Effective 7 November 2026
This notice explains how information is handled on uk.avaforhomeservices.com: when you book a demo, send us a message, try the Ava demo, or ring a heating, electrical, roofing, cleaning, pest control, gardening or handyman business that uses Ava. It is written for UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), and sits alongside the AssistCall privacy policy.
Who we are
Ava for Home Services is provided by AssistCall, a Starling Global product. Starling Global, 88-30 238th Street, Queens, NY 11426, United States, runs AssistCall and is the controller for the website, demo, booking and enquiry information described here. Privacy enquiries: [email protected].
When a trade business uses Ava to answer its own customers' calls, that business is the controller of its call information and AssistCall acts as its processor (see "Calls to a business that uses Ava").
What we collect and why
| What | Details | Why and lawful basis | | --- | --- | --- | | Demo booking | Name, work email, phone, business name, role, website (optional); your trade, team size, customer types, area covered, the calls you want covered, weekly call volume, job-management software and notes; the time, video or phone, and time zone; your agreement to be contacted and when you gave it | To arrange and prepare for the demo you asked for, and to discuss a service with you: steps at your request before a possible contract, and our legitimate interests in responding to business enquiries | | Messages and callback requests | The same contact details, your message and answers | To reply and follow up: legitimate interests | | The demo | Business name, website or public phone number you enter; the public information found; the profile you approve; your demo chat and any voice transcript | To run the demonstration you asked for: your request and our legitimate interests | | Security information | IP address, browser details, where the request came from | To protect forms and the demo from abuse, including rate limits and spam checks: legitimate interests |
Bookings, messages and callback requests reach the AssistCall sales inbox and CRM, tagged with this site, the country version and the page you used. We email you a confirmation with a calendar invite and, where the booking service supports it, a link to rearrange or cancel. The sales team receives a notification.
If you ask for a callback, we ring the number you gave about your request. If Ava makes that call, it says at the start that it is an AI and that the call is recorded.
Marketing
Booking a demo or sending a form does not sign you up to marketing. Under PECR, we will only send marketing emails or texts if you have agreed or the law otherwise allows it, and every marketing email will include a way to unsubscribe. You can object to direct marketing at any time.
The demo
- Use fictional caller details only. Please do not enter real customers' names, addresses, key safe or alarm codes, health details or payment details.
- We keep the temporary profile, the demo chat and any available voice transcript for up to 24 hours so you can review the result, and you can delete the demo at any time from the demo page.
- The demo does not record call audio.
- Phone demo codes expire after 10 minutes and work once. After a successful connection, your calling number is stored only as a keyed hash so Ava can recognise it for up to two hours.
- The demo cannot book visits, send an engineer, take payments, send messages or update your systems.
Calls to a business that uses Ava
When you ring a trade business that uses Ava, Ava answers on that business's behalf. Depending on its setup, the call record can include your phone number, the time and length of the call, a recording, a transcript and summary, and details you give, such as your name, address and postcode, the fault, boiler or appliance make and fault code, whether you are a homeowner, tenant, landlord or letting agent, access arrangements and your preferred day.
The business decides what Ava asks, who receives the information and how long it is kept, so it is the controller. AssistCall processes the information for the business under a data processing agreement agreed before activation. If you contact us about your call, we may pass your request to the business.
Two points we ask every business to follow:
- Vulnerable households. If you prioritise calls from older people, people with young children or people with health conditions, record a simple priority flag rather than health details. Health information is special category data under UK GDPR and needs an additional condition and extra care.
- Access details. Do not have Ava collect key safe codes, alarm codes or card details.
Call recording
Calls to a business's Ava number are recorded and transcribed so the business can review them. Callers must be told, so we recommend a recording notice in Ava's greeting and a line in the business's own privacy notice. The business should keep recordings only as long as it needs them and limit who can listen.
Cookies and similar technologies
- Demo session cookie (ava_demo): links your browser to your demo for up to 24 hours. It is strictly necessary for the demo you asked for.
- Site choice. When a page loads, your browser asks Cloudflare, which delivers and protects this site, which country your connection comes from. If it looks like you are in the United States, we show a note linking to the US site. The check happens in your browser. If you dismiss the note or choose a site, that choice is saved in your browser's local storage so we don't ask again; you can clear it at any time.
- These pages do not load advertising or Google Analytics scripts.
Who we share information with
We use service providers that process information on our behalf and only to provide their service: hosting and network security (including Cloudflare), telephony and voice processing, the Ava AI engine and the providers that run it, email delivery and, for customers, payment processing. They are bound by contracts that require them to protect it.
We do not sell personal information. We do not use call recordings to advertise to you or to callers.
International transfers
Starling Global is in the United States and some of our providers process information outside the UK. When personal information leaves the UK, UK GDPR requires a recognised safeguard, such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, the UK Addendum to the EU standard contractual clauses, or a recipient's certification under the UK extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. Using this website or a local phone number does not mean information is stored only in the UK. The safeguards for a live service are confirmed in the data processing agreement before activation. You can ask us for more information about them.
How long we keep information
- Demo profiles, chats and transcripts: up to 24 hours, or until you delete the demo.
- Booking and enquiry records: while we are in contact about your enquiry and for a reasonable period afterwards, to keep a record of what was discussed and agreed. Ask us and we will delete them sooner, unless we have to keep something for a legal reason.
- Customer call data: as set out in the business's data processing agreement and settings.
Your rights
Under UK GDPR you have the right to:
- access the personal information we hold about you;
- have it corrected;
- have it erased;
- restrict how we use it;
- object to how we use it, including an absolute right to object to direct marketing;
- receive it in a portable format where the law provides;
- withdraw consent where we rely on consent.
Ava does not make decisions about you that have legal or similarly significant effects. To use your rights, email [email protected]. We may ask you to confirm your identity, and we will respond within one month, or tell you if we need longer as the law allows.
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, please tell us first. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.
Security
We use encrypted connections, access controls and limits on who can see customer data. No online service is perfectly secure, so please tell us at once if you think something is wrong.
Children
This site and AssistCall are business services and are not aimed at children under 16.
Changes
We may update this notice as the service changes. We will change the effective date above and, for significant changes, tell customers by email.
Contact
Starling Global (AssistCall), 88-30 238th Street, Queens, NY 11426, United States · [email protected]