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Collect.chat is a chatbot and conversational form widget added to websites to collect leads, bookings, and feedback through a chat style interface. It captures the answers visitors give, including names, emails, and any details they share, plus technical data like IP address, and it sets cookies to manage the conversation. Because it sets non essential cookies and is operated outside the EU, it requires prior consent under the GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive and can involve a transfer to a third country.
Collect.chat is a no code chatbot that adds a conversational form to your website to capture leads, schedule meetings, and gather feedback. Visitors answer a scripted chat instead of a static form, and the responses are stored in your Collect.chat account. When embedded, it loads a widget that runs in the visitor browser and sets cookies.
Collect.chat collects whatever the conversation asks for, which commonly includes names, email addresses, phone numbers, and free text answers, along with technical data such as IP address, device, and browser. It uses cookies to manage the chat session and to avoid showing the bot repeatedly. Because visitors enter personal data directly, the responses are personal data you control.
The widget sets non essential cookies and collects personal data through the conversation, so the ePrivacy Directive requires prior consent for the cookies and the GDPR requires a lawful basis and transparency for the data. Conversational forms can capture sensitive details, so prompts should avoid asking for more than you need. Collect.chat acts as your processor, so a data processing agreement is required.
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Obtain prior, opt in consent before the Collect.chat widget sets its cookies, and block it behind your consent banner. Tell visitors at the start of the conversation what data you collect and why, and avoid pre ticked or implied consent. Make consent specific and easy to withdraw.
Collect.chat is operated outside the European Union and may process data on infrastructure in the United States or other third countries, so its use can involve a transfer under Chapter V of the GDPR. Where that happens, transfers rely on Standard Contractual Clauses and a transfer impact assessment. Confirm with the provider where conversation data is stored.
To use Collect.chat compliantly, gate the widget behind consent, sign a data processing agreement, and confirm the data location and transfer safeguards. Keep conversation prompts minimal, avoid collecting sensitive data, and set retention limits for responses. List Collect.chat in your cookie policy and privacy notice and review its subprocessors periodically.
Websites using Collect.chat must obtain user consent under GDPR regulations.
DPIA considerations
Collect.chat captures personal data that visitors type directly into a conversational form, which can include contact details and free text, raising its risk profile. Key DPIA points: (1) collection of names, emails, and free text answers that may include sensitive information; (2) possible transfer of conversation data to the United States or other third countries, requiring SCCs and a transfer impact assessment; (3) non essential cookies that require consent before the widget runs; (4) the controller responsibility for what the chat is configured to ask; (5) the need for a data processing agreement, data minimisation, and retention limits. A DPIA is advisable where the bot collects sensitive or large volumes of personal data.
Sample consent text
We use Collect.chat to provide a chat style form for enquiries and bookings. With your consent, Collect.chat sets cookies and collects the answers you provide, such as your name and email, along with technical data like your IP address. This data may be processed outside the European Union under appropriate safeguards. You can withdraw your consent at any time via our cookie settings.
Third-party domains contacted
collect.chatapp.collect.chatwidget.collect.chatCookies placed
| Name | Type | Duration | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| collectchat_session | Functional | Session | Maintains the chat session so the conversation and submitted answers are recorded correctly. |
| collectchat_shown | Functional | 30 days | Remembers that the chatbot was already shown to avoid displaying it repeatedly. |
| collectchat_visitor | Analytics | 1 year | Stores a visitor identifier used to recognise returning visitors and attribute conversations. |
Collect.chat uses cookies for user preferences — inform visitors with a consent banner.
Collect.chat sets functional cookies to manage the chat session and remember whether the bot was already shown, and may set analytics cookies. The functional cookies keep the conversation working, while any non essential cookies require consent. The exact cookies depend on your configuration.
Yes for any non essential cookies, and you must be transparent about the personal data the conversation collects. Obtain prior, opt in consent before the widget sets non essential cookies, and tell visitors what data you gather and why at the start of the chat.
Non essential cookies rely on consent (Art. 6(1)(a)) and the ePrivacy Directive. Processing the answers a visitor submits usually relies on consent or legitimate interest depending on the purpose, for example handling an enquiry the visitor initiated.
It can. Collect.chat is operated outside the EU and may store conversation data on infrastructure in the United States or other third countries, which is a transfer under the GDPR. Confirm the data location and apply Standard Contractual Clauses and a transfer impact assessment where needed.
A DPIA is advisable if the bot collects sensitive information or large volumes of personal data. Assess what the conversation asks for, where the data is stored, the cookies set, and your retention periods.
Block the widget behind your consent banner, sign a data processing agreement, and confirm where data is stored. Keep prompts minimal, avoid asking for sensitive data, set retention limits, and document Collect.chat in your cookie policy and privacy notice.
Yes. EU based or self hosted chatbot and form tools can reduce cookies and third country transfers. A simple self hosted form, or an EU hosted conversational form service, gives more control over data location while collecting the same information.
Add a Collect.chat entry listing its functional and any analytics cookies, their purposes and durations, and the fact that conversation data may be processed outside the EU. Link to Collect.chat''s privacy notice and review the entry when its cookies or subprocessors change.