Text Free: Calling & Texting

"App Data can include: IP addresses... location information... Please keep in mind that some of that information, such as specific geo-location information, passes to Advertising Companies and may not be retained by us."

Pinger collects device geo-location data and shares it with advertising companies, with the company noting it may not even retain control over this data once shared.

"App Data can include: IP addresses, domain servers, referring/exit pages, operating system information, unique device identifiers, such as UDID and/or Ethernet MAC address, date/time stamp, clickstream data... type of device, location information, age, gender, type of web browser, one or more cookies that identify your browser, and telecommunications carrier information."

Pinger collects a broad range of device identifiers including UDID, MAC address, IMEI, carrier information, and other device data beyond what is necessary for a messaging app.

"We use analytics tools provided by Google, Facebook, Flurry, adjust, braze and Crashlytics ("Analytics Tools") which also use Tags to collect and analyze information about your use of our desktop and mobile applications. We use Analytics Tools to collect App Data, which we use as provided above. That information is also used by the Analytics Tools providers according to their privacy policies."

Pinger embeds multiple third-party SDKs (Google, Facebook, Flurry, Adjust, Braze, Crashlytics) that independently collect data from users' devices and use it according to their own privacy policies.

"In some Apps we use Google Signals, which is an extension to Google Analytics. If you have enabled personalized ads in your Google account, then Google Signals allows us access to data linked to your Google account for advertising reports, remarketing, cross-device reporting, and interest and demographic reports, and to use that data for cross-device remarketing."

Pinger uses Google Signals to track users across multiple devices, linking activity to Google accounts for cross-device remarketing and demographic profiling.

"Registration Information: Email, Name, Phone Number, Password, Mobile Carrier Identifier, IP address — Duration of Retention: Indefinitely. Message Content: Text messages you send and receive, Voicemails — Duration of Retention: Indefinitely for active account and 6 months for inactive accounts."

Pinger retains registration information, survey data, identifiers, and account attributes indefinitely. Text messages and voicemails are also kept indefinitely for active accounts with no stated maximum retention period.

"Pinger reserves the right, at our discretion, to change, update or modify this Privacy Policy at any time by posting such change, update or modification on the Pinger website and in the app stores. Any such change, update or modification will be effective immediately upon notice... Your continued use of the Pinger website and/or any Pinger products and services following the posting of changes will mean you accept those changes."

Pinger can change its privacy policy at any time with immediate effect, and continued use is treated as acceptance of the new terms without requiring explicit consent.

"If you still want us to delete your personal information, you have to send us a verified request for us to do so. As with information requests, the only way for us to verify who you are is for you to log in and contact us using our Apps... Please note that the CCPA includes a number of exceptions that allow us to retain your personal data despite your deletion request, so we may retain your personal data under those exceptions."

Account deletion requires logging in and contacting support through the app — there is no self-service deletion option. Pinger also warns that data may be retained despite deletion requests under broad CCPA exceptions.

"When you purchase a TextFree Plus subscription, we don't provide your personal information to Advertising Companies, but you have to maintain that subscription in order to continue using TextFree Plus because other versions of TextFree use your personal information for advertising purposes. If you cancel or let the TextFree Plus subscription lapse, then your personal information will be used for advertising in the TextFree Apps and, by allowing the subscription to lapse, you are expressly consenting to our use of your personal information for advertising."

The only way to opt out of data selling is through a paid subscription, and if users cancel or let it lapse, they automatically consent to having their data sold for advertising — a coercive design that ties privacy to ongoing payment.