Privacy Policy

Last updated 25 July 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Booked By Gordon (“Gordon”, “we”, “us”, “our”) collects, uses, and protects your information when you use our salon management platform and our AI phone receptionist.

We take your privacy seriously. This policy tells you what data we collect, why we collect it, and what we do with it. We’ve written it in plain English because privacy shouldn’t require a law degree to understand.

By using Gordon, you agree to the practices described in this policy.

This policy applies to

This privacy policy explains how we handle your information when you use:

  • The Booked By Gordon console application (for salon owners and staff)
  • The online booking portal (for making bookings)
  • Gordon, our AI phone receptionist (the “voice agent”) — when you call a salon that uses Gordon to answer its phone
  • Any other Gordon services

Two ways salons run on Gordon. Some salons keep all their business data inside Gordon’s own salon software (the console and The Gordon Vault). Others use Square Appointments as their diary, and connect it to Gordon so our voice agent can answer the phone and book on their behalf. This policy covers both. Where it matters which one applies to you, we’ve said so.

Important: Booked By Gordon is only available to individuals aged 16 and over. If you’re under 16, please don’t use our services.

What information we collect

If you’re a salon owner or staff member

When you use the Gordon console to manage your business, we collect:

  • Your account details — name, email, phone number, business information.
  • Your business data — client records, bookings, appointments, sales transactions, staff schedules, inventory, financial reports, and operational data.
  • Device information — when you use your camera to capture product images, profile photos, or scan barcodes, we process these images as part of your business records.
  • Usage information — how you interact with Gordon, to help us improve the service.

If you’re making an online booking

When you book an appointment at a salon using Gordon, we collect:

  • Personal details — name, email, phone number.
  • Booking information — appointment date, time, services selected.
  • Communication preferences — how you’d like to receive appointment reminders.

If you call a salon that uses Gordon

When you phone a salon and Gordon answers, we collect:

  • Your phone number and caller ID — so the salon knows who rang and can call you back.
  • A written transcript of the call — as you and Gordon speak, our AI converts the conversation to text. We don’t keep an audio recording of the call; we keep this transcript so the booking is accurate and the salon has a record of what was discussed.
  • What you tell Gordon — your name, the service you want, your preferred staff member, dates and times, and anything else you share to make or change a booking, or to leave a message.
  • Booking details — the appointment Gordon makes, moves, or cancels for you.

Gordon answers as the salon’s receptionist. If you ask whether you’re speaking to a person or an automated assistant, Gordon will tell you honestly that he’s an AI. If you’d rather speak to a person, you can say so and Gordon will take a message or arrange for the salon to call you back.

Note: Bookings should only be made by individuals aged 16 and over. If you’re booking an appointment for someone under 16, you (the person aged 16+) are responsible for making that booking on their behalf.

How we use your information

We use your information to:

  • Provide the service — answer calls, process bookings, manage schedules, run your salon operations.
  • Run the voice agent — understand what callers are asking for, make and update bookings, and pass messages to the salon.
  • Send important communications — appointment reminders, booking confirmations, account notifications.
  • Improve Gordon — understand how people use the platform, and, where enabled, use call transcripts to train and improve how Gordon handles calls. See “Calls, transcripts & Gordon’s voice agent” below.
  • Provide support — help you when things go wrong.
  • Comply with legal obligations — meet Australian business and tax requirements.

Marketing communications

For salon owners and staff: We may send you occasional updates about new Gordon features, tips, or service announcements. You can opt out anytime.

For salon clients and callers: We never send you marketing. The only messages you’ll receive are appointment-related (reminders, confirmations) from the salon you’ve booked with.

Calls, transcripts & Gordon’s voice agent

When a salon uses Gordon to answer its phone, here’s how we handle calls:

  • Gordon tells you up front. Gordon mentions the transcript at the start of every call — before you’ve shared anything.
  • Gordon answers honestly. Gordon answers as the salon’s receptionist. If a caller asks whether they’re speaking to a person or an automated assistant, Gordon tells them honestly that he’s an AI.
  • We transcribe, we don’t record. We don’t keep an audio recording of your call. As you speak, our AI converts the conversation to a written transcript. The transcript lets Gordon book accurately, gives the salon a record of what was agreed, and helps us check quality and improve the service.
  • How Gordon understands you. To take your booking, your speech is converted to text, processed by our AI to work out what you need, and turned back into Gordon’s voice. This happens through the trusted providers listed below.
  • The salon owns the conversation. Gordon answers on the salon’s behalf. The salon you called is responsible for how it uses the transcript and any information you share. We handle that information as the salon’s service provider, as described in this policy.
  • Learning from transcripts is optional. Every Gordon account has a setting called Help improve Gordon Phone, switched on by default. When it’s on, we may use your salon’s call transcripts to train and improve how Gordon understands and handles calls. Salon owners can turn this off anytime in account settings — if you do, your transcripts won’t be used to improve Gordon, though we’ll still keep them as part of your business records (see “How long we keep your information”).
  • You can opt out of the AI. If you’d prefer not to speak to an automated assistant, tell Gordon and he’ll take a message or arrange a callback from a person.

If your salon uses Square

If your salon uses Square Appointments as its diary, you connect your Square account to Gordon so our voice agent can work with it. Here’s what that means for your data:

  • You authorise the connection. When you sign in to Square and approve access, you grant Gordon permission (via Square’s secure API) to read and write parts of your Square account.
  • What Gordon reads. Your services, team members, working hours, availability, and existing bookings — so Gordon can offer the right times.
  • What Gordon writes. New bookings, changes, and cancellations Gordon makes on a call, along with the caller’s booking details (such as name and phone number), so the appointment appears in your Square diary and customer list.
  • Square is a separate company. Square holds and processes your account and your clients’ data under its own terms and privacy policy. We’re not affiliated with, or endorsed by, Square. Your relationship with Square is separate from your relationship with us, and Square’s handling of your data is governed by Square’s Privacy Policy.
  • What we keep. We keep the call transcripts and the records of what Gordon did on each call (see retention below). We don’t keep audio recordings. The underlying diary, client list, and business data live in your Square account.

If your salon uses Gordon’s own salon software instead of Square, your business data is stored in The Gordon Vault, as described below.

Camera & device access

The Gordon console app requests access to your device camera to:

  • Capture photos for business purposes (product shots, profile images, before/after photos).
  • Scan product barcodes for inventory management.

We only access your camera when you explicitly choose to take a photo or scan a barcode. Photos are stored as part of your business records and used solely for your salon operations.

How we protect your information

Your data is stored securely in The Gordon Vault — our Australian servers located in Sydney. We use industry-standard security measures including encryption, secure authentication, and regular security updates. Call transcripts are stored with the same protection.

One exception worth knowing about: to take a phone call, the caller’s speech is processed in real time by xAI and carried by Twilio, whose services operate in the United States. The transcript and your business records are stored in The Gordon Vault in Sydney.

We work with trusted service providers who help us deliver Gordon:

  • BestSMS (bestsms.au) — sends SMS messages on your salon’s behalf.
  • Mobile Message (mobilemessage.com.au) — sends SMS messages on your salon’s behalf.
  • Resend (resend.com) — sends emails on your salon’s behalf.
  • xAI (x.ai) — powers Gordon’s voice agent: the AI that listens to callers, works out what they need, speaks as Gordon, and produces the call transcript.
  • Anthropic Claude (claude.ai) — powers the Gordon assistant — the in-app chat in the Gordon console. When you chat with Gordon, your messages and the business information the assistant looks up to answer you — such as bookings, client details and sales — are sent to Anthropic to generate responses. Anthropic processes this data on our behalf under its commercial terms: it acts as a data processor, doesn’t use your data to train its AI models, and only retains it briefly for trust and safety purposes. The app asks for your permission before your first chat, and you can turn AI data sharing off at any time under My Profile → My Settings in the app.
  • Twilio (twilio.com) — connects and carries phone calls between the caller and Gordon.
  • Square (squareup.com) — where your salon uses Square Appointments, Gordon reads from and writes to your Square account via Square’s API.
  • Google Firebase (firebase.google.com) — handles user authentication and some hosting.
  • DigitalOcean (digitalocean.com) — provides hosting and networking infrastructure.

These providers only access the information necessary to perform their specific services and are bound by their own privacy commitments.

How long we keep your information

While your account is active: We keep your data for as long as you use Gordon. It’s your business data — you need it.

Call transcripts: We don’t keep audio recordings of calls. We keep the written transcript as part of your salon’s business records for as long as your account is active.

After you close your account: We retain your data for 7 years to comply with Australian tax and business record requirements, then permanently delete it. If you need your data deleted sooner, contact us and we’ll accommodate where legally possible.

Marketing opt-outs: Take effect immediately.

Your rights

You have the right to:

  • Access your information — request a copy of what we hold, including call transcripts.
  • Correct inaccuracies — fix any incorrect details.
  • Request deletion — ask us to delete your data (subject to legal requirements). You can request account deletion here.
  • Opt out of marketing — stop receiving promotional messages from us.
  • Control call-learning — turn off Help improve Gordon Phone in your account settings if you’d rather your transcripts weren’t used to improve Gordon.
  • Lodge a complaint — contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) if you have privacy concerns.

If you’re a caller and you want to access, correct, or delete information from a call transcript, contact the salon you rang — they control that information — or contact us and we’ll help direct your request.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details below.

Sharing your information

We don’t sell your data. Ever.

We only share information when:

  • You direct us to (like sending appointment reminders to your clients, or writing a booking into your Square account).
  • Required by law (court orders, lawful requests from authorities).
  • Necessary for the service (with the service providers listed above).

Cookies & tracking

Our online booking portals may use cookies to remember your booking preferences and improve your experience. These are basic, functional cookies.

Our website also uses the following third-party service, which sets its own cookies:

  • Google Analytics — helps us understand how visitors use the site (pages visited, time on site). Data is anonymous and aggregated. Google’s privacy policy.

This tool sends usage data to its provider. It does not give us access to your personal accounts or browsing history on other sites.

Changes to this policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. When we make significant changes, we’ll notify you via email or through the Gordon console. Continued use of our services after changes means you accept the updated policy.

Children’s privacy

Booked By Gordon is not intended for use by anyone under 16. We don’t knowingly collect information from children. If you believe someone under 16 has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately so we can remove it.

Related information

For details about using our service, please see our Terms of Use.

Contact us

Questions about privacy? Concerns about your data? Get in touch:

Booked By Gordon
A registered business name of Shadows At Five Pty Ltd (ABN 19 606 133 386)
Registered business address: Level 1, 63-73 Ann Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010
Australia

Email: support@bookedbygordon.com

Australian Privacy Principles

This privacy policy is designed to comply with the Australian Privacy Principles under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). If you have concerns about how we handle your personal information, you can contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner:

OAIC
Website: www.oaic.gov.au
Phone: 1300 363 992
Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au