=== SilentChat – GDPR-compliant Live Chat & AI Chatbot ===
Contributors: forge12
Tags: live chat, chatbot, gdpr, customer support, dsgvo
Requires at least: 6.3
Tested up to: 7.1
Requires PHP: 7.4
Stable tag: 1.0.0
License: GPLv2 or later
License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

Live chat, AI chatbot and tickets from Germany — no cookies, consent before the chat or loading on click. Hosted at Hetzner, AI by IONOS.

== Description ==

This plugin adds the [SilentChat](https://silentchat.de/en?utm_source=wp-org&utm_medium=directory&utm_campaign=plugin) chat widget to your WordPress site. Enter your widget key — that's it. No code in your theme, no copying snippets.

SilentChat is a customer communication platform for businesses in German-speaking Europe: live chat, an AI chatbot that answers from your knowledge base and website, tickets with an email channel and an internal team chat. It is operated in Germany.

= Built for GDPR-compliant embedding =

* **No cookies.** The widget stores nothing that identifies a visitor before the first chat.
* **Consent before the chat** — one switch in the SilentChat dashboard, with links to your privacy policy and imprint.
* **Load only on click** — a setting in this plugin: until a visitor clicks your chat link, the browser only loads the script file and the widget does not contact our server.
* **AI labelling** under Art. 50 of the EU AI Act, on by default.
* **Data processing agreement** included in every plan, concluded in the dashboard.
* **Hosting and AI in Germany:** application at Hetzner (Falkenstein), AI answers by IONOS in German data centres.
* **Consent tools** such as Cookiebot or Usercentrics can control the live visitor view through a JavaScript interface.

= Plugin features =

* Settings page under Settings → SilentChat
* Hide the chat on single pages (by ID) or paths (e.g. `/checkout/*`)
* Load only on click, with the shortcode `[silentchat_link text="Start chat"]` or a menu link to `#silentchat-open`
* Nothing is loaded while no widget key is set
* No "powered by" links, no tracking, no ads in your admin area

= Plans =

There is a permanently free plan (live chat, 1 agent, 50 conversations a month, without AI). Paid plans with AI start at €19 per month plus VAT. See [pricing](https://silentchat.de/en/pricing?utm_source=wp-org&utm_medium=directory&utm_campaign=plugin). SilentChat is offered to businesses only.

== External services ==

This plugin connects your site to SilentChat, a hosted service by Forge12 Interactive GmbH, Josefstr. 37, 78166 Donaueschingen, Germany. It is required: the plugin has no function without it.

**What is loaded and when**

* Once you have entered a widget key, every page (except the ones you exclude) loads the widget script from `cdn.silentchat.de`. The visitor's browser sends the usual request data (IP address, user agent, referring page) to that server.
* In the default mode, the widget then loads its configuration from `api.silentchat.de` (IP address and page address reach our server; no cookies, no identifier). With "Load only on click" enabled, this only happens after the visitor clicks a chat link.
* When a visitor starts a chat, the widget sends the messages, any details the visitor enters (for example name and email address) and technical data (hashed IP address, browser, device, language, referrer, the page where the chat started) to `api.silentchat.de` and keeps a live connection to `ws.silentchat.de`. A session identifier is then stored in the visitor's browser.
* If you use the AI chatbot, the messages of the conversation are processed by IONOS in data centres in Germany.

**Links**

* Privacy policy: https://silentchat.de/en/privacy
* Terms of service: https://silentchat.de/en/terms
* Data processing agreement: https://silentchat.de/en/dpa

As the site owner you remain the controller: mention the chat in your privacy policy and conclude the data processing agreement in the SilentChat dashboard.

== Installation ==

1. Install and activate the plugin.
2. Create a SilentChat account at https://app.silentchat.de/register (free plan available).
3. Copy your widget key (starts with `pk_`) from the SilentChat dashboard under Chat Systems → Widgets → your widget → Install.
4. Paste it under Settings → SilentChat and save.
5. In the SilentChat dashboard, set consent, AI labelling and the links to your legal pages under your widget → Privacy.

== Frequently Asked Questions ==

= Do I need a cookie banner for SilentChat? =

The widget sets no cookies and creates no identifier before the first chat. A session identifier is stored only when a visitor starts a conversation. Whether you ask for consent depends on your setup; SilentChat offers "consent before the chat" as a switch. This is not legal advice.

= My consent tool blocks the chat. =

Tools such as Borlabs Cookie, Real Cookie Banner or Complianz may block unknown scripts. Add or allow `cdn.silentchat.de` as a service there.

= The chat does not appear. =

Check that the key is saved, clear your page cache (for example WP Rocket or W3 Total Cache) and make sure optimisation plugins do not combine or delay `silentchat.min.js`. With "Load only on click" there is no floating button — add a chat link with the shortcode.

= Where is the data stored? =

In Germany: application and database at Hetzner in Falkenstein, encrypted backups at Strato, AI processing at IONOS. See the privacy policy linked above.

== Screenshots ==

1. The chat widget on a website, with consent before the chat and AI labelling.
2. Privacy settings of the widget in the SilentChat dashboard.
3. Data processing agreement in the dashboard.
4. Inbox with an AI suggestion for the agent.
5. Knowledge base the AI answers from.

== Changelog ==

Only the most recent releases are listed here. The full history is in
changelog.txt, which ships with the plugin.

= 1.0.0 =
First release.

* Widget key, load only on click, hide on pages, shortcode `[silentchat_link]`.
* German translation (formal address).
