Encrypted in the database
SIP password, IMAP/SMTP passwords, Google token, MCP credential, softphone password — AES-256-GCM, ENCRYPTION_KEY outside the database, a random IV for every record.
Resources · Security and GDPR
GDPR compliant Phone agent: where the data lives and who has access. No buzzwords.
Kolio is a GDPR compliant Phone agent for businesses: database and telephony in the European Union, SIP and email credentials encrypted with AES-256-GCM, access limited by roles and scoped API keys, and only instructions, knowledge base and conversation text sent to the language model. No audio is stored; transcripts and contacts in the CRM are yours to export or delete.
7 days free · no credit card · export and delete at any time
By the Kolio team · updated
01 · Locations
Where does AI agent data go with Kolio?
Kolio AI agent data flows through four parts: the application on Vercel, a Neon PostgreSQL database in Frankfurt, the telephony bridge on a Vultr server in Frankfurt, and the language model via OpenRouter.
Contacts, conversations, appointments, the knowledge base and settings are stored in the database in the European Union (region eu-central-1, Frankfurt); every row carries the customer account's ID and no query reaches beyond it, so one company's data is separated from another's. Telephony (Asterisk and the voice bot) runs on a dedicated server in Frankfurt, where the call is transcribed live — no audio recording is stored. The application itself runs on Vercel: the edge network also responds from Frankfurt, while serverless functions and attachment storage (Vercel Blob) are in region iad1 in the USA. Soniox converts speech to text and back, and the model composes answers via OpenRouter — both receive only what a single answer requires. How it works in practice is described on How it works.
Customer
Phone · web · email
Speech or conversation text. Audio goes to live transcription; no recording is created.
Kolio
Application · database · telephony
Application on Vercel; Neon database in Frankfurt (EU); Asterisk and voice bot on a server in Frankfurt (EU). Every row carries the account ID.
Your systems
Calendar · CRM · MCP / API
Kolio reads and writes only within the permissions and scopes you set. MCP is read-only by default.
Language model
Via OpenRouter
Receives instructions, knowledge base, conversation text and tool results. Never receives credentials, audio or attachments.
| Data | Processed where | Stored where | Does the model see it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Call audio | Soniox (live transcription) via the telephony bridge in Frankfurt | not stored — only the transcript remains | no — the model receives text |
| Conversation text (phone, web, email) | Vercel + model via OpenRouter | database in Frankfurt (EU), on the CRM contact | yes — the current conversation and its summary |
| Contact: name, phone, email | Vercel | database in Frankfurt (EU) | only what the customer says in the conversation or a tool returns (e.g. an appointment) |
| Instructions, knowledge base, service list | Vercel | database in Frankfurt (EU), versioned | yes — as system instructions with every answer |
| Credentials: SIP, IMAP/SMTP, Google token, MCP | Vercel (decrypted right before use) | database in Frankfurt, encrypted AES-256-GCM | never |
| Attachments (images, PDF) | Vercel (content inspection, images re-encoded) | Vercel Blob (region iad1, USA), path with a random ID | no — only name, type and size |
| Data from your systems (MCP, API) | your system → Vercel | not stored — only the result the agent says remains in the transcript | yes — a sanitised tool result, at most 600 characters |
Locations verified on 14 Sep 2026: Neon eu-central-1, Vultr Frankfurt, Vercel functions and Blob iad1.
02 · Language model
What goes to the language model — and what does not?
Kolio sends the language model exactly three things: the company's instructions and knowledge base, the text of the current conversation, and the results of tools the model calls (free slots from the Calendar, the service list, a record from your system).
It does not send audio, credentials, the whole CRM or attachment contents — for an attachment it sees only the file name, type and size. After a call the same model writes a structured summary for the CRM; in the Email agent it drafts a reply that your team reviews in “test” mode. Requests go through OpenRouter with reasoning disabled to a model chosen by Kolio (an OpenAI model by default). Kolio trains no models of its own and does not use your conversations for training; processing at the model provider is governed by its terms. Results from external MCP tools are cleaned before they reach the model: hidden instructions and markers are stripped and the text is truncated.
Sent to the model
- Agent instructions and the condensed knowledge base (active version)
- Service list and today's date in the company's time zone
- Text of the current conversation (who said what)
- Tool results: free slots, the customer's existing appointments, a record from your system
Never sent to the model
- Call audio — the model works with text
- Passwords, SIP and email credentials, tokens, API keys
- The whole CRM or a list of all contacts
- Attachment contents — only file name, type and size
03 · Encryption
Credential encryption: AI call center data security
AI call center data security in Kolio starts with credentials: the SIP account password, the IMAP and SMTP mailbox passwords, the Google token for Gmail, the MCP server credential and the softphone password are stored encrypted with AES-256-GCM (the key lives outside the database) and are decrypted only right before use.
User passwords are never stored: only a salted scrypt hash is kept. API keys (kolio_sk_…) exist in the database only as a SHA-256 hash plus the first characters for display — you see the full key once, when it is issued. The database connection runs over TLS, the application only over HTTPS, the softphone over WSS with a Let's Encrypt certificate, and audio over DTLS-SRTP. Attachments pass content inspection (magic bytes): images are re-encoded and lose EXIF data, PDFs without scripts are always offered as a download and never opened inside the application — more in the Web agent, where visitors attach files.
Hash only, never the original
User passwords: salted scrypt. API keys: SHA-256 hash + first characters for display. Password-setup link: hash only, valid 7 days, shown once.
Encrypted in transit
HTTPS for the application, TLS to the database (sslmode=require), WSS for the softphone with a Let's Encrypt certificate, DTLS-SRTP for audio. Browsers reject self-signed certificates — so there are none.
04 · Access
AI agent data security by access: roles, permissions and scoped API keys
Access to data in Kolio is defined on three levels.
Every row is bound to a customer account (tenant) and there is no query outside that boundary — the same boundary applies to the Kolio team. A member of your team has a role (owner, admin, agent) and a chosen set of 13 permissions — contacts, tasks, appointments, call center and transcripts, knowledge base, settings, users, subscription and more; the menu shows only what the member may use. An API key or MCP connector receives scopes (contacts:read, bookings:write …) that never exceed the permissions of the member who issued it — checked at issue time and on every call. Sending email (email:write) is not in the default MCP connector scope set and must be enabled explicitly. When Kolio itself calls your systems via MCP or API, it is read-only by default: writing requires the “full” policy and an explicitly enabled tool. Every change is logged in the audit trail: who, what, when and from which source (admin, call, API, system).
Customer account (tenant)
One database, but every business table carries the account ID. A query without it does not exist; a wrong or ambiguous dialled number rejects the call (409) instead of assigning it to another company.
Team member
The owner has every permission; admins and agents get them individually (13 keys). The owner creates new members; each sets a password via a one-time link valid for 7 days.
Integrations
Scoped API keys and MCP connectors bound to the issuer's permissions; revoke at any time. The audit trail shows the action as “api:<key name>”. Kolio as a client: read-only by default, tool allowlist empty.
05 · Retention, export, deletion
Retention, export, deletion: how does Kolio implement GDPR (Art. 15–17)?
A customer's request for access, rectification or erasure (GDPR Articles 15–17) is handled inside Kolio by you, without a support ticket: in Settings → GDPR you export the account's personal data as JSON (contacts, appointments, conversations with an attachment list), permanently delete a contact, or run a cleanup of transcripts older than a chosen number of days.
Deleting a contact permanently removes its personal data and every attachment (file and record); conversations and appointments remain without a link to the person and are deleted at the end of the retention period or by manual cleanup. Automatic retention runs every night: conversations with transcripts and email with attachments are deleted after the plan period (trial 30, Starter 180, Growth 720 days; Custom no automatic deletion) or after a shorter period you set yourself, the audit trail after 730 days, orphaned attachments after 24 hours. No audio recordings are created, so there is nothing to delete. Customer details are corrected in the CRM like any other record.
| Data | Default period | What you can do yourself |
|---|---|---|
| Call audio recording | not stored | — (only a transcript is created) |
| Conversation transcripts and summaries (calls, web chats) and email | by plan: 30, 180 or 720 days, then automatic deletion (Custom: none) | shorter retention period in Settings → GDPR (min(plan, your period) applies) |
| Contacts, appointments, tasks | until deleted | permanent contact deletion with attachments (right to erasure); JSON export |
| Attachments (images, PDF) | as long as the message or contact they belong to; orphans after 24 hours | deleted together with the contact |
| Audit trail (who changed what) | 730 days, then automatic deletion | cleanup with a shorter period in Settings → GDPR |
| API key | until revoked | revoke at any time; only a SHA-256 hash is stored |
| Password-setup link | 7 days | the owner issues a new one |
The retention period for conversations and email is set by the plan (30/180/720 days); the account can only shorten it in Settings → GDPR, never extend it. The 730-day audit trail period is a platform default.
06 · Informing customers
How do you inform customers about the AI agent and the transcript?
The duty to inform customers about the AI agent and data processing stays with the business, and Kolio makes it practical: how the agent introduces itself (name, role, disclosure that it is an AI) is written in the instructions, and for the website widget and the softphone you add the notice to your own privacy policy.
Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (the AI Act) requires in Article 50 that people are informed when they interact with an AI system — the provision applies from 2 August 2026. According to Salesforce, 72% of customers say it is important to know whether they are talking to an AI. Kolio stores no audio recordings, only a transcript; for the softphone, where your team leads the conversation, transcription can be switched off in Settings → Telephony.
- 72%
- of customers say it is important to know whether they are communicating with an AI agentSource: Salesforce, State of the AI Connected Customer
- Art. 50
- of the AI Act requires that a person is informed they are interacting with an AI system — applies from 2 Aug 2026Source: Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 — EUR-Lex
- 0
- audio recordings: Kolio does not record calls; a transcript is created during the call and a summary after it — both on the CRM contact
07 · Data processing agreement
Phone agent DPA (data processing agreement)
The phone agent DPA (data processing agreement under Article 28 GDPR) for Kolio is in preparation; until it is published, customers receive it on request via the Contact page.
It contains the list of sub-processors in the table below and the measures on this page. Kolio holds no ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certification and does not claim one — every measure on this page can be verified in a conversation with us or in the settings during the trial. The general terms are on Terms of Service; the processing of kolio.si visitor data is described in the Privacy Policy. Businesses that need their own instance, their own telephony and their own sub-processor agreements get a dedicated Kolio.
| Provider | What it processes | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Neon | PostgreSQL database: contacts, conversations, appointments, knowledge base, settings | eu-central-1, Frankfurt (EU) |
| Vultr | telephony bridge: Asterisk, voice bot, SIP trunks | Frankfurt (EU) |
| Vercel | application and serverless functions; attachments in Blob storage | functions and Blob in region iad1 (USA); edge network also in Frankfurt |
| OpenRouter → model provider | agent answers, conversation summaries, email drafts (an OpenAI model by default) | USA |
| Soniox | speech to text and text to speech for phone calls and the softphone | per the provider's terms |
| Resend | Kolio's transactional email: account confirmation and new-task notifications to your team | per the provider's terms |
| Your email provider (IMAP/SMTP or Gmail) | reading and sending mail from your own mailbox | your choice |
Where we could not verify a location in our own infrastructure, we do not state one — the provider's terms apply.
Definition
Kolio is a GDPR compliant Phone agent for businesses that talks to your customers by phone, web and email from your own data: it keeps contacts, conversations and appointments in a database in the European Union, encrypts credentials, limits access with roles and scoped API keys, and sends the language model only what a single answer requires.
How to fulfil a request
How do you fulfil a customer's erasure request in Kolio in three steps?
An erasure request (right to be forgotten) is fulfilled inside Kolio by you, in minutes — no support ticket.
01 Find the contact in the CRM and check what is linked to it
The contact card shows conversations, appointments, tasks and attachments. The contact ID is in the page address.
02 Export the data if needed, then delete the contact
Settings → GDPR: the “Export (JSON)” button for export, the “Contact ID” field and “Delete contact” for permanent deletion with attachments.
03 Clean up transcripts and confirm to the customer
To remove the anonymised transcripts as well, run a cleanup with a short period. Reply to the customer from your own mailbox.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Phone agent security and GDPR
Does the Kolio Phone agent record calls?
The Kolio Phone agent does not record calls and stores no audio. A transcript is created during the call (who said what and when) and a structured summary after it; both live on the CRM contact of the business, where your team can export or permanently delete them.
Where is the conversation transcript stored?
Kolio stores the conversation transcript in a Neon PostgreSQL database in region eu-central-1 (Frankfurt, European Union), bound to the customer account and to the CRM contact. It is deleted after the plan period (30, 180 or 720 days); the account sets a shorter period itself in Settings → GDPR.
Which model provider answers, and where is the data processed?
Kolio Phone agent answers are composed by a language model via OpenRouter (an OpenAI model by default), which receives the instructions, knowledge base, current conversation text and tool results — never audio, credentials or attachment contents. Processing at the model provider takes place in the USA under its terms; Kolio trains no models of its own.
How does a customer request deletion of their data?
The customer addresses the request to the business using Kolio, which fulfils it itself: in Settings → GDPR it enters the contact ID and permanently deletes the contact with its attachments, while conversations and appointments remain without a link to the person. If needed it also runs a transcript cleanup with a short period — no Kolio support ticket required.
Can one business on Kolio see another business's data?
Every business's data on Kolio is separated by the account ID on every business table, and no query exists outside that boundary. Kolio matches the dialled number exactly across all number formats; an ambiguous number is rejected rather than the call being assigned to the wrong business.
Does Kolio have a data processing agreement (DPA) and ISO 27001 certification?
The Kolio data processing agreement (DPA under Article 28 GDPR) is in preparation and is available to customers on request via the Contact page until it is published. Kolio holds no ISO 27001 or SOC 2 certification; the measures are described on the Security and GDPR page and can be verified in the settings during the free trial.
How are SIP and email passwords protected in Kolio?
The SIP password, the IMAP and SMTP mailbox passwords, the Google token and the MCP credential are stored in the Kolio database encrypted with AES-256-GCM using a key kept outside the database, and are decrypted right before use. User passwords are stored only as a salted scrypt hash, API keys only as a SHA-256 hash.
Questions about security? We answer directly.
Try the GDPR settings, permissions and API keys in the 7-day trial, or write to us for the DPA and the sub-processor list.
7 days free · no credit card · export and delete at any time
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