Privacy Policy

Thanks for using Help Lightning. Here we describe how we collect, use, and handle your information when you use our websites, software, and services (“Services”).

If you use Help Lightning under a customer agreement, we process personal data in that service as a processor on the customer’s instructions, under our Data Processing Addendum (DPA). This Privacy Policy describes Help Lightning’s own practices as a controller for our websites, accounts we operate, and related business communications.

What & Why

We collect and use the following information to provide, improve, and protect our Services:

ACCOUNT. We collect, and associate with your account, information you provide to us when you do things such as sign up for your account (like your name, email address, phone number, payment info, and physical address). Some of our Services let you access your accounts and your information via other service providers.

WEBSITE FORMS. If you request a demo or contact us through our websites, we collect the information you submit (typically name, work email, company, and what you need) so we can respond.

SERVICES. When you use our Services, we may store, process, and transmit your communications and related information so you can collaborate with others around the world. This related information includes your profile information, connection quality, collaborators, call times, and usage activity.

CONTACTS. You may choose to give us access to your contacts to make it easy for you to do things like share and collaborate and invite others to use the Services. If you do, we’ll store those contacts on our servers for you to use.

USAGE. We collect information related to how you use the Services, including actions you take in your account (like connecting, communicating, and sharing information). We collect information from and about the devices you use to access the Services. We use this information to deliver and improve our Services, and to develop new services and features.

DEVICE INFORMATION. We also collect information from and about the devices you use to access the Services. This includes things like IP addresses, the type of browser and device you use, and identifiers associated with your devices. Your devices (depending on their settings) may also transmit location information to the Services.

No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. Text messaging originator opt-in data and consent will not be sold, and will not be shared for marketing or promotional purposes. We use service providers who process that information only to deliver SMS and operate the Services.

Cookies and other technologies

APPLICATIONS. User sessions completed via the Help Lightning apps (iOS, Android, and Web) do not use cookies or other tracking technologies. Data related to user sessions is recorded via a secure client interface and is retained in a secure, client-specific server location for client business purposes and Help Lightning record-keeping.

WEBSITE. Our marketing websites may use Matomo, which we host, to understand how the site is used (for example, which pages are visited). Matomo may set cookies or use similar technologies. You can control cookies through your browser settings. If you reject cookies, you may still use our website, though some features may be limited.

We sometimes contact people who do not have a Help Lightning account. For recipients in the EU/UK, we or a third party will obtain consent before contacting you where required. If you receive an email and no longer wish to be contacted by Help Lightning, you can unsubscribe via the message itself.

BASIS FOR PROCESSING YOUR DATA. We collect and use the personal data described above in order to provide you with the Services in a reliable and secure manner. We also collect and use personal data for our legitimate business needs. To the extent we process your personal data for other purposes, we ask for your consent in advance or require that our partners obtain such consent.

With Whom

We may share information as discussed below, but we won’t sell it to advertisers or other third parties.

OTHERS WORKING FOR AND WITH HELP LIGHTNING. Help Lightning uses certain trusted third parties to help us provide, improve, protect, and promote our Services. These third parties will access your information only to perform tasks on our behalf and in compliance with this Privacy Policy. For a list of trusted third parties that we use to process your personal information, please contact us at privacy@helplightning.com.

OTHER USERS. Our Services display information like your name and email address to other users in places like your user profile. Certain features let you make additional information available to other users. When you register your account with an email address on a domain owned by your employer or organization, we may help collaborators and administrators find you and your group by making some of your basic information — like your name, group name, profile picture, and email address — visible to other users on the same domain. This helps you sync up with groups you can join and helps other users connect and communicate with you.

OTHER APPLICATIONS. You can also give third parties access to your information and account — for example, via Help Lightning APIs. Their use of your information will be governed by their privacy policies and terms.

HELP LIGHTNING FOR ENTERPRISE. If you are a Help Lightning for Enterprise user, your administrator may have the ability to access and control your Help Lightning for Enterprise account. Please refer to your employer’s internal policies if you have questions about this. If you are not a Help Lightning for Enterprise user but interact with a Help Lightning for Enterprise user, members of that organization may be able to view the name, email address, profile picture, and IP address that were associated with your account at the time of that interaction.

LAW & ORDER. We may disclose your information to third parties if we determine that such disclosure is reasonably necessary to (a) comply with any applicable law, regulation, legal process, or appropriate government request; (b) protect any person from death or serious bodily injury; (c) prevent fraud or abuse of Help Lightning or our users; (d) protect Help Lightning’s property rights; or (e) perform a task carried out in the public interest.

Stewardship of your data is critical to us and a responsibility that we embrace. We believe that our users’ data should receive the same legal protections regardless of whether it’s stored on our Services or on their home computer’s hard drive. We’ll abide by the following Government Request Principles when receiving, scrutinizing, and responding to government requests for our users’ data:

• Be transparent,
• Fight blanket requests,
• Protect all users, and
• Provide trusted services.

How

SECURITY. We have team members working to keep your information secure and testing for vulnerabilities. We also continue to work on features to keep your information safe.

USER CONTROLS. You can access, amend, download, and delete your personal information by logging into your Help Lightning account and going to your account settings page. To learn more about managing your account information generally, or to learn how to change your profile information, please contact us at privacy@helplightning.com.

RETENTION. We’ll retain information you store on our Services for as long as we need it to provide you the Services. Enterprise customers may configure retention for call logs, messages, and recordings. If you delete your account, we will initiate deletion of this information after 30 days. Please note: (1) there might be some latency in deleting this information from our servers and backup storage; and (2) we may retain this information if necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, or enforce our agreements.

Where

AROUND THE WORLD. To provide you with the Services, we may store, process, and transmit information in the United States, the European Union, and other locations as needed to operate the Services. Production environments include the United States and the European Union (Frankfurt). Customer data at rest can be hosted in the appropriate US or EU production environment. Some processing — for example support, certain communications, and website analytics — may occur in the United States. Information may also be stored locally on the devices you use to access the Services.

Where personal data is transferred from the EU/EEA, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, we rely on the mechanism that applies:

• From the EU/EEA: the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, described below, and/or EU Standard Contractual Clauses in our DPA.
• From Switzerland: the Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, described below, and/or EU Standard Contractual Clauses in our DPA.
• From the United Kingdom: the UK International Data Transfer Addendum and, where applicable, EU Standard Contractual Clauses in our DPA. We do not rely on the UK Extension to the EU-U.S. DPF unless our listing at dataprivacyframework.gov shows it as Active.

EU-U.S. DATA PRIVACY FRAMEWORK. Help Lightning complies with the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (EU-U.S. DPF) as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of personal information transferred from the European Union and the European Economic Area to the United States. Help Lightning has certified to the Department of Commerce that it adheres to the EU-U.S. DPF Principles. If there is any conflict between the terms in this privacy policy and the EU-U.S. DPF Principles, the Principles shall govern. To learn more about the Data Privacy Framework program, and to view our certification, please visit https://www.dataprivacyframework.gov/.

SWISS-U.S. DATA PRIVACY FRAMEWORK. Help Lightning also complies with the Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce for personal information transferred from Switzerland to the United States. Help Lightning has certified to the Department of Commerce that it adheres to the Swiss-U.S. DPF Principles. If there is any conflict between the terms in this privacy policy and those Principles, the Principles shall govern.

Help Lightning is subject to the investigation and enforcement powers of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). We remain responsible under the DPF Principles if a third party that we engage to process personal information on our behalf does so in a manner inconsistent with those Principles, unless we prove that we are not responsible for the event giving rise to the damage. Under certain conditions, an individual may invoke binding arbitration.

In compliance with the EU-U.S. DPF and Swiss-U.S. DPF Principles, Help Lightning commits to resolve complaints about our collection or use of your personal information. EU and Swiss individuals with inquiries or complaints regarding our DPF policy should first contact Help Lightning at:

1500 1st Ave N #49, Birmingham, AL 35203; privacy@helplightning.com

Help Lightning has further committed to refer unresolved DPF complaints to Privacy Trust, an independent dispute-resolution provider. If you do not receive timely acknowledgment of your complaint from us, or if we have not addressed your complaint to your satisfaction, please visit https://privacytrust.com/services/data-privacy-framework/dispute-resolution/ for more information or to file a complaint. The services of Privacy Trust are provided at no cost to you.

California

We do not sell personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, as those terms are defined in the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA). California residents may request access, correction, or deletion of personal information we hold about them by contacting privacy@helplightning.com. We will not discriminate against you for exercising these rights.

Changes

If we are involved in a reorganization, merger, acquisition, or sale of our assets, your information may be transferred as part of that deal. We will notify you (for example, via a message to the email address associated with your account) of any such deal and outline your choices in that event.

We may revise this Privacy Policy from time to time and will post the most current version on our website. If a revision meaningfully reduces your rights, we will notify you.

Your Right to Control and Access Your Information

You have control over your personal information and how it is collected, used, and shared. For example, you have a right to:

• Change or correct personal data. You can manage your account and the content contained in it, as well as edit some of your personal data, through your account settings page.
• Erase or delete all or some of your information in your account by contacting us at privacy@helplightning.com or by contacting your Enterprise Administrator if you are a Help Lightning for Enterprise user.
• Access and take your data. You can request a copy of your information in a machine-readable format by contacting us at privacy@helplightning.com.

For more information on your right to control and access your personal information, please contact us at privacy@helplightning.com.

Contact

For website, account, and other controller processing described above, Help Lightning, Inc. is the controller. For personal data we process in the Services on a customer’s instructions, that customer is the controller and Help Lightning is the processor. Have questions or concerns about Help Lightning, our Services, and privacy? Contact us at privacy@helplightning.com. If we can’t answer your question, you have the right to contact your local data protection supervisory authority.