Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

8bitsChat (also referred to as "8bitsAgent", "we", "our", "us") is committed to protecting the privacy of our users. This Privacy Policy explains how the 8bitsChat application collects, uses, stores, and safeguards your personal information when you use our Microsoft Teams bot and web dashboard service. This policy applies to the 8bitsChat app available on the Microsoft Teams App Store and all associated services.

2. About 8bitsChat

8bitsChat is a customer messaging platform that operates as a Microsoft Teams bot. The 8bitsChat app enables organizations to receive, manage, and respond to customer conversations through Microsoft Teams and a centralized web dashboard. When users send messages to the 8bitsChat bot in Microsoft Teams, those messages are routed to support agents who respond via the 8bitsChat dashboard.

3. Information We Collect

When you use the 8bitsChat app, we may collect the following types of information:

• Messages: Content sent to and received from the 8bitsChat bot within Microsoft Teams, including text messages and conversation metadata.
• User identifiers: Your Microsoft Teams display name and user ID, which are used by 8bitsChat to route and manage conversations.
• Conversation data: Timestamps, conversation IDs, and message status information processed by the 8bitsChat app.
• Agent data: Login credentials and activity data for support agents who use the 8bitsChat dashboard.
• Contact form submissions: Name, email, company, and message content submitted through the 8bitsChat website.
• Billing information: When an organisation subscribes, the purchaser's name, company, work email and country, and the billing address and tax ID entered at checkout. Card details are entered on Stripe's payment page and stored by Stripe; 8bitsChat never receives or stores them.

4. How We Use Your Information

The 8bitsChat app uses collected information to:

• Deliver and manage customer support conversations within the 8bitsChat platform.
• Route messages from Microsoft Teams to the appropriate support agents in the 8bitsChat dashboard.
• Provide analytics and performance reporting to organizations using 8bitsChat.
• Respond to support requests and contact form inquiries.
• Bill subscriptions, send invoices and account emails (such as invitations, password resets and payment notices), and meet our tax obligations.
• Improve and maintain the 8bitsChat service.

5. Data Storage and Security

8bitsChat runs on Microsoft Azure in the Australia East region, where messages, conversation history and account data are stored, encrypted at rest and in transit. Each organisation's data is kept separate from other organisations', and dashboard access requires a personal sign-in with role-based permissions. Passwords are stored only as salted hashes. We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data with third parties for marketing purposes.

6. Data Retention

8bitsChat retains conversation data for as long as your organisation has an active 8bitsChat subscription. Account owners and admins can export their organisation's data from the dashboard at any time, and you may request deletion of your data by contacting us.

When a subscription ends, we keep the organisation's data for 90 days so the account owner can sign in and export it, and we email the owner a reminder before deletion. After that, conversations, conversation history and the accounts of the organisation's people are permanently deleted. Database backups are kept for up to 30 days, so deleted data disappears from backups within 30 days of deletion. We keep billing records (invoices, and the organisation's name and subscription details) for as long as tax law requires, and a security log of account activity to protect the service.

7. Third-Party Services

The 8bitsChat app integrates with Microsoft Teams via the Microsoft Bot Framework. Your use of Microsoft Teams is governed by Microsoft's own privacy policy and terms of service. We share personal data only with the following service providers, and only as needed to run 8bitsChat:

• Microsoft (Microsoft Teams and Bot Framework; Azure hosting, storage and backups; Azure Communication Services for account emails).
• Stripe (payments, invoices and tax calculation for subscriptions).
• Google (Google Analytics, on our public website only, and only if you accept its cookies there: which pages are viewed and which buttons are clicked. It is not used in the 8bitsChat dashboard or the Teams app). You can change your choice at any time under Cookie settings.

8. Your Rights

As a user of 8bitsChat, you have the right to:

• Access the personal data that 8bitsChat holds about you.
• Request correction or deletion of your data from the 8bitsChat platform.
• Withdraw consent for data processing by 8bitsChat.
• Export your data from 8bitsChat in a portable format.
• Lodge a complaint with a data protection authority.

9. Children's Privacy

The 8bitsChat app is not intended for use by individuals under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided personal data to 8bitsChat, please contact us for removal.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date. Continued use of the 8bitsChat app after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

11. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how 8bitsChat handles your data, please contact us:

• Email: hello@8bits.company
• Support: www.8bits.company/support.html