1. About these terms
These terms and conditions (the “Terms”) govern your access to and use of Ciconia — the websites at ciconia.me, the Ciconia web application, APIs, widgets, softphones and related services (together, the “Service”). The Service is provided by Ciconia (“Ciconia”, “we”, “us”).
By creating an account, connecting a channel or otherwise using the Service, you agree to these Terms on behalf of the business or organisation you represent (the “Customer”, “you”). If you do not have authority to bind that organisation, or do not agree, do not use the Service. If you have signed a separate written agreement or order form with us, that agreement takes precedence where it conflicts with these Terms.
The Service is intended for business use only and is not offered to consumers.
2. Definitions
- Users — the people you allow to use the Service under your account, such as agents, supervisors and administrators.
- End Users — your customers and other people who contact you, or whom you contact, through the Service.
- Channels — the messaging and voice channels you connect to the Service, such as WhatsApp, Telegram, web chat and phone numbers.
- Customer Content — messages, media, call audio, recordings, transcripts, contacts, notes, configuration and any other data that you, your Users or your End Users submit to or generate through the Service.
3. Accounts and access
You must give accurate information when you create an account and keep it up to date. You are responsible for your Users, for keeping their sign-in credentials confidential, for the roles and permissions you grant them, and for everything done under your account. Tell us promptly at hello@ciconia.me if you believe your account has been accessed without authorisation.
4. Acceptable use
You must use the Service lawfully and must not, and must not allow anyone else to:
- send unsolicited, bulk or deceptive messages or calls, or contact people who have not given any consent required by law or by the Channel’s policies;
- send content that is unlawful, harassing, hateful, sexually exploitative, fraudulent or that infringes anyone’s rights;
- impersonate any person or organisation, or misrepresent who you are or why you are contacting someone;
- collect or process personal data without a lawful basis, or use the Service to process special-category data in breach of applicable law;
- upload malware, or probe, scan, overload or attempt to break the security of the Service or any other network;
- copy, resell, reverse engineer or build a competing product from the Service, except where the law expressly allows it;
- use the Service in breach of the terms or policies of any Channel you connect.
5. WhatsApp and other messaging channels
Ciconia connects to WhatsApp through the WhatsApp Business Platform. When you connect a WhatsApp Business Account to Ciconia, you authorise us to access it and to send and receive messages and calls on your behalf, only as needed to provide the Service to you.
When you use WhatsApp through the Service, you must comply with WhatsApp’s terms and policies, including:
In particular, you are responsible for:
- obtaining and recording the opt-in or permission that WhatsApp requires before you message or call a person, and honouring opt-out requests promptly;
- using approved message templates where WhatsApp requires them, and the content of every message you send;
- the WhatsApp Business Account, phone numbers and display names you connect, and their quality rating and messaging limits;
- any fees WhatsApp charges for conversations, messages or calls, whether billed to you directly or passed through by us.
WhatsApp may limit, suspend or disable a WhatsApp Business Account or phone number under its own policies. We do not control those decisions and are not responsible for them. The same applies to Telegram and any other third-party Channel, each of which has its own terms — for Telegram, the Telegram Terms of Service.
We use data received from WhatsApp and other Channels only to provide and support the Service for you. We do not sell it, and we do not use it for advertising or to build profiles of End Users.
6. Phone numbers, calls and recordings
Phone numbers and calling are provided through telecommunications carriers and are subject to their terms and to local regulation, which may require you to provide identity or business information. You are responsible for complying with the laws that apply to your calls, including rules on telemarketing, automated or outbound campaigns, caller identification and do-not-call lists.
If you record or transcribe calls, you are responsible for giving any notice and obtaining any consent that the law requires from every party to the call.
The Service is not a replacement for a telephone service and does not support calls to emergency services. Make sure your Users and End Users have another way to reach emergency services.
7. AI features
The Service includes AI features that can suggest replies, answer conversations and calls on your behalf, transcribe, summarise and take actions you configure. AI output can be inaccurate, incomplete or inappropriate. You decide where AI is used and how much it may do on its own, and you are responsible for reviewing its output and for the actions you configure it to take.
You are responsible for telling End Users that they are interacting with an automated system where the law or a Channel’s policies require it, and for not relying on AI output alone for decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on a person.
8. Your content and data
You own your Customer Content. You grant us a limited licence to host, process, transmit and display it only as needed to provide, secure and support the Service and as these Terms otherwise allow. We do not use Customer Content to advertise to anyone.
Our privacy policy explains how we handle personal data. We process personal data contained in Customer Content on your behalf and on your instructions. You are responsible for having a lawful basis for that processing, for the notices you give End Users, and for responding to their requests about their data — we will help you do so through the Service or on request. Where data protection law requires a data processing agreement, we will enter into one with you on request.
You can ask us to export or delete Customer Content at any time. When your account ends, we will delete Customer Content within a reasonable period, except where the law requires us to keep it.
9. Data deletion requests
To ask us to delete your data — including data received through a connected WhatsApp account or other Channel — email hello@ciconia.me with the subject “Data deletion request”, the business name on your account and the phone number or account you want removed. We will confirm when the deletion is complete.
If you are an End User who has contacted a business that uses Ciconia, that business controls your data. Please contact the business directly; if you contact us instead, we will pass your request on to them.
10. Third-party services
The Service relies on third-party providers, including messaging platforms, telecommunications carriers, AI model providers and cloud infrastructure providers. Your use of a third-party Channel or integration is also governed by that provider’s terms. We are not responsible for third-party services, their availability or changes they make, although we will work to keep the Service compatible with them.
11. Fees
You will pay the fees set out in your order form or plan, together with any applicable taxes. Charges from third parties — such as WhatsApp fees, carrier usage and phone-number charges — are payable as set out in your order form, or directly to the provider. Unless your order form says otherwise, fees are non-refundable. We may suspend the Service if fees remain unpaid after we have given you notice.
12. Availability and changes
We work to keep the Service available and secure, but we do not promise that it will be uninterrupted or error-free, and these Terms do not include a service-level commitment unless one is set out in a separate written agreement. We may change, add or remove features. If we remove a feature you depend on in a way that materially reduces the Service, we will give you reasonable notice where we can.
13. Suspension and termination
You may stop using the Service at any time. We may suspend or terminate your access, in whole or in part, if you materially breach these Terms, if your use creates a security, legal or Channel-policy risk, or if a Channel provider or carrier requires it. Where reasonable, we will tell you first and give you a chance to fix the problem. Sections that by their nature should survive termination — including those on fees, intellectual property, confidentiality, disclaimers, liability and indemnity — will survive.
14. Intellectual property
We and our licensors own the Service, including its software, design and documentation. These Terms give you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use the Service during your subscription; they do not transfer any ownership to you. If you send us feedback or suggestions, we may use them without any obligation to you.
15. Confidentiality
Each party will keep the other’s non-public information confidential, use it only for the purposes of these Terms, and protect it with reasonable care. This does not apply to information that is or becomes public through no fault of the receiving party, or that must be disclosed by law.
16. Disclaimers
Except as expressly set out in these Terms, the Service is provided “as is” and “as available”. To the extent permitted by law, we disclaim all other warranties, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement.
17. Limitation of liability
To the extent permitted by law, neither party will be liable for indirect, incidental, special or consequential losses, or for loss of profits, revenue, goodwill or data, arising out of these Terms or the Service. Each party’s total liability arising out of these Terms is limited to the fees you paid us for the Service in the twelve months before the event giving rise to the claim. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law, or your obligation to pay fees.
18. Indemnity
You will defend and indemnify us against third-party claims, fines and penalties arising from your Customer Content, your messages and calls, your breach of these Terms or of a Channel’s policies, or your failure to obtain any consent or give any notice required by law.
19. Changes to these terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. We will post the updated version on this page and change the “Last updated” date; for material changes we will also notify account administrators in advance. By continuing to use the Service after changes take effect, you accept the updated Terms.
20. Governing law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the country in which Ciconia is established, and the courts of that country have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising from them, unless your order form specifies otherwise or mandatory law provides otherwise.
21. Contact
Questions about these Terms? Email hello@ciconia.me.