Privacy policy

Last updated: 2026-05-14

Status: Headcount Buddy is in early development. Features, data practices, and this policy may change as the service evolves. Material changes will be announced via the service info page and, where appropriate, via SMS.

Headcount Buddy (“we”, “us”) provides an SMS-based assistant that helps amateur sports teams coordinate RSVPs and headcount. This policy explains what data we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and how to control or remove it.

What we collect

When you (as a player or organizer) interact with Headcount Buddy, we collect:

• Phone number — the number you text us from, or the number an organizer enrolled for you.
• Display name — provided by your organizer when they add you, or the name you give us.
• Message content — the text of SMS messages you send to or receive from us.
• Consent state — when you opted in (START) and, if applicable, when you opted out (STOP).
• RSVP and attendance data — your responses to event invitations (yes, no, etc.) and any free-text notes you include.
• Team membership — which team(s) you belong to, and your role (organizer, player).

As the service evolves, we may collect additional data necessary to operate new coordination features. Any new data type will be documented in this policy before we begin collecting it, and material changes will be announced as described under “Changes to this policy” below.

We do not collect location data, payment information from players, or any data beyond what is necessary to operate the service.

How we use it

We use this data to:

• Send you SMS messages about your team’s events (only after you opt in by texting START).
• Track RSVPs and headcount for your organizer.
• Improve the quality of our automated responses through aggregated, de-identified analysis.

We do not use your data for advertising or sell it to third parties. We do not share or sell your phone number, your SMS opt-in/opt-out status, or any related consent data with third parties for marketing purposes. The only data sharing we do is operational, described in the next section.

Who we share it with

To operate the service, we share data with:

• Twilio, Inc. — our SMS delivery provider. Twilio sees the content and metadata of messages we send and receive on your behalf. See Twilio’s privacy policy at twilio.com/legal/privacy.
• Anthropic, PBC — provides the AI that generates message responses. Message content (yours and ours) is sent to Anthropic for processing. Anthropic does not train its models on this data per their commercial terms. See Anthropic’s privacy policy at anthropic.com/legal/privacy.
• Your team’s organizer(s) — organizers see their team’s roster, message history with their team, and RSVP state.

We do not share your data with anyone else. We do not share it for marketing purposes.

Retention

We keep your data for as long as you have an active relationship with a team on our service. After you opt out (STOP), we keep a record of your opt-out (phone number + opt-out timestamp) indefinitely so we don’t accidentally re-message you. If your team’s organizer stops using the service or deletes their team, we retain associated data for a reasonable transition period (typically 30 days) before deletion, in case the organizer wants to resume. We will delete other data on request — see “Your rights” below.

Your rights

You can:

• Opt out at any time by texting STOP to the team’s Headcount Buddy number.
• Request a copy of your data by emailing help@headcountbuddy.com.
• Request deletion of your data by emailing help@headcountbuddy.com.
• Get help by replying HELP or INFO to any message from us.

Security

We use industry-standard practices to protect your data: encrypted connections to all services, encrypted-at-rest databases, and limited access for the small number of people who operate the service. No system is perfectly secure; in the event of a breach affecting your data, we will notify you promptly.

Children

Headcount Buddy is not intended for players under 13. If you believe we have inadvertently collected data on someone under 13, contact us and we will delete it.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the service evolves. Material changes will be announced via the service info page and, where appropriate, via SMS.

Contact

help@headcountbuddy.com