Bookzello Privacy Policy

1. Introduction & Scope

Welcome to Bookzello (“Bookzello”, “we”, “us”, or “our”), accessible online at https://bookzello.com. Bookzello is a cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform providing multi-tenant appointment scheduling, staff calendar coordination, embeddable web booking widgets, and tool-using AI receptionist capabilities designed for independent hair salons, barbershops, and beauty studios.

This Privacy Policy applies to all users of our platform, including:

• Salon Owners & Managers: Individuals who register an organization workspace, manage staff schedules, configure service menus, and view appointments.
• Salon Staff Members: Service providers whose schedules, shifts, and assigned appointments are organized through the system.
• Salon Clients & Customers: Individuals who view public booking pages, schedule appointments, receive transactional reminders, or chat with our automated AI assistant.
• Website Visitors: Individuals browsing our marketing website, public documentation, or testing interactive product demonstrations.

2. Platform Operator & Business Model

Bookzello operates as a multi-tenant business software provider. Under standard data protection frameworks:

• Salon Client Booking Data: When clients book an appointment with a specific salon (e.g., booking a haircut or colour service), the respective salon owner determines what services they offer, sets working hours, and manages client records. Bookzello processes this booking information on behalf of the salon to facilitate the scheduling service.
• Salon Account & Administrative Data: For salon owner accounts, billing configuration, authentication records, and direct communications with Bookzello, Bookzello processes personal information necessary to administer the software subscription and deliver system security.

3. Information We Collect

We only collect information necessary to fulfill our core software functions: collision-free appointment scheduling, business configuration, and automated client notifications. We collect data in the following categories:

4. How We Collect Information

We collect data through direct user interactions and automated platform events:

• Direct input by salon operators: Entering salon operating details, staff rosters, and service menus into the authenticated dashboard.
• Direct input by clients: Filling out the four-step public booking form (Service → Staff → Time Slot → Customer Details).
• Conversational input: Submitting text prompts into the website chatbot or sending a WhatsApp message to a connected salon number.
• Automated webhooks: Secure server-to-server webhook events delivered by Meta WhatsApp Cloud API and Upstash QStash.
• Server logging: Automated generation of security audit events for appointment modifications, status transitions, and rate-limit enforcements.

5. Purposes & Legal Grounds of Processing

Bookzello processes personal information for the following specific purposes:

6. AI Receptionist & Language Model Processing

Bookzello incorporates an AI Receptionist capable of answering customer questions and guiding customers through booking an appointment. We maintain strict safety and engineering boundaries regarding AI data handling:

• Tool-Constrained Model Architecture: The underlying language model (provided via OpenAI API) does not directly execute database mutations or fabricate availability. It interprets user phrasing to select predefined server tools (e.g. list_services, check_availability).
• Strict Explicit Confirmation Gate: The AI assistant cannot unilaterally commit a binding appointment or charge a customer. A booking draft requires the customer’s explicit confirmation of time, service, and contact details before the atomic database transaction commits.
• No Training on Customer Transcripts: Customer conversation data sent to the OpenAI API for real-time inference is processed under OpenAI’s enterprise zero-data-retention (ZDR) and API privacy terms, which state that API inputs and outputs are not used to train foundation models.
• Tenant Scope Isolation: The AI assistant is provided only with the service menu, working hours, and public availability of the specific salon being messaged. It has zero visibility into other salons on the platform.

7. WhatsApp Business Platform Integration

Bookzello integrates with Meta’s official WhatsApp Business Cloud API to enable automated customer service and booking inquiries over WhatsApp. When active:

• Role of Meta Platforms, Inc.: Inbound and outbound WhatsApp messages transit Meta’s infrastructure. Meta processes message delivery, encryption in transit to and from the user device, and webhook dispatch to Bookzello. Meta’s processing is governed by the Meta Privacy Policy and WhatsApp Business Terms.
• Decryption at Server Ingestion: While messages are end-to-end encrypted between the user’s device and Meta’s Cloud API servers, once Meta delivers a webhook payload to Bookzello’s HTTPS endpoint, the message is decrypted so our backend can interpret customer intent and process scheduling tools. We do not claim end-to-end encryption within the Bookzello server application.
• Controlled Pilot Parameters: As of the Effective Date of this Policy, live WhatsApp integration operates under strict evaluation safety guards. Outbound automated messaging and live booking creation remain subject to explicit feature flags (WHATSAPP_OUTBOUND_ENABLED=false) and test-recipient allowlists.
• Opt-Out & Messaging Policies: Salons using WhatsApp integrations must respect customer communication preferences and Meta Business Messaging Policies. Customers may message “STOP” at any time to opt out of conversational messaging.

8. Third-Party Service Providers (Subprocessors)

We partner with reputable infrastructure and technology providers to deliver high-availability cloud services. Our primary subprocessors include:

9. Tenant Isolation & Data Segregation

Bookzello enforces strict architectural isolation between different salon organizations. No salon can view, modify, or infer another salon’s appointments, customer directory, staff records, or financial metrics:

• Database Row Level Security (RLS): Every tenant-owned row in PostgreSQL is bound to an organization_id / business_id. Database policies guarantee that queries executed by an authenticated user return only rows belonging to their verified organization membership.
• Composite Foreign Key Constraints: Tables referencing appointments, staff, and services enforce composite keys verifying that associated records belong to the exact same organization.
• Fail-Closed Invariant Validation: Inbound webhook events (e.g. from WhatsApp or web widgets) resolve the authoritative tenant from validated identifiers before executing any business logic. Unmapped or unauthorized requests fail closed immediately.

10. Cookies, Storage & Technical Telemetry

We take a privacy-first approach to browser storage. Bookzello does not employ third-party cross-site behavioral tracking cookies, advertising pixels, or data brokers.

• Essential Authentication Cookies: First-party session cookies (prefixed with sb-) set by Supabase Auth are strictly required to maintain authenticated sessions for logged-in salon owners and staff.
• Security & CSRF Protection: Standard HTTP headers and session tokens verify the authenticity of administrative requests.
• No Marketing Trackers: We do not inject third-party ad retargeting pixels (such as the Meta Pixel or Google Ads tracking) into our application or client booking pages.

11. Data Security & Storage Practices

We implement technical and organizational measures designed to protect personal and business information against unauthorized access, loss, or alteration:

• Encryption in Transit: All web traffic, API requests, and webhook transmissions use Transport Layer Security (TLS 1.3 / HTTPS) with modern cipher suites.
• Encryption at Rest: Database tables, storage volumes, and database backups are encrypted at rest using industry-standard AES-256 encryption managed by Supabase and cloud hosting providers.
• Cryptographic Tokenization: Customer self-service booking links utilize high-entropy random tokens rather than sequential integer IDs, preventing unauthorized enumeration of appointment records.
• Secret Management: Sensitive API keys, database credentials, and signing secrets are stored strictly in server-side environment variables and are never bundled into client-side JavaScript or committed to version control.

*Note on Certifications: While Bookzello applies rigorous engineering security standards, we do not claim formal third-party certifications (such as ISO 27001 or SOC 2 Type II) at this stage of platform validation.

12. Data Retention & Lifecycle Management

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to provide the Bookzello services, fulfill legal obligations, and resolve disputes:

• Salon Account Information: Retained while the salon organization account remains active. Upon verified account termination, active database records are deleted or anonymized in accordance with our deletion procedures.
• Appointment & Customer Records: Retained in the salon’s directory to enable historical lookup, repeat client booking, and scheduling continuity until requested for deletion by the salon or client.
• Conversational Booking Drafts: Temporary booking drafts generated by chatbot interactions that are not confirmed within 24 hours are automatically purged by scheduled database maintenance jobs.
• Outbox Notification Logs: Email and messaging dispatch attempts are retained for operational monitoring, troubleshooting, and retry coordination before standard archival.

13. Individual Privacy Rights & Requests

Depending on your jurisdiction (such as the UK, European Economic Area, or certain US states), you may have statutory rights regarding your personal information, including:

• Right of Access: The right to request confirmation of whether we hold personal data concerning you and obtain a copy.
• Right to Rectification: The right to correct inaccurate or incomplete contact details.
• Right to Erasure (“Right to be Forgotten”): The right to request deletion of your personal booking history or account information.
• Right to Restrict or Object: The right to object to specific processing operations or withdraw communication consent.

For detailed instructions on submitting an erasure request, please consult our dedicated Data Deletion Instructions Page.

14. International Data Processing

Bookzello and its subprocessors operate globally. Personal information collected through our platform may be hosted, transferred, or processed in cloud data centers located in the European Union, the United Kingdom, or the United States. When data is transferred across international borders, we rely on established transfer mechanisms provided by our subprocessors (such as Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission and UK International Data Transfer Addendums) to ensure appropriate safeguards.

15. Children’s Privacy

Bookzello is a commercial software platform designed for business operators and adults booking appointments. Our website, applications, and AI receptionists are not intended for children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from minors. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information without parental consent, please contact us immediately and we will promptly delete the data.

16. Policy Updates & Version History

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect modifications in our software architecture, new integration capabilities (such as expanded messaging channels or calendar sync options), or changes in legal requirements. When updates are published:

• The “Effective Date” at the top of this document will be updated.
• For material changes affecting existing salon subscribers, notice will be provided via the salon dashboard or direct email notification.

17. Contact Information & Inquiries

If you have questions, feedback, or data privacy requests regarding this Privacy Policy or Bookzello’s data practices, please contact us: