Overview
This page explains what data WPiko AI Chatbot and WPiko AI Chatbot Pro collect, where it’s stored, which outside services receive it, and how to remove it. Use it when writing your privacy policy.
Data Collected
- Chat messages between visitors, the AI and (Pro) human agents
- Name and email, if Email Capture (Pro) is on or the visitor is logged in
- Session ID and timestamps for each conversation
- Device type (desktop, tablet, mobile)
- Approximate location (Pro analytics), looked up from the visitor’s IP address
- Counters for User Limits and order lookup limits. User Limits counters are keyed by a salted hash of the visitor’s IP address (the IP itself isn’t stored) and are removed hourly once their limit window has ended.
- Contact form submissions (Pro), sent to the site admin by email
- Push notification subscriptions (Pro Mobile App), linked to your staff’s WordPress accounts
Where Data Is Stored
Your WordPress database
{prefix}wpiko_chatbot_conversations: messages, names, emails, session IDs, device type and location{prefix}wpiko_chatbot_conversation_meta: per-conversation status, such as live takeover state (Pro){prefix}wpiko_chatbot_system_instructions: your assistant instructions{prefix}wpiko_chatbot_qa: your Q&A Builder pairs (Pro){prefix}wpiko_chatbot_rate_limits: temporary User Limits counters (since 2.1.1)- Plugin settings in the options table, starting with
wpiko_chatbot_. The OpenAI API key is encrypted.
The visitor’s browser
- The current conversation: in session storage while the tab is open, or in local storage for 24 hours, 7 days or 30 days after the last message when Conversation Memory remembers it across visits (2.1.3+). It’s removed when the visitor starts a new chat or logs in or out. The open/closed state and unread count always stay in session storage.
- Name and email from Email Capture, and the sound on/off choice (local storage)
- Whether the Proactive Greeting was already shown
- The
wpiko_chat_sessioncookie (Pro): links the browser to its conversation on your server. 30 days; renewed with each message when conversations are remembered across visits.
Your OpenAI account
Knowledge files (Quick learn pages, uploaded documents, Scan Website and Q&A files, WooCommerce product files) are stored in your OpenAI vector store. OpenAI also processes each chat message to generate replies.
WooCommerce Orders
Since Pro 2.1.0, orders are never uploaded to OpenAI. With Order Assistance, an order is looked up in WooCommerce only when a customer asks. Guests receive basic status only after matching the order number and checkout email. Emails, addresses, customer IDs, payment details and order notes are never passed to the AI. Order files from older versions are removed from OpenAI automatically.
External Services
| Service | What is sent | When |
|---|---|---|
| OpenAI | Chat messages, conversation context, instructions, knowledge files | Every chat message and when you train the chatbot |
| IP-API.com (Pro) | The visitor’s IP address | When a conversation starts, for location analytics |
| Google reCAPTCHA (Pro) | Browser behavior signals | On the contact form, if reCAPTCHA is enabled |
| wpiko.com licensing (Pro) | License key and site address | When you activate or refresh the license |
| wpiko.com feedback | Your deactivation reason and basic setup info (email and site address only if you tick the box) | Only if you submit the optional form when deactivating |
Data Retention and Removal
- By default, conversations are kept until you delete them.
- Delete a conversation any time from Monitor → Conversations, for example when a visitor asks.
- Automatic cleanup (Pro) removes conversations older than 7 days to 1 year.
- When the plugin is deleted, settings and conversations are kept unless you turn on “Delete all WPiko AI Chatbot settings, conversations and logs” in Advanced → Debug Log → Plugin data. See Uninstalling and Removing Data.
- Knowledge files stay in your OpenAI account until you delete them in AI Settings → Model & Knowledge or in OpenAI.
Security Measures
- All communication with OpenAI happens on your server over HTTPS. The API key never reaches the browser.
- Visitor input is sanitized before storage, and messages and transcripts are escaped when displayed (hardened in 2.1.0).
- Chat requests are limited per IP and site-wide, and message and reply sizes are capped, so your OpenAI account can’t be run up by abuse (since 2.1.1). See User Limits.
- Admin actions check user permissions and WordPress nonces.
- Only administrators can view conversations in WordPress. With Pro, Live Agents can view and reply in the Mobile App.
For Your Privacy Policy
- Say that chat messages are processed by OpenAI to generate replies.
- Mention Email Capture, location lookup (IP-API) and reCAPTCHA if you use them.
- Say how long you keep conversations and how visitors can ask for deletion.
- If you remember conversations across visits, say how long they’re kept in the visitor’s browser. Conversation Memory has a sample sentence.
