Privacy Policy
This page covers customers who call a locksmith answered by our platform. If you're a locksmith business owner, dispatcher, or technician using the InstaCode Dispatch app for iOS or Android to run your business, see our App Privacy Policy instead — it covers your account, business, and job data.
1. Who We Are
InstaCode Dispatch is a service of Merit Software Holdings, LLC ("InstaCode Dispatch," "we," "us," or "our"). We provide an AI-powered phone answering, booking, and dispatch service for locksmith businesses.
When you call a participating locksmith, your call may be answered by our automated AI assistant on the locksmith's behalf. The locksmith is the business you are hiring for locksmith services. InstaCode Dispatch operates the technology platform that answers calls, prepares quotes, books appointments, and processes payments so the locksmith can serve you. We process your information to provide that service.
If you have questions about the locksmith's own services, contact the locksmith directly. For questions about this platform and how we handle your data, contact us using the details at the end of this policy.
2. What We Collect
When you contact a locksmith that uses our platform, we may collect:
- Contact details — your name and phone number.
- Call transcripts — a text transcript of your phone call with the locksmith or our automated assistant. Every call is transcribed, and you hear a notice saying so at the start of the call.
- Call audio — the audio of your call is used to create the transcript and is then deleted. It is kept only if the locksmith you called has chosen to keep call recordings, and in that case you are told at the start of the call that it is recorded.
- Vehicle information — details about your vehicle when relevant to the job, such as make, model, year, and Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).
- Service address — the address or location where you need service.
- Payment information — handled by our payment processor, Stripe. We never store your card number — card data is collected and processed directly by Stripe.
We do not collect driver's-license images or other government-ID photos. We collect the information above directly from you — during the call, by text message, or through the booking page.
3. How We Use Your Information
- Provide the service — answer your call, understand your request, prepare a quote, book the appointment, and dispatch a locksmith.
- Power our AI assistant — our automated assistant uses what you say on the call, and the call transcript, to understand your request, generate estimates, and route the job.
- Process payments — complete your transaction through Stripe.
- Prevent fraud — detect and prevent fraudulent service requests and protect customers, locksmiths, and our platform.
- Resolve disputes — keep records needed to address billing questions, chargebacks, and service disputes.
- Improve the service — analyze and improve call handling, quoting accuracy, and overall service quality.
4. AI Assistant, Call Transcripts & Recording
Who answers your call. Depending on the locksmith and the time of day, your call is answered either by a person at the locksmith or by our automated AI assistant. When the assistant answers, it tells you it is an automated assistant, and you may ask to speak with a person at any time.
Every call is transcribed. At the start of every call you hear a notice that the call is transcribed — for example, "This call is transcribed. By staying on the line, you consent." The transcript starts when the call connects, so the notice itself is part of it. If you do not want your call transcribed, you can hang up and contact the locksmith another way. The transcript is stored in our systems and is available to the locksmith you called and to us. We use it to book and carry out your job, to check the quality of the service, and to resolve disputes.
Audio is deleted once the call is transcribed. To create the transcript, our phone carrier (Twilio) or, for some locksmiths, ElevenLabs (see below) briefly holds the audio of the call. Once the transcript is saved, we delete that audio. We do not keep a copy of your call audio unless the locksmith you called has chosen to keep call recordings; in that case the notice at the start of the call tells you the call is recorded, and the recording is kept for the period described in Section 8.
Calls answered by our ElevenLabs-powered assistant. Some locksmiths use a version of our assistant that runs on the platform of our service provider ElevenLabs, and those calls work differently. Our phone carrier (Twilio) connects your call to ElevenLabs over an encrypted connection, and ElevenLabs processes your voice in real time to turn your speech into text, generate the assistant's replies with an AI language model, and speak those replies back to you. Its greeting tells you that you are speaking with an automated assistant and that the call is transcribed. After the call, we save a copy of the transcript in our own systems (as described above), and ElevenLabs' copy of the transcript and any audio is deleted no later than 2 days after the call. We do not keep the audio of these calls. The details you give the assistant (for example your name, service address, vehicle and key details, and appointment choices) are passed to our systems to quote and book your job.
5. SMS / Text Messaging Program
Program name and description. The InstaCode Dispatch booking and appointment text message program sends transactional service messages related to your locksmith service request — such as a secure booking link, appointment confirmations and updates, and a secure payment link. These are service messages, not marketing messages.
How you opt in. When you call a participating locksmith and our automated assistant books your job, the assistant is instructed to tell you on the call that the locksmith will text you about your service, that message and data rates may apply, and that you can reply STOP at any time to opt out. Texts normally go to the number you are calling from, or to another number you give on the call. If a locksmith's staff enter your job, texts go to the mobile number you provided for updates about your service. Texts are only about your own service request. Consent to receive text messages is not a condition of purchase.
Message frequency. Message frequency varies — typically 1–3 messages per service visit.
Fees. Message and data rates may apply.
How you opt out or get help. Reply STOP to cancel/unsubscribe at any time. Reply HELP for help, or contact help@instacodedispatch.com.
Carriers. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
Your mobile information. No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. All of the above categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties. SMS opt-in data and consent are shared only with vendors necessary to deliver the messages to you (for example, our SMS provider, Twilio).
Terms. Use of the service is also governed by our Terms & Conditions.
6. How We Share Your Information
We share information with service providers that help us operate the platform. They are permitted to use your information only to provide services to us:
- Twilio — connects and carries your phone call, and sends and receives text messages.
- Deepgram — converts your call audio into text so the assistant can understand what you say.
- ElevenLabs — generates the assistant's spoken voice, and for locksmiths who use our ElevenLabs-powered assistant, runs that assistant in real time: it converts your speech to text, generates the assistant's replies with an AI language model that ElevenLabs hosts in the United States, and speaks them to you (see Section 4). If that model is unavailable, ElevenLabs may use a backup language model from another company (currently Google, OpenAI, or Anthropic) to keep the call going.
- OpenRouter — passes what you say, and the job details gathered on the call, to the AI language models that generate the assistant's replies. OpenRouter forwards this to the provider running the model, currently OpenAI and Google.
- Stripe — processes payments.
- Google Cloud — hosts our platform and stores data.
Which of the voice providers above handles a given call depends on how that locksmith's phone line is configured, so not every provider listed is involved in every call.
We also share your service request and relevant details with the locksmith you are hiring so they can perform the work.
We may disclose information when required by law, to respond to legal process, or to protect the rights, safety, or property of customers, locksmiths, our company, or others.
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. As stated in Section 5, no mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes, and text messaging originator opt-in data and consent will not be shared with any third parties.
7. Payments via Stripe
Payments are processed by Stripe. When you authorize payment, your card details are collected and handled directly by Stripe under Stripe's own privacy and security practices. InstaCode Dispatch never stores your card number. Payments are processed directly to the locksmith — the locksmith is the merchant of record. Our AI assistant does not ask for and cannot accept card numbers over the phone; payment happens only through the secure payment link.
8. Data Retention
We keep your information only as long as needed to provide the service, prevent fraud, resolve disputes (including payment disputes and chargebacks), and comply with legal obligations. Different categories of data are kept for different periods; when information is no longer needed for these purposes, we delete or de-identify it. Call transcripts are kept for 90 days after the call and then deleted. Where a locksmith has chosen to keep call recordings, those recordings are also kept for 90 days. We may keep a transcript or recording longer only when it is needed for an open dispute, chargeback, or legal obligation. You may also request deletion as described below.
9. How We Protect Your Information
We use technical and organizational safeguards to protect your information, including encryption of stored data (call recordings, transcripts, and related records are encrypted at rest using managed keys) and access controls that limit access to authorized personnel and systems on a least-privilege basis. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, but we work to protect your information using reasonable safeguards.
10. Your Choices — Access and Deletion
- Request access — email help@instacodedispatch.com with the subject line "Privacy Request" to ask what information we hold about you, and we will provide a reasonable summary.
- Request deletion — email the same address to ask that we delete information we hold about you. We will honor reasonable requests unless we are required or permitted to keep certain records — for example, to resolve an open payment dispute or chargeback, to prevent fraud, or to comply with a legal obligation. We will tell you if an exception applies.
We may take reasonable steps to confirm your identity before acting on a request.
11. Children's Privacy
Our service is intended for adults arranging locksmith services and is not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13, consistent with the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). If you believe a child under 13 has provided us information, contact us and we will delete it.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date above. Material changes will be communicated as required by law.
13. Contact Us
InstaCode Dispatch, a service of Merit Software Holdings, LLC
Email: help@instacodedispatch.com
To request access to or deletion of your information, email us with the subject line "Privacy Request." If you have a disability and need this policy in an alternative format, contact us at the email above.