Privacy Policy

Last updated: 23 October 2026.

Privacy Policy

Pingtail is provided by Pingtail Partners, NH231, Above Axis Bank, Gulabbagh, Purnia, Bihar 854326, India ("we", "us"). This policy explains what personal data we handle, why, and what rights you have.

Accounting, bookkeeping and tax firms ("firms") use Pingtail to request documents and information from their clients. This policy has three parts, because our role is different for each group:

• Part A is for firms, their team members, and visitors to our website. For this data we are the controller. That means we decide how it is used.
• Part B is for clients of a firm who received a request through Pingtail. For this data the firm is the controller and we are the processor. That means we handle it only on the firm's instructions.
• Part C is for people at firms we write to about Pingtail who are not customers. For this data we are the controller.

We do not sell personal data. We do not share it for advertising.

Part A: Firms, team members and website visitors

What we collect

• Account data: your name, work email, firm name, role, password (stored only as a hash), language and settings.
• Billing data: your plan, invoices, billing address and tax number. Our payment processor handles payment details. We do not see or store full card numbers.
• Usage and security data: sign-in times, IP address, browser type, and an audit log of actions in the account, such as views, downloads, accepts, send-backs and deletions.
• WhatsApp connection data: if your firm connects its own WhatsApp Business Account, we receive from Meta the account id, the phone number id, the display name and the number's quality rating. The access token that lets us send from your number is stored encrypted. If your firm uses Pingtail's shared WhatsApp number instead, we collect nothing from your Meta account.
• Messages: emails and support requests you send us.
• Website data: basic server logs when you visit our website. For each public page opened we also record the page address, the name of the website you came from, the campaign tags in the link you followed, and your country. We do not record your IP address or browser there. If you allow it, a random visitor id links those visits to a later signup.
• Progress data: for each firm, the date it first reached each step: signed up, confirmed the email, added a client, drafted a request, saw the card step, started checkout, added a card, sent a request, received an upload, cancelled. These records hold the firm's id and the step. They hold no names, no email addresses and nothing about clients.

Why we use it, and our legal bases

Purpose	Legal basis
Create and run your account, provide the service, give support, take payment	Contract
Keep the service secure, prevent abuse, keep audit logs, fix faults, improve the service	Legitimate interests
Send service messages, such as billing notices, security notices and changes to our terms	Contract and legitimate interests
Keep tax and accounting records, answer lawful requests	Legal obligation
Count visits without identifying anyone, and see how far firms get after signing up, so we can fix the steps where they stop	Legitimate interests
Optional cookies: our own visitor id, and the analytics or advertising tags listed in the Cookie Notice	Outside the UK and Europe: on unless you reject. In the UK and Europe: your acceptance. You can reject at any time

Country detection

On the public website we look up the country of your IP address in a database stored on our own server, so the page can show the deadlines, terms and prices for your country by default. The address is not sent to anyone and is not stored for this purpose; you can pick another country at any time from the selector in the header. The database is IP Geolocation by DB-IP, used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence.

Cookies, visit counts and advertising

We set strictly necessary cookies: a session cookie, a CSRF protection cookie, a language cookie, and a device cookie on client pages that helps protect private links.

Everything else is optional, and the cookie banner asks every visitor in every country until they choose Accept or Reject. Outside the United Kingdom and Europe, optional cookies and tags are on from the first page and we treat you as having accepted until you choose Reject. In the United Kingdom, the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, and when we cannot tell your country, nothing optional is set or loaded until you choose Accept. Reject always wins and is remembered. We decide which rule applies on our own server before the page is sent. If your browser sends the Global Privacy Control signal, advertising stays off in every country.

Our own count. While nothing optional is on for your browser we keep only an anonymous count of public page views: no visitor cookie, no id, no IP address. When optional cookies are on we set one cookie of our own, pt_vid, holding a random id. It links your visits, and the link or campaign that first brought you, to a later signup. When a firm signs up, that first and last source is saved with the firm, so we can see which campaigns bring firms that stay.

Other companies. These tags are switched on for the public website: Google Analytics 4. They receive page addresses and a few actions (signed up, started checkout, started a trial, first payment) with the plan, currency and price. They never receive your name, email address, phone number, firm name, or anything about clients or documents.

Client upload pages, the client portal and every app page that shows a client or a document never load any of these tags. Our Cookie Notice lists exactly which cookies are in use and lets you change your choice.

Emails. We put no tracking pixels in any email. A link to a public page in an email we send to a firm carries plain campaign tags that name the email, not the person. Emails a firm sends to its clients carry no tags.

How long we keep it

• Account data: while the account is open. We delete it within 30 days after the account is closed.
• WhatsApp connection data: until you switch WhatsApp off in Settings or close the account. We delete it then.
• Connected services (Google Drive, Dropbox, Xero, QuickBooks, Slack, Zapier, webhooks): the access tokens and the connected account details are kept until you disconnect the service or close the account. We delete them then. The delivery log (file names, times, results) is kept for 30 days.
• The browser extension's log (the ids, reconcile figures and steps it reports): 60 days, then deleted.
• Lines copied from QuickBooks to ask a client about them: kept with that client's questions while the account is open, so the firm can see what was asked, answered and changed. Disconnecting does not delete them; closing the account does, or you can ask us sooner.
• Billing records: for as long as tax and accounting law requires.
• Security and server logs: for a limited period, then deleted or made anonymous.
• Visit counts and progress data: deleted after 25 months. A visitor id not seen for 13 months is removed, and at once if you choose Reject. Progress data of a firm is deleted when its account is deleted.
• Accounts with no login for 12 months are archived and their files deleted. We send a warning email first.

Who we share it with

We share personal data only with service providers that help us run the service: cloud hosting in the EU, object storage, transactional email delivery, a payment processor for firm subscriptions, and, for firms that use WhatsApp, Meta Platforms, which runs the WhatsApp Business Platform. Services a firm connects itself (see below) receive data because the firm told us to send it there. They act under contract and may use the data only for our purposes. We may also disclose data where the law requires it, or to a buyer if our business is sold or reorganised. In that case this policy continues to protect the data.

Services a firm chooses to connect

A firm can connect other services to Pingtail, one by one, from the Integrations page. Nothing is connected unless a firm owner or admin signs in to that service and agrees. Each connection can be removed at any time, and removing it deletes the access token we hold for it.

• Google Drive: when you connect Google Drive, we ask Google only for access to the files and folders Pingtail itself creates (the "drive.file" permission). We create a folder for your firm and save each document you accept into it. We cannot see or open any other file in your Drive. We read only the names and ids of the folders and files Pingtail created, to avoid saving a file twice. We store the Google access and refresh tokens encrypted, and your Google account email to show which account is connected.
• Dropbox: when you connect Dropbox, we get access to one app folder only ("Apps/Pingtail" or the name Dropbox shows). We save accepted documents into it and cannot see the rest of your Dropbox. We store the tokens encrypted, and your Dropbox account email to show which account is connected.
• QuickBooks Online: a firm connects a QuickBooks company the firm keeps the books for. With that connection:
  • We read the customer list, so each client matches the right customer. We attach accepted documents to that customer, and create the customer if there is none.
  • We read transactions, the chart of accounts, tax codes, attachments and the closing date. We use them to find lines that need the client's answer, and to ask about unpaid invoices at month end.
  • We write to the books only what someone at the firm confirms: a new category on a line the firm posts, or an attachment such as a receipt.
  • We only create or add. We never delete, void or move anything, and we never write into a closed period.
  • The firm can undo a posted change from Pingtail. Undo puts back the value we read before the change.
  • We store the tokens encrypted and the company name. For each line we ask about, we store its date, payee, description, amount and category, the client's answer, and the value before and after any change.
  Questions about lines and month-end checks are on only for firms that use them. We never sell books data, never use it for advertising and never use it to train AI models.
• Xero: a firm connects a Xero organisation the firm keeps the books for. With that connection:
  • Pingtail writes notes, attachments, drafts and, on your press, account and tax changes in your client's Xero. Nothing is written unless someone at the firm presses for it.
  • We read the chart of accounts, tax rates, contacts and transactions, so we can find the lines that need the client's answer.
  • A note or an attachment is added. A draft journal or a draft bill is created as a draft that you approve in Xero. An account or tax change is made only on a transaction Xero still lets us change, never on one already reconciled, and never on or before the lock date.
  • The firm can undo a posted account or tax change from Pingtail. A note or a file we added is never removed.
  • We store the tokens encrypted, the organisation name, and for each line we ask about its date, payee, description, amount and account, the client's answer, and the value before and after any change.
  We never sell books data, never use it for advertising and never use it to train AI models.
• The Pingtail for QuickBooks browser extension: our Chrome extension, installed by someone at a firm, runs only on QuickBooks Online pages and talks only to Pingtail, signed in as that person. On the open QuickBooks page it reads the company, account and transaction ids and, on the reconcile page, the statement date, balances and bank lines. Bank lines are compared with our matches in the browser, never sent to us. We receive the ids, the reconcile figures (balances, the date filled in, lines ticked) and the extension's version, kept for 60 days to show Month-end progress. QuickBooks changes only when the person presses a button; it never saves, deletes or voids a transaction. In the browser it keeps only the chosen month and short notes of the last run for each company, and, until the tab closes, the lines it ticked. It reads no other site or browsing history. We use this firm data only for this feature and never sell or share it or use it for advertising, credit decisions or AI training. Its use follows the Chrome Web Store User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. Uninstalling it deletes what it kept in the browser.
• Slack, Zapier and webhooks: if you add a Slack link, a Zapier connection or your own webhook address, we send short notices about events you choose, such as "request sent" or "document accepted". A notice carries names, statuses, dates and a link back to Pingtail, never the documents themselves.

Documents we save into a service you connect are then held by that service under your own account and its own terms. They are outside Pingtail's retention and deletion, so deleting a file in Pingtail does not delete the copy you already received there. In Google Drive and Dropbox, Pingtail only adds: it creates its own folders and saves new files, and it never deletes, moves, renames or overwrites anything there. QuickBooks and Xero follow the rules in their own lists above. We never use data from a connected service for advertising, never sell it, and never use it to train AI models.

Google user data. Pingtail's use and transfer to any other app of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements. We do not use data received from Google Workspace APIs to develop, improve or train generalized or non-personalized AI or machine learning models, and we never send it to our AI model provider. We use Google user data only to save your firm's accepted documents into your Drive; people at Pingtail do not read it, except with your written permission for support, for security, or where the law requires it.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access your data, correct it, delete it, restrict or object to its use, and receive a copy in a portable format. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time. To use your rights, email dipa@pingtail.com. We will reply within one month. We may need to confirm your identity first. We will not treat you worse for using your rights.

Part B: Clients of a firm who received a request

If your accountant, bookkeeper or tax preparer sent you a request through Pingtail, this part is for you.

Who is responsible for your data

The firm that sent the request is responsible for your data. It decides what to ask for, why, and how long to keep it. We provide the tool and handle your data only on the firm's instructions. If you have a question about your documents, please contact your accountant first. Their name is shown in the email and on the upload page.

What we handle

• Your name, email address and, if the firm entered it, your phone number.
• The documents you upload and the answers you give. These may include financial, tax and identity information.
• If the firm contacts you on WhatsApp: your phone number, whether and when you agreed to WhatsApp messages, the messages the firm sends you, and your replies and any files you send in the chat.
• If you email files to the firm's request address: the email address you sent from, the file names and the files.
• If the firm asks you about lines in your books: each line's date, payee and amount, and your answers.
• Technical data such as IP address, browser type, and the times you opened the link or uploaded a file. We use this for security and for the firm's audit log.

WhatsApp messages

A firm can send its requests and reminders on WhatsApp, only if you agreed to it. They come from the firm's own WhatsApp number, or from Pingtail's shared number, shown as Pingtail Partners. Messages from the shared number always name the firm that sent them. Meta delivers these messages. Meta handles the message data under its own WhatsApp Business terms and privacy policy. We use your WhatsApp messages only to deliver the firm's requests and show your replies to the firm. We never use them for advertising or to train AI models.

Sending files by email

A firm may let you reply to its request email with the files attached. If the files come from an address the firm has not added for you, we hold them for the firm. The firm adds the address and accepts the files, or ignores them. Files nobody decides on are deleted after 14 days. We do not reply to the sender.

What happens to your documents

• Each file is encrypted before it is stored. Our storage provider holds only encrypted data.
• Each file is checked automatically. We check the file type and safety. Simple rules look for problems such as a locked PDF or missing pages. An AI model reads the document to see if it matches what the firm asked for.
• The automatic check never rejects your file. It may ask you to fix or confirm something. You can always say "this is correct, send it anyway". Only a person at the firm can send a file back to you.
• Your document is sent to the AI model provider only to perform the check. It is not used to train AI models. A firm can switch AI checks off.

Who can see your documents

Only signed-in team members of the firm that sent the request can view or download your documents. Other firms cannot see them. Our staff do not open customer documents, except when the firm asks us in writing for support. The platform owner can see a firm's account details and audit log to give support. Every change made there is written to the firm's audit log. Your private link is tied to one request. If you open it on a second device, we ask for a code that we send to your email.

Where the firm keeps your documents

A firm may have Pingtail save the documents it accepts into its own Google Drive, Dropbox or QuickBooks. From there the firm holds them under its own account, as it would any document you email to it.

How to stop reminders

Every email has a "stop reminders" link. If you use it, the automatic reminders for that request stop. On WhatsApp, reply STOP. WhatsApp messages from that firm stop at once, and any further reminders come by email. The firm may still contact you directly.

How to report a request

If you do not know the sender, or a request looks wrong, use the "report this request" link in the email or on the page. You can also email dipa@pingtail.com. One report pauses that firm's sending until we have reviewed it.

How to delete your documents

You can delete or replace your own upload until the firm accepts it. After that, ask the firm to delete it. The firm may have a legal duty to keep records, so the firm decides. When a file is deleted, we remove the stored file and its encryption key. It cannot be recovered.

The firm sets how long files are kept. On paid plans the default is 7 years, because tax records usually have to be kept for years. On a read-only account (no active plan), files are deleted 90 days after a request is completed.

Your rights

You have rights over your data, such as access, correction and deletion. Please send your request to the firm. If you write to us, we will pass your request to the firm and help the firm to answer it.

Part C: Firms we contact about Pingtail

If we emailed your firm to tell you about Pingtail and you are not a customer, this part is for you.

Who we write to and what we hold

We may email accounting and bookkeeping firms that are companies or LLPs to tell them about Pingtail. We hold the firm's name, a work email address and, where it is published, a contact name. We take these from the firm's own website or a public business directory. We do not buy lists.

Why we use it

We use these details only to write to you about Pingtail. Our legal basis is our legitimate interest in offering a business tool to firms it is relevant to. We do not share these details. We write three times at most.

How to make us stop

You can object at any time. Reply to the email, or write to dipa@pingtail.com, and we will stop.

How long we keep it

If you have not replied, we delete these details after 6 months. If you ask us to stop, we keep only your address on a do-not-contact list, so that we do not write again.

For everyone

How to delete your data

• Firms: you can delete any file, request or client, or your whole account, at any time in the app. When an owner deletes the firm, the plan is cancelled and the connections are removed at once, and the firm keeps working until the date it is paid to. The owner can then undo it for 30 days; after that we erase the firm's files and its clients' details. An anonymised record of actions stays, and so do the billing records that tax law requires us to keep.
• WhatsApp: to disconnect your WhatsApp Business Account, go to Settings, WhatsApp, switch WhatsApp off and clear the stored access token. We delete the token and stop all sending. You can also remove Pingtail's access from your Meta Business Settings, under Integrations.
• Connected services: on the Integrations page, click Disconnect next to Google Drive, Dropbox, QuickBooks, Slack, Zapier or a webhook. We delete the stored token at once and stop sending. You can also remove Pingtail's access from the service itself: Google at myaccount.google.com/permissions, Dropbox at dropbox.com/account/connected_apps, and QuickBooks from its list of connected apps. Copies already saved in those services stay there until you delete them. Disconnecting QuickBooks stops all reading and writing at once; changes already posted stay in the books.
• Clients of a firm: ask the firm first, as explained in Part B.
• Anyone: email dipa@pingtail.com with the subject "Delete my data" and the email address or phone number concerned. We confirm your identity, then delete the data within 30 days and tell you when it is done.

Security

We encrypt every file before it reaches storage, use TLS for data in transit, keep storage private, and keep an audit log. Read more on our Security page.

International transfers

Our servers are in the EU (Finland). Some providers may process data outside the UK and the European Economic Area. This can happen for email delivery, WhatsApp delivery by Meta, AI checks, payments, and the services a firm chooses to connect (Google, Dropbox, Xero, Intuit, Slack, Zapier). When it does, we use standard contractual clauses or the provider's equivalent safeguard. You can ask us for details at dipa@pingtail.com.

Children

The service is for businesses and their clients. It is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect data from children for our own purposes. A firm may need a document that mentions a child, such as a family tax record. The firm is responsible for that data.

Complaints and US state privacy rights

If you are in the UK, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). If you are in the EU, you can complain to the data protection authority in your country. We would like the chance to help first, so please contact us. If you live in a US state with a privacy law, you may have the right to know, correct, delete and get a copy of your personal data, and to appeal our decision. We do not sell personal data or share it for targeted advertising. For documents you sent to a firm, the firm handles these requests and we help the firm.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy. We will post the new version here and change the date at the top. If a change is significant, we will tell firms by email or in the service.

Contact

Privacy questions and security reports: dipa@pingtail.com. Support: dipa@pingtail.com. Phone: +91 91801 85753. Post: Pingtail Partners, NH231, Above Axis Bank, Gulabbagh, Purnia, Bihar 854326, India.

Pingtail Partners, NH231, Above Axis Bank, Gulabbagh, Purnia, Bihar 854326, India · +91 91801 85753 · dipa@pingtail.com