Privacy Policy
Last updated: 17 October 2026
Open Envelope is a digital invitation service. This page explains what information we hold, why we hold it, and how to have it removed.
There are two kinds of people here, and the answers are different for each:
- Hosts create an account and send invitations.
- Guests receive an invitation. Guests never signed up for anything — a host entered their details so the invitation could reach them.
If you're a guest and you'd like your details removed, skip to Getting your information removed. You don't need the host's permission.
If you're a host
What we hold
- Your name and email address, from when you created your account.
- The events you create: titles, dates, locations, the wording you write, and any images you upload.
- Your guest list: the names, email addresses and phone numbers you enter.
- Basic records of what we sent and whether it arrived.
Why
To run the service you signed up for — building your invitation, delivering it, collecting replies, and showing you who has responded.
Your guest list
When you add someone to a guest list, you're telling us you have a reason to contact them. We only use those details to send that person your invitation and any reminders for your event. We don't contact your guests about anything else, we don't add them to any list of our own, and we don't sell or share guest details with anyone.
If you're a guest
What we hold
- Whatever the host entered: your name, and an email address or phone number.
- Your reply, if you send one, including anything you write in it and any additional guests you add.
- Basic technical information when you open your invitation — your approximate location from your IP address, your browser, and the time you opened it. This is how the page loads correctly and how the host knows their invitation arrived.
Why
So the host's invitation reaches you and your reply reaches them. That's all.
What we don't do
We don't email or text you about Open Envelope. We don't sell your details. We don't build a profile of you. Your details belong to the event you were invited to, and nothing else.
Texts
If you reply STOP to a text from us, we stop texting that number — for that event and every future one. Your invitation link keeps working, so you can still see the event and reply online.
Who else sees it
We use other companies to run parts of the service:
- a provider that delivers email
- a provider that delivers text messages
- a provider that hosts the site and stores the information
Each one receives only what it needs to do its job. If you'd like to know who they are, email us and we'll tell you.
We may use basic analytics to understand how the site is used. We don't use advertising trackers, we don't sell personal information, and we don't share it for advertising.
We may hand over information if the law requires it.
Where your information is held
Your information may be stored and processed in Canada, the United States, or other countries where our providers operate. Wherever it is held, this policy applies to it.
How long we keep it
- Event and guest information — until the host deletes the event, or 12 months after the event date, whichever comes first.
- Host accounts — until you close your account. We delete the account and its events within 30 days.
- Delivery records — 12 months, so we can tell you what happened to a message that didn't arrive.
Backups are overwritten on a rolling basis, so a deleted item can remain in a backup for up to 30 days after it disappears from the service.
Getting your information removed
Guests: email openenvelopeco@gmail.com from the address you were contacted on, or tell us the phone number. We'll remove you from that event and confirm when it's done. You don't need to contact the host, and we won't tell them who asked.
Hosts: delete an event to remove it and its guest list, or email openenvelopeco@gmail.com to close your account entirely.
You can also ask us what we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask for a copy. We'll respond within 30 days.
Security
Information is encrypted in transit and at rest. Access is limited to the people who need it to run the service. Invitation links are long and unguessable, and we ask search engines not to index them — but a link is a link, so anyone a guest forwards it to can open it.
Children
Open Envelope accounts are for adults. We don't knowingly let anyone under 16 create an account. A host may add a child's name to a guest list; if you'd like that removed, email us.
Changes
If we change this policy in a way that matters, we'll say so on this page and update the date at the top.
Contact
Open Envelope openenvelopeco@gmail.com
If you're in Canada and you're not satisfied with how we've handled a privacy question, you can contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.