Section 01Introduction
Ardena Consulting (“Ardena,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) builds AI infrastructure and automation systems for service businesses. We take privacy seriously, and this policy describes how we handle information about you when you visit our website, request a strategy call, download a resource, or otherwise interact with us.
This policy is written to comply with the relevant data protection laws of the jurisdictions where we operate, including the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the United Kingdom's UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018, the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CCPA/CPRA), and other applicable state and national privacy laws in the United States and Europe.
By using ardenaconsult.com or engaging Ardena's services, you agree to the practices described in this policy. If you do not agree with any part of this policy, please do not use our website or services.
Section 02Information We Collect
We collect information in three ways: directly from you, automatically when you use our website, and from third-party sources where permitted.
2.1 Information you give us
When you fill out a form, book a strategy call, download a resource, request a quote, or otherwise contact us, you may provide:
- Contact information — name, email address, phone number, business name, business website, country, and time zone.
- Booking and intake details — what you'd like to discuss on a strategy call, your industry, your current operational bottlenecks, and any qualifying answers you provide before a meeting.
- Engagement information — if you become a client, we collect the information required to scope, build, and operate the systems we deliver, including access credentials to systems you authorize us to integrate with.
- Communications — emails, SMS messages (sent only after you opt in to receive them — see Section 04 on SMS / Text Messaging Communications), meeting notes, and call recordings. Where calls are recorded — including calls placed to our AI Voice Receptionist demo line at (512) 817-2003 and calls placed to our main business line at (972) 853-5893 — you will be notified at the start of the call and continuing the call constitutes your consent to the recording, the related transcript, and the uses described in Section 04 (SMS & Voice Communications) and Section 4.8.
- Billing information — if you engage us as a paying client, the information needed to process invoices and payments. We do not store full payment card details on our systems; card processing is handled by our payment processor.
2.2 Information collected automatically
When you visit our website, certain information is collected automatically by our hosting platform and analytics services:
- Device and browser information — IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device type, and screen resolution.
- Usage information — pages visited, the order of those pages, time spent on each page, links clicked, scroll depth, and referring URL.
- Cookies and similar technologies — see Section 07 for details.
- Marketing attribution — UTM parameters and ad-platform click identifiers (such as fbclid or gclid) that tell us which campaign or referral source brought you to our site.
2.3 Information from third parties
We may receive information about you from third parties, such as:
- Publicly available business directories and professional networks (e.g., to verify a company you've told us you work for).
- Referrals from existing clients or partners.
- Service providers who help us run our business — such as our calendar, email, CRM, and analytics providers — which deliver information related to your interactions with us through those tools.
Section 03How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect for the purposes described below. The table summarizes the most common uses.
| Purpose | What this means in practice |
|---|---|
| Respond to you | Answer your enquiries, schedule strategy calls, send meeting confirmations and reminders, and follow up on conversations you've started. |
| Deliver our services | Scope, build, deploy, and operate the AI systems and automations we agree to build for clients. This includes configuring the tools needed to run those systems on your behalf. |
| Improve the website | Understand how visitors use our site so we can improve content, structure, performance, and conversion paths. |
| Send relevant communications | Send you content you've opted in to receive (such as a downloaded resource and its follow-up sequence) and, where permitted, occasional updates about Ardena's services. You can unsubscribe at any time. |
| Marketing & attribution | Measure which marketing channels produce qualified leads so we can spend our marketing budget responsibly. Personalize content where appropriate. |
| Run our business | Invoice clients, keep records required by tax and accounting law, and manage internal operations. |
| Stay compliant & secure | Comply with applicable laws, respond to lawful requests from authorities, protect our rights and the rights of others, and detect or prevent fraud and abuse. |
We do not use your information for automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects on you without human involvement.
Section 04SMS / Text Messaging Communications
4.1 Types of SMS messages you may receive
If you provide your phone number on a form at ardenaconsult.com, call our AI Voice Receptionist demo line, or otherwise opt in, you may receive the following types of SMS messages from Ardena Consulting:
- Lead response confirmations following form submission
- Strategy call and demo call booking confirmations
- Appointment reminders prior to scheduled calls
- Post-call follow-up messages including calendar links and next steps
- Service-related updates regarding your inquiry or active engagement
4.2 How you opt in
You opt in to receive SMS messages from Ardena Consulting in one of two ways: (a) by submitting a form on ardenaconsult.com that includes a phone number field and an unchecked-by-default consent checkbox; or (b) by calling our AI Voice Receptionist demo line at (512) 817-2003 and providing verbal consent during the call to receive a follow-up text, as described in Section 4.8. The checkbox includes specific TCPA-compliant consent language disclosing that by providing your phone number and checking the box, you consent to receive SMS messages from Ardena Consulting. Consent is not a condition of purchase. Your consent and the timestamp of consent are recorded in our customer relationship management system.
4.3 Message frequency
Message frequency varies based on your engagement with Ardena Consulting. You may receive an immediate confirmation message following form submission, additional messages tied to booked calls or service inquiries, and periodic follow-up messages. Typical frequency does not exceed several messages per week unless you have actively scheduled a call or are in an active engagement.
4.4 Message and data rates
Message and data rates may apply. Standard messaging rates from your wireless carrier apply to all SMS messages you send and receive. Ardena Consulting does not charge you for sending or receiving SMS messages. Wireless carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
4.5 How to opt out
You may opt out of receiving SMS messages from Ardena Consulting at any time. To opt out, reply to any message with the keyword STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, or QUIT. After opting out, you will receive a final confirmation message and no further SMS messages from Ardena Consulting unless you opt back in by replying START.
4.6 How to get help
For SMS support, reply to any message with the keyword HELP or INFO. You may also email [email protected] or call (972) 853-5893 for assistance.
4.7 No sharing of phone numbers for marketing
Phone numbers and SMS opt-in consent data collected by Ardena Consulting are NOT shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. Phone numbers are used solely for the purposes described in this section.
4.8 AI Voice Receptionist demo line — data we collect
When you call our AI Voice Receptionist demo line at (512) 817-2003, the demo is a live, production-grade interaction with one of our AI voice agents. You will hear a clear recording notice at the start of the call, and continuing the call after that notice constitutes your consent to the practices described in this Section 4.8.
4.8.1 What we collect on a demo call. When you call the demo line we may collect: (a) the inbound phone number you call from (captured automatically by carrier signaling); (b) the full two-way audio recording of the call; (c) an automated transcript of the recording; (d) any first name, business name, mobile number, or other information you voluntarily provide to the AI agent during the conversation; (e) any voicemail you leave if the call is not answered; (f) call metadata such as date, time, duration, and caller location at the area-code level; and (g) any SMS opt-in or opt-out response you send in reply to follow-up text messages.
4.8.2 How we use demo-call data. Demo-call data is used to: (i) demonstrate the AI Voice Receptionist product to you; (ii) follow up by SMS or email if you agree to receive follow-up on the call; (iii) evaluate, debug, and improve the AI voice agent's performance, scripts, and conversation quality; (iv) train, fine-tune, and improve the underlying AI models used by Ardena, where audio and transcripts may be reviewed by Ardena personnel or contractors bound by confidentiality (such reviews are conducted on anonymized or pseudonymized data where reasonably possible); (v) protect against abuse, fraud, and misuse of the demo line; and (vi) record our compliance with applicable telephone-consumer-protection laws and carrier requirements.
4.8.3 Marketing follow-up. If, during the demo call, you give verbal consent for the AI agent to text you a link to schedule a strategy call (or otherwise opt in to receive follow-up), Ardena Consulting will send transactional and promotional SMS and/or email messages to you about our services. You can opt out at any time by replying STOP to any SMS, by emailing [email protected], or by using the channels in Section 15. Opting out does not affect the lawfulness of messages sent before you opted out.
4.8.4 Legal basis for processing demo data. Ardena Consulting collects and processes demo-call data on the basis of (a) your consent, given by continuing the call after the recording notice and by any further verbal consent you provide during the call; (b) our legitimate interests in demonstrating, evaluating, and improving our AI products, and in marketing our services to people who have shown interest by calling the demo line; and (c) where applicable, performance of pre-contractual steps taken at your request. EEA, UK, and Swiss callers should also see Section 05.
4.8.5 Retention. Demo-call recordings, transcripts, and metadata are retained for up to twenty-four (24) months from the date of the call, after which they are deleted or anonymized, unless a longer retention period is required by law or to resolve a dispute. Aggregate, anonymized, or de-identified data derived from demo calls may be retained indefinitely for product-improvement and analytics purposes.
4.8.6 Your rights. You can request a copy of your demo-call recording, transcript, or related data, request its correction, or request its deletion at any time, by contacting us through Section 15 (Contact Us). California residents may also exercise the rights described in Section 11.2 (California Residents). If you do not consent to the practices in this Section 4.8, please do not call the demo line.
4.9 Your rights regarding SMS
You have the right to withdraw consent to SMS messages at any time. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of any messages sent before withdrawal. To request access, correction, or deletion of SMS consent records, contact us using the channels in Section 15 (Contact Us).
Section 05Legal Basis (EEA, UK & Switzerland)
If you are located in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, GDPR requires us to identify a lawful basis for each way we use your personal information. We rely on the following bases:
- Performance of a contract — when you engage us as a client, or when we take steps at your request before entering into a contract (such as scoping a project on a strategy call).
- Legitimate interests — running and improving our website and business, marketing our services to people who have shown interest, protecting against fraud and abuse, and similar activities, provided your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests.
- Consent — for activities that require it under applicable law, such as sending you marketing emails where consent is required, and setting non-essential cookies. You can withdraw consent at any time.
- Legal obligation — when we need to use or retain information to comply with tax, accounting, or other legal requirements.
If you have questions about the legal basis we rely on for any specific processing activity, contact us using the details in Section 15.
Section 08Data Retention
We retain personal information for as long as we need it for the purposes described in this policy, and then for any additional period required by law. The actual retention period depends on the type of information, the relationship you have with us, and the legal obligations that apply. As a general guide:
- Prospects who have not become clients — generally retained while there is an active business interest in following up, and then archived or deleted when that interest ends or when you ask us to remove your information.
- Clients — for the duration of the engagement and for a reasonable period afterwards to support warranty, dispute resolution, and tax and accounting requirements.
- Marketing subscribers — for as long as you are subscribed and a short follow-up period after you unsubscribe so we can honor your unsubscribe request.
- Website analytics — kept for the default retention period set by the analytics provider, after which the data is aggregated or anonymized.
- Records required by law — for the period required by tax, accounting, or other applicable legal requirements, regardless of the categories above.
You can ask us at any time how long we expect to keep specific information about you and request earlier deletion where applicable law permits. When information is no longer needed, we delete it or de-identify it so that it can no longer reasonably be associated with you.
Section 09Data Security
We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. These include encryption of data in transit, access controls on internal systems, vendor due diligence, and ongoing security review.
No system is completely secure, however, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. You also play an important role in keeping your information safe — please use strong, unique passwords for any accounts you create with us or with our service providers, and be careful about the information you share over email and other channels.
If we ever become aware of a personal data breach that creates a meaningful risk to you, we will notify you and the relevant regulators as required by law.
Section 10International Data Transfers
Ardena is based in the United States and serves clients in the United States and Europe. Some of the service providers we use to operate the website and deliver our services are also located in, or transfer data to, the United States or other countries.
If you are located in the EEA, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, please note that transfers of personal information to the United States or other countries outside your region may be subject to additional safeguards. We rely on legally recognized transfer mechanisms — such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses, the UK International Data Transfer Addendum or the UK Addendum to the EU SCCs, and, where appropriate, your explicit consent — to make these transfers in a way that protects your rights.
You can request more information about the specific safeguards in place for any particular transfer by contacting us using the details in Section 15.
Section 11Your Privacy Rights
Subject to applicable law, you have a number of rights regarding the personal information we hold about you. The rights available to you depend on where you live.
11.1 If you are in the EEA, United Kingdom, or Switzerland (GDPR)
You have the right to:
- Access — request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
- Rectification — ask us to correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete.
- Erasure — ask us to delete your personal information in certain circumstances.
- Restriction — ask us to restrict how we use your information while we investigate a complaint or request.
- Data portability — receive certain information in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format, and ask us to transmit it to another controller where technically feasible.
- Object — object to our use of your information based on legitimate interests, including for direct marketing.
- Withdraw consent — where we rely on consent, withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.
- Lodge a complaint — with your local supervisory authority. We would, however, appreciate the chance to address your concerns first — please contact us.
11.2 If you are a California resident (CCPA / CPRA)
You have the right to:
- Know what personal information we have collected about you, the categories of sources, the business or commercial purpose for collecting it, and the categories of third parties with whom we share it.
- Access a copy of the specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you.
- Correct inaccurate personal information.
- Delete personal information we have collected, subject to certain exceptions.
- Limit the use of sensitive personal information to what is necessary to provide the goods or services you've requested.
- Opt out of sale or sharing of personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. As described in Section 06, we do not sell your personal information for money, but some of our website analytics and advertising activities may qualify as “sharing” under CCPA/CPRA. You can opt out at any time by clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” link in our website footer, by enabling the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal in your browser, or by emailing us at [email protected].
- Non-discrimination — we will not discriminate against you for exercising any of these rights.
You may designate an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf. We will need to verify the agent's authority and your identity before responding.
11.3 Other US state residents
If you are a resident of Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Texas, or another US state with a comprehensive consumer privacy law, you may have rights similar to those listed above, including the rights to access, correct, delete, obtain a portable copy of, and opt out of certain processing of your personal information. We will honor those rights as required by applicable state law.
11.4 How to exercise your rights
To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in Section 15. We may need to verify your identity before responding to make sure we are sharing information with the right person. We will respond within the timeframes required by applicable law, typically 30 days for GDPR requests and 45 days for CCPA requests (subject to extensions allowed by law).
Section 12Children's Privacy
Our website and services are not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16 years of age (or the equivalent minimum age in the relevant jurisdiction). If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will take appropriate steps to delete it.
Section 13Third-Party Links
Our website may contain links to third-party websites, services, or resources that are not operated or controlled by Ardena. This policy does not apply to those third parties. We recommend that you review the privacy policies of any third-party site you visit before providing them with personal information.
Section 14Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, our services, or applicable law. When we make a change, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. If the change is material, we will provide a more prominent notice — for example, by posting a notice on the website or by emailing you where we have your email address.
We encourage you to review this page periodically to stay informed about how we handle personal information.
Section 15Contact Us
If you have any questions about this policy, want to exercise a privacy right, or want to raise a concern about how we handle your information, please get in touch using any of the channels below. We will do our best to respond promptly.
Get in touch about privacy
Email is the fastest way to reach us about a privacy question or request. Please put “Privacy Request” in the subject line so we can route it to the right person.
Representative for the EEA / UK
Where required under Article 27 of the EU GDPR and the UK GDPR, we will appoint a representative in the European Union and the United Kingdom. If a representative has been appointed for your region, their contact details will be listed here. Until then, EEA, UK, and Swiss residents may contact us directly using the channels above for all privacy matters.
For EEA, UK, and Swiss residents: you may also contact your local data protection authority if you believe your rights have been violated. We would appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns directly before you do so.