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Legal

Privacy Policy

Last updated: 20 October 2026

1. Who we are

Nearbyte ("Nearbyte", "we", "us") operates the platform at nearbyte.com.au and portal.nearbyte.com.au. We provide AI-powered front-desk agent services to Australian small and medium businesses.

When an end customer contacts a business that uses Nearbyte, we handle that customer's information on the business's behalf and only to provide our services to that business. The business remains responsible for its own customer relationships and its own privacy obligations.

For privacy enquiries, contact us at: support@nearbyte.com.au

2. What information we collect

About our business clients (merchants who subscribe to Nearbyte):

  • Name, business name, email address, phone number
  • Billing information (processed by Stripe; we do not store card details)
  • Google account details (if you connect Google Calendar)
  • Business information you add to your knowledge base (pricing, services, policies)

About end customers (people who interact with a merchant's AI agent):

  • Name, phone number, email address
  • Booking details and appointment information
  • Chat transcripts and call transcripts
  • SMS message content
  • WhatsApp communication data: WhatsApp phone numbers, display names, and message content sent to or received from a merchant’s WhatsApp Business account.
  • Facebook Messenger and Instagram communication data: account identifiers, display names, and message content sent to or received from a merchant's connected Facebook Page or Instagram account
  • Email messages sent to a merchant's Nearbyte-connected email address, and the replies sent back
  • Photos and images customers send in a conversation
  • Phone call recordings, where call recording is enabled for the merchant's phone line

Technical data:

  • IP addresses, browser type, usage logs
  • Cookie data (see Section 7)

3. How we use your information

We use the information collected to:

  • Deliver and operate the Nearbyte platform
  • Power AI responses on behalf of your business
  • Automatically check incoming messages and AI-drafted replies before they are sent — for example, to detect spam, complaints, urgent requests and opt-out requests, to check that a reply is supported by the business's information, and to decide whether the business needs to review a conversation
  • Process and confirm bookings
  • Send transactional emails and SMS (booking confirmations, reminders)
  • Send marketing SMS campaigns on behalf of merchants (Tier 3 only, with explicit customer consent)
  • Handle customer support requests
  • Improve and debug our services
  • Comply with legal obligations
We do not use your data or your customers' data to train AI models for any other business. What's yours stays yours.

4. How we share your information

We share data only with the following third-party service providers, and only to the extent necessary to operate the platform:

ProviderPurpose
SupabaseDatabase hosting (data stored on Australian servers)
TwilioSMS delivery and phone call routing
VAPIAI voice call processing
AnthropicAI language model processing (Claude): drafting replies, reading photos customers send, and automated checks of incoming messages and AI-drafted replies (spam, complaint, urgency and opt-out detection; whether a reply is supported by the business's information; whether a person should follow up)
OpenAIText embeddings used to search a business's knowledge base for relevant answers
ResendTransactional email delivery
StripePayment processing
GoogleCalendar integration
SquareBooking integration, for merchants who connect their Square account (booking and contact details needed to create, change or cancel appointments)
UpstashRate limiting and abuse prevention
Vercel / Fly.ioApplication hosting (our phone, messaging and scheduled-job services run on Fly.io servers in Sydney, Australia)
Meta Platforms (WhatsApp)WhatsApp Business API integration, message delivery, and account management via Embedded Signup
Meta Platforms (Messenger, Instagram)Receiving and sending Facebook Messenger and Instagram messages for merchants who connect a Facebook Page or Instagram account

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to any third party for marketing purposes.

Google Calendar Integration: When you connect your Google Calendar, Nearbyte requests access to create and manage booking events on your behalf, and to check your availability to prevent double-bookings. Nearbyte will never read, modify, or delete existing calendar events unrelated to bookings made through our platform. You can revoke this access at any time via your Google Account settings at myaccount.google.com/permissions.

WhatsApp Business API Integration: When you connect your WhatsApp Business account using our Embedded Signup flow, Nearbyte requests authorization to send and receive WhatsApp messages on your business's behalf and manage your WhatsApp Business Profile settings. Nearbyte securely stores access tokens, Phone Number IDs, and WABA identifiers required to operate the messaging service. We do not share your customer conversation data with Meta for any purposes other than message transmission and API service delivery, nor do we use your WhatsApp conversation data to train non-proprietary models. You may disconnect your WhatsApp integration at any time through the Nearbyte portal or via your Meta Business Settings. business.facebook.com/settings.

5. Data storage and security

Our primary database is hosted on servers located in Australia. We implement industry-standard security measures including:

  • Encryption of data in transit (TLS) and at rest
  • Phone numbers encrypted at rest in our database
  • Access controls and authentication requirements
  • Regular security reviews

Overseas disclosure: Several of the service providers listed in Section 4 process data outside Australia. The country these providers are most likely to process data in is the United States; some may also use data centres or subprocessors in other countries where they operate. This includes the content of customer messages and AI-drafted replies sent to our AI providers (Anthropic and OpenAI) so they can generate, search and check replies. We only use providers that are contractually bound to protect personal information and to process it only to provide their service to us, and we do not permit them to use this data to train their models.

6. Your rights under the Australian Privacy Act 1988

You have the right to:

  • Request access to personal information we hold about you
  • Request correction of inaccurate information
  • Request deletion of your personal information
  • Opt out of marketing communications at any time

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at support@nearbyte.com.au. We will respond within 30 days.

End customers whose data was collected via a merchant's AI agent should contact that merchant directly. We will assist merchants in fulfilling deletion requests.

7. Cookies

Our marketing website (nearbyte.com.au) uses cookies for:

  • Essential site functionality
  • Analytics (understanding how visitors use the site)

You can disable cookies in your browser settings. This will not affect your ability to use the platform if you are an existing subscriber.

8. Marketing SMS (Tier 3 merchants)

If you subscribe to our AI Growth Engine tier, Nearbyte sends SMS messages to your customers on your behalf. This is subject to the following rules:

  • Messages are only sent to customers who provided explicit consent at the time of booking
  • Every marketing SMS includes a "Reply STOP to opt out" instruction
  • Opt-out requests are processed immediately and automatically
  • We comply fully with the Australian Spam Act 2003

9. AI call disclosure

All AI-handled phone calls begin with a mandatory disclosure message informing the caller that they are speaking with an AI system. This cannot be disabled.

10. AI accuracy and limitations

Nearbyte's AI agents respond based on information provided by each merchant. While we take reasonable steps to ensure accuracy, AI-generated responses may occasionally be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect. Nearbyte provides the platform “as is” and makes no warranty that AI responses will be error-free. Merchants are responsible for keeping their knowledge base current and accurate. End customers should confirm critical or time-sensitive details — such as pricing, availability, and appointment times — directly with the business before taking action. Nearbyte is not liable for any loss or damage arising from reliance on AI-generated responses.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We will notify subscribed merchants of material changes by email. Continued use of the platform after notification constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

12. Contact

Privacy enquiries: support@nearbyte.com.au

Address: 200 Burwood Road, Hawthorn VIC 3122

Hours: Mon–Fri 9:00–17:00 AEST