Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

We may collect personal information from you in a variety of ways, including:

• Personal Identification Information: Name, email address, phone number, and physical address (both origin and destination) when you request a quote, book a shipment, or sign up for our “US Address” or “Personal Mail Center” services.
• Shipment Information: Details about the contents of your packages, declared value, and recipient information as required for shipping and customs clearance.
• Payment Information: Credit card details or other payment information, which are processed securely by our payment partners. We do not store your full payment card details on our servers.
• Technical Data: Information from your browser when you visit our site, such as your IP address, browser type, and pages visited, including through cookies and similar technologies described in Section 9.
• Location Data: If you use our delivery tracking app, we may collect your device’s location to provide delivery services.
• WhatsApp and Messaging Data: When you message us, or a client business’s WhatsApp bot that we operate, on WhatsApp: your phone number (or, where you have a WhatsApp username enabled, a business-scoped identifier Meta may send us in place of your number), name (as set on your WhatsApp profile), message content, voice notes, images, and order details you send through the chat.

2. WhatsApp Business Platform and Services We Provide for Client Businesses

We use the WhatsApp Business Platform, operated by Meta, to send and receive messages. Meta processes message content and phone numbers on our behalf as part of operating this platform. For most businesses outside the US, Canada, and Brazil, including Silk Road Express, the Processor under Meta’s Cloud API terms is Meta Platforms Ireland Limited; WhatsApp LLC applies to certain transactions outside the EEA. See Meta’s own privacy policy for how Meta handles that data on their end.

Our WhatsApp bots use AI, provided by Anthropic (Claude), to help generate replies and automate parts of our services.

In addition to our own shipping services, Silk Road Express builds and operates websites and WhatsApp bots for other businesses (“client businesses”), as the seller of this service to those businesses. For these client-business bots, the client business is responsible for its own customers’ and staff’s data as the controller of that data; we act on the client’s instructions in operating the bot. If you contact us about a client business’s bot, we will either forward your request to that business or handle it as they have instructed us to.

If you interact with one of these bots — whether you are staff at a client business using an admin bot, or a shopper/customer messaging a client’s customer-facing bot — we collect and process, on the client business’s behalf:

• Your phone number and name
• Message content, including voice notes and images you send
• Order details (items, quantities, delivery information) where the bot handles ordering

We process this data to operate the messaging service, order handling, and customer support that the client business has engaged us to provide. We do not use this data for our own marketing or any other purpose beyond what the client business has authorized.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide, operate, and maintain our Services.
• Process your transactions and manage your shipments.
• Communicate with you, including responding to inquiries, providing customer support, and sending shipping notifications, including by SMS.
• Manage your account for services like the “Personal Mail Center.”
• Operate WhatsApp-based messaging, ordering, and support on our own behalf and on behalf of client businesses.
• Comply with legal obligations, such as customs and import/export laws.
• Improve our website and services.

Where we ask you for information that is required to provide a service (for example, an address to ship to), we may not be able to complete that service if you choose not to provide it.

4. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell or rent your personal information. We may share your information with third parties only in the following circumstances:

• Shipping Partners: With carriers like DHL, UPS, and local delivery services to fulfill your shipment.
• Customs Authorities: With government agencies as required by law for import and export clearance.
• Service Providers: With third-party vendors who perform services on our behalf, such as payment processing and IT support.
• Meta / WhatsApp: Message content and phone numbers are processed by Meta Platforms Ireland Limited (or WhatsApp LLC, outside the EEA) as the operator of the WhatsApp Business Platform.
• AI Service Provider: Anthropic, whose Claude models help our WhatsApp bots generate replies and automate parts of our services.
• Website Hosting Provider: Our website is hosted by InMotion Hosting.
• Bot/App Server Host: Our WhatsApp bot and app services (app.silkroadxpress.com) run on a server rented from Contabo GmbH, in the European Union.
• SMS Provider: We send SMS notifications and offers through SMS4Free, an Israeli SMS gateway, which processes phone numbers and message text on our behalf.
• Google: We use Google Maps for delivery addresses and routing, and Google Workspace for internal records.
• Analytics and Site Tools: Our website uses Meta Pixel, Hotjar (session analytics), and Google reCAPTCHA, and runs Google Site Kit.
• Legal Requirements: If required to do so by law or in response to a valid legal request.

5. Data Security

We implement a variety of security measures to maintain the safety of your personal information. However, no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

6. Data Retention and Deletion

We retain personal information, including WhatsApp message content, phone numbers, and order data, only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy and as permitted or required under applicable law (for example, customs, tax, and accounting record-keeping obligations may require longer retention for certain records). Beyond that period, data is deleted or anonymized.

To request deletion of your personal data, contact us at customercare@silkroadxpress.com with your name and the phone number associated with your WhatsApp conversation. We will action deletion requests within 30 days, except where we are legally required to retain certain records.

7. Your Data Protection Rights

You have the right to access your personal information and to request correction of inaccurate data, as set out in Israel’s Privacy Protection Law. As our primary operations are in Israel, we comply with local data protection laws. To make a request regarding your personal data, please contact us.

You may opt out of marketing SMS messages at any time by contacting us at customercare@silkroadxpress.com.

8. International Data Transfers

Some of our service providers process data outside of Israel. This includes: Meta/WhatsApp (Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, and WhatsApp LLC outside the EEA); Anthropic, our AI service provider; our website host, InMotion Hosting (United States); our bot/app server host, Contabo GmbH (European Union); and Google, for Maps and Workspace.

9. Cookies and Tracking

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies, including Meta Pixel, Hotjar, and Google reCAPTCHA. You can choose to set your web browser to refuse cookies, but this may cause some parts of the site to not function properly.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the “Last updated” date. We encourage you to review this page periodically for any changes.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:

Email: customercare@silkroadxpress.com
Address: Hillel St 13, Jerusalem, 9423001, Israel