Privacy policy

Who we are

Monty is operated by Tim Judge. Contact support@askmonty.co.uk with privacy questions or to exercise your rights. We manage account and service-administration data as controller. Businesses using Monty decide how their callers' information is used; we process that information to provide the service for them.

This policy covers the Monty service and this public website.

Information we handle

We handle account names, email addresses, phone numbers, business addresses and registration details; selected imported contacts; business handbook content and uploaded sources; call audio, transcripts, summaries and follow-up tasks; appointments and connected-calendar information; subscription and usage records; device push tokens; and security and operational logs. Conversations can contain personal or sensitive information supplied by you or callers. Do not provide passwords, payment-card details or unnecessary sensitive information.

Where information comes from

We receive information when you create an account, enter business details, upload knowledge, import selected contacts or use the app. Callers and message recipients provide information during conversations. Connected sign-in, calendar, telephone and payment services provide the information needed for the features you enable. Monty also generates service records such as summaries, usage totals, delivery events and security logs.

Contacts you choose to import

On iPhone, you can choose a contact using Apple’s contact picker. Monty receives the selected contact’s name and phone numbers so you can review them before importing. We do not automatically upload your whole address book. You can also add a number manually.

Imported numbers can be used for customer records and caller rules, including trusted callers. Only import contacts you are authorised to use. Removing a saved contact does not also erase related call, message or job history; those records follow the retention and deletion controls described below.

Why we use it

We use information to create and protect accounts, configure and operate the receptionist, route calls, make authorised bookings, send requested messages and notifications, manage subscriptions, prevent abuse and maintain the service. We do not sell personal information or use it for cross-app advertising tracking. Account administration is needed to provide the service; security and abuse prevention support our legitimate interests. Optional permissions can be withdrawn. Businesses must establish the appropriate lawful basis for their callers' information.

Optional usage analytics

If you enable Help improve Monty, we send PostHog screen names, setup progress, action outcomes, timing and platform information, with random identifiers. We use these to understand which steps are confusing and improve the app. We do not send form contents, names, emails, phone numbers, call recordings, transcripts, or payment details through this tracking.

Session replay and automatic click capture are disabled. PostHog receives network requests, which expose your IP address in transit; location enrichment is disabled.

Your choice and a random identifier are stored on this device. Analytics is off until you opt in, and you can turn it off in Privacy & recordings. Turning it off clears the local analytics identifier and pending events, but cannot retract events already sent. PostHog's free plan provides one year of event retention; its retention settings apply. Contact us with any privacy questions.

AI and OpenAI

Monty uses OpenAI to power its AI features.

When you use AI features, we send OpenAI your voice or typed messages, relevant business profile and handbook content, and call audio or transcripts. These may include names, phone numbers, email addresses, appointment details and other personal information supplied in conversations or documents.

OpenAI uses this information to answer calls, help with business setup, transcribe and summarise conversations, and suggest handbook improvements. We do not include your account password or billing card details. Do not put passwords or payment-card details in conversations or documents.

OpenAI does not train its models on API data by default. Its own retention rules still apply, including abuse-monitoring logs normally kept for up to 30 days, with exceptions. Monty's call-retention setting does not control OpenAI's retention.

You can decline and still view and manage your account manually. AI setup, voice tests, AI call answering and AI analysis stay off until you allow sharing. You can withdraw permission in Settings → Privacy & recordings. This stops new AI processing; it cannot undo information already sent.

For business and caller information, you are responsible for having authority to share it and giving callers the required privacy information. Your permission here does not replace a caller's rights or your legal obligations.

Read OpenAI’s API data controls.

Monty support chat

In-app support conversations are private to the signed-in user and specifically authorised Monty support staff. Starting AI chat is a separate, optional choice to share support messages and limited account setup diagnostics with OpenAI for troubleshooting. Customer call recordings, transcripts, contacts, passwords and payment-card details are not automatically included.

You can ask the team for help without enabling AI, and stop AI sharing from the chat. Relevant or unresolved issues are queued for team review, with team replies shown in the same conversation.

Chat content and case summaries are encrypted in the application database. Conversations remain until the user's login or account is deleted and are available in the user's support history/data export. Call-retention settings do not delete support chats.

Do not include passwords, verification codes, payment-card details or unnecessary personal data in messages. OpenAI's API retention rules still apply.

Customer messages and saved work

Customer profiles can include addresses, email, contact preferences and private workspace notes. Notes remain internal and are not supplied as receptionist knowledge.

Incoming and outgoing text messages are held as encrypted conversation history, accessible to the owner and active team members. Message read status is personal to each user. Ordinary replies appear in the customer inbox; attachments are indicated but are not downloaded. Saving a contact preference does not grant permission to send messages.

Saved jobs track work and owner-entered values; these figures are not verified revenue or payment records. Jobs and profiles remain until removed or the account is deleted. Removing a saved contact deletes its profile but keeps call, message and job history. Automatic cleanup erases message content after the chosen period while retaining minimal delivery and duplicate-prevention metadata; future appointment messages are handled with the appointment lifecycle.

When a caller asks about earlier work, Monty asks permission to text a verification code. They enter it on their phone keypad before Monty can access relevant previous enquiries or open job status. Private notes and financial values are excluded. The code is not added to the call transcript.

Team work and internal voice

Team members can manage customer follow-ups and view their assigned appointments. Owners can manage the team's work; colleagues see other people's appointments as busy time. Connected personal calendar titles are not shown in this view.

Talk to Monty is optional and starts only when a signed-in person chooses Start conversation after reviewing the sharing notice. It sends their voice and the relevant customer, task and appointment details to OpenAI to answer work questions and prepare task changes. The business must also have enabled AI sharing. Proposed changes need confirmation in the app.

Monty does not save internal voice audio or conversation transcripts to call history; temporary conversation text is held for the session. Confirmed tasks remain in the workspace until explicitly removed with their related call or account. Automatic call cleanup preserves team-created tasks and removes their link to the expired call. OpenAI's retention rules still apply.

Recordings, transcripts and learning

Incoming callers hear an AI/transcription notice. When audio recording is enabled, incoming callers can press 2 to opt out of the recording. Outbound AI calls start with the assistant's natural introduction, without a separate spoken recording or transcription notice. Outbound transcripts are saved, and audio is saved when the business has enabled recording. Businesses are responsible for informing outbound recipients about recording and transcription and obtaining any required permission.

Turning off audio recording does not turn off transcription.

Where learning from owner-answered calls is enabled, recordings may also be transcribed and analysed. Owner-selected learning calls save their conversation text as a source in Knowledge and prepare proposed facts for review. Mock customer calls do not create knowledge suggestions. Suggested knowledge needs the business's approval before future calls use it. Businesses should explain their own purposes, retention and contact route to callers.

Suppliers and integrations

Amazon Web Services hosts the service and backups and can deliver service email. Twilio handles phone calls, recordings, phone verification and configured SMS delivery.

When WhatsApp notifications are selected with the customer's permission, Meta receives their WhatsApp number and the appointment or callback notification directly through its Cloud API. Monty retains delivery status, usage counts and WhatsApp opt-outs; ordinary WhatsApp replies are not added to the customer inbox and do not receive automatic answers. OpenAI provides AI voice, transcription and analysis.

If you choose Apple or Google sign-in, that provider shares a verified email address, a stable account identifier and, when available, your name. Apple can supply a private relay address. We keep encrypted provider credentials to support account revocation when you delete your account. This sign-in does not grant calendar access.

Expo and Apple/Google deliver mobile notifications; notification text is generic. Stripe handles web subscriptions, and Apple/Google handle purchases made through their app stores. Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook receive scheduling information only when the relevant integration is connected or used. Email delivery uses Amazon SES or Resend, depending on the service configuration. Payment providers receive payment details directly; Monty stores subscription references and status rather than full card details.

Suppliers may process information outside the UK; provider-specific locations, retention and transfer protections apply. UK hosting does not mean every supplier processes data only in the UK.

Google sign-in and Google Calendar

Google sign-in and Google Calendar are optional and separate. If you choose Google sign-in, Google provides a verified email address, a stable account identifier and available profile information such as your name. We use these to identify your account and support sign-in. Choosing Google sign-in does not connect your calendar.

If you connect Google Calendar, Monty reads the connected primary calendar's identifier, access permissions and scheduling metadata. It requests event identifiers, timing and busy/cancelled status in the time range needed to check availability. This availability request excludes event titles, descriptions, locations and attendees. The separate diary view can show titles from the owner’s calendar; colleagues’ personal calendar titles are not requested by that view and appear as Busy. New connections request event access for calendars you own, and Monty connects your primary calendar.

When you enable calendar writes, Monty sends Google the details needed to create, reschedule or cancel your authorized Monty appointments. For appointments managed by Monty, we retain the external event identifier and a synchronization snapshot, including title, timing, cancellation state and version information, to reconcile changes and identify conflicts. Relevant changes made in Google Calendar can update the corresponding Monty appointment. This does not import every Google event into Monty's customer records.

We keep connection credentials encrypted so the server can maintain the calendar connection. Calendar data is processed on our hosting infrastructure to provide the scheduling functions you choose. When you enable AI call handling, available appointment times derived from calendar checks and booking results can be sent to OpenAI so the receptionist can offer times and confirm authorized bookings. Appointment information may also be used by the messaging features you enable, as described elsewhere in this policy. Google sign-in information is used for account access and administration. These permissions are not used for advertising or selling your personal information.

You can disconnect a calendar in Monty after resolving pending synchronization work and future linked appointments. This removes the stored calendar connection credentials and stops further access through that connection. Disconnecting does not erase existing appointments or events already held in Google Calendar. You can also revoke Monty's access in your Google Account. Saved Monty appointment records follow the retention and account-deletion controls described in this policy; backups rotate separately. Google applies its own retention rules to data it holds.

Monty's use and transfer of information received from Google APIs follows the Google API Services User Data Policy, including its Limited Use requirements. We use this information only to provide or improve the connected features described here. We do not sell it, use it for advertising or credit decisions, or use it to train general-purpose AI models. Human access is limited to your affirmative permission, necessary security or legal work, or permitted internal use of aggregated data.

Google API Services User Data Policy · Manage Google connections

How long we keep information

Automatic deletion of business call data is off by default, including for existing workspaces until they explicitly enable it. Call history, transcripts, follow-ups, past appointments and outbound conversation content remain until the business deletes them or enables automatic cleanup. A business can enable cleanup after 1–365 days. This also applies to existing records older than the selected period. Cleanup queues provider recording deletion, which can take additional time or require retries. Recording opt-outs and explicit deletion requests are still honoured.

Handbook entries, knowledge-review sources (including learning-call transcripts), their evidence and contacts stay until removed or the account is deleted. Removing source history removes its transcript; delete associated knowledge entries separately to remove their saved excerpts.

When automatic cleanup is enabled, outbound call content expires separately from attempt metadata and do-not-call records, which help prevent unwanted calls. Email delivery events are retained for up to 90 days. Subscription providers may retain transaction records for legal obligations.

Backups and provider copies are not erased immediately when live data is deleted; backup rotation and provider retention apply. Monty’s setting does not control independent providers’ retention periods.

Your controls and account deletion

You can change recording, learning and retention preferences in Settings → Privacy & recordings, export account data, and initiate permanent deletion in Settings → Account & security. Deletion removes the workspace's live personal data and login sessions and queues recording cleanup. A business owner's deletion removes the workspace for its team. Minimal provider recording and telephone identifiers are kept while queued cleanup completes.

Staff can delete their own login without deleting the business's records.

Deletion does not cancel Apple or Google subscriptions: cancel them through the store to stop renewal. Web subscriptions are cancelled as part of account deletion.

Existing events in an external calendar and records lawfully held by independent providers are not erased by deleting Monty. Remove carrier forwarding before deleting to keep callers from reaching an inactive line.

Security and your rights

We use access controls, password hashing and HTTPS, and restrict access to the service. No service is risk-free. Depending on applicable law, you may ask for access, correction, deletion, restriction or portability, object to certain processing, withdraw optional permission, or complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk. Callers should normally contact the business they called; you can also contact support@askmonty.co.uk and we will help route the request. Some information may need to be retained to meet legal obligations or resolve disputes. We update this policy when our data practices change.

Contact the UK Information Commissioner’s Office.

Contacting support

You can use support@askmonty.co.uk for both support and privacy questions. Incoming support and privacy email is received through Amazon SES and forwarded to a support inbox hosted by Google. Your message, contact details and attachments are shared with these providers so we can receive and respond to your enquiry.

Original incoming messages are stored privately in encrypted AWS storage and scheduled for deletion after 30 days; deletion processing can take additional time. Suspicious or unusually large messages are held there for review instead of being forwarded, and the support inbox receives a notice. Forwarding status records expire after 30 days, delivery events after four days, and error records after 14 days. These schedules do not delete the forwarded copies in our Google inbox. The app’s call-retention setting does not apply to support correspondence. Contact us if you would like us to review or delete correspondence, subject to any information we need to keep for legal obligations.

Visiting this website

This public website provides product information and our legal policies. It does not ask you to sign in, submit a form or provide customer data, and we have not added advertising, analytics or tracking scripts. It is hosted on Amazon Web Services using Amplify Hosting and its content delivery infrastructure. AWS receives technical request information such as your IP address, browser information and requested pages to deliver and protect the website. Infrastructure logging and retention rules apply.

Choosing Open Monty takes you to the separate Monty application. Emailing us shares your message and email address so we can respond to your enquiry. Links to Apple, OpenAI and other services take you to websites with their own privacy practices.