Privacy policy

Deskdove is an AI chat assistant that businesses add to their websites. Deskdove is a product of ARKHV Group (Pty) Ltd, CIPC 2026/230380/07, 7 Ravenscraig Road, Woodstock, Cape Town, 7925, South Africa. In this policy, “we” and “us” mean ARKHV Group (Pty) Ltd. We are the responsible party (data controller) for the information described in this policy.

Questions, requests or complaints: email info@arkhv.com.

• Basic logs. Our hosting provider records standard request data such as your IP address, browser type, the page requested and the time. We use it to run, secure and fix the site.
• Country for pricing. We read the country your IP address points to (provided by our host) so we can show prices in your local currency. We don't store your precise location.
• Currency cookie. If you pick a currency, we save it in a cookie called dd_currency so the site remembers your choice. It contains only the currency code (for example ZAR) and lasts up to a year.
• Waitlist form. If you join the waitlist we store your email, and anything else you choose to give us (name, company, website, the plan you're interested in and your currency), so we can contact you about early access.

We don't use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies.

This applies to the chat on deskdove.com and to the chat on our customers' websites.

• Messages. Your messages, the assistant's replies and the page you chatted from are stored so the business that runs the website can read the conversation and follow up.
• Details you choose to share. If you leave your details, book a time or join a waitlist, we collect what you enter, such as your name, surname, email and phone number. You never have to share these to chat.
• A random chat ID is kept in your browser's local storage so the conversation continues if you reload the page.
• Abuse and cost limits. We keep a one-way hash of your IP address (not the address itself) to apply message limits.
• AI processing. To write replies, your message, recent messages in the conversation and relevant content from the business's website are sent through Vercel AI Gateway to AI model providers, mainly Google Gemini models, with a backup model (Amazon Nova) if the main one is unavailable. We don't allow them to use chats for advertising.

Business owners can sign in to the Deskdove dashboard with their Google account. When you do, we receive only your name, email address and Google account ID.

• We use this information only to sign you in and to identify your account.
• We don't request or access your Gmail, Google Drive, contacts, calendar or any other Google data.
• We don't sell this information, use it for advertising, or share it with anyone except the service providers listed below that we need to run sign-in.

Limited Use. Deskdove'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.

Google API Services User Data Policy

• To provide the chat, the dashboard and the waitlist.
• To pass leads and conversations to the business they belong to.
• To contact you about early access or your account.
• To keep the service secure, prevent abuse and control costs.
• To meet legal obligations.

We share information only with providers that help us run Deskdove, under contracts that require them to protect it:

• Supabase: database and account sign-in.
• Vercel: website hosting and the AI Gateway, which routes chats to AI model providers (Google Gemini, with Amazon Nova as a backup).
• Whop: payments, once billing starts. Card details go to Whop, not to us.
• Resend: sending email, if we use it for sign-in links or notifications.

Some of these providers process data outside South Africa, for example in the United States or the EU. Where that happens, we rely on their contractual safeguards. We don't sell personal information.

• Chats and leads are kept while the business that owns them has a Deskdove account, and deleted when that account is closed or when the business deletes them.
• Waitlist entries are kept until you ask us to remove them or we no longer need them for early access.
• Account details are kept while your account is open.
• Logs are kept for a short period by our host.

Wherever you are, you can ask us to access, correct or delete your personal information, or to stop contacting you. Email info@arkhv.com and we'll respond within 30 days.

South Africa (POPIA). You have the right to know what we hold about you, to have it corrected or deleted, to object to its use and to complain to the Information Regulator.

Information Regulator (South Africa)

EU and UK (GDPR). You can also ask us to restrict how we use your data, to give you a copy in a portable format, and you can object to processing. We process your data to provide the service you asked for, for our legitimate interests in running and securing it, or with your consent (for example, joining the waitlist), which you can withdraw at any time. You can complain to your local data protection authority (in the UK, the ICO).

If your data is in a chat on a business's website, we may pass your request to that business, because they decide how it is used.

When you put Deskdove on your website, you decide what visitors are asked and what happens to their conversations and leads. For that data, you are the responsible party and we process it on your behalf.

You are responsible for telling your own visitors that you use an AI chat assistant, what you collect through it, and how they can contact you, for example in your own privacy policy.

Data is encrypted in transit, each business's data is separated in our database, and access is limited to people who need it. No system is perfectly secure, so if we become aware of a breach that affects you, we'll tell you and the regulator as the law requires.

Deskdove isn't meant for anyone under 18, and we don't knowingly collect information from children. If you think a child has given us information, email us and we'll delete it.

If we change this policy, we'll update the effective date at the top. If the change is significant, we'll also tell account holders and waitlist members by email before it takes effect.