Privacy policy

Who we are

Steward is an appointment-booking platform used by hair salons. This policy explains what information Steward Intelligence Company (“Steward,” “we,” “us”) collects when you book an appointment through a salon’s Steward booking page, and how we use and protect it.

When you book with a salon through Steward, both Steward and that salon process your information. The salon does so to provide your appointment, and Steward to operate the booking service on the salon’s behalf.

Information we collect

We collect information you give us when you book:

• Contact details. Your name, phone number, and email address.
• Appointment details. The service, stylist, date, and time you select, and any notes or reference photos you choose to add.
• Hair profile. The hair type and length you select, used to match you with a suitable stylist.
• Account activity. If you sign in as a returning client, we keep a record of your past appointments with that salon.

We also collect limited technical information automatically, such as your device type and a session identifier, to keep the booking page working and secure.

The Steward app for salon staff

Salons also give their stylists and front desk a Steward app for the phone. It is signed into with an account the salon sets up, and it works on the salon’s own records. If you are a client, the app shows your appointment and notes to the person who is looking after you, the same as the salon’s own desk does. If you use the app as staff, this is what it collects from you:

• Your account. The name and email address the salon set you up with, and an account identifier.
• Your device. The identifier iOS gives this installation, sent with each request by our sign-in provider so a session stays tied to the device you signed in on. It is not an advertising identifier and it does not follow you to other apps.
• Photos. Pictures you take or choose to attach to a visit, and images you add to your portfolio. They are stored with the salon’s records.
• Your voice, when you use it. Dictating a note is turned into text by Apple’s speech recognition on the device or by Apple, and we keep only the text. Talking to the agent sends your speech to our servers and on to the providers named below for the length of that session.
• What you write. Notes, formulas, and messages you enter in the app.

The app asks for permission before it uses the camera, the microphone, or speech recognition, and works without them if you say no. It does not track you across other apps or websites, and it does not use advertising or analytics services. Preferences such as which tab you last used stay on the phone.

The agent, and the providers behind it

Steward’s agent answers questions about the salon, and writes a first version of a reply to client feedback. It does not run on our own machines. What you type or say, together with the salon records an answer needs, such as a client’s name, their visits and the notes on their file, is sent to the providers that produce the answer.

• Anthropic and OpenAI. The models that write answers, briefs, and reply drafts.
• Google. A model used for spoken conversations.
• LiveKit. Carries the audio of a spoken session between the app and those models.
• ElevenLabs. Speaks the reply out loud.

They process it to produce the answer and act only on our instructions under their agreements with us. In the app, staff are asked before any of this is sent, the request names the providers, and the answer can be withdrawn at any time in settings. With it off, the agent stays off and nothing is sent to be answered. Nothing written for a client reaches them until a person has read it and sent it.

Taking payment at the salon

A salon can turn an iPad running Steward into a payment station at its desk. When you pay there, your card is read by the salon’s card reader and encrypted to our payment processor, Finix. Card numbers never reach the Steward app and we never store them. What we keep is what the salon needs for its own records: the amount, any tip, the service or product it was for, and whether the payment succeeded. The receipt is a page hosted by Finix, opened from a code on the screen.

The station also keeps a short technical trail, so a payment that stalled can be told apart from one that was never started: event names, times, and our own request identifiers. If the app stops unexpectedly while taking a payment, the shape of that failure, meaning the error type and which software was running, is sent to us on the next launch. Neither carries card details or anything a client typed.

How we use your information

We use the information above to:

• Create and manage your appointment.
• Send you appointment confirmations, reminders, reschedule and cancellation notices, and sign-in verification codes.
• Send occasional updates from the salon you booked with, such as a note when it has been a while since your last visit.
• Provide customer support and keep the service secure.

Text messages (SMS)

We send text messages only after you affirmatively check the SMS-consent box on the booking form. The box is unchecked by default; you must check it for your booking to go through. When you do, you agree to receive text messages related to your appointment: booking confirmations, reminders, reschedule and cancellation notices, post-visit follow-ups, sign-in codes, and occasional re-engagement messages from the salon you booked with. Message frequency varies based on your appointment activity. Message and data rates may apply.

You can opt out of text messages at any time by replying STOP to any message. Reply HELP for help. Opting out of text messages does not cancel your appointment.

No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. Text messaging originator opt-in data and consent are not shared with any third parties. Your phone number, SMS consent, and any related mobile information are used only to deliver the appointment-related messages described in this policy.

Staff use of Steward on the web

When salon owners and staff use Steward in a web browser, we measure how the product is used so we can fix problems and improve it. We record which pages are opened and which controls are used. Page addresses are reduced to the type of page, so no client or appointment can be identified from them. Our product analytics provider, PostHog, processes this for us.

We may also record staff sessions on the web to find and fix problems. Client details, everything typed, and every photo are hidden in these recordings before they leave the browser. Only the app's own menus can be read. None of this applies to the public booking page.

How we share information

We share your information only as needed to run the service:

• With the salon you booked with, so it can provide and manage your appointment.
• With service providers who operate parts of the platform for us: our SMS provider (Twilio), email provider (Resend), payment processors (Stripe, where a salon collects a deposit online, and Finix, where a salon takes payment on its own card reader), our sign-in provider (Clerk), our product analytics provider for staff use on the web (PostHog), our error monitoring provider (Sentry), the providers behind the agent named above (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, LiveKit, ElevenLabs), and our hosting and database providers. These providers may process your information only to perform services for Steward.
• When required by law, or to protect the rights, safety, or property of Steward, our salons, or their clients.

We do not sell your personal information.

How long we keep it

We keep your booking information for as long as the salon maintains its account with Steward and as needed to provide the service, resolve disputes, and meet legal obligations. You can ask us to delete your information using the contact details below.

When a salon leaves, we permanently delete its identifiable client and booking records from our active systems within thirty (30) days and confirm the deletion in writing. The only thing we retain is general, aggregated or de-identified learnings already built into our products and models, in a form that does not identify the salon or its clients. Because those learnings are part of how the product improves over time, they are not removed or reversed when a salon leaves. We do not retain identifiable client data after a salon leaves.

Data is “de-identified” when direct identifiers, such as name, email address, phone number, and street address, have been removed or obscured so that the data does not, on its own, reasonably identify an individual client.

Your choices

• Text messages. Reply STOP to any message to opt out.
• Access and correction. Contact us to review or correct the information we hold about you.
• Deletion. Contact us to request deletion of your information, subject to any legal retention requirements.

Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information, including encryption in transit and access controls that confine each salon’s data to that salon. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we work to protect your information and to address issues promptly if they arise.

Children

Steward’s booking service is intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If you believe someone under 18 has provided us information, contact us and we will delete it.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the effective date above. Material changes will be reflected on this page.

Contact us

Questions about this policy or your information? Email us at hello@viasteward.com.