and any details you include, so we can help you and keep a record of the conversation.

How we use information

We use information to run Talkwish and keep it safe. Specifically, we use it to:

• Provide the service: create your account, assign your number, show your call history, messages, voicemails and recordings, transcribe voicemails, and keep everything in sync across your devices.
• Route calls and texts: connect your calls, deliver your messages and forward calls where you've set that up.
• Bill you: charge for your plan, track usage and prepaid credit, apply taxes and fees, and send receipts.
• Keep the service secure: verify your identity, protect your account, and detect and prevent fraud, spam, robocalls and other abuse.
• Support you: answer your questions and fix problems.
• Send service emails and texts: verification codes, security alerts, billing notices and notices about important changes to the service or our policies.
• Follow the law: meet our tax, telecommunications and other legal obligations, and respond to valid legal requests.

We don't sell your personal information. We don't use the content of your texts, picture messages, voicemails or call recordings for advertising.

Mobile information and SMS

We send texts about your account, such as verification codes, security alerts and billing notices.

• To opt out, reply STOP to any of our texts to stop receiving non-essential texts.
• For help, reply HELP or email support@talkwish.com.
• Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency varies.

This section covers texts that Talkwish sends to you. The texts you send and receive with your Talkwish number are covered under Information we collect, and we never use them for marketing.

How we share information

We share information only in the situations below. We never share your information with third parties for their own marketing.

Service providers

We use a small number of trusted companies to run Talkwish. They act on our behalf, may use your information only to provide services to us, and must protect it.

• Twilio carries our calls and messages to and from the phone network, and holds voicemails and call recordings until we copy them to our own storage.
• Stripe processes payments and stores your card details.
• Our cloud hosting provider runs our servers and stores our data in the United States.
• Our email delivery provider sends our emails, such as verification codes, receipts and alerts.
• Apple and Google deliver push notifications to our iPhone and Android apps once those apps are available.

Phone carriers and the people you contact

To complete a call or deliver a text, the phone numbers involved and what you send pass through other phone carriers, which handle them under their own rules. The people you call or text see your Talkwish number and receive what you send them.

Legal requests

We may disclose information if we believe in good faith that the law requires it, for example in response to a subpoena, court order or warrant. We review each request before we respond, and where the law allows, we notify you before we disclose your information so you have a chance to object.

Protecting rights and safety

We may share information when we believe it's necessary to protect the rights, property or safety of Talkwish, our users or others. For example, we may share it to stop fraud or abuse, to enforce our Terms of Service, or to help in an emergency involving a risk of death or serious injury. Where we offer emergency calling, we share your number and registered address with emergency services when you call them, so the call can be routed and help can find you.

Business transfers

If Talkwish is involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that deal. We'll tell you before your information becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

With your consent

We may share information for other reasons if you ask us to or agree to it.

Cookies and tracking

Our website (talkwish.com) uses no advertising or analytics cookies and no third-party trackers. We don't use tracking pixels, and we don't let advertisers or data brokers collect information about you on our site.

The Talkwish web app uses only essential cookies or local storage, to keep you signed in and keep your account secure. Because the app needs them to work, there's no setting to turn them off, but you can sign out or clear them in your browser at any time. You'll then need to sign in again.

Like any website, our servers receive basic technical information, such as your IP address and browser type, when you visit. We use it only to deliver and secure the site and the app. When you pay, Stripe's payment form may use its own cookies to prevent fraud, under Stripe's privacy policy.

Data retention

We keep information only as long as we need it:

• Account information is kept while your account is open.
• Call and message records and content, including texts, picture messages, voicemails, transcripts and recordings, are kept while your account is open.
• After you delete your account, we delete this information within 90 days.
• Billing records are the exception. We keep them as long as tax law requires.
• Backups roll off within 30 days, so deleted information may remain in a backup until then.

You can delete individual messages, voicemails and recordings at any time. Deleting a text or picture message removes it from your Talkwish account, but not from the other person's phone.

We may also keep specific information longer if the law requires it, for example when we receive a valid order to preserve it.

Security

We protect your information with safeguards that include:

• Encryption in transit: our website and apps use encrypted connections, and calls and messages are encrypted between your device and our servers.
• Access controls: only people who need access to do their jobs can reach personal information.
• Secure payments: card payments are handled by Stripe, a PCI DSS compliant payment processor.

Calls and texts to regular phone numbers also travel over phone carrier networks that we don't control. Like regular phone calls and texts, they are not end-to-end encrypted.

No system is perfectly secure, so we can't guarantee that your information will never be accessed without permission. Please use a strong, unique password and keep your devices secure. If a security breach affects your information, we'll notify you as the law requires.

Your rights and choices

Wherever you live, you can ask us to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you.
• Correct information that's wrong or incomplete.
• Download a copy of your information in a portable format.
• Delete your information or your account.

You can also delete individual messages, voicemails and recordings yourself at any time.

How to make a request

Email privacy@talkwish.com, ideally from the email address on your account, and tell us what you'd like us to do. To protect you, we verify your identity before acting on a request, for example by asking you to confirm details about your account. We aim to respond within 30 days and will tell you if we need more time. There's no charge for making a request.

Some information, such as billing records, may need to be kept by law. If that applies to your request, we'll tell you.

California residents

If you live in California, the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (together, the "CCPA"), gives you the right to:

• Know what personal information we collect, use and disclose, and why.
• Delete personal information we collected from you.
• Correct inaccurate personal information.
• Not be discriminated against for using these rights. We won't deny you service, charge you a different price or give you a lower level of service because you made a request.

We don't sell your personal information, and we don't share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, as those terms are defined in the CCPA, and we haven't done so in the past 12 months. We use sensitive personal information, such as the content of your messages and your account login, only to provide the service and for the other purposes the CCPA allows.

The sections above describe what we collect, where it comes from, why we use it and who we disclose it to. In CCPA terms, the categories are identifiers (such as your name, email address, phone numbers, emergency calling address and IP address), commercial information (such as your plan and payment history), internet or other electronic network activity (such as device and app information), audio and electronic information (such as voicemails and call recordings), and sensitive personal information (such as the content of your texts and your account login).

You can make a request yourself, or have an authorized agent make one for you, by emailing privacy@talkwish.com. If an agent contacts us, we may ask for proof that you authorized them and ask you to verify your identity directly. We treat a Global Privacy Control signal from your browser as a request to opt out of the sale and sharing of personal information, even though we don't sell or share it in the first place.

Canadian residents

If you live in Canada, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and applicable provincial privacy laws give you the right to access the personal information we hold about you and to ask us to correct it if it's inaccurate or incomplete. You may also withdraw your consent to our use of your information, subject to legal and contractual limits, although we may then be unable to provide the service.

If you have a concern, please contact us first at privacy@talkwish.com. If you're not satisfied with our response, you have the right to file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

Where we store data

We store and process information in the United States, where our servers are located. Our service providers process information in the United States and may also process it in other countries where they operate, under contracts that require them to protect it.

If you live in Canada, your information is transferred to and processed in the United States. While it's there, it's protected by this policy and our contracts with service providers, but it may be accessible to US courts, law enforcement and national security authorities under US law.

Children

Talkwish is not for anyone under 18. You must be 18 or older to create an account, and we close accounts we learn belong to someone under 18. We don't knowingly collect personal information from children. If we learn that we've collected personal information from a child under 13 without verifiable parental consent, we'll delete it.

If you believe a child has given us personal information, please email privacy@talkwish.com.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as Talkwish grows or the law changes. When we do, we'll post the new version on this page and update the "Last updated" date at the top. If we make a significant change, we'll tell you in advance by email or in the app.

Contact us

Questions about this policy or your information? Email privacy@talkwish.com. For help with your account, email support@talkwish.com.

You can also write to us at: