Privacy Policy

United Answering Service ("United Answering", "we", "us", or "our") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information we collect. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, when we share it, how we protect it, and the choices available to you.

This Policy applies to (a) visitors to our website at www.unitedansweringservice.com, (b) our business clients who subscribe to the Service, and (c) callers whose calls we handle on behalf of our clients.

1. Information We Collect

We collect personal information in three ways:

1.1 Information you provide directly

• Account & contact details: business name, contact name, email address, phone number, mailing address, industry, and billing information when you sign up for or inquire about the Service.
• Support & correspondence: the content of any communications you send us through our website form, email, chat, or phone.
• Onboarding materials: your call script, escalation rules, contact list, and any files you upload during account setup.

1.2 Information collected when we handle calls on your behalf

When callers dial your forwarded number, our agents may collect and record the following on your behalf, according to the script you approve:

• Caller name, phone number, and reason for calling.
• Message content, appointment or booking details, and callback preferences.
• Audio recording and written transcript of the call.
• Any additional data fields your script asks the agent to capture.

This information is collected as a service to you, our client. You are the controller of that data, and we act as a service provider / processor. If callers have questions about how their information is used after we deliver it to you, they should be directed to your privacy notice.

1.3 Information collected automatically

• Website analytics: IP address, browser type and version, device type, operating system, referring URL, pages visited, and the date and time of your visit.
• Cookies and similar technologies: as described in Section 8 below.

2. How We Use Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide, operate, and improve the answering, scheduling, message-taking, and dispatch services you have contracted;
• Deliver messages, appointment confirmations, and call summaries to you through the channels you specify (email, SMS, Slack, Teams, webhook, and so on);
• Communicate with you about your account, invoices, service updates, and support requests;
• Monitor call quality, train our agents, and improve accuracy (recordings used for internal training are stripped of caller identifiers where practical);
• Detect, prevent, and address fraud, abuse, security incidents, and violations of our Terms of Service;
• Comply with legal, tax, accounting, and regulatory obligations; and
• Enforce our agreements and defend our legal rights.

3. Legal Bases for Processing

Where required by applicable law (for example, under the GDPR or UK GDPR), we rely on the following legal bases to process personal information:

• Contract — to provide the Service you have subscribed to;
• Legitimate interests — to secure our systems, prevent fraud, and improve our services, provided those interests are not overridden by your rights;
• Legal obligation — to comply with laws, court orders, or regulatory requirements; and
• Consent — where required (for example, certain marketing communications), which you may withdraw at any time.

4. How We Share Information

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We share information only in the following limited circumstances:

• With you, our client. Call recordings, transcripts, messages, and appointment records collected on your behalf are delivered to you as part of the Service.
• Service providers. Vetted sub-processors that help us operate the Service — including cloud hosting, telephony carriers, email and SMS delivery, transcription, payment processing, and CRM tooling — each bound by written data-protection commitments to use the data only to perform their services for us.
• Legal & safety. Law enforcement, courts, regulators, or other authorized parties when legally required, or when necessary to protect our rights, property, or safety, or the rights, property, or safety of others.
• Business transfers. In connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, or sale of all or part of our business, subject to standard confidentiality safeguards.
• With your consent. Any other sharing that you specifically authorize.

5. Data Retention

We retain personal information only as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Policy and as required by law:

• Call recordings and transcripts: 90 days by default, unless a longer retention period is agreed with you in writing.
• Messages and appointment records: the life of your account plus 12 months.
• Account, billing, and tax records: up to 7 years to comply with financial and tax obligations.
• Website analytics: up to 26 months in aggregated form.

After the applicable retention period, we securely delete or de-identify the data.

6. Data Security

We use administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information against loss, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These include:

• Encryption in transit using TLS 1.2 or higher and encryption at rest using AES-256;
• Role-based access controls and the principle of least privilege for all internal systems;
• Background checks and confidentiality agreements for every agent and employee;
• Annual privacy and security awareness training for all staff;
• Monitoring and alerting for suspicious activity across our platform; and
• A documented incident-response plan to investigate and remediate any security event.

No system is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, but we work continuously to protect the information entrusted to us.

7. Your Rights & Choices

Depending on where you live, you may have some or all of the following rights regarding personal information we hold about you:

• Access to a copy of the personal information we hold;
• Correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;
• Deletion of personal information, subject to legal retention requirements;
• Restriction or objection to certain processing;
• Portability of information you provided directly to us;
• Withdrawal of consent where processing is based on consent; and
• The right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority.

Residents of California (CCPA/CPRA), Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, and other U.S. states with comprehensive privacy laws have specific rights, including the right to know, delete, correct, and opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information. We do not sell personal information, and we do not knowingly process the personal information of individuals under 16 without appropriate authorization.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@unitedansweringservice.com. We will verify your request and respond within the timeframes required by applicable law. You may authorize an agent to make a request on your behalf with reasonable proof of authorization.

8. Cookies & Tracking

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to make the site work, remember your preferences, and understand how visitors use the site so we can improve it. We use:

• Strictly necessary cookies to enable core functionality;
• Analytics cookies to measure traffic and improve performance; and
• Preference cookies to remember your language or region settings.

You can disable non-essential cookies through your browser settings. Blocking cookies may cause some features of the website to work differently or not at all. We honor the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal for browsers that send it.

9. Children's Privacy

Our Service is designed for businesses and is not directed to children under 13 (or the equivalent minimum age in the relevant jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided information to us, please contact us at privacy@unitedansweringservice.com and we will delete it.

10. International Users

United Answering Service is based in the United States and our servers are located in the United States. If you access the Service from outside the United States, your information will be transferred to, stored in, and processed in the United States, which may have different data-protection laws than your country. Where required, we use appropriate safeguards for cross-border transfers, such as standard contractual clauses.

11. Third-Party Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, plugins, or services. This Policy does not apply to those third parties, and we are not responsible for their privacy practices. Review the privacy policies of any third-party site you visit.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or for other operational reasons. When we make material changes, we will update the "Effective date" above and provide notice by email or by posting a prominent notice on this page at least 30 days before the changes take effect (unless applicable law requires immediate effect). Your continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised Policy.

13. Contact Us

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or how we handle personal information, please contact our Privacy Team:

• Email: privacy@unitedansweringservice.com
• Phone: (646) 814-7932
• Mail: United Answering Service — Privacy Officer, 215 E 5th St, Suite C, Okmulgee, OK 74447, USA