Privacy Policy
Who we are
Porchlight (“we”, “us”, “our”) provides an AI phone-answering service that takes restaurant bookings on behalf of independent restaurants and cafes. When you call a restaurant that uses Porchlight, your call may be answered by our AI assistant, “Thomas”, who takes your booking details on the restaurant's behalf.
For the purpose of UK GDPR, the restaurant you are booking with is the data controller for your booking information, and Porchlight acts as a data processor on their behalf. This policy explains what personal data Porchlight collects and processes as part of that service, and how it is handled.
Data protection contact: hello@porchlightpro.com
We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's data protection regulator.
What information we collect
When you make a booking by phone, our AI assistant collects:
- Your full name
- Your phone number
- Party size (number of guests)
- Requested booking date and time
- Any dietary requirements or allergy information you choose to share with us
We do not record or store the audio of your call beyond what is needed to process the booking, and we do not collect any information beyond what is needed to seat you and prepare for your visit.
Why we collect it, and our legal basis
We process this information to fulfil your table booking — this is necessary for the performance of a contract between you and the restaurant (taking, confirming, amending, or cancelling your reservation).
Dietary and allergy information is a “special category” of personal data under UK GDPR because it can relate to health. We only collect this if you volunteer it, and we process it on the basis of your explicit consent, given when you share it with us during the call, and strictly to allow the restaurant's kitchen to prepare for your visit safely.
Who we share it with
We share your booking details with the restaurant you are booking with, so their staff can prepare your table and, where relevant, alert the kitchen to any allergies.
We also use a small number of trusted service providers (“subprocessors”) to run the booking system. They only process your data to provide their specific service to us and are not permitted to use it for any other purpose:
| Provider | What they do | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Vapi | Handles the phone call itself — converts your voice to text and back so Thomas can talk to you. | USA |
| Make.com | Passes your booking details between our systems in real time. | EU (Ireland/EU data centre) |
| Airtable | Stores your booking record (name, phone number, party size, date/time, any dietary or allergy notes you give us). | USA / EU |
| Resend | Sends the restaurant's booking confirmation emails. | USA |
| Zadarma | Routes and connects the phone call to our system. | EU |
Where any of these providers process data outside the UK or EU, we rely on appropriate safeguards (such as Standard Contractual Clauses) to ensure your data is protected to UK standards. We do not sell your personal data, and we never use your booking or dietary information for marketing purposes.
Allergy and dietary information
Because this is health-related data, we treat it with extra care:
- It is only visible to restaurant staff who need it to prepare your table and meal safely
- It is never used for marketing, profiling, or any purpose other than fulfilling your booking
- It is deleted along with the rest of your booking record (see “How long we keep your data” below)
How long we keep your data
We keep booking records, including any dietary or allergy notes, for 28 days after your visit, after which they are automatically and permanently deleted. This short window lets us look into any questions or complaints about a recent visit, without holding on to your information longer than needed.
You can ask us to delete your data sooner at any time — see “Your rights” below.
Your rights
Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:
- Ask what personal data we hold about you
- Ask us to correct inaccurate information
- Ask us to delete your data
- Object to how we're processing your data, or ask us to restrict it
- Withdraw consent for any data you gave us on that basis (such as allergy information) at any time
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@porchlightpro.com or contact the restaurant directly. We will respond within one month.
Complaints
If you have a concern about how your data has been handled, please contact us first at hello@porchlightpro.com — we will acknowledge your complaint within 30 days and do our best to resolve it.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113, if you believe your data has been mishandled.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time as our service develops. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page shows when it was last revised.
Contact us
Porchlight
Email: hello@porchlightpro.com
Website: porchlightpro.com